Differences in the effects of carbohydrate food form on endurance performance to exhaustion

This investigation examined the metabolic and performance effects of ingesting solid compared to slurried carbohydrate food (bananas) between two prolonged exhaustive exercise bouts. Eight highly trained male triathletes performed four exhaustive endurance tests (ET), each separated by at least 2 weeks. Each ET consisted of a 90-min run followed by 90 min of cycling, both at 70% VO2max. Workloads were then gradually increased on the cycle, and subjects continued to cycle until exhausted. They then rested for 20 min and ingested one of the following: an artificially sweetened placebo drink (P), slurried bananas (SL), or solid bananas (SO). Bananas were given in equal portions relative to each subject's body weight. Subjects cycled to exhaustion a second time at 70% of their VO2max, at which point the mean blood glucose concentration for the combined carbohydrate treatments was significantly higher than that from the P treatment. The mean glucose concentration from the SL treatment did not differ significantly from the SO treatment. These data demonstrate that solid bananas are as effective as slurried bananas in maintaining plasma glucose and in enhancing endurance exercise performance.