Dr. Ricardo Costa discusses low carbohydrate, high fat (LCHF) diets for ultra runners.

Peak Endurance

Dr Ricardo Costa works in the Department of Nutrition Dietetics & Food, Faculty of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences at Monash University as an academic, researchers, consultant and practitioner in Sports Dietetics and Extreme Physiology. Ricardo is a HCPC Registered Dietitian-UK, SENr Registered Sport Dietitian- UK, Accredited Practicing Dietitian-Aus and Advanced Sports Dietitian-Aus, who came to Monash University in August 2013 from Coventry University-UK. Ricardo completed his PhD at the University of Wales- UK, in neuroendocrine and nutritional immunology on the influence of sleep deprivation, cold exposure, exercise stress and nutritional intervention on selected immune responses; which examined the impact of individual and combined stressors on immune function. Additionally, the role of nutrition intervention in the effect of exercise on immune function. Ricardo's recent work has focused on the impact of multi-stressor activity on immune, thermoregulatory, and gastrointestinal health; and additionally, the impact of ultra-marathon competition on nutrition and hydration status, and implication for health. Ricardo’s research interests include the impact of exercise stress with and without other stressors on gut health, and role of nutrition under stress on gut health. Over the last few years he has established and led an international multi-centre research team investigating the impact of ultra-endurance competition on nutritional and hydration status, and on various physiological and immunological parameters; in which issue of gut health have been identified. Previously, as course director for Sports Dietetic training in the UK, he was an active consultant and supervisor in Sports Dietetics, providing and supervising sport and exercise nutritional support to a wide range of sports at recreational, amateur, and elite (Olympic athletes) level. Ricardo contacted me in regards to a research paper that was just published, in collaboration with the AIS, assessing the impact of the ketogenic low carb high fat diet on the gut health of elite endurance/ultra endurance athletes. Our results were a bit concerning, in that even a short term LCHF diet was sufficient to seriously disturb gut markers, including increased bacterial endotoxin translocation into the blood stream. Ricardo discusses this research.

Links to papers: https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsnem.2023-0009

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2021.773054/full