In a recent issue of this journal (Vol. 19, No. 2), Saunders and colleagues published a study that addressed a topical and controversial area of investigation, namely, whether the addition of protein to a carbohydrate (CHO) drink can improve endurance exercise performance. The authors employed a very practical research design in which participants performed a simulated time trial (three laps of a hilly 20-km course) while ingesting a CHO-only drink or a drink matched for CHO content that also contained a protein hydrolysate (CHO-ProH). Results showed there was no statistically significant difference in performance over 60 km, with mean times of 134.4 ± 4.6 and 135.0 ± 4.0 min for the CHO and CHO+ProH groups, respectively. However, the authors did not draw this conclusion, even though it addressed their primary research question. Rather, they focused on the secondary observation that "late exercise performance" appeared to be enhanced with CHO-ProH ingestion compared with CHO.
© Copyright 2009 International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. Human Kinetics. All rights reserved.