Anyone have thoughts/advice/direction on ketogenic diet to help with altitude? I have come across it a few times now. I am asking more in regards to high altitude mountaineering and not so much technical sport climbing.
As Colin referenced above we have 2 articles dealing with fat adaptation for alpinists and mountaineers or any other long distance athlete for that matter. Ketogenic diets, as you are no doubt aware, are focused on effecting a change in your metabolic preference for fueling ATP synthesis. They cause you to shift towards more fat burning and less carbs. Combined with a long duration low to moderate intensity training regimen this stuff really works wonders for endurance. However, those are a rather extreme diet and as such can be hard to adhere to for most folks. We see great gains in fat adaptation and an increase in aerobic capacity without such extreme diet restrictions when combined with training. These articles explain this stuff pretty well I think.
This fat adaptation is especially important for high altitudes because the low O2 content in the atmosphere means that you can’t even reach the high intensities that use the fast twitch fibers and glycolytic/anaerobic metabolism. So you better have you basic aerobic system firing on all cylinders.
We will have an article up on the website this week featuring David Goettler’s and Ueli Steck’s training, specifically addressing this stuff this coming week. So stay tuned and I think you will find it informative.
Scott and Steve,
Psyched to see this info about keto gaining traction. Steve and I touched on this a while ago as I started my foray into fat adaptation. I’m now 7 months in with no plan on going back. I’m no longer a slave to food when I’m out and I’m vitually bonk proof. I’ve added some CHO during efforts but nothing like previous. I’m full keto the rest of the time. The application of fat adaptation for alpinism is obvious to me but I think we should also be aware of the overall health implications of a high carb diet. Endurance performance is only one piece of the pie. I encourage those interested to check out “Keto Clarity” by Jimmy Moore. Compelling. Depending on your genetics, life-saving or at least life altering.
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