Fructose co-ingestion to increase carbohydrate availability in athletes

Carbohydrate availability is important to maximize endurance performance during prolonged bouts of moderate‐ to high‐intensity exercise as well as for acute post‐exercise recovery. The primary form of carbohydrates that are typically ingested during and after exercise are glucose (polymers). However, intestinal glucose absorption can be limited by the capacity of the intestinal glucose transport system (SGLT1). Intestinal fructose uptake is not regulated by the same transport system, as it largely depends on GLUT5 as opposed to SGLT1 transporters. Combining the intake of glucose plus fructose can further increase total exogenous carbohydrate availability and, as such, allow higher exogenous carbohydrate oxidation rates. Ingesting a mixture of both glucose and fructose can improve endurance exercise performance compared to equivalent amounts of glucose (polymers) only. Fructose co‐ingestion can also accelerate post‐exercise (liver) glycogen repletion rates, which may be relevant when rapid (1.2 g/kg/h) are ingested during post‐exercise recovery. In conclusion, combined ingestion of fructose with glucose may be preferred over the ingestion of glucose (polymers) only to help trained athletes maximize endurance performance during prolonged moderate‐ to high‐intensity exercise sessions and accelerate post‐exercise (liver) glycogen repletion.
Fructose (Fru) co‐ingestion with glucose (Glu) appears to increase the total capacity to absorb carbohydrates. In addition, fructose can be converted within the intestine and the liver into glucose and lactate (Lac). This can be used as an additional fuel source during exercise and also as a substrate for (liver) glycogen repletion during post‐exercise recovery. Therefore, fructose co‐ingestion may benefit athletes by maximizing carbohydrate availability during exercise and during acute post‐exercise recovery.