ABSTRACT
The recovery process following endurance activity is heavily dependent on restoration of glycogen stores. Rapid recovery of glycogen stores is essential to those athletes participating in multiple activities within a 24-hour time period (i.e., swimming, track and eld, tournament-style play for basketball/soccer, etc.). Many factors exist that determine the rate of glycogen synthesis following endurance activity, such as the level of glycogen depletion that occurred during exercise, the time frame of carbohydrate ingestion, amount of carbohydrate ingested, and the type of carbohydrate ingested. Research has also discussed the idea of combining carbohydrate intake with protein to maximize glycogen stores and synthesis rate. Even more recently, caffeine has been introduced as a possible supplement to synergistically act with carbohydrate to aid in glycogen synthesis rates, while other nutrients exist that may provide additional benet. Following endurance activity is the altered state of immune function whereby the body is susceptible to various types of infections. For this reason, other micronutrients have been suggested to protect the body following endurance activity to bolster the immune function of the body.
