By Performance Nutritionist, Tamara Walker book a 1-2-1 with Tam here


Carbohydrates have become one of the most misunderstood parts of nutrition. Social media often promotes low-carbohydrate eating as healthier, better for body composition, or even superior for performance. For youth athletes, that message is not just misleading, but it contradicts what sports science consistently shows. Carbohydrates are essential for performance, recovery, brain function, and healthy growth. Removing them does not improve performance and often makes it worse.

What DO Carbohydrates Actually Do?

Carbohydrates are found in foods such as bread, rice, pasta, oats, potatoes, fruit, and dairy. When consumed, they are broken down into glucose, which is the body’s primary source of energy [1]. Some glucose is used immediately, while the rest is stored in muscles and the liver as glycogen. Glycogen is a key fuel source during exercise, particularly at moderate to high intensities [1]. When glycogen stores become depleted, performance declines.

Why Sport Relies on Carbohydrates?

Most youth sports involve repeated high-intensity efforts such as sprinting, jumping, and rapid changes of direction. These actions rely heavily on carbohydrates because they can produce energy quickly. As exercise intensity increases, the body shifts toward greater carbohydrate use and less fat utilisation [2]. When carbohydrate availability is low, research shows reduced sprint performance, earlier fatigue, lower power output, and decreased skill execution under pressure [3]. For this reason, leading organisations continue to recommend carbohydrates as a central component of athlete nutrition [4,5].

What Happens with Low-Carb Diets?

Low-carbohydrate diets reduce glycogen stores. Although the body can adapt to using more fat as fuel, fat cannot support repeated high-intensity efforts effectively. Research in athletes shows that low carbohydrate intake can lead to reduced high-intensity performance, increased perceived effort, decreased ability to repeat sprints, and slower recovery [6,7]. In practical terms, training feels harder and performance often declines, particularly in team and sprint-based sports.

Why This Matters Even More for Young Athletes?

Youth athletes are still growing and developing. In addition to training, they require energy for growth, bone development, hormonal changes, and skill acquisition. If carbohydrate intake is too low, overall energy intake often decreases. Over time, this can contribute to Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) [8].

RED-S: A Simple Explanation?

RED-S occurs when the body does not have enough energy to support both exercise and normal physiological function. It can negatively affect performance, recovery, hormonal health, bone strength, immune function, mood, and concentration [8,9]. In young athletes, it can also impair growth and development. Carbohydrate restriction is a common pathway leading to low energy availability.

Carbohydrates and the Brain?

Carbohydrates are also critical for brain function. The brain relies heavily on glucose for energy. Low carbohydrate intake can impair focus, reaction time, decision-making, and overall mental performance during competition [10].

The Myth: “Leaner Is Always Better”

A common belief in youth sport is that being lighter improves performance. However, under-fuelling often leads to poorer outcomes. Low carbohydrate intake can result in reduced training quality, slower recovery, decreased strength and speed development, and limited long-term progress [11]. Performance improves through effective training and recovery, not through restriction.

Does Carbohydrate Quality and Carbohydrate Timing Matter?

Not all carbohydrates are the same, but most contribute positively to an athlete’s diet. Examples of good sources include fruit, oats, rice, potatoes, and whole grain bread and pasta. These provide energy along with important vitamins, minerals, and fibre [5].

Timing also plays an important role:

• Before exercise supports performance

• During prolonged activity helps maintain intensity

• After exercise supports glycogen replenishment and recovery [12,13]

The Role of Parents and Coaches in Youth Nutrition

Young athletes often rely on adults to shape their nutrition habits. When carbohydrates are restricted, athletes may experience low energy, poor training quality, slower recovery, and increased injury risk. These signs are often mistaken for lack of effort or fitness, when they are actually signs of under-fuelling.

The Bottom Line

Carbohydrates are not the enemy. They are the primary fuel for speed, power, repeated high-intensity effort, recovery, brain function, and healthy growth in youth athletes. Low-carbohydrate diets may have a place in certain adult contexts, but they do not align with the needs of young athletes. Performance does not improve when fuel is removed. It improves when fuel is provided properly.

Putting It Into Practice, Youth Sport Nutrition

Understanding the science is one thing, but fitting it into a packed family schedule is another. Between early morning training sessions, school days, and evening fixtures, finding time to prepare balanced, carbohydrate-rich meals around every session is sometimes a challenge.

That's where having a convenient backup makes a genuine difference. NUTRI-TEEN Food Powder is professionally formulated for young athletes, not a supplement, but a food powder that provides the carbohydrates, protein, and micronutrients for active young people. It's Informed Sport batch tested to the same standard used by professional athletes. 

The principle stays the same: real food first, always. But on the days when preparation time runs out, quality shouldn't have to.

If you'd like help building a carbohydrate-focused, food-first meal plan around your young athlete's training schedule, book a 1-2-1 with Tam here.

Disclaimer: This article is intended to provide general information about nutrition for youth athletes and is not meant to replace professional dietary advice or individual nutritional counselling. Every child's nutritional needs can vary due to factors such as age, size, physical activity level, and medical conditions. We strongly recommend consulting with a registered dietitian or a healthcare provider before making changes to your child's diet, such as adding food powders. YSN and the author of this article do not take responsibility for any possible consequences from any treatment, procedure, dietary modification, action, or application of medication which results from reading or following the information contained in this article.

References

[1] Bergström, J., and Hultman, E. (1966). Muscle glycogen synthesis after exercise: An enhancing factor localized to the muscle cells in man. Nature, 210, 309–310.

[2] Romijn, J. A., Coyle, E. F., Sidossis, L. S., Gastaldelli, A., Horowitz, J. F., Endert, E., and Wolfe, R. R. (1993). Regulation of endogenous fat and carbohydrate metabolism in relation to exercise intensity and duration. American Journal of Physiology, 265(3), E380–E391.

[3] Burke, L. M., Hawley, J. A., Wong, S. H. S., and Jeukendrup, A. E. (2011). Carbohydrates for training and competition. Journal of Sports Sciences, 29(sup1), S17–S27.

[4] International Olympic Committee. (2018). IOC consensus statement on sports nutrition 2018. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 52(11), 687–697.

[5] Thomas, D. T., Erdman, K. A., and Burke, L. M. (2016). Nutrition and athletic performance. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 48(3), 543–568.

[6] Volek, J. S., Noakes, T., and Phinney, S. D. (2016). Rethinking fat as a fuel for endurance exercise. Metabolism, 65(3), 100–110.

[7] Burke, L. M., Ross, M. L. R., Garvican-Lewis, L. A., Welvaert, M., Heikura, I. A., Forbes, S. F., et al. (2017). Low carbohydrate, high fat diet impairs exercise economy. Journal of Physiology, 595(9), 2785–2807.

[8] Mountjoy, M., Sundgot-Borgen, J., Burke, L., Ackerman, K. E., Blauwet, C., Constantini, N., et al. (2018). IOC consensus statement on Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S). British Journal of Sports Medicine, 52(11), 687–697.

[9] Logue, D. M., Madigan, S. M., Melin, A., Delahunt, E., Heinen, M., Donnell, S. M., and Corish, C. A. (2020). Low energy availability in athletes. European Journal of Sport Science, 20(7), 913–928.

[10] Benton, D. (2010). The influence of dietary status on cognitive performance. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 34(5), 747–760.

[11] Loucks, A. B. (2004). Energy balance and athletic performance. Journal of Sports Sciences, 22(1), 1–14.

[12] Cermak, N. M., and van Loon, L. J. C. (2013). Carbohydrate intake during exercise. Sports Medicine, 43(11), 1139–1155.

[13] Ivy, J. L. (1998). Glycogen resynthesis after exercise. International Journal of Sports Medicine, 19(S2), S142–S145.