A study conducted by RMIT University (Australia) has revealed that high carbohydrate diet replenishes faster when an athlete consumes both caffeine and carbohydrates after performing a workout. The study reported it in the Journal of Applied Physiology.

A team at RMIT University has found that glycogen, the main fuel source for muscles, replenishes faster when athletes take both caffeine and carbohydrate after exercising. Professor John Hawley, the lead author of the report published in the ’Journal of Applied Physiology’ states that athletes who added caffeine to their diet after working out had 66 per cent more glycogen as compared to those eating only carbohydrates.

According to the study it has been established that combination of carbohydrates and caffeine helps the muscles refuel quickly and enables an athlete to work harder the next day or in the next competition.

“Although it has not been established as to how coffee reacts with carbohydrates and facilitates glucose uptake from blood into muscles, higher circulating blood glucose and plasma insulin level could be a factor,” Hawley added.