295. Debunking Low Carb Science for Endurance Athletes
Some Work, All Play
David Roche and Megan Roche
4.8 • 2.1K Ratings
🗓️ 27 January 2026
⏱️ 85 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
We ordered extra-extra cheese before this deep-dive episode. The main topic took up most of the recording today, involving a new narrative review that argues for a low-carb approach for endurance athletes.
The real-world performance benefits of carbs are clear for anyone who has traveled this path, but at the end of the day, who cares? It's just performance. The low-carb believers can get left behind and that's ok by us.
The reason we are talking about this relates to health. The carb conversation is nuanced--it's not about taking in as many carbs as you can all the time, and their arguments point out legitimate discussions about how to balance fueling in training and life. But their arguments also infiltrate the broader discussion of nutrition, and anyone who works in this field sees what can happen on the other side.
There is a boneyard of ruined careers from serious endurance athletes who have undershot carb intake. The negative mental and physical health outcomes from carb restriction take this out of the academic realm and into much more serious places. We love carbs because we love performance. But mostly we love carbs because we love people, and we want to see athletes be able to shine their lights as brightly as possible.
Other topics on this episode: our approach to cross training, the incredible Beth McKenzie episode on the Freetrail podcast, Alex Honnold free soloing a skyscraper, a study tracking DEXA scan results with stress fracture outcomes, and we answer an important question from a listener about dealing with a tough health diagnosis.
This one starts with a different tone as we grieve the terrible news from Minnesota. Thank you for being on this journey with us.
We love you all! HUZZAH!
-David and Megan
Click "Claim Your Sponsorship" for 40% off at The Feed here: thefeed.com/swap
Buy Janji's amazing gear: https://janji.com (code "SWAP")
The Wahoo KICKR Run is the best treadmill on the market: https://www.wahoofitness.com/devices/running/treadmills/kickr-run-buy (code “SWAP”)
For training plans, weekly bonus podcasts, articles, and videos: patreon.com/swap
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hey, everybody. We love you all. Thank you so much for being here. You can probably tell |
| 0:04.6 | this is a different tone than the normal woo-hoo in your face that starts these episodes, |
| 0:09.6 | but given the terrible things happening in Minnesota, that wouldn't be an authentic way to show up |
| 0:13.9 | this week. It feels hard, honestly, for us. And every week we try to show up here on the podcast |
| 0:19.1 | with science and to make science fun and engaging and 100% authentic. And when we're being 100% authentic right now, it honestly, it feels like existing a bit in a shit pool. |
| 0:30.8 | That's so true. Swimming in a shit pool. And everybody feels that way. Right. I know across political divisions, everybody's feeling that way. And we want this podcast to be for everyone. You can disagree with us politically, and we love you. When we say that, it is not a passing sentiment that means nothing. It is inherent in who you are. And inherent in love is when you see lies being told. |
| 0:56.2 | You stand up and say something. |
| 0:57.6 | Like tragedies are happening all the time. |
| 0:59.2 | We get that and we do not want this podcast to be listing tragedies. |
| 1:02.7 | But when our government is lying about someone who by all accounts did show up with love, |
| 1:09.0 | we think we have a responsibility to point it out and to |
| 1:13.3 | let our listeners know that like we mean what we say when we say we love you. And as a parent, |
| 1:20.5 | too, it seems obvious hearing the responses from Alex Prattie's parents and, you know, the heartbreak |
| 1:26.3 | that they've been through just how hard this is, but also how amazing of a human's parents. And, you know, the heartbreak that they've been through just how |
| 1:27.7 | hard this is, but also how amazing of a human he was. And today we want to honor that before saying |
| 1:33.1 | woohoo. And his parents wrote a powerful statement that I think would be helpful to read. Yeah, and they |
| 1:37.9 | asked people to share it. So here's the statement from his family. We are heartbroken, but also very |
| 1:43.8 | angry. Alex was a kindhearted soul who cared deeply for his family. We are heartbroken, but also very angry. |
| 1:44.6 | Alex was a kind-hearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends, and also the American |
| 1:48.5 | veterans whom he cared for as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital. |
| 1:52.9 | Alex wanted to make a difference in this world. |
| 1:55.3 | Unfortunately, he will not be with us to see his impact. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from David Roche and Megan Roche, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of David Roche and Megan Roche and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.