Eating more carbs doesn't make your muscles grow bigger if you're lifting weights.
Scientific Claim
Carbohydrate intake has no significant effect on muscle hypertrophy when protein and total energy intake are held constant.
Original Statement
“There was no significant effect of carbohydrate intake on muscle growth.”
Context Details
Domain
nutrition
Population
human
Subject
carbohydrate intake
Action
has no significant effect on
Target
muscle hypertrophy
Intervention Details
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (2)
The Effect of Carbohydrate Intake on Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
This study looked at whether eating more carbs helps you build more muscle when you're already eating enough protein and calories — and found no real difference. So, carbs don’t seem to help muscle growth any more than what you get from protein and total food intake.
This study looked at whether eating more carbs helps you build more muscle when you're already eating enough protein and calories — and found no real difference. So, carbs don’t seem to help muscle growth if your protein and total food intake are already fixed.
Contradicting (1)
Low carbohydrate availability impairs hypertrophy and anaerobic performance
Even if you eat enough protein and calories, not eating enough carbs can still make it harder for your muscles to grow when you lift weights.