Low-Carbohydrate High-Fat Diets for Military Performance: A Strategy for Realizing Performance Advantage on the Battlefield?

Diet and nutrition impact mission readiness and operational performance. Military nutrition guidelines presently follow general health and sports performance recommendations, advocating high-carbohydrate and moderate-fat diets. However, military personnel comprise a unique population who are often required to work in multi-stressor environments with performance characteristics that differ from civilians and athletes. Land forces are increasingly unsupported, working in smaller teams, for long periods, carrying their own nutrition along with mission-specific equipment. As such, alternative approaches to macronutrient provision, before and during operations, may provide a partial solution to offset role demands and maintain operational effectiveness. This commentary examines the hypothesized benefits and current evidence for a low-carbohydrate high-fat (LCHF) dietary approach within the occupational context of land-based operations, through defining the demands of the role and the characteristics of military personnel. Early research hypothesized several specific beneficial applications for LCHF diets in the military occupational context. However, conducting well-controlled, scientifically robust nutrition research in military settings to test these hypotheses has proved challenging. As such, a limited number of studies have evaluated the efficacy of LCHF diets in military populations, and LCHF diets remain a contentious topic. A novel model is proposed for the application of LCHF diets as a targeted, strategic nutrition intervention to support the human performance element of military capability. Furthermore, current knowledge gaps are identified to evaluate the efficacy of such a model, along with recommendations for future work.