Why should you specialise in sport and exercise nutrition? – what you already know as a nutrition practitioner and what you still need to learn…
The field of sport and exercise nutrition is rapidly diversifying – it is not only the domain of high performance sport, or ‘performance nutrition’ any more. Active recreational pursuit is now at an all-time high, and these ‘life athletes’ need our help as a health-focussed nutrition practitioner. There is a common perception amongst nutrition practitioners […]
An overview of the highly sophisticated immune system – Ian Craig
The modern view of immunology seems to revolve around a narrative of ‘killing the bugs’, but the reality is that our bugs outnumber our own cells by a large magnitude. So, according to Ian Craig, we should pay more attention to nourishing our highly complex immune system, meaning that it helps if we have some […]
Active restoration: it’s more than just lounging in front of the TV – Pete Williams
Recovery is more important than training! As functional medicine practitioner Pete Williams says, there is a strong case for making the most of the time you have between training sessions; a phrase he calls ‘active restoration’. Science has continued to amaze us with how fantastically complicated the human body is and how much it is […]
POLYPHENOLS – Can these plant-derived nutrients really improve your recovery? – Joseph Lillis
Research Spotlight focusses on a single food, nutrient or dietary class that has received recent scientific attention. Joseph Lillis is a PhD researcher at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, who explores the benefits of polyphenols for athletes. What are polyphenols? Polyphenols are the most abundant antioxidants in our diet, with over 8000 different varieties classified […]
Hydration for athletes: a controversial topic! – Andy Blow
A lot of controversy still surrounds the optimal hydration for athletes. Andy Blow takes us through the history of this conflated science and provides a more balanced perspective, highlighting the need for individualisation. We humans are a sweaty species. We are, in fact, the sweatiest animals on earth. Although many other mammals also have the […]
Fat burning exercise and nutrition strategies – Matt Lovell
The best exercise and nutrition methods for fat burning are hotly debated. Matt Lovell cuts through the science with some practical suggestions. Intuitively, having a low proportion of body fat would seem to be advantageous for athletic endeavour, increasing the efficiency of power transfer from respiring muscle. Assuming that the same power output is achieved, […]
A brief history of sports nutrition – Professor Justin Roberts
This is an extended version of the history of sports nutrition section in the Textbook of Integrative Sport and Exercise Nutrition. Although the academic study of sport and exercise nutrition is relatively recent, the idea of using nutrition to enhance performance dates back to the earliest forms of physical activity and competition. One of the […]
The hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis in sport and exercise – Ian Craig
When hormones go out of balance, many practitioners will simply try and support the most obvious gland. However, as Ian Craig observes, because the endocrine system is so inter-connected, in many cases it is appropriate to support the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA axis), and other associated axes. If you open up pretty much any physiology textbook, you’ll […]
What is integrative sports nutrition? – Ian Craig
The time is right for a strong paradigm shift towards wholesome integrative thinking within the field of sport and exercise nutrition. Ian Craig, founder of the Centre for Integrative Sports Nutrition, explains. Athletes and active individuals are under more pressure than ever before to perform at their very best. Professional athletes face punishing training regimes, […]
Creative ways to encourage meat eating athletes to eat more plant-based meals – Rachel Jesson
We’re in an era where athletes seem to yin yang from one extreme diet to another, looking for a magic edge. In this nourishing article, Rachel Jesson argues for an increase in plant-based meals, but within an overall state of balanced nutrition. Our modern food consumption patterns are causing great damage to the earth with […]