Study Details

This cross-sectional study characterised dietary intake across the 24 h pre-weigh-in, post-weigh-in recovery period and fight day in 107 professional UFC fighters 🔍

Here are the key findings ⬇️

Key Findings

🥊 The final 24 h before weigh-in involved severe carbohydrate, fibre, fluid and sodium restriction

🍞 Carbohydrate intake averaged just 55 g pre-weigh-in, rising to 346 g post-weigh-in and 278 g on fight day

🥬 Fibre intake was extremely low before weigh-in at ~4.5 g/day, consistent with deliberate reduction of gastrointestinal contents

💧 Fluid intake increased approximately sixfold after weigh-in, from ~39 fl oz (~1140 mL) to 223 fl oz (~6595 mL)

🧂 Sodium intake increased approximately sevenfold, from ~781 to 5463 mg post-weigh-in

🔥 Fat intake showed the opposite pattern, falling from 137 g pre-weigh-in to ~57 g post-weigh-in

⚡ Energy intake increased from ~1750 kcal before weigh-in to ~2500 kcal after weigh-in, before falling to ~1985 kcal on fight day

🥩 Protein intake increased from ~76 g pre-weigh-in to ~104 g post-weigh-in and ~99 g on fight day

🍚 Complex carbohydrate foods were almost absent before weigh-in but became the most frequently reported food category post-weigh-in

🥗 Vegetables were not reported in either the pre- or post-weigh-in periods, reflecting aggressive fibre restriction

🚫 Higher-fat foods were largely removed during recovery, likely to support gastric emptying and gastrointestinal comfort

⚖️ Heavier weight classes consumed more total energy, protein, fat and fluid, but carbohydrate, fibre and sodium restriction were remarkably similar across divisions

📉 Despite aggressive post-weigh-in refeeding, the authors suggest carbohydrate intake may still be insufficient for complete glycogen restoration within the typical 24–36 h recovery window

Conclusion

Pro MMA fighters appear highly systematic in manipulating carbohydrate, fibre, fluid and sodium to make weight, then rapidly reversing these strategies after weigh-in; the biggest opportunity may be optimising carbohydrate and fluid recovery without increasing GI distress before competition ✅

Reference

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42739050/

Performance Nutrition Digest is powered by Healthspan Elite ⚡️

Healthspan Elite is a science-led sports nutrition range developed in collaboration with leading experts to support athletic performance, recovery, and health.

Use code: TCDIGEST25 for 25% off at https://www.healthspanelite.co.uk/ 💪

Study Details

This three-level meta-analysis included 63 randomised trials and 1,489 adults, examining whether creatine supplementation enhances strength and body-composition adaptations to resistance training 🔍

Here are the key findings ⬇️

Key Findings

💪 Creatine produced a moderate additional improvement in upper-body strength versus resistance training alone (g = 0.54)

🦵 Lower-body strength also improved by a moderate amount (g = 0.55) after removal of one influential outlier

📈 Lean mass increased significantly more with creatine (g = 0.30), representing a small-to-moderate additional benefit

⚖️ Total body mass increased slightly (g = 0.12), consistent with the additional gain in lean mass

🔥 Absolute fat mass was not significantly changed by creatine (g = −0.10)

📉 Body-fat % decreased slightly (g = −0.14), likely because lean mass increased while fat mass remained relatively stable

💧 Some early creatine-associated weight gain will reflect increased intracellular water, but the available studies could not separate water from longer-term tissue accretion

👥 Strength benefits were evident across athletes, resistance-trained and previously untrained participants, with no clear difference according to training status

🙅‍♀️ There was also no statistically significant evidence that responses differed between men and women, although women were underrepresented

🧐 Exploratory analyses suggested larger strength effects in younger participants, but this age effect should be treated cautiously because age groups were unevenly represented

🥄 Creatine dose, fixed versus weight-based dosing, loading strategy, training frequency and intervention duration did not consistently modify the benefits

📊 Evidence certainty across outcomes was rated low to moderate

⚠️ Publication bias may have inflated the raw strength effects slightly, but adjusted analyses still showed significant benefits

Conclusion

The primary body-composition effect of creatine is therefore more lean mass rather than less fat 🏋️

Adding creatine monohydrate to a well-designed resistance-training programme reliably improves strength and lean-mass gains, and these benefits do not appear to require complex loading or high-dose protocols ✅

Reference

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42765482/

Performance Nutrition Digest is powered by Healthspan Elite ⚡️

Healthspan Elite is a science-led sports nutrition range developed in collaboration with leading experts to support athletic performance, recovery, and health.

Use code: TCDIGEST25 for 25% off at https://www.healthspanelite.co.uk/ 💪

Study Details

This new review examined nutrition strategies to reduce sports-injury risk and support recovery, covering hydration, macronutrients, micronutrients and supplements 🔍

Here are the key findings ⬇️

Key Findings

💧 Maintaining euhydration is a priority, with fluid and electrolyte plans individualised to sweat losses

⚠️ Dehydration can impair cognition, balance and thermoregulation, potentially increasing injury risk

🥤 After substantial fluid loss, ~1.25–1.5 L fluid per kg body mass lost is recommended alongside electrolytes

🍞 Carb availability supports training quality and glycogen restoration, with ~30–60 g/h recommended during prolonged exercise and up to ~90 g/h in some scenarios

🥩 Protein intake of ~1.4–2.0 g/kg/day is recommended to support tissue repair, with total daily intake more important than a narrow post-exercise “anabolic window”

🥑 Fat should provide at least ~20% of energy, with omega-3-rich foods potentially supporting inflammation control and recovery

🦴 Calcium and vitamin D are important for bone health, while vitamin D deficiency may impair muscle repair and increase bone-injury risk

🩸 Iron inadequacy can compromise endurance performance and recovery

🐟 Omega-3 supplementation may support muscle preservation during immobilisation and concussion recovery, although evidence remains inconsistent

💪 Creatine may help preserve muscle mass and strength during immobilisation and rehabilitation; 2–5 g/day can be effective without loading

🧬 Collagen or gelatin plus vitamin C around loading exercise may support collagen synthesis and connective tissue rehabilitation

🛡️ Athletes using supplements should favour third-party tested products

Conclusion

Adequate energy, carbohydrate, protein and personalised hydration should form the foundation of injury recovery, with supplements added selectively where there is a clear evidence-based role ✅

Reference

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42713797/

Performance Nutrition Digest is powered by Healthspan Elite ⚡️

Healthspan Elite is a science-led sports nutrition range developed in collaboration with leading experts to support athletic performance, recovery, and health.

Use code: TCDIGEST25 for 25% off at https://www.healthspanelite.co.uk/ 💪

Study Details

This new study examined whether highly branched cyclic dextrin (HBCD), alone or with whey protein, influenced metabolism and fatigue-limited performance during ~120 min of soccer-specific intermittent exercise in 9 male collegiate players 🔍

🥤 Players consumed 500 mL across pre-exercise and half-time: water, 40 g HBCD, or an isocaloric mix of 32 g HBCD + 8 g whey protein

Key Findings

🍞 HBCD alone increased carbohydrate oxidation late in exercise versus placebo

🔥 Fat oxidation was correspondingly lower with HBCD, indicating greater reliance on carbohydrate as fatigue accumulated

↔️ HBCD alone did not significantly improve final run-to-fatigue performance versus placebo

📈 However, running time was ~21% longer numerically with HBCD than placebo, which the small study may have been underpowered to detect

⚡ HBCD + whey significantly increased run-to-fatigue time versus placebo: 338 vs 219 seconds

🏃 Running distance was also significantly greater: 1297 vs 841 m

⚠️ Importantly, neither running time nor distance differed significantly between HBCD + whey and HBCD alone

😮‍💨 Perceived exertion at 90 min was significantly lower with HBCD + whey than placebo

🫀 Heart rate was unaffected by beverage condition

😮‍💨 Gastrointestinal symptoms remained low and did not differ between conditions, supporting good tolerance of both HBCD drinks

🧬 The performance benefit with HBCD + whey occurred without greater whole-body carbohydrate oxidation than HBCD alone, suggesting other mechanisms may be involved

Conclusion

Possible explanations include altered glycaemia, amino acid availability or fatigue perception, but insulin, glucose, muscle damage and neuromuscular function were not measured 🧐

The study included only 9 men and used a treadmill simulation rather than an actual match ⚠️

For soccer players, HBCD consumed before exercise and at half-time appears well tolerated and can support late-exercise carbohydrate use, while adding a small amount of whey may further support fatigue resistance, although this study does not establish that carbohydrate + protein is superior to carbohydrate alone ✅

Reference

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42739027/

Performance Nutrition Digest is powered by Healthspan Elite ⚡️

Healthspan Elite is a science-led sports nutrition range developed in collaboration with leading experts to support athletic performance, recovery, and health.

Use code: TCDIGEST25 for 25% off at https://www.healthspanelite.co.uk/ 💪

Study Details

This new study examined whether 4 weeks of multi-strain probiotic supplementation influenced body composition and lipid metabolism during pre-competition weight reduction in 32 high-level combat-sport athletes 🔍

Athletes from boxing, judo and wrestling completed the same 4-week energy-restricted weight-loss programme 🥋

Key Findings

⚖️ Body weight and BMI decreased significantly in both probiotic and placebo groups

📉 Body fat % also fell in both groups, but the reduction was significantly greater with probiotics

💪 Muscle mass decreased during weight loss in both groups, with no significant between-group difference

🍽️ Changes in energy, carbohydrate, protein, fat and fibre intake were similar between groups, reducing the likelihood that dietary differences explained the findings

🩸 Triglycerides and LDL cholesterol decreased significantly within the probiotic group, although between-group differences in lipid profiles were not significant

🦠 Probiotic supplementation increased several fecal short-chain fatty acids, particularly acetate, propionate and butyrate

📈 Acetate increased with probiotics while tending to decrease with placebo, producing a significant group × time interaction

🔥 Circulating free fatty acids generally increased during weight loss with placebo, consistent with greater mobilisation of stored fat

↔️ This rise was substantially attenuated in the probiotic group, with mean FFA responses differing significantly between groups

🧬 The authors suggest altered SCFA production and fatty-acid metabolism as possible mechanisms, but gut microbiota composition and fatty-acid oxidation were not directly measured

Conclusion

Only four women were included, the intervention lasted just 4 weeks, and the proprietary multi-strain formulation means effects cannot be attributed to individual probiotic strains ⚠️

Strength, power and sport-specific performance were not measured, so it is unknown whether the body-composition differences improved performance 🧐

Probiotic supplementation during a short combat-sport weight cut may help shift weight loss slightly more toward fat while modifying gut-derived metabolites and circulating fatty acids, but evidence that this improves performance or preserves muscle is still lacking ✅

Reference

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42702994/

Performance Nutrition Digest is powered by Healthspan Elite ⚡️

Healthspan Elite is a science-led sports nutrition range developed in collaboration with leading experts to support athletic performance, recovery, and health.

Use code: TCDIGEST25 for 25% off at https://www.healthspanelite.co.uk/ 💪

Study Details

This UCI position statement synthesised 14 companion reviews involving 54 researchers to provide contemporary guidance for elite cycling 🔍

Here are the key takeaway messages ⬇️

Key Findings

⚡ There is no single optimal cycling diet: nutrition should reflect discipline, event duration, terrain, environment, tactical role and the individual rider

🍽️ Habitual energy availability should generally be ~40–45 kcal/kg FFM/day, with prolonged low energy availability avoided

🍞 Carbohydrate should match workload, ranging from ~3–8 g/kg/day in track cycling to 10–25 g/kg/day during extreme racing

🎯 “Fuel for the work required” remains central: high CHO availability supports key sessions and racing, while selected low-CHO sessions may be strategically used for adaptation

🥩 Protein intake of 1.6–2.1 g/kg/day is recommended, ideally distributed across the day

🚴 During racing, CHO recommendations are 30–60 g/h for 1–2.5 h and ~90 g/h beyond 2.5 h

📈 Intakes of ≥120 g/h are increasingly used in professional cycling, but performance benefits still require validation

💧 Hydration plans should generally aim to keep net body-mass losses below ~2%, accounting for sweat rate and conditions

🔄 Rapid recovery may require 1–1.2 g/kg/h CHO, 0.3–0.4+ g/kg protein and ~125–150% fluid replacement

🦴 Adequate energy, CHO, protein, calcium and vitamin D are particularly important for cyclist bone health

🌿 Antioxidant/polyphenol supplements should be periodised, favouring targeted use when rapid recovery matters rather than indiscriminate use during adaptation-focused training

💊 Evidence-based supplements include caffeine, creatine, bicarbonate, beta-alanine, nitrate/beetroot juice and glycerol; exogenous ketones are not recommended

Conclusion

Cycling nutrition should prioritise adequate energy availability, carbohydrate matched to workload, sufficient protein, practiced race fuelling and selective supplement use ✅

Reference

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42744290/

Performance Nutrition Digest is powered by Healthspan Elite ⚡️

Healthspan Elite is a science-led sports nutrition range developed in collaboration with leading experts to support athletic performance, recovery, and health.

Use code: TCDIGEST25 for 25% off at https://www.healthspanelite.co.uk/ 💪

Study Details

This systematic review and meta-analysis included 25 studies and 390 participants, examining the acute effects of caffeine chewing gum on physical performance 🔍

Here are the key findings ⬇️

Key Findings

☕ Caffeine gum produced a trivial but significant overall performance benefit versus placebo (SMD = 0.195)

📉 Heterogeneity was very low at 4%, suggesting reasonably consistent findings

🏃 Aerobic endurance showed the largest effect, with a small improvement (SMD = 0.258)

⚡ Anaerobic performance also improved significantly, although the effect was trivial (SMD = 0.186)

⤴️ Jump performance showed a similarly small benefit (SMD = 0.183)

🏋️ Muscular strength and endurance did not significantly improve overall

🎯 Trained athletes benefited (SMD = 0.228), while recreationally active participants showed no meaningful effect

🧠 Low and moderate habitual caffeine users showed significant improvements, whereas high habitual users did not

⚠️ Only 14 high-caffeine users contributed to that subgroup, so conclusions around tolerance remain tentative

⏱️ Chewing for 10 min produced a small significant benefit, whereas 5 min did not

💊 Most studies used 2–4 mg/kg caffeine, with ~3 mg/kg most common

📈 Higher doses were associated with greater benefits, although this dose-response relationship was not fully robust in sensitivity analyses

⏰ Timing before exercise did not significantly influence performance, but most studies administered gum within 15 min of exercise

💧 Buccal absorption allows circulating caffeine to rise within roughly 5–10 min

📊 Evidence certainty ranged from low to very low, and 359 of 390 participants were male

Conclusion

Caffeine gum appears most useful when athletes need caffeine quickly, such as shortly before competition, during half-time or between events; ~2–4 mg/kg chewed for ~10 min is a practical approach, although expected performance gains are small ✅

Reference

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42714767/

Performance Nutrition Digest is powered by Healthspan Elite ⚡️

Healthspan Elite is a science-led sports nutrition range developed in collaboration with leading experts to support athletic performance, recovery, and health.

Use code: TCDIGEST25 for 25% off at https://www.healthspanelite.co.uk/ 💪

Study Details

This systematic review and multilevel meta-analysis included 11 randomised trials and 360 adults, examining whether chronic polyphenol supplementation altered strength and muscle adaptations to resistance training 🔍

Supplements included curcumin, quercetin, catechins, matcha, epicatechin, berry polyphenols, green tea and soy isoflavones 🫐

Polyphenols are often used to support recovery because of their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties 🔋

This creates a theoretical concern that repeatedly suppressing exercise-induced inflammation or oxidative stress could blunt signalling involved in adaptation ⚠️

Here are the key findings ⬇️

Key Findings

🏋️ Reassuringly, the review found no consistent evidence that polyphenol supplementation impaired resistance-training adaptations

💪 Strength actually showed a small positive effect, although this narrowly missed statistical significance

⚖️ However, certainty of evidence for strength was rated low

📈 Muscle quantity/lean mass showed a small, non-significant effect

🧬 Direct measures of muscle morphology, including muscle thickness and cross-sectional area, were essentially unchanged

↔️ Importantly, there was therefore no clear signal that chronic polyphenol use attenuated muscle growth

📊 Results remained similar across sensitivity analyses, with no robust differences according to age, intervention duration, strength-test type or broad polyphenol class

Conclusion

Polyphenols may improve soreness, inflammation, oxidative stress or short-term recovery in some contexts, but these recovery effects did not appear to come at the expense of long-term training adaptation 💪

Evidence remains limited, particularly for direct muscle morphology, so an interference effect cannot be completely ruled out ⚠️

However, for athletes using polyphenol-rich foods or supplements to support recovery, these findings are reassuring: current evidence suggests they are unlikely to blunt strength or hypertrophy adaptations to resistance training, although they also do not appear to meaningfully enhance them ✅

Reference

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2026.1906384/full

Performance Nutrition Digest is powered by Healthspan Elite ⚡️

Healthspan Elite is a science-led sports nutrition range developed in collaboration with leading experts to support athletic performance, recovery, and health.

Use code: TCDIGEST25 for 25% off at https://www.healthspanelite.co.uk/ 💪

Study Details

This triple-blind randomised trial examined whether 3 g/day creatine enhanced an 8-week rehabilitation programme in 20 athletes with patellar tendinopathy 🔍

All athletes completed daily eccentric decline squats and stretching, plus manual therapy and shockwave therapy ~ every 10 days 🏋️

Key Findings

💥 VISA-P scores improved significantly over 8 weeks in both creatine and placebo groups, indicating reduced pain and better function

⏱️ The creatine group showed a significant improvement by week 4, whereas the placebo group did not improve significantly until week 8

⚠️ However, the overall time × supplementation interaction for VISA-P was not significant, so evidence that creatine accelerated pain reduction is suggestive rather than definitive

📉 Patellar tendon thickness progressively decreased across the 8-week intervention in both groups

↔️ Creatine did not provide an additional significant effect on tendon thickness

💪 Injured-leg 5-RM knee-extension strength improved substantially by weeks 4 and 8 in both groups

↔️ Strength improvements were similar with creatine and placebo

⤴️ Countermovement jump height increased in the creatine group from ~34.3 cm at baseline to 36.8 cm at week 4 and 37.6 cm at week 8

➖ No significant improvements in CMJ were detected in the placebo group

📊 However, the time × supplementation interaction for CMJ only approached significance (p = 0.099), so a specific creatine effect cannot be confirmed

⚖️ Creatine produced no clear additional changes in body mass, muscle mass or overall body composition

Conclusion

The authors propose that greater phosphocreatine availability and potentially reduced exercise-induced muscle damage could help athletes tolerate rehabilitation training, but these mechanisms were not directly measured 🧐

Adding 3 g/day creatine to a structured patellar tendinopathy rehabilitation programme may help support jump performance and possibly earlier symptom improvement, but rehabilitation itself produced most of the clear improvements ✅

Reference

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42730713/

Performance Nutrition Digest is powered by Healthspan Elite ⚡️

Healthspan Elite is a science-led sports nutrition range developed in collaboration with leading experts to support athletic performance, recovery, and health.

Use code: TCDIGEST25 for 25% off at https://www.healthspanelite.co.uk/ 💪

Study Details

This new study examined whether acute beetroot juice could improve metabolic, muscle oxygenation and cardiac responses during exercise in 12 healthy young men under normoxic and hypoxic conditions 🔍

Participants consumed 70 mL beetroot juice providing 400 mg nitrate or placebo 2.5 h before exercise 🥤

They completed 30 min of cycling at 70% HRmax in normoxia or simulated hypoxia equivalent to FiO₂ 14.5% 🚴

Key Findings

🏔️ Hypoxia substantially reduced the mechanical workload required to maintain the same heart rate

🩸 Oxygen saturation fell from ~97% in normoxia to ~83–84% in hypoxia

💪 Beetroot juice increased the workload sustained at 70% HRmax under normoxic conditions, but not significantly under hypoxia

😮‍💨 RPE was similar across all four conditions despite differences in external workload

🫁 Hypoxia reduced VO₂ and oxygen pulse compared with normoxia

❤️ In normoxia, beetroot juice significantly increased oxygen pulse versus placebo, although VO₂ itself was not significantly different

🩸 Deoxygenated haemoglobin was significantly higher with hypoxia + placebo than in all three other conditions

🌱 Importantly, muscle deoxygenation with beetroot juice under hypoxia was statistically similar to both normoxic conditions

…this suggests nitrate supplementation may attenuate the increased muscle oxygen extraction normally required during hypoxic exercise 🫜

🔄 RER was higher with hypoxia + placebo than normoxia + placebo and hypoxia + beetroot juice, potentially suggesting a smaller hypoxia-induced shift toward carbohydrate metabolism with beetroot juice

🫀 Stroke volume and cardiac output were unaffected by beetroot juice

Conclusion

Beetroot juice taken ~2.5 h before exercise may help maintain skeletal muscle oxygenation when training or competing in hypoxia, but whether this translates into better performance at altitude remains unclear ✅

Reference

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42738952/

Performance Nutrition Digest is powered by Healthspan Elite ⚡️

Healthspan Elite is a science-led sports nutrition range developed in collaboration with leading experts to support athletic performance, recovery, and health.

Use code: TCDIGEST25 for 25% off at https://www.healthspanelite.co.uk/ 💪

Study Details

This new study used ¹³C magnetic resonance spectroscopy to examine liver and muscle glycogen use during HIIT in 9 trained male cyclists 🔍

Participants completed 8 × 5-min maximal self-selected intervals with 1-min recovery 🚴

Trials compared placebo, 60 g/h carbohydrate, and carbohydrate plus a caffeine-containing multi-ingredient blend 🥤

Key Findings

💪 Without carbohydrate, muscle glycogen fell by ~50% across the session

🍞 Carbohydrate feeding reduced muscle glycogen utilisation by around 40% versus placebo

🧬 This provides direct evidence that exogenous carbohydrate can spare skeletal muscle glycogen even during high-intensity interval exercise

🫀 Liver glycogen use was comparatively small, averaging only ~12 g during the ~48-min session

↔️ Carbohydrate did not significantly spare liver glycogen, although utilisation was numerically ~5 g lower than placebo

🩸 Glucagon was lower with carbohydrate feeding, but plasma glucose remained similar between conditions

☕ Muscle glycogen sparing was not evident when carbohydrate was combined with caffeine, L-theanine, taurine, L-citrulline and citicoline

⚡ Importantly, this multi-ingredient condition produced ~2.8–3.8% higher power output during the final four intervals

🔥 Higher power was accompanied by greater lactate accumulation and greater disturbance to bicarbonate, base excess and pH

Conclusion

The lack of glycogen sparing with the caffeine-containing blend therefore probably reflected more work being performed, rather than caffeine directly accelerating glycogen breakdown 🧐

Exploratory results suggested some improvements in attention and reaction time with the multi-ingredient treatment, but these findings were not definitive 🔍

This study reinforces that muscle glycogen is the dominant glycogen source during HIIT, whereas liver glycogen contributes relatively little over this duration 🔋

Taking carbs during hard interval sessions may preserve muscle glycogen for subsequent training, while adding caffeine may allow athletes to sustain greater late-session intensity, effectively trading some glycogen sparing for higher training output ✅

Reference

https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajpendo.00139.2026

Performance Nutrition Digest is powered by Healthspan Elite ⚡️

Healthspan Elite is a science-led sports nutrition range developed in collaboration with leading experts to support athletic performance, recovery, and health.

Use code: TCDIGEST25 for 25% off at https://www.healthspanelite.co.uk/ 💪

Study Details

This field study continuously tracked gastrointestinal temperature during the 2025 Western States 100-mile ultramarathon in 23 finishers, including elite and recreational runners 🔍

Here are the key findings ⬇️

Key Findings

🌡️ Peak gastrointestinal temperature averaged 38.90°C, despite ambient temperatures ranging from ~5°C to 39.6°C

🔥 9 of 23 runners (39%) exceeded 39°C during the race

🚨 Only 2 runners exceeded 40°C, and just one remained above 40°C for more than 10 minutes

🏃 Faster finishers reached significantly higher peak temperatures, with peak TGI associated with shorter finishing time

🏆 The two hottest runners both finished within ~19 hours and placed inside the top 20

⚡ Higher running intensity and greater metabolic heat production likely contributed to the greater thermal strain in faster athletes

☀️ Elite runners also reached some of the hottest sections of the course during peak daytime temperatures, increasing environmental heat exposure

📈 Across the race, gastrointestinal temperature increased by ~0.16°C for every 10°C rise in ambient temperature

🏁 7 of 23 runners (30%) reached peak temperature during the final 2% of the race

⛰️ However, 6 runners peaked during the first 25%, highlighting the importance of course profile and exercise intensity rather than ambient temperature alone

💧 Body mass changed by an average of −1.8%, ranging from −7.4% to +6.4%

↔️ Body mass change was not associated with peak temperature or finishing time

🧊 The relatively modest temperatures despite extreme heat may partly reflect lower ultra-running intensities alongside widespread heat acclimation, pacing and cooling strategies

Conclusion

Hyperthermia risk during ultras may therefore be greatest during high-intensity sections and late-race surges, rather than simply after prolonged exposure to heat 🔍

Faster athletes racing hot ultras should prioritise cooling and pacing around the hottest, hardest sections and maintain cooling opportunities late in the race, especially before a finishing push; body mass change alone should not be used to judge thermal strain ✅

Reference

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42693486/

Performance Nutrition Digest is powered by Healthspan Elite ⚡️

Healthspan Elite is a science-led sports nutrition range developed in collaboration with leading experts to support athletic performance, recovery, and health.

Use code: TCDIGEST25 for 25% off at https://www.healthspanelite.co.uk/ 💪

Study Details

This new study tested whether 3 mg/kg caffeine alters substrate use during 1 hour of outdoor running at Fatmax in 14 endurance-trained runners 🔍

Participants consumed 3 mg/kg caffeine or placebo 60 minutes before exercise ☕

Runners completed 1 hour at their individual Fatmax intensity on a ~1.97 km outdoor running course 🏃

Key Findings

🔥 Caffeine significantly increased total fat oxidation from ~33.6 to ~40.5 g across the 1-hour run

📈 This represented roughly a 20% increase in fat utilisation compared with placebo

🍞 Carbohydrate oxidation decreased from ~93.2 to ~77.3 g with caffeine

🔄 Caffeine therefore shifted substrate utilisation toward greater fat and lower carbohydrate use during submaximal running

😮‍💨 Rating of perceived exertion was also lower with caffeine, averaging 8 versus 9 with placebo

🫀 Heart rate was not significantly affected, suggesting the lower RPE occurred despite a similar cardiovascular workload

🌳 Importantly, the study was performed outdoors rather than under tightly controlled laboratory conditions, improving its relevance to real-world endurance exercise

Conclusion

Caffeine can be effective at acutely increasing fat oxidation during prolonged exercise performed around Fatmax 🔥

Greater fat oxidation does not automatically mean improved endurance performance, as this study assessed substrate use rather than race or time-trial performance ⚠️

For athletes completing longer easy-to-moderate endurance sessions, ~3 mg/kg caffeine taken ~60 min beforehand may increase fat use and make the effort feel slightly easier, although this does not necessarily translate to better performance or mean carbohydrate fuelling should be reduced ✅

Reference

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42686132/

Performance Nutrition Digest is powered by Healthspan Elite ⚡️

Healthspan Elite is a science-led sports nutrition range developed in collaboration with leading experts to support athletic performance, recovery, and health.

Use code: TCDIGEST25 for 25% off at https://www.healthspanelite.co.uk/ 💪

Study Details

This new study tested whether 500 mg cacao polyphenols taken before exercise could reduce neuromuscular fatigue in 19 healthy young men 🔍

Participants consumed cacao polyphenols or placebo 45 minutes before a sustained ankle dorsiflexion task 🍫

The task involved holding an isometric contraction at 25% of maximal voluntary contraction until failure 🦵

Key Findings

⏱️ Time to task failure was virtually identical between conditions: 515 vs 519 seconds

❌ Cacao polyphenols therefore did not improve exercise performance

🧠 Voluntary activation, a marker of central motor drive, fell after exercise in both conditions

📈 However, voluntary activation was significantly higher with cacao polyphenols immediately after exercise and 1 minute into recovery

💡 The between-condition difference in voluntary activation was ~14.7% immediately post-exercise and ~8.8% after 1 minute

🎯 This suggests cacao polyphenols attenuated the development of central fatigue

🧠 EMG responses did not differ between conditions, so the central-fatigue finding was specific to voluntary activation

💧 Salivary chromogranin A, a marker of sympathetic stress, increased after exercise with placebo but not with cacao polyphenols

Conclusion

Acute cacao polyphenol intake may therefore preserve central motor drive and blunt autonomic stress ✅

But may not result in improved performance ❌

Possible mechanisms involving the gut–brain axis, noradrenergic signalling or cerebral blood flow were proposed but not directly measured ☝️

Reference

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42706654/

Performance Nutrition Digest is powered by Healthspan Elite ⚡️

Healthspan Elite is a science-led sports nutrition range developed in collaboration with leading experts to support athletic performance, recovery, and health.

Use code: TCDIGEST25 for 25% off at https://www.healthspanelite.co.uk/ 💪

Study Details

This new meta-analysis synthesised 57 studies (41 studies in male players and 16 in female players) on energy expenditure and macronutrient intake in professional and semi-professional soccer players aged ≥16 years 🔍

Here are the key findings ⬇️

Key Findings

🪫 Male players consumed ~2758 kcal/day while estimated expenditure averaged ~3541 kcal/day (-741 kcal/day energy deficit)

🪫 Female players consumed ~2019 kcal/day versus expenditure of ~2570 kcal/day, (-544 kcal/day energy deficit)

🧮 After adjusting intake upwards by 19% for potential dietary underreporting, the deficit remained significant in males at ~146–212 kcal/day

↔️ In females, the adjusted energy deficit was ~153–158 kcal/day and was no longer statistically significant

🍞 Male carb intake averaged 5.42 g/kg/day pre-season and 4.62 g/kg/day in-season

🙋‍♀️ Female players averaged 3.79 g/kg/day carb in-season

📊 Average carb intake generally fell within UEFA recommendations, but tended to cluster towards the lower end of recommended ranges

🥩 Protein averaged 1.78 g/kg/day in males, within UEFA recommendations but again near the lower end

🙋‍♀️ Female protein intake averaged 1.57 g/kg/day, slightly below UEFA’s recommended 1.6–2.2 g/kg/day range

🥑 Fat intake was ~29.4% of energy in males and 30.4% in females, broadly aligning with recommendations

🏃 Wide players reported the highest carb intake at ~5.20 g/kg/day, while goalkeepers averaged ~4.15 g/kg/day

↔️ No clear positional differences emerged for energy, protein or fat intake

Conclusion

The findings suggest energy, carbohydrate and protein intake offer the greatest opportunities for nutritional optimisation in elite soccer 🎯

Practitioners should prioritise individualised energy and carbohydrate periodisation around training and match demands, alongside adequate daily protein intake ✅

Reference

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42693486/

Performance Nutrition Digest is powered by Healthspan Elite ⚡️

Healthspan Elite is a science-led sports nutrition range developed in collaboration with leading experts to support athletic performance, recovery, and health.

Use code: TCDIGEST25 for 25% off at https://www.healthspanelite.co.uk/ 💪

Study Details

This new study compared 100% fruit juice, a glucose-based sports drink and water for post-exercise rehydrat…

Read more

Study Details

This new study examined the effects of 4 days of low carb availability during energy balance in 8 tra…

Read more

Study Details

This new study tested whether carb availability modifies endocrine and metabolic responses to 4 days of low energy a…

Read more

Study Details

This new study examined whether essential amino acid supplementation improved musc…

Read more

Study Details

This new review by the ISSN aimed to provide scientific clarity on sodium bicarbonate use for performance 🔍

Here are the

Read more