Nutrition for tactical athletes 🪖🍽️
Military, firefighters, rescue responders.
Nutrition for Tactical Athletes: Insights, Applications and Research Gaps
Study Details
This new review summarised the available data on nutrition for tactical athletes including…
🪖 Military
🚒 Firefighters
⛑️ Rescue responders
Unlike sports competitions, tactical operations often involve…
🧭 Unpredictable scenarios
🗓️ Prolonged exertion
🍽️ Limited food/water
🪫 Disrupted recovery windows
💤 Disrupted circadian rhythms
Here are the key findings ⬇️
Key Findings
🔥 Energy expenditure if tactical athletes can range from 3500 - 7400 kcal/day
🔋 Energy availability (> 40 kcal/kgFFM/day) is crucial for sustaining performance and preventing fatigue
Pre-Operation Fuelling 📈
🍞 Aim for 1 - 4 g/kg of portable, easily digested carbohydrate before operation
💧 Consume with fluids, based on practicality and logistics
In-Operation Fuelling 📍
🥤 If < 35 g carbohydrate is consumed before operation: aim for 80 g carbohydrate + 6 g essential amino acids + fluids during operation
☕️ Use lower caffeine doses (40 - 200 mg), especially during extended operations
⏰ During extended operation consider low and frequent (0.3 mg/kg/hr) or 2-hr repeated dose (< 200 mg for up to 800 mg/day) for caffeine protocols
Aggressive Recovery & Rehydration 🔋
🎯 0.8 g/kg/hr carbohydrate + 0.2 - 0.4 g/kg/hr protein, based on practicality and logistics
💦 Replace 100 - 150% of sweat loss within 1 hr
For tactical athletes who are not heat acclimatised…
🍝 High carbohydrate availability during hot extended operations
🥔 Low-FODMAP diet may reduce gastrointestinal discomfort
🧊 Pre-cooling with ice slurry can mitigate thermal strain
SUPPLEMENTS 💊
✅ Creatine
✅ Nitrate
✅ Beta-alanine
✅ Bicarbonate
Reference
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41348147/
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