Super Digestible - February 2025 ✅
You monthly nutrition science cheat sheet.
What is Super Digestible?
Every day I post a research breakdown of the latest nutrition science related to human performance, health and the power of food. The daily 1-min reads are a great way to stay on top of the research. But, I want to make actionable summaries even more accessible 📝
Therefore, I’m starting a monthly newsletter containing a one-to-two sentence summary of each study I’ve reviewed that month. Focusing specifically on how you can apply these findings in your own practice ✅
Each study will be filtered into: DO, CONSIDER, DON’T. Based on the research findings, paired with my professional experience in the world of elite sport 🏆
This is your monthly research cheat sheet, so you can stay at the very pinnacle of science-based performance nutrition 🏔
A huge shoutout to
who inspired this format. I highly, highly recommend following Daniel’s Endurance: Ideas & Implementation Substack.The Super Digestible newsletter will be for paid subscribers but will be available for everyone for January 2025 and February 2025 (this is the last month!).
Each item is linked to the original research breakdown. Just click on the DO, CONSIDER, DON’T 👈
Please note that paid subscribers have access to all previous research breakdowns via the Performance Archive 📚
✅ DO these things…
DO: Prioritise intra-workout fuelling of ~80g of carbohydrate during prolonged (≥ 90-mins) endurance exercise to maintain performance when in an energy deficit ⚡️
DO: Consume omega-3 daily (2 - 4 g/day) via food and/or supplements to reduce fat mass and improve various health outcomes and lower body muscular strength, when you are following a regular exercise programme 🐟
DO: Consume a diet that has the following elements to prevent sports injuries; carbs pre- and post-training, 20 - 30g protein + carbs within 30-min post-training, daily healthy fat intake (e.g. omega-3, fish, nuts, seeds), includes dairy, leafy greens, berries, citrus fruits and fluid intake to match hydration needs 🎯
DO: Use cold water immersion (7°C to 15°C for at least 30 seconds) to reduce stress for up to 12-hrs, improve sleep and quality of life 🧊
DO: Use chewing gum throughout the day to help control appetite signals including; hunger, desire to eat and desire to eat sweet snacks 🧠
DO: Try to get youth athletes to sleep more than 8-hrs, improvements in this area is associated with improved cognitive functions (incl. reaction time), if they fail to meet this target cognitive function is significantly impaired 💤
DO: Supplement with creatine (3 - 5 g/day) as higher dietary creatine intakes are associated with significantly reduced cancer risk 📉
DO: Include regular intakes of anthocyanins from foods such as berries, cherries, grapes, red onion and aubergine in your diet, as it is associated with improved cognitive outcomes (incl. working memory, attention) and improved mood 🧠
DO: Use caffeine gum (~3 mg/kg) to enhance resistance-training performance, especially if time-limited before exercise (e.g. early morning) due to it’s fast digestibility 🏋️♂️
DO: Combine specific nutritional and exercise-related interventions to combat age-related conditions (incl. sarcopenia, osteoporosis, frailty) 💪
DO: Consume regular intakes of dietary polyphenols (incl. pomegranate, cranberries, blueberries, elderberries, green tea, cocoa, grapes) to positively influence the gut microbiome 🦠
DO: Design educational interventions to combat low-energy availability (LEA) that include the following six elements; in-person delivery, at least two sessions, delivered by credentialed practitioners (e.g. SENR), with expertise in sports nutrition, containing content specific to sport, explicitly introduce LEA and consequences to health and performance 🎓
DO: Maintain a consistent bedtime for youth athletes as varying bedtime impairs sleep quality and efficiency ⏰
DO: Add caffeine (3 mg/kg) to pre-exercise ice slushies and consume 30-min before exercise in the heat to enhance time-trial performance 🧊
DO: During the pre-operative phase of ACL surgery (~ 2 - 4 weeks pre-surgery), consume 20 - 40g protein post-rehab exercise, 2 - 5 g/day omega-3, load creatine (20 g/day), consume 2 g/kg/day protein and use a pre-surgery carb supplement 🩼
DO: During the early rehab phase of ACL surgery (2 weeks - 3 months post-surgery), consume 2 - 5 g/day omega-3, use whey protein (20 - 40g) post-rehab exercise, increase protein intake to > 2 g/kg/day, supplement with collagen peptides 10 g prior to rehab sessions 🩼
DO: During the mid-stage of ACL surgery (3 - 6 months post-surgery), use whey protein (20 - 40g) post-rehab exercise, maintain protein intake at > 2 g/kg/day, supplement with collagen peptides 10 g prior to rehab sessions, supplement with creatine (5 g/day)🩼
DO: During the late-stage of ACL surgery (6 - 9 months post-surgery), use whey protein (20 - 40g) post-rehab exercise, supplement with collagen peptides 10 g prior to rehab sessions, supplement with creatine (5 g/day), use caffeine (3 mg/kg) before select performance-based sessions 🩼
🤔 CONSIDER these things…
CONSIDER: BCAA supplementation (0.17 g/kg) 30-min prior to explosive power exercise (e.g. weightlifting) to maximise rate of force development and performance⚡️
CONSIDER: Skipping breakfast if you want to drop body fat and you only participate in resistance-training, as long as you refuel appropriately (with protein) skipping breakfast will have no impact on performance or training adaptations 🏋️
CONSIDER: For female athletes, a lower protein intake (~15 g) after resistance-training or simply use an essential amino acid supplement (1.5 g), these small doses appear to have similar effects as your standard 20g protein serving 🤷♀️
CONSIDER: Supplementing with Gymnema Sylvestre (12 - 24 mg/day) to help reduce sugar cravings 🍬
CONSIDER: Monitoring high dietary intakes of plant-based protein, fiber, omega-6 fatty acids and low dietary intakes of saturated fat, as this dietary pattern is associated with higher risk of relative energy deficiency (REDs) ⚠️
CONSIDER: Supplementing with 800 IU/day vitamin D, 2,000 mg/day calcium, turmeric / ginger / omega-3 supplements post-training to prevent sports injuries 🦴
CONSIDER: Selecting a competitive weight category close to habitual bodyweight in weight-class sports as repeated weight cycling (weight cutting followed by weight gain) can increased risk of negative eating behaviours (e.g. binge eating) 🥊
CONSIDER: Supplementing with the following products for football performance and health; l-arginine (6 g/day for 7-days), BCAAs (7 g pre-exercise), creatine (3 - 5 g/day), vitamin D (5,000 IU/day), B vitamins, vitamin C (1,000 mg), vitamin E (800 mg), iron (80 mg/day for 3-weeks) ⚽️
CONSIDER: Combining caffeine (5 mg/kg) with taurine (50 mg/kg) to enhance endurance and cognitive function when exercising at altitude 🏔
CONSIDER: That total daily training duration has a greater impact on youth athlete sleep than session frequency ⏰
CONSIDER: Supplementing with ashwagandha 600 mg/day for at least 14-days to improve recovery and sleep 📈
CONSIDER: Monitoring RMRratio and/or blood total triiodothyronine levels during preseason as this may predict in-season performance 🔍
CONSIDER: Combining creatine supplementation with taurine (50 mg/kg 60-min prior to exercise) to enhance endurance performance in hot and humid conditions 🥵
🚨 DON’T do these things…
DON’T: Skip breakfast if you have performance-based endurance sessions (> 60-mins) later that day ❌
DON’T: Feed your young children (~3 yrs) high-quantities of ultraprocessed foods (UPFs), higher UPF intake at this age is associated with higher indicators of obesity just two years later, the more whole-foods the better ‼️
DON’T: Employ fasted exercise if you want to improve glucose or fat metabolism, it is no better than fed exercise for metabolic outcomes 🍽
DON’T: Schedule late night training sessions (finishing later than 20:30) for youth athletes, it significantly impairs sleep 😴
DON’T: Have significant periods of energy deficit during preseason, it will likely impair in-season performance, come into preseason in good shape to start 🪫
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