A new BMJ Open paper highlights an important problem: fluent answers are not always accurate answers. People are turning to chatbots like ChatGPT and Gemini to get health advice, athletes and practitioners use it to get nutrition advice or updates… or performance advice. But how reliable are these chatbots when the topic is health, nutrition or performance? I was fortunate to be part of a group of established researchers that aimed to address exactly that question. In a stud

The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) in sport has not only transformed workflows; it has triggered an emotional response. Excitement, curiosity, scepticism and fear coexist in equal measure. Among nutritionists, coaches, sport scientists and performance staff, one question has come to dominate the discussion: " Will AI replace sports practitioners?".  The question is understandable. When software can automatically generate fuelling plans, detect performance trends o

Over the past decade, sports nutrition has quietly become one of the most technologically driven areas of performance support. Sports nutritionists, sports dietitians and athletes now interact with artificial intelligence (AI) every day, often without realising it: readiness scores pushed to their phones upon waking, automated messages interpreting training data after a ride or run, and wearable-generated summaries telling athletes whether they recovered “well” or “poorly.”

Artificial intelligence (AI) has rapidly become one of the most frequently referenced concepts in high-performance sport. It is discussed in recruitment, in training planning, in tactical decision-making, and increasingly in sports nutrition. Yet although the term is used widely, the understanding of what AI is, how it works and what the underlying mechanisms are, is often limited. To practitioners sitting in the applied performance space (coaches, sport scientists, nutrition

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, can reduce pain sensations. In a previous blog , we discussed the mechanisms of NSAIDs action. This blog discusses the use, as well as contraindications to the use of NSAIDs in an athletic arena. When used in a sport setting, such as during endurance running, NSAIDs can compromise gut integrity, kidney function and cardiovascular health. Despite these risks, many athletes still use them. Below we outline the risks and describe

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, are a class of drug that is commonly used (worldwide) to reduce inflammation and pain. As we will see in the next blog by Dr Nick Tiller, NSAIDs are also used in sport for performance reasons. To understand what NSAIDs are and how they work, we need to have a basic understanding of the inflammatory response. This blog outlines what NSAIDs are, how they work, and provides the basis of their use in sport. Prostaglandin formatio

Gut health plays a crucial role in athletic performance, recovery, and immune support, with prebiotics and probiotics often used to enhance these outcomes. However, there is growing interest in postbiotics, refering to non-living microbial preparations that may offer similar benefits. This blog explores the science behind postbiotics and their potential role in supporting athlete health and performance. https://www.mysportscience.com/post/probiotics-it-may-not-all-be-positive

Although altitude training had been used for many years, the last few years it has become incredibly popular with endurance athletes. Athletes and trainers seem compelled to include hypoxia (real or simulated altitude) in their training regimen expecting additional gains through physiological adaptations (See infographic). The primary aim is to induce adaptations in blood (haematological adaptations: e.g., increase in haemoglobin mass), for an improved oxygen delivery at the

When we recommend carbohydrate intake for the day, it is often expressed as grams per kg bodyweight. For example, for most sports this will be between 5 and 8 g/kg with values up to 12 g/kg on some days, in some sports. Protein intake is also expressed per kg body weight or per kg fat-free mass and this makes sense. However, when it comes to carbohydrate intake during exercise, recommendations are provided in grams per hour. A recent study challenged this view. Should we real

The definition of relative energy deficiency in sport (REDs) is that low energy availability (LEA) is the cause of a wide range of symptoms that are common amongst athletes. In the current REDs model, low energy availability is depicted at the centre of a wheel with numerous spokes. Each spoke represents a grouping of symptoms or suggested consequences of LEA. Considering LEA is central to the REDs model, this blog asks the question: can we measure LEA? Challenges defining lo

In our recent paper, “ Does REDs exist? ”, we raise some important questions about the REDs concept and supporting evidence (1). This blog covers whether low energy availability (LEA), considered the cause of REDs, leads to ‘immunosuppression’ or ‘immunological dysfunction’ in athletes, as has been suggested. Interest in this topic has been stoked by observations that leanness and LEA are associated with the recall of illness symptoms in athletes. Are infections a serious pro

“Does REDs exist?” is the title of a paper we recently published (1). After many years assuming REDs was based on a solid evidence base,...

The fourth edition of the textbook Sport Nutrition by Professor Michael Gleeson and myself was published on 5th June 2024. For the last 2 years we have been working closely with the publishers Human Kinetics to get this 700-page book published. A lot has happened in the world of sports nutrition since the last edition in 2018 and the new textbook reflects this! Here we will briefly discuss what is new in this textbook and why it should be adopted for college, university and

There are countless times I have watched sports on TV and commentators provide their insights on the regulation of fuel use. “And then you switch to fat metabolism” is one of the commonly heard catch phrases. Last weekend this happened again when I was watching cycling. But it is a myth that we have a switch that allows us to select different fuels. How does it work? Please pass this one on to TV commentators. Energy for muscle contraction When we exercise the muscle contract

More protein is often considered better. Here we discuss findings from a study linking a high protein intake to CVD risk?

In a series of previous blogs on mysportscience, the role of blood glucose was discussed and we highlighted what insights Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) can provide athletes now and possibly in the future. In this blog, Dr Nicola Guess highlights the multifactorial nature of glucose metabolism, challenging the notion of straightforward causal links between food intake and glycemic responses. In previous blogs Dr Mike Riddell and I discussed opportunities and also some l

Current sports nutrition guidelines recommend distributing protein intake in multiple equal meals throughout the day (1). This concept of...

Oxygenated water has been a topic of interest for many years. Products appear on the market with impressive claims about health and...

Continuous glucose monitoring (or CGM) is a body-worn “wearable” device that measures and displays interstitial sugar (glucose) levels. This technology has been used as a glucose management tool by individuals living with diabetes for decades but is now becoming available for people without diabetes, including endurance athletes, to help fine tune their nutrition and training activities. In a series of blogs Dr Mike Riddell and I will explore what CGM exactly measures, how ac

Sugar is often labelled as being “bad” for health. Some headlines claim sugar causes obesity, as well as cancer, cardiovascular disease or premature death. In contrast, sugars are labelled as “good” for athletes during exercise. Various sports nutrition products are marketed based on their high sugar content to fuel performance. In the first blog in this series, we discussed what sugar is. In the second blog we discussed the importance of sugar in metabolism. Now we will tu