The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) is a professional organization for exercise scientists, sports medicine doctors, sports dietitians, sports psychologists, and other health professionals, educators, and researchers who work with athletic people. ACSM’s Annual Meeting is a hotspot for the latest sports nutrition news. This year, more than 4,000 members gathered in Salt Lake City to present their research and discuss current trends and topics. Here are a few sports nutrition highlights that might be of interest.
• Gut issues: Athletes commonly struggle with gastro-intestinal (GI) issues, ranging from nausea to diarrhea. Athletes who participate in running sports that jostle the intestines or exercise in the heat for prolonged bouts are particularly prone to GI distress. One way to resolve the problem is to train the gut by routinely exercising after having eaten a meal or ingested a lot of pre-exercise water.
A second way to minimize GI distress is to eat foods low in specific kinds of carbohydrates referred to as FODMAPs (Fermentable Oligo-, Di-, Mono-saccharides And Polyols) for a few days before an important athletic event. Foods high in FODMAPS that runners commonly enjoy (and might want to avoid pre-event) include onion, garlic, apple, and broccoli. Low FODMAP foods include rice, potato, and all animal sources of protein. Lists of high and low FODMAP foods are readily available at KateScarlata.com. Kate is a registered dietitian and FODMAP expert.
• Sleep: Sleep is an important part of a training program. Sleep is restorative and realigns your circadian rhythms. Many athletes, including runners, suffer from sleep deprivation due to early morning or late evening workouts, travel to races that disrupts normal sleep patterns, and the time demands of work, social life, and training. Given each cell in the body has its own circadian rhythm, sleep is important to enable the body to function normally. Hence, you want to establish a routine so that, as often as possible, you eat, exercise, and sleep at similar times each day. This can help boost both performance and overall health, appetite regulation, and well-being. People with disrupted circadian rhythms commonly experience more health issues (heart disease, diabetes, hunger that contributes to weight gain), with women being more sensitive than men to circadian disruption.
• Gut microbes influence your muscles and your ability to exercise—and vice versa. Exercise influences your gut’s microbiome, which influences your immune system and overall health. Ultrarunners and Ironman triathletes who do hours more exercise than most of us tend to have higher amounts of health-protective microbes.
The microbes in your gut thrive on fiber-rich foods such as whole grains (brown rice, oatmeal) and abundant fiber-rich fruits (berries, apples) and veggies (sweet potato, peas). Fiber is particularly important as you age, given the robustness of the microbiome tends to diminish with aging.
• Given the plethora of trendy info about nutrition supplements, many athletes are taking products that make amazing claims but have no science to back them up. Buyer beware: the nutrition supplement industry is poorly regulated! Supplement makers do not have to prove their products are safe. Only after a product has come on the market and created health issues does the FDA step in.
Nancy Clark MS RD counsels both fitness exercisers and competitive athletes in the Boston-area (617-962-4382). Her best-selling Sports Nutrition Guidebook is a popular resource. For more information, visit NancyClarkRD.com.