Media reports, company marketing efforts, and self-proclaimed experts can make interpreting sports nutrition confusing. Good science is the best tool that we have to figure out how something is influencing our health. Finding out “what works” isn’t usually the result of a single study, but often years of research from various disciplines. To evaluate a diet, health claims, exercise regime, practices, or products, you should consult sources who use the best scientific evidence available while considering cumulative scientific knowledge in that area.
I’ve put together a list of sports nutrition resources who use this evidence-based approach.
General Sports Nutrition Resources
- Australian Institute of Sport
- Coaching Association of Canada – provides excellent sports nutrition information.
- Gatorade Sports Science Institute. Practical advice for athletes based on research and education in hydration and nutrition science.
- Nancy Clark
- Sports Dietitians Australia is a good resource with fact sheets covering the latest sports nutrition information and advice on a wide range of topics.
- mysportscience.com. This site is produced by Asker Jeukendrup, a leading exercise physiologist and sports nutritionist. He aims to provide unbiased and objective view of a wide range of sports science and nutrition topics, using an evidence based approach. Asker has an impressive list of publications in the field, and is good at providing practical information. This is a great resource for coaches and athletes!
Sports Nutrition Books
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- Nancy Clark’s Sport Nutrition Guidebook by Nancy Clark
- Vegetarian Sports Nutrition by D. Enette Larson-Meyer
- Advanced Sport Nutrition by Dan Bernadot
- Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes by Monique Ryan
- Sports Nutrition: From Lab to Kitchen by Asker Jeurendrup
Sports Nutrition Research Update Resources
How to find out about the latest sports nutrition research:
- Pubmed. You’ll find more than 24 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. Increasingly, citations include links to full-text content from PubMed Central and publisher web sites.
- Infographics by Yann Le Meur. Summarizing complex studies can be a challenge. Exercise physiologist Yann Le Meur is helping make sports science research understandable for all, using graphics and simplified text to illustrate recent studies. Le Meur conducts research at the National Institute of Sport, Expertise, and Performance in Paris. If you like these graphic summaries, be sure to visit Yann Le Meur’s website, which he updates regularly with new research (or follow him on twitter at @YLMSportScience). In addition to sports nutrition research updates, you’ll find recent summaries of interval training, warmup protocols, sleep, injury rehab or prevention, recovery, strength training, and much more.
Resources for Athletes with Type 1 Diabetes
- Diabetes and Sports Nutrition (Australian Institute of Sport)
- Diabetic Athlete’s Handbook (Sheri Colberg)
- National Athletic Trainers’ Association Position Statement: Management of the Athlete With Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (Journal of Athletic Training, 2007)
General Nutrition & Health Resources
Misinformation on nutrition and health seems more prevalent than evidence-based information. And it’s becoming more challenging to figure out just who the experts are. The links below link to resources that consider the body of scientific evidence in nutrition and health.
Eating Disorders Resources
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BodySense: A Positive Body Image Initiative is an outreach initiative for athletes, coaches, and parents dedicated to fostering positive body image in male and female athletes to proactively prevent disordered eating.
The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) is the leading non-profit organization in the United States advocating on behalf of and supporting individuals and families affected by eating disorders.
- The National Eating Disorder Information Centre (NEDIC). A Canadian non-profit providing resources on eating disorders & weight preoccupation.
- Eating disorders resource catalogue
- EDReferral – a site dedicated to the prevention and treatment of eating disorders.
Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) Resources
- Health for Performance. Terrific and comprehensive resource for coaches, parents, and athletes.
Sports Nutrition for Young Athletes
- Youth – Sports Nutrition for Youth: A Handbook for Coaches (Alberta Health Services)
- Youth – Fueling the young athlete (Coach.ca)
- Youth – Sports Nutrition for Young Athletes (Anita Bean)
- Youth – Eating to compete in high school (Christopher D. Jensen, PhD, MPH, RD)
- Youth – Sport nutrition for young athletes (Canadian Pediatric Society position statement)
- Youth – Sport nutrition for young athletes (SIRC)
- Youth – Mom’s Team Nutrition Channel – great ideas for fueling and everyday eating for young athletes (Mom’s Team)
- Youth – Female athlete triad syndrome a growing concern->active girls need a lot of calories!
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Reviewed and Updated December 14, 2017
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