Sports nutrition is a constantly evolving field with hundreds of research papers published annually. In the year 2017 alone, 2082 articles were published under the key words ‘sport nutrition’. Consequently, staying current with the relevant literature is often difficult. This paper is an ongoing update of the sports nutrition review article originally published as the lead paper to launch the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition in 2004 and updated in 2010. It presents a well-referenced overview of the current state of the science related to optimization of training and performance enhancement through exercise training and nutrition. Notably, due to the accelerated pace and size at which the literature base in this research area grows, the topics discussed will focus on muscle hypertrophy and performance enhancement. As such, this paper provides an overview of: 1.) How ergogenic aids and dietary supplements are defined in terms of governmental regulation and oversight; 2.) How dietary supplements are legally regulated in the United States; 3.) How to evaluate the scientific merit of nutritional supplements; 4.) General nutritional strategies to optimize performance and enhance recovery; and, 5.) An overview of our current understanding of nutritional approaches to augment skeletal muscle hypertrophy and the potential ergogenic value of various dietary and supplemental approaches. This updated review is to provide ISSN members and individuals interested in sports nutrition with information that can be implemented in educational, research or practical settings and serve as a foundational basis for determining the efficacy and safety of many common sport nutrition products and their ingredients.

https://researchbank.swinburne.edu.au/file/15e35c6c-4774-4c52-9925-46c78269bed4/1/2018-kerksick-issn_exercise_sports.pdf

ISSN exercise & sports nutrition review update: research & recommendations

Objective To systematically review, summarise and appraise findings of published meta-analyses that examined the effects of caffeine on exercise performance. Design Umbrella review. Data sources Twelve databases. Eligibility criteria for selecting studies Meta-analyses that examined the effects of caffeine ingestion on exercise performance. Results Eleven reviews (with a total of 21 meta-analyses) were included, all being of moderate or high methodological quality (assessed using the Assessing the Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews 2 checklist). In the meta-analyses, caffeine was ergogenic for aerobic endurance, muscle strength, muscle endurance, power, jumping performance and exercise speed. However, not all analyses provided a definite direction for the effect of caffeine when considering the 95% prediction interval. Using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation criteria the quality of evidence was generally categorised as moderate (with some low to very low quality of evidence). Most individual studies included in the published meta-analyses were conducted among young men. Summary/conclusion Synthesis of the currently available meta-analyses suggest that caffeine ingestion improves exercise performance in a broad range of exercise tasks. Ergogenic effects of caffeine on muscle endurance, muscle strength, anaerobic power and aerobic endurance were substantiated by moderate quality of evidence coming from moderate-to-high quality systematic reviews. For other outcomes, we found moderate quality reviews that presented evidence of very low or low quality. It seems that the magnitude of the effect of caffeine is generally greater for aerobic as compared with anaerobic exercise. More primary studies should be conducted among women, middle-aged and older adults to improve the generalisability of these findings.

https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/bjsports/54/11/681.full.pdf

Wake up and smell the coffee: caffeine supplementation and exercise performance—an umbrella review of 21 published meta-analyses

The popularity of natural bodybuilding is increasing; however, evidence-based recommendations for it are lacking. This paper reviewed the scientific literature relevant to competition preparation on nutrition and supplementation, resulting in the following recommendations. Caloric intake should be set at a level that results in bodyweight losses of approximately 0.5 to 1%/wk to maximize muscle retention. Within this caloric intake, most but not all bodybuilders will respond best to consuming 2.3-3.1 g/kg of lean body mass per day of protein, 15-30% of calories from fat, and the reminder of calories from carbohydrate. Eating three to six meals per day with a meal containing 0.4-0.5 g/kg bodyweight of protein prior and subsequent to resistance training likely maximizes any theoretical benefits of nutrient timing and frequency. However, alterations in nutrient timing and frequency appear to have little effect on fat loss or lean mass retention. Among popular supplements, creatine monohydrate, caffeine and beta-alanine appear to have beneficial effects relevant to contest preparation, however others do not or warrant further study. The practice of dehydration and electrolyte manipulation in the final days and hours prior to competition can be dangerous, and may not improve appearance. Increasing carbohydrate intake at the end of preparation has a theoretical rationale to improve appearance, however it is understudied. Thus, if carbohydrate loading is pursued it should be practiced prior to competition and its benefit assessed individually. Finally, competitors should be aware of the increased risk of developing eating and body image disorders in aesthetic sport and therefore should have access to the appropriate mental health professionals.

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Evidence-based recommendations for natural bodybuilding contest preparation: nutrition and supplementation

Position Statement: The International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) bases the following position stand on a critical analysis of the literature regarding the effects of diet types (macronutrient composition; eating styles) and their influence on body composition. The ISSN has concluded the following. 1) There is a multitude of diet types and eating styles, whereby numerous subtypes fall under each major dietary archetype. 2) All body composition assessment methods have strengths and limitations. 3) Diets primarily focused on fat loss are driven by a sustained caloric deficit. The higher the baseline body fat level, the more aggressively the caloric deficit may be imposed. Slower rates of weight loss can better preserve lean mass (LM) in leaner subjects. 4) Diets focused primarily on accruing LM are driven by a sustained caloric surplus to facilitate anabolic processes and support increasing resistance-training demands. The composition and magnitude of the surplus, as well as training status of the subjects can influence the nature of the gains. 5) A wide range of dietary approaches (low-fat to low-carbohydrate/ketogenic, and all points between) can be similarly effective for improving body composition. 6) Increasing dietary protein to levels significantly beyond current recommendations for athletic populations may result in improved body composition. Higher protein intakes (2.3–3.1 g/kg FFM) may be required to maximize muscle retention in lean, resistance-trained subjects under hypocaloric conditions. Emerging research on very high protein intakes (>3 g/kg) has demonstrated that the known thermic, satiating, and LM-preserving effects of dietary protein might be amplified in resistance-training subjects. 7) The collective body of intermittent caloric restriction research demonstrates no significant advantage over daily caloric restriction for improving body composition. 8) The long-term success of a diet depends upon compliance and suppression or circumvention of mitigating factors such as adaptive thermogenesis. 9) There is a paucity of research on women and older populations, as well as a wide range of untapped permutations of feeding frequency and macronutrient distribution at various energetic balances combined with training. Behavioral and lifestyle modification strategies are still poorly researched areas of weight management.

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International society of sports nutrition position stand: diets and body composition

Background Chronic inflammation and oxidative balance are associated with poor diet quality and risk of cancer and other chronic diseases. A diet-inflammation/oxidative balance association may relate to evolutionary discordance. Objective We investigated associations between 2 diet pattern scores, the Paleolithic and the Mediterranean, and circulating concentrations of 2 related biomarkers, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), an acute inflammatory protein, and F2-isoprostane, a reliable marker of in vivo lipid peroxidation. Methods In a pooled cross-sectional study of 30- to 74-y-old men and women in an elective outpatient colonoscopy population (n = 646), we created diet scores from responses on Willett food-frequency questionnaires and measured plasma hsCRP and F2-isoprostane concentrations by ELISA and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, respectively. Both diet scores were calculated and categorized into quintiles, and their associations with biomarker concentrations were estimated with the use of general linear models to calculate and compare adjusted geometric means, and via unconditional ordinal logistic regression. Results There were statistically significant trends for decreasing geometric mean plasma hsCRP and F2-isoprostane concentrations with increasing quintiles of the Paleolithic and Mediterranean diet scores. The multivariable-adjusted ORs comparing those in the highest with those in the lowest quintiles of the Paleolithic and Mediterranean diet scores were 0.61 (95% CI: 0.36, 1.05; P-trend = 0.06) and 0.71 (95% CI: 0.42, 1.20; P-trend = 0.01), respectively, for a higher hsCRP concentration, and 0.51 (95% CI: 0.27, 0.95; P-trend 0.01) and 0.39 (95% CI: 0.21, 0.73; P-trend = 0.01), respectively, for a higher F2-isoprostane concentration. Conclusion These findings suggest that diets that are more Paleolithic- or Mediterranean-like may be associated with lower levels of systemic inflammation and oxidative stress in humans.

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Paleolithic and Mediterranean Diet Pattern Scores Are Inversely Associated with Biomarkers of Inflammation and Oxidative Balance in Adults

The purpose of this study was to evaluate two practical interval training protocols on cardiorespiratory fitness, lipids and body composition in overweight/obese women. Thirty women (mean ± SD; weight: 88.1 ± 15.9 kg; BMI: 32.0 ± 6.0 kg · m2) were randomly assigned to ten 1-min high-intensity intervals (90%VO2 peak, 1 min recovery) or five 2-min high-intensity intervals (80–100% VO2 peak, 1 min recovery) or control. Peak oxygen uptake (VO2 peak), peak power output (PPO), body composition and fasting blood lipids were evaluated before and after 3 weeks of training, completed 3 days per week. Results from ANCOVA analyses demonstrated no significant training group differences for any primary variables (P > 0.05). When training groups were collapsed, 1MIN and 2MIN resulted in a significant increase in PPO (∆18.9 ± 8.5 watts; P = 0.014) and time to exhaustion (∆55.1 ± 16.4 s; P = 0.001); non-significant increase in VO2 peak (∆2.36 ± 1.34 ml · kg−1 · min−1; P = 0.185); and a significant decrease in fat ...

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Effects of high-intensity interval training on cardiometabolic risk factors in overweight/obese women

Citrulline is an increasingly common dietary supplement that is thought to enhance exercise performance by increasing nitric oxide production. In the last 5 years, several studies have investigated the effects of citrulline supplements on strength and power outcomes, with mixed results reported. To date, the current authors are unaware of any attempts to systematically review this emerging body of literature. The current study sought to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature describing the effects of citrulline supplementation on strength and power outcomes. A comprehensive, systematic search of three prominent research databases was performed to find peer-reviewed, English language, original research studies evaluating the effects of citrulline supplementation on indices of high-intensity exercise performance in healthy men and women. Outcomes included strength and power variables from performance tests involving multiple repetitive muscle actions of large muscle groups, consisting of either resistance training sets or sprints lasting 30 s or less. Tests involving isolated actions of small muscle groups or isolated attempts of single-jump tasks were not included for analysis due to differences in metabolic requirements. Studies were excluded from consideration if they lacked a placebo condition for comparison, were carried out in clinical populations, provided a citrulline dose of less than 3 g, provided the citrulline dose less than 30 min prior to exercise testing, or combined the citrulline ingredient with creatine, caffeine, nitrate, or other ergogenic ingredients. Twelve studies, consisting of 13 total independent samples (n = 198 participants), met the inclusion criteria. Between-study variance, heterogeneity, and inconsistency across studies were low (Cochrane’s Q = 6.9, p = 0.86; τ2 = 0.0 [0.0, 0.08], I2 = 0.0 [0.0, 40.0]), and no funnel plot asymmetry was present. Results of the meta-analysis identified a significant benefit for citrulline compared to placebo treatments (p = 0.036), with a small pooled standardized mean difference (SMD; Hedges’ G) of 0.20 (95% confidence interval 0.01–0.39). The effect size was small (0.20), and confidence intervals for each individual study crossed the line of null effect. However, the results may be relevant to high-level athletes, in which competitive outcomes are decided by small margins. Further research is encouraged to fully elucidate the effects of potential moderating study characteristics, such as the form of citrulline supplement, citrulline dose, sex, age, and strength versus power tasks.

Acute Effects of Citrulline Supplementation on High-Intensity Strength and Power Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Recent research has shown that dietary nitrate has favorable effects on blood flow and exercise performance. The purpose of this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study was to ...

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Effects of pomegranate extract on blood flow and running time to exhaustion.

The effects of high intensity interval training on muscle size and quality in overweight and obese adults.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of exercise modality and pre-exercise carbohydrate (CHO) or protein (PRO) ingestion on post-exercise resting energy expenditure (REE) and respiratory exchange ratio (RER) in women. Twenty recreationally active women (mean ± SD; age 24.6 ± 3.9 years; height 164.4 ± 6.6 cm; weight 62.7 ± 6.6 kg) participated in this randomized, crossover, double-blind study. Each participant completed six exercise sessions, consisting of three exercise modalities: aerobic endurance exercise (AEE), high-intensity interval running (HIIT), and high-intensity resistance training (HIRT); and two acute nutritional interventions: CHO and PRO. Salivary samples were collected before each exercise session to determine estradiol-β-17 and before and after to quantify cortisol. Post-exercise REE and RER were analyzed via indirect calorimetry at the following: baseline, immediately post (IP), 30 minutes (30 min) post, and 60 minutes (60 min) post exercise. A mixed effects linear regression model, controlling for estradiol, was used to compare mean longitudinal changes in REE and RER. On average, HIIT produced a greater REE than AEE and HIRT (p < 0.001) post exercise. Effects of AEE and HIRT were not significantly different for post-exercise REE (p = 0.1331). On average, HIIT produced lower RER compared to either AEE or HIRT after 30 min (p < 0.001 and p = 0.0169, respectively) and compared to AEE after 60 min (p = 0.0020). On average, pre-exercise PRO ingestion increased post-exercise REE (p = 0.0076) and decreased post-exercise RER (p < 0.0001) compared to pre-exercise CHO ingestion. HIIT resulted in the largest increase in REE and largest reduction in RER.

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The acute effect of exercise modality and nutrition manipulations on post-exercise resting energy expenditure and respiratory exchange ratio in women: a randomized trial

Eric T. Trexler

Papers

Effects of high-intensity interval training on cardiometabolic risk factors in overweight/obese women

Acute Effects of Citrulline Supplementation on High-Intensity Strength and Power Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Effects of pomegranate extract on blood flow and running time to exhaustion.

The effects of high intensity interval training on muscle size and quality in overweight and obese adults.

The acute effect of exercise modality and nutrition manipulations on post-exercise resting energy expenditure and respiratory exchange ratio in women: a randomized trial