Archive

What do M&S Percy Pigs, fruit jelly, sesame brittle and bone broth have in common and why should you be interested ? A couple of years ago I noticed that many sports nutritionists, particularly those working elite endurance athletes were including M&S Percy Pig jelly sweets within their diet and provision sheets. The reason for […]

The calculation of Body Mass Index (BMI), (a person’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of their height in meters), will be very familiar to most people working in the fitness and health industries. Although BMI does not measure body fat directly, research has shown that adult BMI is closely correlated with direct measures […]

In 1998 the Nobel Prize for medicine was given to three American pharmacologists for their discovery, that inside the body the  gas nitric oxide (NO) is an important mediator of a wide variety of vital bodily functions. At the time this was an amazing discovery and their initial work, done in the 1980s resulted in a […]

Caffeine for Sports Performance by Louise Burke, Ben Desbrow and Lawrence Spriet Caffeine for Sports Performance was first published in 2013 and even two years later is the most complete text on the effects of caffeine, offering a good review of all the research that was available at the time. Despite being effectively an extended […]

Five years ago I turned up at a nutrition conference with hands died purple from blackberry picking. When asked what I had been doing, I innocently said making jam, not realising the commotion this would cause. For many people jam = refined sugar and anything with a large proportion of refined sugar is seen as BAD. But I […]

Research on the science of sports performance shows that even a naturally talented athlete, who has carefully followed a well-structured and well-designed training plan, will seriously under perform if they have the wrong nutritional strategy. However, what, when and how we eat doesn’t only affects power, strength and endurance, it also impacts working memory, problem solving, […]

What can we learn from Sports Science ? Mark McClusky’s new book, Faster, Higher, Stronger, which was published at the end of last year, is the best book I have come across at answering the question “what we can learn from sports science?”. A really good review of the latest research and technology, written in […]

Remember these ? The Fig Roll….   Fig Rolls are not a new idea, thought to have been invented by the early Egyptians, they have been mass produced and sold as a biscuit since 1891. Initially sold in America as Fig Newtons, they now come in a variety of shapes and sizes and are sold all over […]

Cramps and stitches are very common. At some time or other, every athlete and school team player has suffered and cramp can severely compromise performance and cause individuals to worry about future events. WHAT DO WE KNOW…… The 4minute video summary below gives a good overview on the causes of sport related cramping and side stitches. Given by […]

Since writing ‘Ergogenic aids – is it possible to boost performance with food?’ in May, I have already added almonds to the list of foods that are thought to give a boost to performance. I can now add another, blackcurrants. The University of Chichester have recently announced some very interesting results, looking at the effect […]