Reflections on London - The Sports Dietitians Australia Update

A couple of weeks back I found myself in chilly Canberra, attending the Sports Dietitians Australia One Day Update. This year the update was a little different to previous events; with the London Olympics less than a year ago (and being in the home town of the AIS) it was a great chance for the sports dietitians who worked with our Olympic team to reflect on what they’ve learnt over the past four years, and look ahead to Rio in 2016.

Marathon des Sables - A test of body, mind and dietitians!

Endurance sports take many forms, which is why it's so interesting to work with endurance athletes from a nutrition perspective. The general aims are more or less the same, but the practical reality of each event type creates enormous diversity in how those basic nutiritonal goals are executed. And at the extreme end of the practicality scale lies the Marathon des Sables - a multi-day, multi-stage foot race across the Sahara in Morocco. 

Image Source: Marathon des Sables Facebook page

Top 10 of 2012

It’s been way too long since I posted on this blog. Unfortunately due to a variety of personal and professional reasons I simply haven’t had time over the last nine months or so to sit down and write the next one, as most posts take several hours of work to create. But recently I’ve finally had a chance to do something about it.

So to follow up from my post on New Year’s Eve in 2011, I decided to put together a summary of 2012, as far as sports nutrition research, insights or other news is concerned. 2012 did not see quite the quantity and depth in sports nutrition research publications as we had in 2011, but there’s still plenty to talk about. Rather than choose 12 for 2012 (as I chose 11 for 2011), instead I’ve capped it at 10, and will endeavour to continue with the top 10 each year moving forward.

The ESSA/SDA Conference – Tim Noakes and the Hydration Debate - Part 2

In the last post we looked at the first two of Professor Tim Noakes' main arguments in his recent ESSA/SDA Conference presentation. In Part Two we'll examine the remaining arguments. I'll also draw my own conclusions from having read through the research on hydration and performance, and identify the areas which I feel we still don't have a full understanding.



The ESSA/SDA Conference – Tim Noakes and the Hydration Debate - Part 1

As mentioned in the last post the recent ESSA/SDA Conference featured many memorable presentations in the sports nutrition field, but probably the most talked about was from Professor Tim Noakes. You may have heard of Tim from his books such as The Lore of Running and Waterlogged, or may be aware of his outspoken stance on hydration science. I’ve read the majority of Tim’s studies over the past few years, but it was the first time I’ve had the chance to see him present it all in one journey. To do this topic justice I’ve decided to review Tim’s presentation and arguments over two separate posts.



Highlights from the ESSA/SDA Conference

Last weekend several hundred of the country’s top exercise & sports scientists and sports dietitians gathered on the Gold Coast for the Exercise & Sports Science Australia (ESSA) and Sports Dietitians Australia (SDA) conference. There was a great range of speakers on a variety of topics, and here I thought I’d highlight some of those presentations and posters in the sports nutrition area.

Caffeine – Cultural Trend or Performance Enhancer?

Anyone involved in endurance sports (especially cycling) will no doubt be aware of the massive coffee culture. It’s what keeps so many cafes in Melbourne in business. To an outsider, the first question that springs to mind is “why do they do it?” No doubt the café is a big part of cycling culture, and is as much social as anything else. But what about the effect of caffeine on endurance performance? With caffeinated gels, sports drinks, tablets, energy drinks and of course coffee available to an athlete, let’s look at the science behind caffeine and performance.