Five-a-Day: Let’s Stop Nodding and Start Doing

Posted on May 14, 2012 by PCNutrition
Five-a-day

Simply telling the public to stop smoking, eat more fruit, or exercise more is not historically a very successful strategy. Perhaps one of the most recognisable campaigns of the last 20-years is the five-a-day message that has encouraged the UK population to eat fruit and vegetables. In spite of millions being spent on marketing this message (estimated to be £4-million for the last five years), recent figures suggest the number of adults in the UK actually meeting the five-a-day target is only 22% (approx 9.2 million people), and in those with low socio-economic status only 17% (1).  More worryingly still … Continue reading →

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The Great Carbohydrate Loading Myth

Posted on April 10, 2012 by PCNutrition
Carbohydrate loading?

The Myth: All you need to do is have an enormous bowl of pasta the night before the race. The Background: Firstly, carbohydrate loading is only necessary where exercise lasts longer than about 90-minutes, which clearly includes the marathon distance. The purpose of carbohydrate loading is to promote maximum storage of muscle glycogen, the stored fuel that the muscles use during exercise. ‘The wall’ happens when glycogen stores become depleted, so carbohydrate loading is one of the strategies that will help avoid this undesirable outcome – others include doing plenty of long runs in training to train muscles to use … Continue reading →

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Mind over Marathon – Sport Psychology Tips for Running 26.2

Posted on January 31, 2012 by PCNutrition
Marathon psychology

By Guest blogger Zoe Chamberlain from Beyond Sport Psychology. Effective marathon training requires a dedicated, committed and disciplined approach to a programme lasting several months. During this time sacrifices need to be made, physical fatigue increases and there are likely to be highs and lows throughout the training period. Identifying this from the start will help prepare you for the long road ahead and means you can be better equipped mentally to cope with the reality of marathon training and racing. Here are some training and race day mental strategies to help you achieve your marathon goals:   During Training … Continue reading →

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Nutrition for Golf Athletes

Posted on January 25, 2012 by PCNutrition
Nutrition for golf

The words ‘golf’ and ‘nutrition’ are not obvious bedfellows in the eyes of many. When I mention to my sport scientist friends that I work with some elite golfers reactions range from raised eyebrows to full blown disdain. Golf, it seems, is still not regarded as a proper athletic endeavour in some circles. I’m talking about the elite players here, not your average weekend hacker, and anyone that knows about the game knows how hard many of these guys work on becoming better athletes. That means periodised strength and conditioning plans built around their tournament schedule, it means cardiovascular training, … Continue reading →

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Vitamin D for Athletes

Posted on December 9, 2011 by PCNutrition
The sun provides 90% of vitamin D for humans

Vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency could be one of the most important factors affecting the health of the nation today – a bit strong? Well, in case you’ve been a sleep for the past five years or so, it turns out that vitamin D plays a critical role in mental health, immunity and inflammation, muscle strength, hormone balance and intestinal health, not just bone health as old textbooks would have us believe. Furthermore, 50% of the UK population are thought to have insufficient levels (1) – i.e. they are not technically deficient, but below optimal levels – and it is … Continue reading →

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CoQ10 and Muscle Damage in Athletes

Posted on November 10, 2011 by PCNutrition
cycling

A recent report in the European Journal of Nutrition suggests that coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), available as a nutritional supplement, may help athletes recover more quickly from exercise induced oxidative stress and muscle damage. The headlines are certainly exciting: In a group of 20 ultra-endurance athletes markers for oxidative stress and inflammation were reduced among those who took 5 x 30mg of CoQ10 in the two days prior to and immediately before a 50K race at altitude, compared with the placebo group. Additionally creatinine, a marker of muscle damage, was also lower in the CoQ10 group (Diaz-Castro et al., 2011). Conclusion? … Continue reading →

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Unscrambling the Egg Cholesterol Myth

Posted on October 18, 2011 by PCNutrition
Eggs

Of the many nutritional misconceptions I come across during my consultations, eggs are by far and away the most commonly misjudged food among my health-conscious clients. Many reason that eggs contain cholesterol, cholesterol causes heart disease, and therefore eggs are bad. However, you may be surprised to learn that the scientific evidence for this link is far from clear (Gray & Griffin, 2009), and that current health guidelines suggest an egg a day for healthy people is perfectly acceptable. I bring this up because I am a big fan of eggs and consider them to be, in moderation, a great … Continue reading →

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Baring My Sole

Posted on September 9, 2011 by PCNutrition

I feel like I’ve been sold a lie, that I’ve been taken for a ride, and that most annoyingly, I should have known better. Could it really be? Is it possible that running shoes, with their cushioning, space age materials and pronation control could actually be causing my injuries? All right, this is nothing to do with nutrition, but something that is important to me, namely running. I love all sports, but running is the one I choose to invest my own time in. I’m nowhere near elite, but I try to do things in as professional a way as … Continue reading →

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Is Chocolate Milk the Perfect Recovery Drink?

Posted on July 18, 2011 by PCNutrition
chocolate milk

Whether training for strength, power or endurance, many athletes spend large sums of money on whey protein powders and other recovery products in the belief they are the best option to aid muscle repair and promote recovery between training sessions. However, lowly old skimmed milk is emerging as a low cost alternative – just don’t tell the supplement companies. Additional protein derived from low-fat milk timed immediately after gym workouts and long duration or high intensity endurance training may be valuable in increasing overall intake and providing amino acids at an appropriate time to promote muscle repair. In one study, … Continue reading →

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Burn 41% More Fat – Possibly

Posted on June 15, 2011 by PCNutrition
Can sports drinks help fat burning?

A sports drink that burns 41% more fat sounds amazing, too good to be true, surely? Well, there’s certainly nothing wrong with the science, but as is often the case in the sports supplement domain, the same perhaps cannot be said for the marketing blurb. So here’s what’s probably going on. One study being quoted by a particular company was a double-blind crossover study, which sounds good, and is indeed a robust design. However, the drink in question was a low calorie, sugar-free drink flavoured with sweeteners and this was compared to another commercially available sports drink containing 6.6% carbohydrate. … Continue reading →

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