Many endurance athletes eat too few carbohydrates. This often occurs unintentionally due to misconceptions of carbohydrate needs and what foods are high in carbohydrates as well as intentionally due to an unnecessary fear of carbohydrates. Yet, ensuring adequate carbohydrate intake is important for not only performance, but also health. In Read more…
I write a lot about lack of periods, which is known as amenorrhea, and nutrition strategies to restore the menstrual cycle (for more on that, click here), but how about nutrition for the female athlete with a regular menstrual cycle? Unlike males who have relatively stable levels of sex hormones, Read more…
We all know that exercise is good for us. Yet, despite the well-established health benefits of regular exercise, “the too much of a good thing” concept also applies to exercise. Too much exercise coupled with poor calorie intake can lead to a state of low energy availability. Low energy availability Read more…
How many calories should I eat in a day? This is one of the most common questions that I’m asked, and it’s also one of my least favourite. It’s extremely hard to determine energy requirements because calorie needs are influenced by numerous factors. Furthermore, when someone wants to know their Read more…
The weather is slowly getting warmer, which means cycling season is here. With cycling becoming increasing popular since the pandemic hit, I’ve had a ton of questions about fuelling during long rides. This is an important topic not just the new rider, but also for the veteran cyclist. Failing to Read more…
During and after exercise, reactive oxygen and nitrogen species are created. This causes oxidative stress that can impair exercise performance, contribute to muscle damage and interfere with recovery. Our bodies have strategies to counteract this oxidative stress. This includes an “endogenous antioxidant defence mechanism,” which means this defence mechanism is Read more…
Low iron is very common in athletes. Heavy training can increase the iron needs of athletes. This is especially the case for athletes in running based activities because the impact of ground contact increases red blood cell destruction. Additionally, hard exercise increases the level of a hormone called hepcidin. Hepcidin Read more…
Thankfully, it is becoming more well known that a missing period is a serious problem and not a marker of being “fit,” or a normal response to training. Rather, periods are a health indicator with some health practitioners even considering them the “fifth vital sign.” While the importance of a Read more…
I recently published a paper in the International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism outlining how to treat relative energy deficiency in Sport (RED-S) using nonpharmacological strategies alongside Dr. Margo Mountjoy, Dr. Trent Stellingwerff, and Dr. Jamie Burr. If you would like to read the paper, click here. For Read more…