The Performance Dietitian

Title of Study:
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​Micronutrient deficiency in athletes and inefficiency of supplementation: Is low energy availability a culprit? 💊
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​Micronutrients are a term used to describe vitamins and minerals.
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Micronutrients are vital for overall health and as this study shows, athletic performance as well.
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There is a consensus that athletes need to consume a variety of fruit and vegetables and nutrient-rich foods to meet their micronutrient requirements for optimal performance. 🍎
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This study showed that as athletes are generally expending so much energy and eating too little food, therefore are at a risk of low energy availability, which consequently causes micronutrient deficiencies.
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During times of weight-cuts or periods where an athlete is trying to maintain a certain leanness is when micronutrient risk is at its highest.
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It’s important an athlete and their coach understand periodisation in diet and the enhanced requirement of micronutrients during training camps. 💪
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The impact of a micronutrient deficiency is not only a variety of severe health implications, but also a decrease in athletic performance.
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A healthy athlete is a great athlete. 🥗
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If an athlete is unable to meet their micronutrient requirement intake as they are in too much of a calorie deficit, it is important to use supplementation during a training camp.
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It is best to obtain professional advice if you wish to perform at your peak. 👩‍⚕️
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Me when someone messes with my eating schedule. 👊
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Isn’t it the worst feeling when you spend heaps of time prepping food and you go into the fridge and someone has eaten it. 🍴
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You’ve spent hours preparing yourself for a successful week and someone messes with your schedule. 😠
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Tip: never mess with a woman’s (or man’s) food prep hah 🍝
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Extra virgin olive oil - is it good for me? What is the deal? 💁

Without going into chemistry and food science, extra virgin olive oil is high in compounds called polyphenols.

Polyphenols have an array of benefits to the body. They’re so powerful they have been shown to slow down cardiovascular and degenerative diseases amongst other properties such as antioxidant activity. 🥗

Olive oil is not your enemy and has proven to be one of the leading healthy edible oils worldwide.
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Cardio is hardio haha 🏃‍♀️

Can’t say I am a huge cardio fan (unless it involves combat sports) but I do feel amazing after a cardio workout.

Did you know that cardio produces more mitochondria (energy source of the cells)? 💥

This means there is a greater use of oxygen to produce more ATP (energy) .

Although it may feel difficult at the time, it’s definitely worth it in the long term.🤩
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Why is sleep so important for athletes? 💤
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Sleep deprivation can contribute to poor performance through factors such as reduced motivation, reduction in cognitive (brain) processes, feeling of increased effort and limiting recovery. 😴
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A useful tactic is the use of a diary outlining hours of sleep and efficiency to reflect on their sleeping patterns. 🛏️
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Each individual requires different levels of rest, however the general recommendation is that athletes have at least 7 hours of sleep per night with consistent sleeping and waking times. 🌙
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An elite athlete will track their sleep cycle, nutrition, hydration, training schedule etc. for an edge above their competitors as all of the minor details count if you want to be the best. 📈
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Title of study:
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​Using a Daily Diary Approach to Understand the Psychological Experiences of Making Weight 💪
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​This study conducted in 2015 looked at the lived experiences of judo athletes in making weight.
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As I have mentioned the health risks of rapid weight loss in combat athletes I wanted to share some research on the psychological implications making weight has on athletes.
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3 male and 3 female judo athletes between 18-28were used in this study, who were asked to keep a diary of their weight making experiences. 📖
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All athletes found that nutrition planning was vital for making weight. However, despite being organised there was a continuous theme of stress as to whether the athlete would make weight or not through variables such as losing weight and food temptation. 🍔
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​The athletes found that they experienced social isolation when cutting weight as they felt as though others were trying to convince them to eat during weight loss periods, which the athletes found problematic. 💁
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The more social pressure the athletes felt, the more they began to hide their unhealthy eating patterns. In women there was a fear of being labelled with an eating disorder, whereas in men there was a negative connotation to dieting as it was deemed unmasculine.
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“Although all six participants had vast previous experiences of making weight, their stories describe the complex struggle with the impacts of hunger, tiredness, and negative emotions.”
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I am not a psychologist, but it is important to understand the human behaviours associated with making weight to create a healthy conversation surrounding ‘weight-cuts’ to improve our athlete’s health. 🏃
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Why cutting out carbs isn’t an effective method for athletes.
Carbs are vital for energy, especially when athletic performance is at a short duration (less than 90mins) and high intensity.
When people are feeling fatigued, it’s often due to the depletion of glycogen (energy) stores in the muscles and liver. Glycogen stores are made from carbs. So without carbs, we have minimal energy stores.
Carbs are the only energy source of the macronutrients that can be broken down quickly enough to provide energy during high-intensity exercise.
Eating carbs between training sessions is crucial for recovery, especially when there are multiple workouts within a condensed period of time.
Carb intake can therefore enhance athletic performance, so cutting them out of your diet is not a good idea if you want to perform at your best.
Note: this isn’t applicable to endurance athletes.
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The way I look at someone when they try to get in between me and my goals.
People often tell me that the lifestyle I live is unhealthy because I overwork or am always studying or training.
And to be honest, they’re probably right. And to be honest, I am exhausted.
As bad as this sounds, when Covid lockdowns first hit, I was excited that I wouldn’t have any distractions and I could focus more on my study. I became obsessed with getting high distinctions.
Is that normal? I don’t think so.
But I do know one thing for sure, hard work and discipline takes people to the top.
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To detox or not to detox?
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Over the past couple of decades, the world has encountered tens of thousands of new chemicals and chemical pollutants such as plastics, pesticides, solvents, and heavy metals. It’s no surprise that our body can harbour these toxic burdens.
Some simple steps for a detox include:
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Be kind to your gut: include approximately 25g of fibre per day for women and 30g for men from the spectrum of plant fruits such as beans, legumes, fruits, seeds and nuts. Have a variety of colours in your vegetables.
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Fill up on fluids: ensure you meet your adequate water intake for your bodily processes and detoxification.
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Support your liver: consume high-quality hypoallergenic proteins (such as rice protein), green tea, and cruciferous vegetables.
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Face your emotions: this isn’t nutrition related, but absolutely health related. Feel your emotions, have a cry if you need to - try to avoid suppressing your emotions and harbouring negative energy as that is just as toxic as the chemicals in our environment.
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Case Study: Extreme Weight Making Causes Relative Energy Deficiency, Dehydration, and Acute Kidney Injury in a Male Mixed Martial Arts Athlete
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​This study published in 2019 followed an MMA fighter and how his extreme weight cut methods impacted his health and performance.
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Yes, another medical researcher has published a study on a call for action against extreme weight cutting to protect our fighters health. There are thousands of these studies out there that I have read personally.
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The athlete studied was on a low carb diet for 8 weeks where he lost 4.4kg.
This was followed by a water loading period of 8L per day over a 4 day period prior to weigh-in. He then completed a 20 hour fast with no water or food at all alongside hot baths to sweat out any excess water to ‘make weight’ .
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​During this period he lost an additional 9.6kg in a week, which is very common in MMA.
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In the 32 hour period between the weigh-in and the competition, the fighter rehydrated and consumed a high carbohydrate diet.
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After this process, he ended up with relative energy deficiency, reduced metabolic rate, inability to complete performance tests, marked alterations to endocrine hormones, elevated LDL (bad) cholesterol. The dehydration induced hypernatraemia (too much salt in the blood, not enough water intake)and acute kidney injury.
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This case study was one of the lucky fighters who didn’t lose his life completing an extreme weight cut.
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These weight cuts don’t enhance performance at all (even having a size advantage) nor are they safe.
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We know that science tells us being in a calorie deficit helps you lose weight right? But what about when your calorie intake is too low?
Your body goes into starvation mode and tries to hold on to as much fat as possible, causing your metabolism to slow down and burn less calories at rest.
What typically happens to people on extreme calorie restriction is they end up binge eating after they don’t see the results on the scale following starvation.
Not only does stvaration impact weight loss, it significantly impacts health in illnesses such as dizziness, anaemia, depression, electrolyte imbalances, low blood pressure, dizziness, loss of menstrual cycle, trouble concentrating - the list goes on!
Gradual weight loss will always be the healthiest and most effective way to lose weight loss. Gradual weight loss can be achieved by calculating your basal metabolic rate and your energy expenditure and slightly reducing your calorie intake.
If you stumble across an instagram page promoting a very low calorie diet… RUN.
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What’s your favourite way to start a day?
I like to start my day with a boxing session followed by a strength and conditioning session and a healthy breakfast.
If I don’t start my day with this routine now, or at least some form of exercise and good nutrition, I really struggle to have a productive day. I’m a sucker for a routine.
Who else is addicted to routine?
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This study was published in September 2020 and focused on the weight-cuts and performance of MMA fighters in particular. As many of you may know, MMA is one of the most extreme of the combat sports for dehydration methods to ‘make weight’.
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Data was collected from five professional MMA events (four Ultimate Fighting Championship and one Bellator MMA). Participants were required to weigh-in 24 hours prior to their fight and again on the day of the fight to determine the difference between weight lost pre-weigh in and weight regain post weigh-in.
The results found that despite widespread beliefs amongst athletes and coaches, this novel data shows that the body weight regained after the official weigh-in provides absolutely no advantage whether the fight is ended via strike, submission, or decision.
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Basically, extreme weight loss (through extreme dehydration (e.g. saunas, running in sweat suits, hot baths etc.) followed by weight regain do not contribute to success.
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At present, the current belief systems of coaches and athletes suggests that MMA fighters who do not follow the protocol of rapid weight-loss followed by weight regain are at a disadvantage to those who do follow these extreme practices – which as this data shows is not the case.
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The goal of this publication is to bring awareness that these life-threatening practices embedded in the culture of MMA are not indicative of success as the athlete as once believed. This was the first publication to report this.
As more research beings to emerge on this topic, it becomes more apparent that there are many outdated practices within combat sports.
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​Extreme dehydration methods are extremely dangerous (can lead to brain / kidney damage or even death) and even if a combat athlete is suffering through these processes, it does not enhance their performance in the bout.

The majority of athlete’s I work with, generally have full time work commitments, and train full time.

This is no easy task and that’s why not everyone is a professional athlete. The amount of sacrifice and discipline it takes is commendable.

The easiest way to manage this type of lifestyle is to prepare your foods on a Sunday so you are organised for the rest of the week.

There is no way we can be perfect and without a routine, it’s extremely difficult to stick to your goals.

When your nutrition is prepared and planned in advance in conjunction with your goals, it allows for better performance and recovery.

Although herbs and spices are often overlooked, they are important components of the diet that carry significant benefits to both general health and athletic performance.
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You know how you hear the saying that food is medicine, well it is!
I have reviewed the World Journal of Pharmaceutical Research and found some examples and their health benefits to share:
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Turmeric (curcumin): assists in treatments for heart disease, arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, gastrointestinal disorders, diabetes and metabolic syndrome. It also assists in treating inflammation, pain and wound healing to enhance athletic performance.
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Ginger: assists with digestive health, vomiting, diabetes and has anti-inflammatory and anti-ageing properties for controlling the process of ageing and assisting with performance recovery.
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Garlic: employed to treat infection, colds and assists in lowering glucose concentration.
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Cinnamon: improves insulin sensitivity and cholesterol levels, improves cognitive function, reduces inflammation and acts as an antioxidant.
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Chillies: assists with the recovery of stiff joints, chest colds and headaches.
Curry leaves: antimicrobial activity, anti-oxidative properties, anti-diarrheal properties, phagocytic activity (cleansing of unwanted cells).
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Basil: immunity booster, reduces stress and blood pressure, good for skin and hair and has antioxidant and anti-bacterial properties.
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Cumin: used in inflammatory diseases asthma and digestive disorders.
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Coriander: treatment for loss of appetite and memory, antibiotic properties and relief for gastrointestinal disorders
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Black pepper: antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties.
These are just some of the examples of the many benefits of some herbs and spices. Perhaps you can see why herbs and spices have been used as some of the most powerful natural remedies for centuries.
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It is always good to have a variety of herbs and spices on your foods where possible.

Studies of the Week:
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​Nutrition, supplementation and weight reduction in combat sports: a reviewThis study was published on the 6th July 2021 and reviewed the existing literature on nutritional practices to make weight safely, without limiting athletic performance.
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The main findings of the study showed that nutrition is a fundamental part to enhancing sports performance, post-workout recovery and assists in improving body composition in combat athletes.
Particularly, the timing of macronutrient intake enhances muscle protein synthesis recovery and tissue repair, so this is fundamental for combat athletes.
The primary source of energy for combat athletes is carbohydrates to ensure muscle glycogen (energy) stores and replenished adequately for performance. Carbohydrates are the energy source for moderate and high-intensity training. So, for all of you focusing on reducing carbohydrates during a weight cut, this has a negative cascade as it impacts your training and performance significantly.
Regarding body composition, the supplements suggested in this review that influence strength, endurance and body composition were sodium bicarbonate, caffeine, creatine, beta-alanine and protein. However, only alongside a healthy diet.
For weight cuts, the preferable way to reduce weight is a strategic gradual strategy of fat reduction. Only if necessary, rapid weight loss should be used, however it should not exceed more than 5% of your body weight. For example, I am 60kgs, so therefore it would be extremely dangerous to lose more than 3kgs of water weight.
If you exceed 5% body weight loss you are at risk of cardiovascular and endocrine system problems, or even death.
Both strategies for weight loss can also decrease performance, so it is recommended these protocols are overlooked by a nutritionist and a doctor.

The human gastrointestinal tract houses approximately 100 trillion microbes, with most of these microbes residing in our colons. Most of the microbes in our gastrointestinal tract are bacteria, however you may find other populations such as viruses, amongst others, are present.
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We basically have an entire universe of its own inside our gut – and that’s a big deal!
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These microbes have many functions such as vitamin production, fibre digestion, interacting with the immune system and contribute significantly to health and disease.
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So, we know that our gut microbes influence our health significantly, so how do we keep our gut healthy? Eat more foods such as beans, fruits, vegetables, nuts and whole grains. Fibre is vital!
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How does our gut health impact our athletic performance?
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It promotes the athlete’s health and indirectly assists with injury treatment. Changes to our gut microbes can alter body composition such as an increased ability to harvest energy from our diet, with many studies showing an unhealthy gut microbiome is linked to obesity.
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You’re not going to make weight or reach your desired body composition with an unhealthy gut microbiome. It’s important to stick to a variety of the foods listed above as well as avoiding overly processed foods and foods high in saturated (bad) fats.

Making weight and menstrual cycles?
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Body composition is vital for general health and athletic performance. With the increase of female athletes on the rise, it’s important female specific factors such as menstrual and ovulation cycles are taken into consideration.
Research has shown that changes in body composition amongst females during both their menstrual cycle and ovulation cycle was prevalent when using a DXA scan. Oestrogen has been shown to encourage retention of extracellular fluid in the vascular space, while elevated levels of both oestrogen and progesterone encourage fluid retention within the interstitial space. So, the DXA scan may show an increase in body fat percentage, when it’s due to the changes in hormones around the menstrual and ovulation cycle increasing water retention and extracellular water distribution.
For general body composition testing, it may be best to time these scans away from the menstrual and ovulation cycle. When it comes to weight-category sports, it’s important to obtain professional advice on how best to incorporate these cycles into the weight-category sport to avoid fluid retention when trying to make weight.

The Performance Dietitian updated their phone number.

Study of the week - ‘Effect of weight class on Regional Brain Volume, Cognition, and other Neuropsychiatric outcomes among Professional Fighters'
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This study was published in March ​2021. It studied both MMA fighters and boxers and examined prospective data from 2011. Basically, it looked at the weight division of professional fighters and how it was linked to traumatic brain injury. It also looked at whether extreme weight cutting practices, such as dehydration, were linked to traumatic brain injury amongst these fighters.
The major findings showed: the populations that followed greater dehydration methods to ‘make weight’ were at higher risk of brain injury, as the fluid surrounding their brain and spinal cord (cerebrospinal fluid) was depleted during dehydration, meaning there was no longer adequate cushioning around the brain. Obviously this is of a major concern in combat sports, given the high risk of traumatic brain injury from repeated hits, even in a hydrated fighter.
It was also shown that rehydration strategies were not sufficient to reinstate most of the fighter’s cerebrospinal fluid prior to their competition, if they had undergone severe dehydration.
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Here’s some more detail:
MMA and boxing heavyweights were shown to have an elevated risk at sustaining knockouts and technical knockouts from force of strikes to the head. However, this relationship is complex as lightweight fighters demonstrated greater yearly reductions in brain volume on a per-fight basis which shows that when compared on a per-fight basis, light weights may be at a higher risk of traumatic brain injury than heavyweights.
The widespread practice of rapid weight loss through dehydration and caloric restriction among professional fighters to meet their weight division requirements may be more common in lighter weight classes on a per fight basis than heavyweight fighters.
Dehydration has been shown to worsen traumatic brain injury induced neurotrauma which potentially contributes to the lighter weight class with worse outcomes on a per-fight basis.

‘It has been proposed that dehydration induced changes in brain morphology may alter mechanical cushioning and strain mitigation provided in part by cerebrospinal fluid within the subarachnoid space and lateral ventricles.’

Antioxidant supplements are used widely within the athletic community to avoid elevated oxidative stress, which is the imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants in your body. Without delving into the chemistry, elevated oxidative stress can cause outcomes such as muscle damage, immune dysfunction, and fatigue.
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Vitamin C is an essential component of the diet and may reduce the effects of exercise-induced oxidative stress when taken in doses of 0.2-1g per day. A large dose of vitamin C appears to reduce training-induced adaptations by reducing mitochondrial biogenesis or by possibly altering vascular function (

I believe a successful athlete should always consider their health before they start trying to enhance their performance.
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Why?
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​Because an unhealthy athlete will never perform at their peak and it will never last - health and performance come hand in hand. We should always build our foundations first.
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As I studied pre-medical degree and I majored in sports nutrition, I had the opportunity to understand the in depth biochemistry, biology and physiology of the human body. When I paired this with sports nutrition, I felt as though I unlocked significant aspects to sport that are often overlooked.
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I won’t push diets that are not of the best interest of my clients overall long term health as this doesn’t align with my moral boundaries, nor does it enhance athletic performance.
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I review athlete’s diet plans often and they consist of processed meats and sugar-free soft drinks as they fit a client’s macros, without considering long term health impacts such as how these foods impact disease risk, mental health etc.
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When I work with my clients, we consider their personal goals, cultural background, food preferences and we work as a committed team to individualise a diet plan that works for them.