Shows
Medical Sports Nutrition#40 - Does coffee slow you down if you have the wrong genetics?Send us a textIn this episode we saunter through a vitamin D guideline that provides a super summary resource, we look at why genetic testing for caffeine may be available for 'normal' athletes sooner than you think, and realise again how gender biased Sports nutrition research is.This is the last show in this series. I do hope to have another series soon. Thank you to anyone listening. I hope you have enjoyed this as much as I have.Zhou Y, Guo X, Liu Z, Sun...
2024-08-2719 minMedical Sports Nutrition#39 - That Zoe study publication. Do additives such as emulsifiers give you diabetes?Send us a textIn this episode we look at the results in Nature Medicine of the Zoe study and think about what might have made it a stronger paper and what questions are still not answered. We talk about an antibiotic cream that may prevent viral infections and finally a Nutri-sante cohort study that shows the potential dangers of emulsifiers, which are a very common ingredient in many of our common sports supplements.Podcast 39Mao T, Kim J, Peña-Hernández MA, Valle G, Moriyama M, Luyten S, Ott IM...
2024-06-0619 minMedical Sports Nutrition#38 - Hot water or cold water immersion for athletic performance?Send us a textWhat difference will 500m make to the ideal physiology for a rower. When should you go for cold immersion and when hot. Is training harder if you are on the hormonal contraceptive pill. Could that be a good thing. We skip through these and other questions trying to see if anything is clear or as muddy as a cold tub after a rugby team had been through it.Ref:Nash E, Nicoll A, Batt N, George J, Perananthan V, Prince D, Wallace M, Gow P, Vaz K, Chitturi S...
2024-04-2918 minMedical Sports Nutrition#37 - Sleep - how long to nap, the impact of shared rooms and poor sleep causing infectionsSend us a textIn this episode we review a mix of sleep and menstrual cycle articles. We look at the impact of sleep on viral infections, the right length of naps and the impact of sharing rooms. Then studies looking at injuries in different stages of the cycle and confirmation that it is still not something that is discussed as openly as needed. Podcast 37Radke J, Meinhardt J, Aschman T, Chua RL, Farztdinov V, Lukassen S, Ten FW, Friebel E, Ishaque N, Franz J, Huhle VH, M...
2024-03-2117 minMedical Sports Nutrition#36 - Problems with the accuracy of social media nutrition advice (this podcast clearly the exception)Send us a textIn this episode we review an article by a group of dieticians saying that youtube videos by non-dieticans are of poor quality, look into the world of the Alkaline diet, and get an update on an exciting biomarker for the Med Diet.Podcast 36Kiss A, Soós S, Temesi Á, Unger-Plasek B, Lakner Z, Tompa O. Evaluation of the reliability and educational quality of YouTube™ videos on sport nutrition topics. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2023 Dec;20(1):2278632. doi: 10.1080/15502783.2023.2278632. Epub 2023 Nov 12. PMID: 37953602; PMCID: PMC10653641.Knap...
2024-02-1516 minMedical Sports Nutrition#35 - How carbohydrate use changes over hormone cycle and probiotics increase protein absorption in vegan athletes.Send us a textIn this episode we run through at a small but interesting study of the impact of the menstrual cycle on the fuels the body uses. We question if we should be going to Industry funded research for our articles on benefits of carbohydrates and we then finish with a article on probiotics improving protein absorption and muscle gain in elite vegan athletes. Lee SJL, Sim MP, VAN Rens FECA, Peiffer JJ. Fatigue Resistance Is Altered during the High-Hormone Phase of Eumenorrheic Females but Not Oral Contraceptive Users. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2024 J...
2024-01-1816 minMedical Sports Nutrition#34 - What is wrong with the research published on nutrition and a really good plant based diet studySend us a textWe run through a selection of interesting articles, all of which demonstrate key flaws that we keep seeing in nutrition research. Testing at the wrong time, wrong timeframe to followup for that testing, competing interests that blow the mind. Articles that demonstrate the researchers deeply held beliefs rather than take the science and understanding forward. Enjoy!Podcast 34Clauss M, Skattebo Ø, Rasen Dæhli M, Ditta Valsdottir T, Ezzatkhah Bastani N, Ivar Johansen E, Jensen Kolnes K, Steen Skålhegg B, Jensen J. Carbohydrate Ingestion during Prolonged Cycling Improves Next-Day Tim...
2023-12-0625 minMedical Sports Nutrition#33 - The best way to take iron supplements and whose fault is UPFSend us a textIn this episode I review some practical changes to the way we can prescribe/recommend our athletes take iron supplements. I then sit on the sidelines and enjoy the fighting between factions on the sides of the Ultra Processed Food safety/blame war and am very glad not to be in the line of fire and feel some empathy for those involved. We finish with some articles on weight loss with different carbohydrates, the impact of fibre on cancer risk and an older article on post menopausal muscle strength.This podcast...
2023-11-1417 minMedical Sports Nutrition#32 - Will coffee cause a bleed and will skipping breakfast give you cancerSend us a textThis episode we review a couple of articles that challenge the common perceptions for coffee and fasting, and decide if they will change our practice. We look at the useful points from the new IOC REDS consensus and enjoy an interesting Fish Oil Supplement article. Podcast 32Svart M, Nielsen MM, Rittig N, Hansen M, Møller N, Gravholt CH. Oral 3-hydroxybuturate ingestion acutely lowers circulating testosterone concentrations in healthy young males. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2023 Oct;33(10):1976-1983. doi: 10.1111/sms.14441. Epub 2023 Jun 28. PMID: 37377131....
2023-10-1717 minMedical Sports Nutrition#31 - WHO make a very clear statement about sweeteners and can you trust the ingredient list of your herbal supplementsSend us a textWe start with a look at a article providing further evidence BMI is unhelpful, moving onto the effect of low carb diets on bowel inflammation and then a time restricted eating study. The main player this week is the WHO sweetener review...spoiler they don't think they are good for you long term and are pushing back against the wave of industry funded positive spin on the observational studies hinting at increased long term mortality. Finally a great study on what is actually in your herbal supplement. Podcast 31Cohen P...
2023-09-0717 minMedical Sports Nutrition#30 - Sweeteners or sugar. A review of a recent pro sweetener article.Send us a textThis week we look at a recent BMJ paper on sweeteners vs sugar for health of diabetic patients and compare to some of the past papers we have studied in this area. We enjoy an excellent short intervention study on the impact of pre-meal almonds and wait for the larger studies to follow. Finally a look at the impact of Heat on your sleep low- train low adaptations. This podcast is a lighthearted review of the medical literature and Dr Matheson has enormous respect for all scientific researchers and could not d...
2023-08-0513 minMedical Sports Nutrition#29 - Topical bicarbonate, coffee mouth rinse and pre race defecation. You will get some glances at the start line!Send us a textA slightly noisey podcast due to nearby building work.My favourite this month was a superb Australian article proving how poor labeling is in supplements - the industry must do better than this. A review through some interesting options for pre race optimisation such as coffee mouth rinsing, defecation, topical bicarbonate, some interesting new ideas to explore.ReferencesHeld S, Rappelt L, Donath L. Acute and Chronic Performance Enhancement in Rowing: A Network Meta-analytical Approach on the Effects of Nutrition and Training. Sports Med. 2023 Jun;53(6):1137-1159. doi: 10.1007...
2023-07-0317 minMedical Sports Nutrition#28 - Why a high fat diet will not cause a dip in performanceSend us a textIn this episode we enjoy a article that clarifies why your performance should not dip on a high fat low carb diet although we are still waiting for the proof and why the answer to your fatigue and unusual symptoms may still be 'covid' even a year post infection. In a more cheerful papers, a year of hard training is still helping with diabetic control 10 years later.References:Podcast 28Chen Y, Chen Z, Pan L, Ma ZM, Zhang H, Li XJ, Li X. Effect of...
2023-05-0915 minMedical Sports Nutrition#27 - Bacon bad beetroot good? The confusing world of nitrates and nitrites.Send us a textIn this episode we look at an excellent review that attempts to help us understand nitrates. We get frustrated by studies jumping into the 'fasting vs exercise' debate and the 'plant vs fish' debate with very selective use of their data.References:Podcast 27Gibbons TD, Cotter JD, Ainslie PN, Abraham WC, Mockett BG, Campbell HA, Jones EMW, Jenkins EJ, Thomas KN. Fasting for 20 h does not affect exercise-induced increases in circulating BDNF in humans. J Physiol. 2023 Jan 11. doi: 10.1113/JP283582. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36631068.
2023-03-2814 minMedical Sports Nutrition#26 - Flavonoids - good for ageing but not much evidence for athletes. Also - I'm not lazy coach, it's my microbiome.Send us a textFirsty a smattering of proof that flavonoids are great for managing ageing changes, but still no good evidence they help our athletes perform any better. Then a nice microbiome paper that tells us why some mice seem to be lazier than others. Can we stretch this to human athletes? Also we ask where can we shoehorn in continuous glucose monitors - it looks fancy and must be useful for our patients....Apologies for forgetting the name of a leading UK Medical Nutrition Academic - of course it was Prof T Spector.
2023-02-2019 minMedical Sports Nutrition#25 - Calcium, zinc, IL-6 - do we know how they fit into our athletes nutrition and performance?Send us a textIn short - no. But we review a series of recent articles trying to pick away at the inner workings of these markers. We try and avoid the pitfalls of black and white answers and steer around the icebergs of simplification. In addition, beetroot and blood pressure, water use and ibuprofen on the intestine.References:Lundy B, McKay AKA, Fensham NC, Tee N, Anderson B, Morabito A, Ross MLR, Sim M, Ackerman KE, Burke LM. The Impact of Acute Calcium Intake on Bone Turnover Markers during a Training Day...
2023-01-1416 minMedical Sports Nutrition#24 - Lipidomics and how future cholesterol tests will diagnose cancers and moreSend us a textThis week we will dip a toe into Lipidomics, the direction of cholesterol tests in the future; not just looking at lipid blood levels but using the lipid tests as a reflection of changes within our cell membranes. We then look at a state of play article for current available lipid blood tests and how to interpret panels, a keto diet study and a remind ourselves how good bariatric surgery is for people. References:Episode 24Lauber C, Gerl MJ, Klose C, Ottosson F, Melander O...
2022-12-3017 minMedical Sports Nutrition#23 - Low carbohydrate diets - do they raise you cholesterol and trash your microbiome. Evidence to prove they don't..Send us a textIn this podcast we cover the evolving evidence that low carbohydrate diets are not going to kill you in the ways that we keep getting told. We also look at the 1 year impact of even mild covid and look at what form your carbohydrate needs to be in mid race (spoiler - it does not really matter as long as you can tolerate it).Below are the references for this episode in no particular order...Moholdt T, Parr EB, Devlin BL, Debik J, Giskeødegård G, Hawley JA. Th...
2022-11-1016 minMedical Sports Nutrition#22 - Ultra processed food kills you and gives you fat children. Time restricted eating improves your mood as well as your blood pressure in a randomised control trialSend us a textIn this review of the current nutrition literature we look at some articles highlighting the dangers of our processed food dependency, look at a rare bird in nutrition - a well designed RCT, and discuss a LEA case report.This podcast is a lighthearted review of the medical literature and Dr Matheson has enormous respect for all scientific researchers and could not do a job as hard as theirs. The information presented is the personal opinion of the healthcare professional and is not a substitute for seeking professional advice. It...
2022-10-1712 minMedical Sports Nutrition#21 - The age old conundrum. Is tea or coffee best for your health? And catch up with why covid trashes our VO2 for monthsSend us a textWe balance the tea/coffee debate with a large tea cohort paper review. Then a exploration through recent articles on the reduced VO2 post covid, the importance of our mitochondria in health and neurodegenerative disease and why sweeteners are evil. This podcast is a lighthearted review of the medical literature and Dr Matheson has enormous respect for all scientific researchers and could not do a job as hard as theirs. The information presented is the personal opinion of the healthcare professional and is not a substitute for seeking professional advice. I...
2022-09-2613 minMedical Sports Nutrition#20 - A keto diet reduces alzheimers symptoms and long term steroid use might not do your heart much good.Send us a textThis weeks review covers a fascinating case study on ApoE4 and dementia and the negative impact of long term steroid use. In addition a look at antibiotics and their effect on the immune system, and one article highlights how hard it is to get good translatable science from the lab to the gym.This podcast is a lighthearted review of the medical literature and Dr Matheson has enormous respect for all scientific researchers and could not do a job as hard as theirs. The information presented is the personal opinion...
2022-09-1411 minMedical Sports Nutrition#19 - Intermittent fasting and why it's so good for us; fructose and why it's so bad for us.Send us a textMore on the discordance between what is healthy for us and what gets the best performance. If seems to be very good for our health, but performance improvements are mixed at best. Fructose added to our drinks is great for getting sugars in during a race, but terrible for our insulin sensitivity and triglyceride levels. Also will carb restriction thin our bones and a HIT study where they don't seem to get very out of breath.This podcast is a lighthearted review of the medical literature and Dr Matheson has enormous r...
2022-08-2218 minMedical Sports Nutrition#18 - Sleep is good for you, Weekend warriors don't die early and some uninspiring UEFA nutrition guidelinesSend us a textLots of articles to run through this episode. Impact of sleep on health, best pattern to do your training, some disappointing UEFA guidelines, and a nice protein review. My search for good Hemp protein data continues. Enjoy!This podcast is a lighthearted review of the medical literature and Dr Matheson has enormous respect for all scientific researchers and could not do a job as hard as theirs. The information presented is the personal opinion of the healthcare professional and is not a substitute for seeking professional advice. It is based...
2022-08-0317 minMedical Sports Nutrition#17 - Why eggs might not kill you, it is what you eat instead that mattersSend us a textIn this episode we catch up with some recent articles covering topics from vitamin C killing ITU patients, to the benefits of bariatric surgery. We focus on a super editorial that reminds us of how 'adults in the room' talk when discussing nutritional science - a breath of fresh air compared to twitter wars and simplifications that bombard us all the time.This podcast is a lighthearted review of the medical literature and Dr Matheson has enormous respect for all scientific researchers and could not do a job as hard as...
2022-07-0618 minMedical Sports Nutrition#16 - How Covid changes the brain structure. Are cold baths any use for training or just coaches revenge.Send us a textThe impact of Covid on the brains structure - what does it mean for the future. We also cover a recent large Spanish diet study for prevention of further heart disease, and finally some sports related papers - effect of cooling on training adaptations, usefulness of a REDS questionnaire and are reminded of the gulf between research and useful advice in the microbiome.This podcast is a lighthearted review of the medical literature and Dr Matheson has enormous respect for all scientific researchers and could not do a job as hard...
2022-05-2918 minMedical Sports Nutrition#15 - Can you tell me when I will die? Circadian Clocks - should I pay attention yet?Send us a textWhat is the state of play with Circadian medicine and is the science good enough to translate to our day to day work. We review a lovely summary article and look at how some supplements may impact the circadian cycles. We ask if Sarcopaenia should be labelled a disease, or just a reason to ratchet up the protein recommendations in older athletes. And a Low Carb paper gently reassuring us with lipid levels that are ok.This podcast is a lighthearted review of the medical literature and Dr Matheson has enormous r...
2022-04-2218 minMedical Sports Nutrition#14 - Has practice caught up with the research in REDS? Not even close.Send us a textThis week's pick of the articles are focussed on REDS and sleep. How are dieticians managing REDS on the ground - is everyone following the new guidelines or still managing as a female athlete triad but calling it REDS? Do athletes bodies and minds ever fully recover from chronic REDS - a questionnaire study of lightweight rowers suggests not. Also, how food intake cant be seen separately from sleep and a hunt for data on insect supplements.This podcast is a lighthearted review of the medical literature and Dr Matheson has...
2022-03-2918 minMedical Sports Nutrition#13 - Should my athletes be eating more algae? What is a bacteriophage and how will it make my athletes smarter?Send us a textLooking at the questions that some articles have asked over the last 2 weeks. Is algae the next big thing for athletes? Why do vaccines work better in High income countries and what does this mean for my athletes? Why does vitamin D not work in Australians? What is the virome, and do I need to care. Why will probiotic companies be selling bacteriophages next year?This podcast is a lighthearted review of the medical literature and Dr Matheson has enormous respect for all scientific researchers and could not do a job...
2022-03-1014 minMedical Sports Nutrition#12 - Need to lose weight - sleep harder and keep tryingSend us a textFirstly a look at the impact of paracetamol on training. Then some advice for anyone that struggles with weight and sleeps less than 6.5hrs a night. We then wade through a confusing/confused article looking at high vs low carb training on inflammation and finish on a favourite article looking at how never quitting your diet attempts keeps you living longer.This podcast is a lighthearted review of the medical literature and Dr Matheson has enormous respect for all scientific researchers and could not do a job as hard as theirs.
2022-02-1522 minMedical Sports Nutrition#11 - Low Carb diets improve all health values in a UK GP study - an incredible achievement in a tough time for UK primary careSend us a textA look through some articles. Some helpful - more proof that low carbohydrate diets are not bad for your renal function. Others less helpful - interesting studies that leave us disappointed, wishing for bigger and better - menstrual cycle impact on treadmill times and religious fasting impacting on health.This podcast is a lighthearted review of the medical literature and Dr Matheson has enormous respect for all scientific researchers and could not do a job as hard as theirs. The information presented is the personal opinion of the healthcare professional...
2022-02-0118 minMedical Sports Nutrition#10 - Can we cause dementia in our athletes. ApoE, personlised nutrition and the benefits of coffeeSend us a textWhat impact do our choices today have on our athletes in the future. Can genetic testing provide us the answers. We look at some papers on dementia risk and a popular test for future risk. How should we advise patients who have already undergone genetic testing?Also a paper finally provides definitions for our athlete types - not everyone can be elite...This podcast is a lighthearted review of the medical literature and Dr Matheson has enormous respect for all scientific researchers and could not do a job as hard...
2022-01-1928 minMedical Sports Nutrition#9 - Is my training making me ill, or is it my terrible hand hygiene? Exercise and the immune systemSend us a textFirstly a look at a sleep low, train low article that has a program that actually looks achievable.We then dive into the murky waters of exercise immunology. Using a recent(ish) debate paper we have a think through the impact of exercise on the immune system; trying not to fall for the usual dangers of assuming all training is the same, and all athletes respond equally. We finish up with a lovely omics review, and think lovely positive thoughts for the future of sports nutrition.This p...
2021-12-2923 minMedical Sports Nutrition#8 - Why all vitamin D results need to be taken with a pinch of saltSend us a textThis episode we will be looking at how a Military team adjusted from their traditional views to a higher fat diet for cold weather work, why vitamin D levels cause palpitations and panic attacks in Biochemists, and how new guidelines justify extra slices of cake in time for Xmas.We also look at the effect of a gut polypeptide (BPC 157) that may cure all MSK injuries, or possibly just grow any hidden cancers you might have.This podcast is a lighthearted review of the medical literature and Dr Matheson ha...
2021-12-1721 minMedical Sports Nutrition#7 - Why do we pretend sweeteners are ok? and why all probiotics will be advertised as improving glucose uptake from now on...Send us a textAll the supplements we give out to our athletes are full of sweeteners. Which then trash our athletes microbiota (along with their small vessels in their brains). We then run around trying to find probiotics to reduce the inflammation in the athlete's guts. We look at some articles that sit at different points in this conundrum; a interesting step forward using metabolomics, a reminder that until sweeteners are removed from all supplements we will never manage 'first do no harm'...This podcast is a lighthearted review of the medical literature and...
2021-11-2219 minMedical Sports Nutrition#6 - Well at least we know ALA wont kill you. Except with cancer. Maybe.Send us a textA review of some of the recent articles on the mortality benefits of different omega 3s. A meander through the confused and confusing history of fish oils. How do these articles impact our advice to athletes. As ever, knocking our head against the oversimplified door of labelling anything proinflammatory or antiinflammatory, rather than a more indepth look at the actions on the body and then struggling to reach any firm conclusions. At least we know ALA wont kill you. Except with cancer. Maybe. This podcast is a lighthearted review of the me...
2021-11-0614 minMedical Sports Nutrition#5 - A surrogate endpoint gives a head injury study a nasty concussion, and I a skip through some articles on diets.Send us a textWe look at how a good idea on head injury protection turns into poor publication after falling into a surrogate endpoint trap, how a football keto diet study does not tell us if the players were better or worse at football, and remind ourselves that our patients/clients all secretly smoke and drink when we are not looking. This podcast is a lighthearted review of the medical literature and Dr Matheson has enormous respect for all scientific researchers and could not do a job as hard as theirs. The information p...
2021-10-1722 minMedical Sports Nutrition#4 - Testosterone in the menopause - the key to next level performace?Send us a textAre we making it harder for our female athletes than it needs to be. Firstly a look at the contraceptive choices in female soccer players and how the data shows we do not do a good enough job educating on the impact of contraceptive options and performance. Then a deeper dive into Testosterone replacement in the menopause. It will improve health, mood, sarcopaenia but is not commonly discussed alongside HRT. Are there testosterone boosting plant/herbal options instead of the gels?This podcast is a lighthearted review of the medical literature a...
2021-09-2515 minMedical Sports Nutrition#3 - How to not feel confused by Microbiome studiesSend us a textIn this episode I discuss why it is so difficult to give our patients certainties when they ask about probiotics. We take a brief tour through the history of microbiome research and how the journey so far explains why there are still so many unanswered questions. We look at two recent studies looking at the impact of 'good' bacteria; and use a couple of review papers to imagine where the research might be in a few years. This podcast is a lighthearted review of the medical literature and Dr Matheson has en...
2021-09-1516 minMedical Sports Nutrition#2 - How do any athletes manage to avoid IBS and a review of Newcastle's finestSend us a textA review of the Sports Nutrition literature with Dr Andy Matheson. A peek at some papers looking at the FODMAP foods in common sport supplements and the impact of meat on our health; followed with a loving gaze at the DIRECT study and some thoughts on the implications for older athletes and ex-athletes.This podcast is a lighthearted review of the medical literature and Dr Matheson has enormous respect for all scientific researchers and could not do a job as hard as theirs. The information presented is the personal opinion...
2021-08-2917 min
Medical Sports Nutrition#1 - Women are not small men and it helps if your athletes like beetrootSend us a textOur first podcast covering papers from the sports nutrition literature. This episode includes glycogen utilisation in women, beetroot juice as an aid to beat those early starting events and why a diagnosis of overtraining syndrome may mean your doctor does not know exactly what is wrong with you. With Dr Andy Matheson.Article details are on the facebook page:This podcast is a lighthearted review of the medical literature and Dr Matheson has enormous respect for all scientific researchers and could not do a job as hard...
2021-08-2412 min