Nutrition and Supplementation: Evidence and Risk
Nutrition and Supplementation tests practical fueling and the boundary between evidence-based supplementation and unsafe or unethical practice.
Core nutrition rules
- Energy balance drives weight change; macronutrient distribution supports performance and recovery.
- Protein: roughly 1.6-2.0 g/kg/day for strength athletes and 1.2-1.4 g/kg/day for endurance athletes, spread across meals.
- Carbohydrate: roughly 3-10 g/kg/day depending on training load; higher loads need more.
- Fat: about 20-35% of energy, supporting hormone function and essential fatty acids.
- Hydration: body mass loss of about 2% can impair performance; replace roughly 1.25-1.5 L per kg of body mass lost after exercise.
Supplements
- Creatine monohydrate: about 3-5 g/day; loading is optional.
- Caffeine: about 3-6 mg/kg, timed away from sleep.
- Beta-alanine: about 4-6 g/day, often split to reduce paresthesia.
- Use third-party tested products; strict liability means an athlete is responsible for what is in the body.
Worked example
An 80 kg strength athlete needs 1.6-2.0 g/kg protein = 128-160 g/day. Split across four meals, that is about 32-40 g per meal. At 5 g/day creatine, no loading phase is required. The reasoning: total daily protein and consistency matter more than a narrow post-workout window, and a third-party tested creatine avoids unnecessary banned-substance risk.
Traps
Believing a 30-minute anabolic window is decisive; assuming creatine causes dehydration; using caffeine without considering body mass and sleep; trusting proprietary blends; ignoring banned-substance risk in supplements.