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Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids are traditionally associated with cardiometabolic health with implications for reducing risk of cardiovascular disease. More recently, omega-3 fatty acids have received considerable attention in the context of athlete health and performance, specifically with regards to promoting training adaptation and exercise recovery.
Course Objectives
Course
Credits
Course Expiration
ACSM
1
11/06/2024
BOC
1
11/06/2024
CSCCa
1
11/06/2024
Team sport athletes are at risk of training and competing in a hypohydrated state when fluid losses are large and/or there are challenges with fluid availability or opportunity to drink. Technical skill and cognitive function are essential to team sport athlete performance and may be impaired with hypohydration, especially when combined with heat stress. The mechanism of cognitive impairment with hypohydration is not fully understood. Decrements in cognitive function, skill and physical performance in team sports are more likely to occur when hypohydration levels are > 2% body mass loss, but there is significant inter-individual variability in the effect of hypohydration on team sport performance.
Course Objectives
Course
Credits
Course Expiration
ACSM
1
09/09/2024
BOC
1
09/09/2024
Commission on Dietetic Registration
1
09/09/2024
CSCCa
1
09/09/2024
Fatigue during high intensity sports or activities (~1-10 minutes in length) is caused by several components with strong evidence that muscle acidosis via accumulating hydrogen ions is a key performance inhibitor. To address this issue, skeletal muscle has intra and extracellular buffering mechanisms to attenuate exercise induced acidosis. Carnosine is an intracellular buffer that is key in slowing the decline of muscle pH. Carnosine has a nitrogen containing imidazole side ring which accepts or buffers hydrogen. This buffering can contribute as much as 15% of total buffering capacity. Additionally, carnosine has been shown to be a calcium/hydrogen exchanger, delivering calcium back to the sarcoplasmic reticulum and hydrogen away to the cell membrane. This suggests that carnosine may increase calcium sensitivity and muscle contraction efficiency. Plasma beta-alanine is the rate limiting substrate of carnosine. Approximately 3-6 g/d of beta-alanine supplementation over at least four weeks can elevate muscle carnosine stores by 30-60%. Several meta-analyses have been conducted and has shown 2-3% increased performance in non-elite athletes, followed with just 0.5-1% increased performance in elite athletes.
Course Objectives
Course
Credits
Course Expiration
ACSM
1
06/24/2024
BOC
1
06/23/2024
Commission on Dietetic Registration
1
06/23/2024
CSCCa
1
06/23/2024
Dehydration (>2% reduction in body mass) can result in decreased performance and delayed recovery. Although it has not been largely studied, there is limited evidence that suggests that dehydration may exacerbate exercise induced muscle damage (EIMD) and prolong recovery. The proposed mechanisms for the adverse effects of dehydration on EIMD include alterations in cell volume and ion flux, cell membrane disruption, impaired excitation-contraction coupling, decreased skeletal blood flow, modified red blood cell properties, and/or intensification of maladaptive signaling.
Course Objectives
Course
Credits
Course Expiration
ACSM
1
10/21/2023
BOC
1
10/21/2023
Commission on Dietetic Registration
1
10/21/2023
CSCCa
1
10/21/2023
During exercise, both fat and carbohydrate are metabolized to produce energy. At lower intensities and rest, fat is the predominate substrate that is metabolized. As intensity increases, carbohydrate metabolism increases and fat metabolism decreases. Incremental exercise tests have been developed on both a cycle ergometer and treadmill to measure the maximal fat oxidation (MFO) and at what intensity MFO occurs (FATMAX). It has been shown that there is large individual variation in MFO and FATMAX, and that individuals may have a unique FATMAX curve. Increasing an athlete’s fat oxidation may be beneficial as it could preserve the limited amount of muscle and liver glycogen, which could then delay fatigue. Several nutritional supplements thought to increase fat oxidation have been studied, such as; green tea, New Zealand blackcurrants, caffeine, and Omega-3. In addition to supplementation, training strategies to decrease muscle and liver glycogen availability prior to exercise have been shown to increase fat oxidation during exercise. It is important to note that an increase in fat oxidation during exercise has not been associated with improved performance.
Course Objectives
Course
Credits
Course Expiration
ACSM
1
10/20/2023
BOC
1
10/20/2023
Commission on Dietetic Registration
1
10/20/2023
CSCCa
1
10/20/2023
Understanding an athlete’s blood biomarkers is an objective way to measure performance, recovery, and nutritional status. Since an athlete is exposed to different stressors such as increased workload, sleep loss, and travel, it is important to monitor an athlete’s blood biomarkers to prevent injury and illness. Common issues that can be found my measuring blood biomarkers is low Vitamin D and Iron status, low energy availability, and decreased hormone levels. Analyzing blood biomarkers can help to keep an athlete healthy, however, the results can be jeopardized by faulty pre analytic approaches. Ensuring appropriate pre analytic approaches are taken are likely to increase the probability of measuring physiological changes in an athlete. In addition to blood biomarkers, other subjective, physical, and metabolic measurements should be taken to measure physiological changes during an athlete’s season.
Course Objectives
Course
Credits
Course Expiration
ACSM
1
10/08/2023
BOC
1
10/08/2023
Commission on Dietetic Registration
1
10/08/2023
CSCCa
1
10/08/2023
Caffeine is one of the most studied supplements and has shown ergogenic effects in almost every sport scenario it has been studied. The benefits of ingesting moderate to high doses of caffeine (5-9 mg/kg of body mass) before and during exercise have been well established in endurance exercise. Although the moderate to high doses of caffeine improves endurance performance, side effects such as gastrointestinal upset, nervousness, mental confusion, inability to focus and disturbed sleep have been reported. Lower doses of caffeine (<3 mg/kg of body mass) have been shown to have similar performance benefits as the moderate to high doses, and without the side effects. In addition to endurance performance, caffeine also improves performance in stop-and-go and team sports that require short-term, high intensity movements. Caffeine seems to have an antagonistic interaction with adenosine receptors in the central and peripheral nervous system, which increases central drive and reduces the perception of fatigue and pain during exercise. There is some variation between individuals in response to the effects of caffeine and it is unclear whether genetic polymorphisms can explain the inter-individual seen during caffeine administration.
Course Objectives
Course
Credits
Course Expiration
ACSM
1
10/08/2023
BOC
1
10/08/2023
Commission on Dietetic Registration
1
10/08/2023
CSCCa
1
10/08/2023
Bone health is an important aspect that the general population should pay attention to, especially the athlete population. Good bone health will not only prevent immediate injuries such as stress fractures but will prevent long lasting damage later in an athlete’s life such as osteoporosis. Even though athletes need to pay special attention to their bone health, the general recommendations to support bone health is not very different from the general population and it is not clear whether the recommendations for the general population will adequately support an athlete’s needs through periods of intense training. Athletes should consider consuming additional supplements if their food preferences or intolerances do not allow them to get sufficient nutrients needed to support their bone health. Athletes also need to be aware of their energy intake and expenditure to ensure they are maintaining a positive energy balance.
Course Objectives
Course
Credits
Course Expiration
ACSM
1
10/07/2023
BOC
1
10/07/2023
Commission on Dietetic Registration
1
10/07/2023
CSCCa
1
10/07/2023
High altitude training camps are commonly used by endurance athletes in order to increase their fitness prior to competition. Energy availability (EA) requirements may be altered by low to moderate altitudes, and it is suggested that EA may play a role in an athlete’s ability to adjusts to hypoxic conditions. Iron is a micronutrient with known importance to an athlete’s health while at altitude and is important for increasing hemoglobin mass. While studies investigating physiological adaptations at extreme altitudes (>3,000 m.) have been conducted, there is a call for more studies at low to moderate altitudes (1,600-2,400 m.). Since the effects of training at low to moderate altitudes are not yet fully confirmed, it is best to apply sea-level nutrition and hydration guidelines to an athlete’s training at altitude.
Course Objectives
Course
Credits
Course Expiration
ACSM
1
10/07/2023
BOC
1
10/07/2023
Commission on Dietetic Registration
1
10/07/2023
CSCCa
1
10/07/2023