SPS Nutrition

07/09/2025

🚦 Gut Health Point 1: Fuel Overload Made Simple

If you’re pushing over 60 grams of carbs per hour during training or racing, and using only glucose, you’re likely overloading your gut.

Your body has two key carb absorption systems:
🚕 Glucose uses the SGLT1 transporter
🚖 Fructose uses the GLUT5 transporter

Take too much of one type (especially glucose), and it sits in your gut.

That means slower absorption, stomach issues, and poor fuel delivery to your muscles (Jeukendrup, 2010; Costa et al., 2017).

The solution? Use a mix.

A 2:1 ratio of glucose to fructose lets your body absorb up to 90 grams per hour, with far less gut stress (Jentjens and Jeukendrup, 2005; Rowlands et al., 2022).

✅ Train your gut to handle more
✅ Spread intake across time, don’t dump it all at once
✅ Increase carb intake gradually
✅ Practice in sessions, not on race day
✅ Your ‘sweet spot’ is individual, find it before it’s too late

I help athletes optimise fuelling so it works in the real world ➡️ without bloating, Gut issues, or bad timing.

📬 DM me if you want a fuelling plan that fits your training. 👊🏼

31/08/2025

24/08/2025

🔋 Mitochondria Made Simple

Every time you lift, run, think or recover ➡️ your mitochondria do the work.

They’re the power plants inside your cells.
More mitochondria = more energy made.
Fewer = slower, foggier, underperforming.

👊 You can build them 👉🏼 or lose them.

What kills them:
❌ Inactivity
❌ Poor diet
❌ Lack of sleep
❌ Overtraining
❌ Micronutrient deficiencies

What builds them:
✅ Interval and aerobic training
✅ Sleep + recovery
✅ Whole food
✅ Correct fuelling ➡️ not under-eating
✅ Nutrients like B12, iron, omega-3s, polyphenols, CoQ10

Low mitochondrial function is behind a lot of the fatigue, brain fog, and flat performance 👊🏼 even in fit people.

📊 I help clients build energy from the inside out.
Not guesswork ➡️ proper strategy, analysis, testing (when needed), and real food.

📩 Message me if you want to get on top of fatigue and build output and performance that lasts.

20/08/2025

🔥 Inflammation Made Simple

👊 Chronic inflammation blocks recovery, slows progress, and drains energy ➡️ even in fit, active people.

You don’t need symptoms to have a problem. Internal stress builds when:

❌ Sleep is poor
❌ Stress is high
❌ You’re underfuelling or overtraining
❌ Processed food or gut issues are in the mix

It impacts:

📉 Muscle repair
🧠 Brain function
💤 Sleep quality
💪 Fat loss and body comp
🛠️ Long-term health

Here’s what lowers it:

✅ Anti-inflammatory nutrition
✅ Sleep, movement, stress control
✅ Targeted recovery — not just more training
✅ Functional blood markers when needed (CRP, iron, B12, D)

I work with athletes and health conscious people to fix this properly.

📩 Message me if you want clarity and a plan.

17/08/2025

📊 Know Your Numbers. Train With Purpose.

I offer performance-driven testing and analysis to help you train smarter.

🧍‍♂️ ISAK Body Composition Analysis

➡️ Skinfolds, girths & segment data measured to gold-standard

➡️ Pinpoints exact areas to improve for your sport or position

📈 E.g. a swimmer needing more lat mass, or a rugby player needing leg size for contact, & everything in-between

➡️ Compared against elite, sport-specific norms for precision planning

🥗 Nutrition Analysis

➡️ Accurate breakdown of intake, deficiencies, and fuelling gaps

➡️ Matched to your goals, training load & recovery demands

🧪 Functional Blood Testing

➡️ Vitamin D, B12, Iron, Cholesterol, CRP & more

➡️ Insight into low energy, immunity, and performance blocks

🧃 Fuelling, Hydration & Supplement Plans

➡️ Tailored to your sport, session types, and lifestyle

📊 Custom Meal Plans

➡️ Real food, real preferences, no guesswork

👨‍🔬 Expert Support

➡️ MSc-qualified | ISAK-accredited | SENR-recognised | PgDip | HNC

📬 DM to book your performance testing and planning pack this week.

13/08/2025

💧 Electrolytes Made Simple ➡️ What You Really Need to Know.

Sodium, potassium, magnesium… the electrolyte buzz is popular.

But do you actually need to take them daily?

Electrolytes are charged minerals that keep your body running:

⚡ Control fluid balance
⚡ Regulate muscle contractions
⚡ Support nerve signals
⚡ Prevent cramping, fatigue, and poor recovery

You lose them when you sweat ➡️ but how much you need depends on training, climate, sweat rate, and diet.

🧂 Sweat rates over 1L/hour or visible salt marks on clothing? You’re likely losing a lot ➡️ and might benefit from targeted electrolyte support
(Burke & Deakin, 2015; Thomas et al., 2016).

💦 Exercise in the heat, longer than 60–90 min, low-carb diets, illness recovery, or multi-session days = clear use cases.

But for short, light sessions in cool conditions with a good diet?

You often don’t need extra electrolytes ➡️ and overusing them can dilute your body’s natural balance or raise blood pressure in some individuals.
(Maughan & Shirreffs, 2019).

🟡 Pale straw p*e = hydrated
🟠 Dark yellow = dehydrated
⚪ Crystal clear = possible overhydration (diluting salts)

I help athletes calculate sweat rate, match electrolyte needs to their training, and fuel recovery without guesswork.

📬 DM me if you’re serious about precision hydration and performance.

05/08/2025

Commonly, gut issues have these symptoms: bloated, tired or foggy, even with a “healthy” diet?

👉 It might not be a food intolerance.
It could be your gut that’s struggling.

Here’s how it spirals:

🦠 Poor gut bacteria (aka dysbiosis)

= bad bugs take over (Karl et al., 2017)
= 🧱 damaged gut lining (intestinal permeability)

= 🚫 nutrients can’t get absorbed properly

= 💨 low iron, B12, magnesium (Bischoff, 2011)

= 💤 fatigue, brain fog, poor recovery (Mach & Fuster-Botella, 2017)

📉 This often starts with:

• Low fibre diets
• Ultra-processed foods
• Frequent antibiotic or NSAID use
• Chronic stress
➡️ All shown to reduce microbial diversity and weaken the gut lining (Valdes et al., 2018; Hills et al., 2019)

Plus…

😖 Your gut talks to your brain via the HPA axis (your stress response system).
If your gut’s inflamed, your stress hormones spike, affecting:
🧠 Focus
🏃‍♂️ Energy
💤 Sleep
🔥 Inflammation
(Clarke et al., 2013; Trotter et al., 2020)

🧬 I use advanced nutrition strategies to:
• Rebuild good gut bugs
• Support the gut wall
• Maximise absorption
• Reduce inflammation
• Boost performance from the inside out

📩 DM “GUT” if this sounds like your story.

👊🏼

03/08/2025

Cholesterol ➡️ The Real Story for Active People

Cholesterol isn’t the enemy. For most people, foods like eggs or shellfish have little impact on blood cholesterol levels (Griffin, 2021; Burke & Deakin, 2015).

🚖 HDL, the “good” cholesterol, helps clear excess from the bloodstream.

🏃‍♂️ Regular training boosts HDL, improves LDL particle size, and lowers triglycerides, all linked to better cardiovascular and metabolic health (Kraus et al., 2020; Kodama et al., 2007)

🔥 The real concern is oxidised LDL, which becomes sticky and damaging in the arteries.

This is worsened by poor sleep, stress, processed foods and low antioxidant intake
(Huang et al., 2020)

Even athletes can show poor blood profiles when energy availability is too low or inflammation is high
(Burke & Deakin, 2015)

📊 I combine 🧪 functional blood testing (cholesterol, CRP, vitamins, iron) with advanced nutrition analysis to give a clear picture of what’s going on and how to optimise it.

📬 DM to book or learn more

27/07/2025

Omega-3: The most underrated supplement in performance nutrition?

Often under-dosed causing missed benefits.

The label says “1000mg fish oil” so it must be enough, right?
👉🏼 Not even close.

To actually benefit from omega-3s, for:

🔥inflammation
🧠cognition
🔋recovery, and
❤️heart health -
you need 2000–3000mg of EPA+DHA daily.
Not just “omega-3”. Not “blends”. The real stuff.

Here’s what to look for:

✅ Actual EPA + DHA amounts (not just “omega-3 total”)

✅ Re-esterified triglyceride (rTG) form

✅ No blends, seed oils, or filler claims

✅ Third-party tested quality

I use these guidelines with Sport athletes, Tacticsl athletes and clients aiming to perform, recover, and stay healthy for the long haul.

📊 I also check markers like triglycerides to support tailored supplement protocols based on you not guesswork.

📩 DM me to check your current omega-3 label or conduct an in-depth nutrition analysis, to accurately highlight your needs.

📲 Or book a call if you want expert-led performance nutrition, properly done.

23/07/2025

Feeling fatigued and tired?
You might be low on iron.

Ferritin is a useful marker…
But it can be misleading without CRP to check for inflammation.

⚠️ High ferritin + high CRP?
👉🏼Likely inflammation, not strong iron status.

✅ Low ferritin + normal CRP?
👉🏼 You’re probably underfuelled and under-recovered.

🧪 Ferritin

20/07/2025

Recovery starts with structure.

This framework helps athletes prioritise recovery strategies that actually move the needle.
It’s what I use with rugby players, football, track and field athletes, endurance athletes, combat sports and tactical athletes during high-volume phases like pre-season or competition prep.

The Performance Recovery Pyramid:

🥄 Fuel + hydrate ➡️ Carbs, protein, and sodium to restore energy and support adaptation

😴 Sleep ➡️ Deep, consistent sleep drives physical and mental recovery
🧠 Reset the nervous system ➡️ Low-stimulation recovery matters more than you think
💊 Use supplements with purpose ➡️ Omega-3s, creatine, tart cherry 🍒 *useful, not essential

Successfull progressing athletes don’t do more they do the right things, consistently.

📩 If you want this framework applied to your training week, drop me a message.

06/07/2025

📣 Pre-season is about putting in the work, and ensuring proper fuelling and recovery to gain more from it.
⠀
If you’re hitting the gym, sp*ed work, or pitch hard right now… but want faster strength gains, better repeat effort, and reduced DOMS 👇
⠀
Focus on this:

✔️ Carb periodisation around sessions
✔️ Consistent protein timing
✔️ Soft tissue support (Qualiry protein and potential benefits from collagen + vit C)
✔️ Proper hydration before + after high sweat sessions
⠀
🧠 Adaptation = training + recovery.

Nutrition is the lever that makes the work count.
⠀
🔁 Save this if you’re in pre-season.
📩 Share it with a teammate who’ needs to maximise gains.
⠀