https://www.tomcoughlin.co.uk/, https://www.performancenutritiondigest.com/

Tom Nutritionist, 20 Hailes Grove, Edinburgh (2026)

31/08/2026

A good recovery meal should do more than just provide protein.

For athletes, the key priorities are to restore the fuel used during training, provide the amino acids needed for muscle repair and adaptation, and deliver enough total energy and micronutrients to support the wider recovery process.

A simple way to build the meal:

Start with a substantial carbohydrate source such as rice or pasta to replenish muscle glycogen.

Add a high-quality protein source to stimulate muscle protein synthesis and support tissue repair.

Include colourful vegetables to increase your intake of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals.

Add healthy fats such as olive oil to increase energy density and provide unsaturated fatty acids.

Then, depending on your training demands and overall energy needs, add yoghurt and fruit for extra carbohydrate, protein, calcium and polyphenols.

The size of the meal should reflect the session. After a long, high-volume or glycogen-depleting session, carbohydrate and total energy become particularly important. After lighter training, the same structure can be used with smaller portions.

Recovery nutrition does not need to be complicated. Build the plate around carbohydrate, protein and nutrient-dense foods, then scale it to the work you have just done.

tomcoughlin.co.uk

31/08/2026

Recovery nutrition - restoring readiness without blunting adaptation 🔄

This narrative review synthesised 130 studies on nutrition for exercise recovery and proposed a “recovery–adaptation coupling” (RAC) framework 🔍

Here are the key messages ⬇️

⚡ Recovery nutrition should match the next athletic demand rather than simply minimise soreness

🔥 Inflammation and oxidative stress are not purely harmful; both contribute to repair and adaptation

🍽️ Adequate energy availability remains the foundation of effective recovery

💪 Protein should be distributed across the day, with ~0.25–0.40 g/kg per feeding as a practical starting range

🌙 ~30–40 g pre-sleep protein may support overnight muscle protein synthesis after late training

🍞 With another glycogen-demanding session within ~8 h, ~1.0–1.2 g/kg/h carbohydrate for the first 4 h can accelerate restoration

💧 Fluid and sodium replacement should be individualised to sweat losses and the next session

🍒 Tart cherry, pomegranate and blueberry may support selected recovery outcomes, but effects are product-specific

🫚 Curcumin may reduce soreness or muscle-damage markers in some settings, but evidence varies by dose and formulation

🐟 Omega-3s may influence strength loss, stiffness and anabolic responses, although benefits are inconsistent

💥 Creatine is established for strength and high-intensity performance, but recovery-specific effects are mixed

🦴 Collagen or gelatin plus vitamin C may support collagen synthesis alongside loading, but evidence for faster return-to-play is insufficient

🚫 Chronic indiscriminate high-dose antioxidant use may suppress useful adaptive signalling

📊 Recovery should be monitored using subjective, functional and contextual measures rather than soreness, CK or wearables alone

The primary RAC framework consists of…

1️⃣ Identify the main recovery bottleneck
2️⃣ Match nutrition to the next demand
3️⃣ Avoid unnecessarily suppressing adaptation

PMID: 42588146

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30/08/2026

The August edition of Super Digestible is out tomorrow.

This month’s 33-point performance nutrition breakdown covers:

✅ What athletes should do
🤔 What may be worth considering
🚨 What they should avoid

Including ligament injury nutrition, the top five performance supplements, cramping strategies, beetroot juice, protein targets, low-FODMAP diets and much more.

Read the full article exclusively at performancenutritiondigest.com

Paid subscribers get access to each monthly Super Digestible, over 1000 study breakdowns and are entered into a monthly draw for a £50 Healthspan Elite voucher (£600 given away so far).

30/08/2026

Vegetarian diets for female athletes - best practices 🌱

This new review examined vegetarian diets in female athletes, focusing on performance, health, REDs risk and the importance of how these diets are implemented 🔍

Here are the key messages ⬇️

Vegetarian Diet Types 🔍
 🥛 Lacto-ovo vegetarian: Includes dairy products and eggs 🥛 Lacto-vegetarian: Includes dairy products, excludes eggs 🥚 Ovo-vegetarian: Includes eggs, excludes dairy products 🌿 Vegan: Excludes both dairy products and eggs

Energy availability ⚡ 📝 Adequate energy intake is needed to meet training and physiological demands

Protein adequacy 💪 📝 Sufficient protein quantity and quality supports adaptation, recovery and maintenance of lean mass

Micronutrient adequacy 🧬 📝 Pay particular attention to iron, vitamin B12, calcium, vitamin D, iodine and omega-3 fatty acids

Menstrual health monitoring 🩸 📝 Regularly assess menstrual function as an indicator of athlete health and energy availability

REDs risk management ⚖️ 📝 Identify and address low energy availability and REDs early

Well-implemented vegetarian diets ✅
 🏃 Comparable performance to omnivorous athletes 💪 Muscle strength and adaptations maintained 🩸 Supports normal hormonal and reproductive health 🦴 Supports bone health ❤️ Cardiometabolic and wider health benefits 🥗 Requires adequate energy availability, dietary quality, nutrient adequacy and appropriate implementation

Poorly-implemented vegetarian diets ⚠️
 📉 Reduced performance and recovery 💪 Loss of lean mass or strength 🩸 Menstrual disturbances and hormonal dysregulation 🚨 Greater risk of low energy availability and REDs 🍽️ Often associated with inadequate energy and nutrient intake, poor dietary quality and limited implementation support

The key issue is not whether an athlete eats vegetarian, but whether the diet provides sufficient energy, protein, micronutrients and overall dietary quality ☝️

Successful vegetarian diets require appropriate planning, education and ongoing monitoring rather than simply removing animal foods ✅

PMID: 42621094

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29/08/2026

Underfuelling does not always look like deliberately eating less.

Athletes can make consistently “healthy” food choices and still fall short of the energy and carbohydrate required to support their training.

A light breakfast, salad-based lunch, fruit-only snack and carbohydrate-free dinner may each seem reasonable in isolation. Across the whole day, however, they can create a meaningful gap between energy intake and exercise expenditure.

Training fasted can widen that gap further, particularly when the session is long or demanding and the energy used is not fully replaced later. A protein shake may help stimulate muscle protein synthesis, but it is rarely a complete recovery meal. It may provide protein without enough carbohydrate, total energy or micronutrients.

When this becomes habitual, the consequences can extend beyond feeling hungry. Low energy and carbohydrate availability may contribute to:

Reduced training quality
Slower glycogen restoration
Impaired recovery and adaptation
Persistent fatigue
Increased illness and injury risk
Disruption to hormonal, immune and bone health

The solution is not to remove fruit, vegetables, salads or protein shakes. These can all form part of a high-quality athlete diet. The goal is to build around them.

Add oats, cereal or toast to breakfast. Include rice, pasta, potatoes, bread or another carbohydrate source with main meals. Pair fruit with yoghurt, granola, a sandwich or another substantial snack. Follow demanding training with carbohydrate, protein and enough total food to replace what you have used.

You do not need to eat as much as possible. You need to eat enough for the work you are asking your body to perform.

Good nutrition is not only about food quality. For athletes, quantity, timing and alignment with training demand matter too.

tomcoughlin.co.uk

29/08/2026

Fat isn’t just fuel: exercise remodels adipose tissue 🩻

This new review examined fat metabolism during exercise, white, brown and beige adipose tissue, and how exercise changes adipose function and signalling 🔍

Here are the key findings ⬇️

🔥 Fat is a major fuel at rest and during moderate exercise, but its contribution falls as intensity rises

🏃 Maximal fat oxidation generally occurs around 50–65% VO₂max

📊 In 1,121 competitive athletes, maximal fat oxidation averaged ~0.59 g/min at ~50% VO₂max

🥑 Low-carb high-fat diets can rapidly increase fat oxidation, but fat requires ~10% more oxygen than carbohydrate to produce the same ATP

⚡ Greater fat oxidation therefore does not automatically translate into better endurance performance

⚪️ White adipose tissue is metabolically active, storing energy while also influencing inflammation and signalling

🟤 Brown adipose tissue generates heat, while beige adipocytes have intermediate thermogenic characteristics

🏋️ Exercise remodels white adipose tissue by increasing lipolytic capacity, vascularisation, innervation and oxidative function

❌ Human evidence does not support the idea that exercise training meaningfully “browns” white adipose tissue

☝️ Exercise also does not consistently increase brown adipose tissue volume or activity in humans

💪 Resistance training and muscle hypertrophy may indirectly reduce fat mass, although the mechanisms remain unclear

🩸 During fat loss, resistance training and adequate protein are central to preserving muscle mass

🔄 Muscle and adipose tissue communicate through exerkines including IL-6, TGF-β2 and 12,13-diHOME which can influence…

🧬 lipolysis
📈 glucose uptake
🔥 fatty-acid oxidation
🫀 metabolic health

Fat is therefore not simply an inert energy store: adipose tissue is a dynamic endocrine organ that both fuels and adapts to exercise ✅

Exercise can also significantly improve adipose tissue function even when changes in total fat mass are modest 🚴‍♂️

Reference:

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40798-026-01085-y

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28/08/2026

One of the more unusual things I used during my 109 km ultra was menthol mouthwash.

I kept it in my 50 km and 70 km drop bags for three reasons: to reset my palate and reduce fuel fatigue, to potentially gain a small perceptual benefit from menthol, and simply to feel fresher later in the race.

Menthol activates cold-sensitive receptors in the mouth, which can improve thermal sensation and comfort without actually lowering core temperature. Some studies also suggest potential endurance-performance benefits in hot conditions.

But for me, the biggest value was practical: after hours of gels, drinks and sweet foods, cleaning my mouth and face made it easier to keep fuelling.

A tiny detail, but one I’ll definitely use again in longer ultras.

tomcoughlin.co.uk

28/08/2026

Building 1 kg of muscle may cost ~3,500 kcal 💪🔥

This paper developed a bottom-up model to estimate the energetic cost of building 1 kg of wet human skeletal muscle, including tissue energy, synthesis, deposition, maintenance and diet-induced thermogenesis 🔍

Here are the key points ⬇️

💪 1 kg of wet muscle was modelled as containing ~177 g protein, 30 g lipid and 20 g glycogen

🔥 The chemical energy stored in that new tissue was estimated at ~1355 kcal/kg

🧬 Adding the direct biochemical cost of synthesising protein, lipid and glycogen increased this to ~1515 kcal/kg

⚙️ Accounting for imperfect physiological deposition efficiency increased the requirement to ~2587 kcal/kg

🛌 Maintaining the accumulating muscle during a 12-week gain period added ~546 kcal/kg

🍽️ Including diet-induced thermogenesis produced a final central estimate of ~3481 kcal to build 1 kg of wet skeletal muscle

📊 The estimated range was ~3204–3710 kcal/kg, driven mainly by uncertainty around protein deposition efficiency

📅 If 1 kg of muscle was gained over 12 weeks, the tissue-specific requirement equated to only ~41 kcal/day

⚠️ This does NOT mean athletes should simply add 41 kcal/day, because training, recovery, other adaptations and errors in estimating maintenance needs are not included

📈 Common bulking recommendations of +300–500 kcal/day can create a surplus almost 10× greater than the estimated tissue-specific requirement

🩻 Larger surpluses may therefore increase fat gain without proportional increases in muscle gain

The energy required to physically build muscle itself may be relatively modest compared with traditional bulking surpluses 🧐

This estimate has not been directly measured in adults yet, therefore ~3500 kcal/kg should be viewed as a physiological reference point, not a prescribed calorie-surplus target ✅

Reference:

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.17.745156v1.full

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27/08/2026

Carbohydrate loading is one of the areas in sports nutrition that athletes get wrong most frequently.

The goal is to maximise muscle glycogen availability before prolonged endurance exercise. For events lasting longer than approximately 90 minutes, athletes may benefit from consuming around 10–12 g of carbohydrate per kilogram of body mass per day during the final 36–48 hours before competition.

Reaching this target can be difficult, particularly if other foods create too much fullness or gastrointestinal discomfort.

Common mistakes include:

Eating too much fibre. Large amounts of wholegrains, pulses, vegetables and high-fibre cereals can increase food volume and gut residue. Temporarily choosing lower-fibre carbohydrate sources may make the target easier to achieve and reduce the likelihood of gastrointestinal issues.

Eating too much fat. Fat is energy-dense and filling, but it does not directly replenish glycogen. High-fat meals may displace the carbohydrate foods needed during the loading period.

Eating too much protein. Protein remains important, but oversized portions can increase fullness and leave less room for carbohydrate. Keep protein servings moderate and familiar.

Waiting until the night before. One large meal is unlikely to maximise glycogen stores. Increase carbohydrate intake progressively across the final 24–48 hours instead.

Not eating frequently enough. Attempting to meet a high target through three large meals can feel overwhelming. Use regular meals, snacks and carbohydrate-containing drinks throughout the day.

Only using solid foods. Fruit juice, smoothies, milk drinks and carbohydrate-electrolyte drinks can increase carbohydrate intake without adding as much food volume.

Carbohydrate loading should feel planned, not forced. Base it around familiar, easily digested foods and practise your approach before an important race.

A short-term increase in body mass is also normal because glycogen is stored with water. This is part of arriving well fuelled, not unwanted body-fat gain.

tomcoughlin.co.uk

27/08/2026

Nutrition and hydration for heatwave adaptation 🌡️

This new review synthesised 52 sources on nutrition and hydration strategies for reducing health risks during extreme heat 🔍

Here are the key findings ⬇️

💧 Regular water intake is the most strongly supported nutritional strategy during heat exposure

🔥 Heat increases sweating, fluid and electrolyte losses, cardiovascular strain and thermoregulatory stress

🧂 Electrolytes may help during prolonged or intense sweating, particularly for athletes and outdoor workers

⚠️ Most healthy people do not need routine electrolytes if fluid intake and diet are adequate

🚰 Hydration should avoid both dehydration and excessive fluid intake, which can increase hyponatraemia risk during prolonged exertion

🍉 Water-rich foods such as fruit, vegetables, soups, milk and yoghurt can support hydration but should not replace water

🍽️ Smaller, digestible meals may reduce digestive and metabolic burden in the heat, although direct evidence is limited

🥩 “Eating light” should not mean under-fuelling, particularly for athletes, older adults and vulnerable groups

🍷 Alcohol should be limited during extreme heat, while sugary drinks should not be relied upon for hydration

🏃 Athletes and outdoor workers may need individualised fluid and sodium strategies based on sweat losses, exercise duration and conditions

🧂 Sodium-containing drinks may improve fluid retention when sweating is substantial or exercise lasts several hours

🥗 The Mediterranean diet may offer a practical base-diet for the heat, through seasonal fruit and vegetables, legumes, whole grains, yoghurt, fish and olive oil

⚠️ However, it has not been directly shown to improve heat tolerance or hydration during heatwaves

🎯 Hydration has the strongest evidence, while guidance on meal size, macronutrients and dietary patterns relies largely on indirect evidence

Nutrition and hydration can and should support, rather than replace, cooling and other heat-management strategies ✅

PMID: 42588124

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Tom Nutritionist

31/08/2026

31/08/2026

30/08/2026

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