Nutrition Support

Question 1

High altitudes = more body weight loss

Answer 1

Can lose fat free mass and muscle skeletal mass
Dunnwald et al. 2019

Question 2

Reduction in appetite is due to..

Answer 2

Prolonged increase in LEPTIN

Question 3

Causes of Weight loss at altitude

Answer 3

1. Energy balance- hormones controlling energy use: leptin (appetite suppressing hormone)
2. Muscle protein synthesis and breakdown balance- MTORC1 (central regulator for MPS. And is affected by
3. Hypoxia
4. Caloric restriction

Question 4

Holm et al. 2010

Answer 4

• measured people’s MPS at sea level and at altitude
• found MPS went up at altitude
• Hypoxia does not effect MPS, this suggest muscle protein is governed more by caloric restriction

Question 5

How to prevent weight/muscle loss

Answer 5

1. Monitor energy intake
2. Foods should be energy dense/more calories per gram.
3. Protein intake should be considered (as it’s a macronutrient, feel full quickly)
4. Iron supplements to maintain haematological parameters, can help alleviate oxidative stress

Question 6

Energy availability =

Answer 6

Energy intake - exercise energy expenditure/ fat free mass

Question 7

How does energy availability relate to body mass?

Answer 7

Assessing change in body mass during training, can ultimately indicate whether someone has an optimal or low energy state.

Question 8

McLean 2015 - footballs in altitude camp

Answer 8

Those who got ill, did not improve improve their haemoglobin mass. Those who didn’t lose weight, has larger improvements in haemoglobin mass.

Question 9

It is important to measure energy intake to prevent:

Answer 9

1. Weight loss
2. Inadequate energy availability

Question 10

Iron

Answer 10

• cells require iron to make heme proteins, to the make haemoglobin
• if not enough iron it is very difficult to build haemoglobin at altitude

Question 11

Govus et al. (2015)

Answer 11

Iron deficient individuals show no changes in haemoglobin mass due to altitude training

Question 12

Stellingwerff et al 2019

Answer 12

Have at least 100mg of iron per day and consume along side vit D

Question 13

Sterllingwerf et al. 2019
6 major themes in altitude nutrition

Answer 13

1. Altered energy availability.
2. Iron
3. Carbohydrates
4. Hydration
5. antioxidant requirements
6. Various performance supplements

Question 14

The shift to CHO utilisation

Answer 14

Some studies show that there is a shift to CHO utilisation when performing at higher altitudes. more research needs to be done.
Athletes can lower CHO intake to drive cellular adaptations in order to improve performance.

Question 15

Illness and Acute Mountain Sickness

Answer 15

Exercise at altitude causes, excess productions of RONS.
They regulate intra cellular signalling, however …
-cause damage to lipids proteins and DNA
-Impairs cells immune function
-reduced antioxidant capacity may persist after two weeks after altitude training

A solution is to take antioxidant supplements during altitude training .