Development of nutrient-rich Teff bread and its effects on iron status and exercise performance in female runners

Public awareness of the health benefits associated with less-utilised yet nutritious grains has led to a growing demand for healthier cereal products. This has resulted in an interest in improving the nutritional properties of refined white wheat bread, which is one of the main staple foods for most Western nations. Teff is a small-grained cereal that is rich in nutrients and particularly abundant in iron. Therefore, Teff offers the potential to provide a healthier alternative bread product. Female athletes, especially runners are at risk of iron deficiency due to increased iron loss, inadequate dietary iron and limited iron bioavailability in the diet. Good nutrition has been suggested as the first line of action to prevent iron deficiency in this population. As cereals and cereal products are a main contributor to iron in the diet, the modification of dietary iron intakes through a staple food offers a good opportunity to improve the iron status of physically active females. The aims of this research project were 1) to develop a novel, iron-rich bread product by incorporating Teff grain; 2) to explore dietary iron intervention by the means of a staple food product and to measure the effects of this intervention on iron status and exercise performance in female runners. The results indicated that the addition up to 20% of Teff (flour weight) into the bread formulation significantly (P<0.05) increased dietary iron levels without detrimental effects on bread quality. By the use of enzyme combinations, this level was increased to 30%, giving a product that provides over 75% RNI for dietary iron if daily amount of 200g of bread is consumed. A cohort of 11 female runners reported inadequate daily dietary iron intake of 11 mg/day, which was associated with overall compromised iron status. A 6-week dietary intervention resulted in significantly (P<0.05) higher total iron intakes and improved iron tissue supply but not enlarged iron stores. In terms of exercise performance, there were significant (P<0.05) improvements in submaximal VO2 at anaerobic threshold and time-to-exhaustion but not maximal VO2max peak. Moreover, improvements in submaximal gas exchange parameters and endurance were significantly (P<0.05) correlated to improved iron status. It was concluded that Teff bread is a promising iron-rich staple food alternative. It offers the opportunity to improve habitual dietary iron intakes. Favourable trends were observed between improved iron intakes, iron status and exercise performance in this study. Further research is advised to determine the bioavailability of iron from Teff bread and to confirm these findings using larger groups of participants

Iron and the female athlete: a review of dietary treatment methods for improving iron status and exercise performance

Iron is a functional component of oxygen transport and energy production in humans and therefore is a critically important micronutrient for sport and exercise performance. Athletes, particularly female athletes participating in endurance sport, are at increased risk of compromised iron status due to heightened iron losses through menstruation and exercise-induced mechanisms associated with endurance activity. Conventionally oral iron supplementation is used in prevention or/and treatment of iron deficiency. However, this approach has been criticised because of the side effects and increased risk of iron toxicity associated with the use of supplements. Thus, more recently there has been a growing interest in using dietary modification rather than the use of supplements to improve iron status of athletes. Dietary iron treatment methods include the prescription of an iron-rich diet, or/and haem iron-based diet, dietary advice counselling and inclusion of novel iron-rich products into the daily diet. Although studies using dietary modification are still scarce, current literature suggests that dietary iron interventions can assist in maintaining iron status in female athletes, especially during intensive training and competition. Future research should focus on the most efficient method(s) of dietary modification for improvement of iron status and whether these approaches can have a favourable impact on sports and exercise performance.Department of Food & Tourism Management, Manchester Metropolitan University, U

Cereal-based dietary iron intervention for improvement of iron status in female runners

Poster presentation at The Nutrition Society Summer Meeting, Glasgow, UK, 14–17 July 2014, Carbohydrates in health: friends or foes

Nutritional knowledge and eating habits of professional rugby league players:Does knowledge translate into practice?

BACKGROUND: Adequate nutrient intake is important to support training and to optimise performance of elite athletes. Nutritional knowledge has been shown to play an important role in adopting optimal nutrition practices. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between the level of nutritional knowledge and dietary habits in elite English rugby league players using the eatwell plate food categories. METHOD: General nutritional knowledge questionnaires were collected during the Super League competitive season in the first team squad of 21 professional Rugby league players (mean age 25 ± 5 yrs, BMI 27 ± 2.4 kg/m2, experience in game 6 ± 4 yrs). According to their nutritional knowledge scores, the players were assigned to either good or poor nutritional knowledge group (n = 11, n = 10, respectively). Their dietary habits were assessment using a food frequency questionnaire. RESULTS: The findings revealed that nutritional knowledge was adequate (mean 72.82%) in this group of athletes with the highest scores in dietary advice section (85.71%), followed by food groups (71.24%) and food choice (69.52%). The majority of athletes were not aware of current carbohydrate recommendations. This translated into their dietary habits as many starchy and fibrous foods were consumed only occasionally by poor nutritional knowledge group. In terms of their eating habits, the good nutritional knowledge group consumed significantly more fruit and vegetables, and starchy foods (p <.05). Nutritional knowledge was positively correlated to fruit and vegetables consumption (rs = .52, p <.05) but not to any other eatwell plate categories. CONCLUSIONS: The study identified adequate general nutritional knowledge in professional rugby league players with the exception of recommendation for starchy and fibrous foods. Players who scored higher in nutritional knowledge test were more likely to consume more fruits, vegetables and carbohydrate-rich foods