💡 Fuel For Thought

The most overlooked nutrient in your diet

When we think about nutrition, our minds usually go straight to carbohydrates, protein, or supplements and water is often overlooked. The truth is, water is a nutrient too. In fact, it’s the most biologically active molecule in the body and the one we lose in the greatest amounts every single day. Around 60–65% of your body weight is water, which shows just how vital it is for keeping everything running smoothly.

From transporting nutrients and oxygen in your blood to aiding digestion and temperature regulation, water is at the centre of almost every function in your body. During exercise, those demands increase even more as sweat losses rise and your body works harder to circulate blood and fuel to your working muscles. And while there’s been a big push lately for electrolyte powders and hydration products the most crucial strategy still comes down to the basics: drinking enough water.

Staying on top of hydration doesn’t have to be complicated. Keep water handy throughout the day, drink to your thirst cues, and make sure to replace what you’ve lost after training. Small, consistent habits like these are often the difference between running on empty and feeling sharp, strong, and well-fuelled.

🚀 Endurance Highlights

1️⃣ Maximising recovery: What science says about sleep and nutrition

When we think of an athlete's optimal performance, recovery is often underestimated. This article highlights how sleep is not just “rest” but a powerful recovery tool, restoring the immune and endocrine systems, supporting carbohydrate metabolism, protein synthesis, and ultimately, athletic performance. For athletes with high training loads, inadequate sleep can compromise recovery, increase injury risk, and blunt adaptations to training.

The review also explores how nutrition can support sleep quality and duration. Foods and supplements like carbohydrate-rich evening meals, tryptophan-rich protein, tart cherry juice, kiwifruit, magnesium, and even creatine show promise in improving sleep or reducing the impact of sleep loss. On the flip side, poorly timed caffeine can harm sleep, making individualised strategies essential.

While more research is needed, the takeaway is clear: aligning nutrition and sleep is a powerful (and often overlooked) way for athletes to optimise recovery, resilience, and performance.

2️⃣ Can beta-alanine help you push through fatigue?

When we exercise, the body releases hydrogen ions into the muscles and bloodstream, lowering pH and contributing to fatigue. One of the body’s natural defenses against this is carnosine, a compound in muscle that helps buffer hydrogen. Beta-alanine is the amino acid that builds carnosine, which is why it’s often used as a supplement by athletes looking to delay fatigue.

​A new study on competitive middle- and long-distance adolescent runners found that four weeks of beta-alanine supplementation improved time to exhaustion by about 6.5%, compared to just 1.4% in the placebo group. Runners were able to sustain efforts longer and showed improvements in tolerance to higher-intensity segments of exercise. Interestingly, while performance improved, aerobic capacity (VO₂max) itself did not increase. In other words, beta-alanine didn’t make athletes more “aerobically fit,” but it did help them go further before fatigue set in.

It’s worth noting that this study only lasted four weeks and focused on middle- and long-distance runners. More research is needed to understand whether beta-alanine supplementation can provide similar benefits for ultra-endurance athletes, where fatigue mechanisms are more complex and play out over much longer durations.

🕵🏻‍♀️ Retail Finds*

This week's product review: SiS Beta Fuel Energy Gel

Long are the days the standard energy gel provided 20g carb per packet. Many brands are now looking at ways to pack more bang for your buck or carbs for your runs.

Features & benefits

• Facts per gel: 158 calories, 40g carbohydrate, 0g protein, 0g fat, 12 mg sodium.
• Nootropics: 250mg Cognizin®, 200mg caffeine, 1g Taurine and 200mg Theanine
• 1:0.8 glucose: fructose ratio (helpful for those targeting >90g carb/hour)
• Gel-like texture, but less thick than a Maurten gel

Things to keep in mind

• Bitter flavour
• 200 mg caffeine per gel may be too much if you plan to have several

What are Nootropics?

• Nootropics also known as 'cognitive enhancers' are drugs that some people use in an attempt to improve memory, increase mental alertness and concentration. From the Alcohol and Drug Foundation.​

Final take

These energy gels can be helpful for athletes looking to increase their hourly carbohydrate intake. Given the addition of nootropics, it could be helpful to leave this particular gel for the second half of the race when fatigue creeps in and mental sharpness starts to decline. ​​​​​​

👩🏻‍🍳 Kitchen Creations

​Download the recipe​​​

Salmon Quinoa Salad This is a nice and balanced meal packed with protein, fibre and nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D and tryptophan (helpful for improved sleep) making it a great dinner option.

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Happy fuelling!

Gaby | Endurance Nutrition Specialist

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p.s. I personally read and answer your email replies.

PLUS whenever you’re ready, here are 3 ways I can help you optimise your performance:

1. ​Take the FREE Endurance Nutrition Audit. Not sure if your fuelling strategy is working? This quick 3-minute audit will reveal exactly where you stand and what adjustments could help you perform at your best.
2. ​Book a FREE strategy call. Need expert advice on your next best step? Let’s chat! In this commitment-free call, I’ll help you identify key areas to improve and map out a fueling approach tailored to your endurance goals.
3. ​Join the Fuel To Thrive Academy. Ready to take action? My signature program gives you the ultimate fuelling roadmap to unlock your full potential in sport and life, with proven strategies that have helped endurance athletes fuel smarter, perform better and break records.

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