Of all the topics in sports nutrition, perhaps none raises more questions (or debate) than that over protein for athletes.

How much protein should I consume every day?  Is there a best dietary protein for athletes?  When should I consume protein during the day?  Or around my training sessions.  All of these questions and more come up constantly and there is endless confusion and controversy over the topic.

Those questions are all context dependent.   The type of sport, the goals of the athletes and the specifics of the situation all determine the answer.   There can’t be any single answer that is correct for all athletes, situations and goals.

Unfortunately, many who write about dietary protein tend to give exactly those types of single answers.  It doesn’t matter if it’s a sprinter, bodybuilder, powerlifter or distance runner….everyone is given the same recommendations.

With The Protein Book: A Complete Guide for Coaches and Athletes, I set out to take a comprehensive look at the issue.  To examine all of the research on the topic so that I could provide science and evidence based answers to those questions.

Topics Discussed in The Protein Book

The first half of the book addresses basic protein metabolism and physiology.  I provide some basic definitions and background first.  Then I look at topics of protein digestion, absorption and metabolism.  Researchers have debated protein requirements for athletes for decades and I address both sides of the debate.  The final general physiology chapters address protein quality and amino acid requirements.

From there I discuss the long-debated topic of protein requirements, protein quality and individual amino acid requirements.   This is followed by a look at meal frequency and nutrient timing around workouts.  Protein controversies are addressed before I examine whole food proteins, protein powders and protein based supplements.

Finally I show athletes how to put all of this information together for specific athletic situations and goals.    With over 200 pages of information and 500+ scientific references, the book leaves no question about dietary protein for athletes unanswered.

Feedback on The Protein Book

The Protein Book not only covers everything you can possibly imagine regarding protein, but it has easily the best nutrient timing information I’ve ever come across – it alone is worth the price of the book. One thing that separates this book from others is that it takes the research data on each topic, and synthesizes it into realistic concrete applications that can be put to work immediately. Although it’s only recently released, this book is already one of the most used references in my library.

Alan Aragon – Author of Girth Control: The Science of Fat Loss and Muscle Gain

Don’t let the name fool you, The Protein Book is not only the most comprehensive resource on what protein is, how much and what type is optimal, while dispelling the most common myths – it also goes into sound dietary habits for losing weight safely or gaining lean muscular weight without excessive fat gain.

There is no other book on the market which will give you the answers you want to every possible question about protein, in simple-to-understand language and with an extensive list of the most recent and relevant studies pertaining to human nutrition. This book should be your chosen reference, and there is a good reason I keep it right on top of the stack of books next to my computer, when writing nutrition articles and setting up diets for advanced lifters and athletes in various sports.

Borge (aka Blade) – Norway
MyoRevolution

There is an old joke about how people who get interested in certain topics are usually trying to fix themselves.  In the case of Optimal Nutrition for Injury Recovery that was certainly the case.

In 2017 I sustained a catastrophic injury including a broken fibula and two torn ligaments. I was inline skating, someone bumped me from behind, my skate stuck to the floor and that was that.

I would require surgery with a plate and two pins put in my leg to keep it together while everything healed.  This would be followed by months of being on crutches while I recovered.

Since I was determined to make sure everything healed as well as it could, I started to research the topic of optimal nutrition for injury recovery.  To my surprise, there was nothing that had been written recently.  The most recent book I could find was written nearly two decades ago and was assuredly out of date.

So I’d get into the original research, examining all of the topics relevant to post-injury healing.   That led to the publication of this booklet.

The reality of being active is that injuries occur.  This can range from the minor such as muscle pulls or ligament sprains to the catastrophic such as bone breaks or ligament tears.  At best these injuries cause a short loss of training time.  At worst they can end careers.

Following an injury the body goes through a number of specific phases which, ideally, lead to a full recovery.  There are a tremendous number of factors which go into the recovery processes some of which we cannot control.   However, one we can control is optimal nutrition.

Topics in Optimal Nutrition for Injury Recovery

The book starts by looking at the different major tissues in the body (muscle, bone, tendon and ligament) and the types of injuries that can occur.  It then looks at the different stages of injury recovery.

Next I address the concept of PRICES (Protection, Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation, Support) along with the controversies that surround it.  The topic of anti-inflammatories is addressed in detail as well.   This leads into a discussion of the idea that inflammation should be modulated rather than eliminated.

The issue of calorie intake is critical to the topic of injury recovery.  Too few calories can impair the recovery process while too many can cause negative effects on body composition.  Calculating energy requirements after an injury is more complex than under normal circumstances and I detail how it can be done.

The next chapters examine the optimal intake of the macronutrients, protein, carbohydrates and fats for recovery.  I also examine various supplements that may be generally useful or help to support specific types of injury recovery.

While not a major topic of any of my books for the most part, I do address the potential role of various drugs and compounds for improving injury recovery.

The book finishes with two case studies of different injuries, one of which was my own.  I provide selected references for those who wish to delve a bit deeper.

Please note that this book only examines the types of injuries that occur to bone, muscle, ligament and tendons.   Post-surgery recovery is at least similar and many of the topics discussed will apply there.  However, the book does not cover head injuries or concussions.

Applied Nutrition for Mixed Sports examines the topic of nutrition for what I like to refer to as mixed sports.  This includes most team sports along with sports such as boxing, MMA and others.

Any sport that has requirements for both endurance and strength/power is considered a mixed sport.  These sports have unique physiological and training requirements compared to pure endurance or strength/power sports.  And this can make optimizing nutrition more complicated than in those sports.

In 2009 I gave a seminar in Vancouver at Fraser University for their football and soccer teams on this topic.  Rather than just slap the DVD together with the handouts and slides, I wrote an accompanying book.   Over the course of the book and seminar, I build nutritional recommendations from the ground up.

Topics in Applied Nutrition for Mixed Sports

The book/seminar starts with a discussion of the specific needs of mixed sports athletes.  This leads into a discussion of the different components of nutrition.  Energy intake, dietary protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals are all discussed in some detail.

This is followed by an examination of meal planning and optimum around workout nutrition.  I then discuss hydration/cramping, supplements and how mixed sports athletes can modify body composition.  Finally I show up to put all the information together for different sports situations.

The product is available as a digital download only.  With your purchase, you will receive the book file, the Powerpoint slides and a file containing access information to the videos.  The book can be read by itself or used to follow along with the video presentation.

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The popularity of very low-carbohydrate (aka ketogenic diets) has come and gone over the years.  And there remains intense scientific interest in their use for weight/fat loss and even neurological conditions.  Unfortunately, there is altogether too much misinformation regarding them.

Proponents of low-carbohydrate diets tend to present them as almost magical, a cure for everything.  Diet books promise easy weight loss without hunger or calorie counting.     Zealots online make the same claims but the results never seem to appear.

At the other extreme are those who are against low-carbohydrate diets.  They tend to present the diet as nothing more than a nutritional disaster.  A lie perpetrated by a con men with something to sell.

As is so often the case, the reality lies somewhere in the middle.  All diets have their pros and cons and low-carbohydrate diets are no different.    The research on this topic is clear: ketogenic can provide benefits under certain circumstances.  In some situations, they may be better than the “typical” carbohydrate based diet.

The Ketogenic Diet is the first book to objectively examine in-depth the scientific evidence regarding ketogenic diets.  In writing it I didn’t take a pro- or anti-stance on the diet.  Rather, my goal was to examine the research objectively.   I wrote it with the intention of making it a reference manual for ketogenic diets. With some certainty, I can say that it is unlike any other book on the topic.

Topics Covered in The Ketogenic Diet

Covering every topic in extreme detail, The Ketogenic Diet addresses everything from the basic physiology of how the body adapts to a low-carbohydrate intake, the details of human fuel utilization, the impact of low-carbohydrate diets on body composition and many, many more.

None of the above would be useful without practical guidelines for application.  The book provides details on how to optimize ketogenic diets for different goals.  These include general fat loss, bodybuilding and endurance sport performance.  I also describe three distinct types of ketogenic diets, two of which allow for the intake of carbohydrates.

In addition, the book includes a complete discussion of resistance, aerobic and anaerobic exercise physiology along with specific training programs for different goals and different levels of trainee

At 325 pages and containing over 600 scientific references, this will be your complete reference for ketogenic diets.

Please note: this book does not include information on the ketogenic diet for adolescent epilepsy (the topic is discussed briefly). I highly suggest The Ketogenic Diet: A Treatment for Epilepsy, 3rd Edition (Paperback) by Freeman, Freeman and Kelly (link will take you to Amazon.com page).