number of variables that will affect what your body needs for training and recovery and it may take some time to figure them out. The 2008 Sprint Triathlon Age Group (50-54) World Champion Jane Bell says her nutrition plan for her first year of triathlon

to prescribe ferrous sulphate tablets, but you should also look closely at your diet.Strike a balanceA balanced diet should provide adequate iron but, in reality, when you're busy and training (and perhaps trying to lose some weight to improve speed), it can

The Knack Of The SnackFor all sorts of reasons - scientific research, improved transport, refrigeration, additives, greed - we are taunted and tempted day and night by fatty, sugary, visually enticing foods and drinks. They're everywhere and they can be hard to resist, but if you...

Being vegetarian doesn't mean you have to compromise on performance. Anecdotal evidence suggests that a vegetarian diet for endurance athletes is by no means detrimental. However, an athlete who consumes a poorly planned vegetarian diet may

. But the truth is that the fat in nuts is mostly of the healthy, unsaturated variety, and nuts are therefore a healthy addition to your diet. Chestnuts are low in fat, but plopping them into your fromage frais or yoghurt is not a terribly appealing idea.2

performance and recovery point of view, supplements are unnecessary for athletes eating a well-balanced diet. But there is fresh research almost weekly. Heather Nakamura, a registered dietician with a Masters degrees in Exercise Physiology and Nutrition, says

they can best be satisfied, that it's hard to know what's what.While most nutritionists agree that a balanced diet should provide your vitamin requirements, about one third of people in the UK choose to take supplements. The UK market is worth over £300m

Deciding how much of your diet should come from carbs is another contentious issue. According to the British Nutrition Foundation we should get half our energy needs from carbohydrates, which is around 200g for women and 270g for men. However, Dr John Briffa

that lycopene has powerful cancer-fighting properties and may also have a role to play in battling heart disease. Of course it's foolish to think that a fruit (and it is a fruit) is a magic pill, but there seems little doubt that a healthy Mediterranean diet

and mackerel. But that often isn't the case in the typical western diet, though active people tend to have fairly healthy diets. "We now consume 20:1 omega-6 fats to omega-3s," says Jonny Bowden, author of The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth. "Our inflammatory