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Molecular Insights in Sports Nutrition: Synergistic Mechanisms for Performance Optimization
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Molecular Insights in Sports Nutrition: Synergistic Mechanisms for Performance Optimization

A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Sports Nutrition".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 April 2026 | Viewed by 1435

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Katsuhiko Hata

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Department of Sports and Medical Science, Graduate School of Emergency Medical System, Kokushikan University, Tokyo 206-8515, Japan
2. Department of Physics, Tokyo University of Science, Tokyo 162-8601, Japan
3. Department of Neuroscience, Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo 105-8461, Japan
4. Department of Neuroscience, Research Center for Mathematical Medicine, Tokyo 183-0014, Japan
Interests: molecular nutrition; RED-S; sports performance; neural information processing in athletes; neural regeneration; computational neuroscience
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Susumu Ito

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Research Center for Mathematical Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
Interests: neuroscience; preventive medicine; bioinformatics; molecular biology; health econometrics; metabolic syndrome; frailty syndrome
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nutrition is considered to have two main functions: maintaining and developing the body, and providing the energy needed for physical activity. In competitive sports, methods of nutritional intake to build an optimal physique for a particular sport and methods of supplying energy to enable full exertion of strength during training and matches are crucial.

With the growing importance of events such as the Olympic Games and various World Cups as platforms for demonstrating national prestige, as well as individual achievement, attention has focused on sports science in recent years. Consequently, sports nutrition, a key subfield within this discipline, is becoming increasingly prominent.

Research topics linking sports science and nutrition—such as carbohydrate loading for long-distance running, iron deficiency anaemia (a particular concern for female athletes), and food-derived organic compounds as safe nutrients that do not constitute doping—deserve significant attention at present. Furthermore, we will address critical contemporary challenges, including Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S), a syndrome of physiological dysfunction caused by low energy availability that impairs metabolic rate, menstrual function, bone health, and immunity.

This Special Issue invites submissions of research findings, cutting-edge commentary, and exceptional proposals aimed at further improving our understanding of the role of nutrients in sport. 

Prof. Dr. Katsuhiko Hata
Prof. Dr. Susumu Ito
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nutrients is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • molecular nutrition
  • sports nutrition
  • chrono-nutrition
  • RED-S

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 1285 KB  
Article
Redox Water Consumption Attenuates Exercise-Induced Inflammation and Oxidative Stress in Physically Active Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial
by Anna Stolecka-Warzecha, Tomasz Zając, Marcin Gandyk, Maciej Kostrzewa and Ewa Sadowska-Krępa
Nutrients 2026, 18(4), 694; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18040694 - 21 Feb 2026
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Abstract
Background: Acute high-intensity exercise induces transient inflammatory and oxidative stress responses, mediated by redox-sensitive signaling pathways and reflected by elevations in interleukin-6 (IL-6) and lipid peroxidation products. Modulation of these responses through hydration-based redox interventions remains insufficiently characterized at the biochemical level. Objective: [...] Read more.
Background: Acute high-intensity exercise induces transient inflammatory and oxidative stress responses, mediated by redox-sensitive signaling pathways and reflected by elevations in interleukin-6 (IL-6) and lipid peroxidation products. Modulation of these responses through hydration-based redox interventions remains insufficiently characterized at the biochemical level. Objective: This randomized controlled trial investigated whether regular consumption of redox (alkaline) water influences exercise-induced inflammatory and oxidative stress markers in physically active adults. Methods: Forty physically active adults were randomized into an experimental group (EG; n = 20) and consumed redox water subjected to molecular-level modification, yielding alkaline hydrogen-enriched water (pH 9.2–9.4), or a control group (CG; n = 20) that consumed standard water. After eight weeks of intervention, participants performed a standardized maximal aerobic exercise test. Plasma IL-6 and malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations were measured at baseline and immediately post-exercise. Statistical analyses included two-way repeated measures ANOVA and ANCOVA. Results: A pronounced group × time interaction was observed for IL-6 (F(1,38) = 36.89, p < 0.001). The EG exhibited a significant post-exercise reduction in IL-6, whereas the CG demonstrated a robust increase. A significant group × time interaction was also detected for MDA (F(1,38) = 4.98, p = 0.029), reflecting stable lipid peroxidation levels in the EG and increased levels in the CG; however, baseline-adjusted analyses indicated that post-exercise MDA differences were largely attributable to initial variability. Hematological and coagulation parameters remained within physiological ranges in both groups. Conclusions: Redox water intake was associated with lower immediate post-exercise IL-6 compared with controls after baseline adjustment; however, pronounced baseline imbalance limits causal interpretation and warrants confirmation in larger trials with balanced inflammatory profiles. These findings highlight a potential biochemical mechanism linking hydration redox properties with inflammatory regulation during physical stress. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Insights in Sports Nutrition: Synergistic Mechanisms for Performance Optimization)
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Review

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29 pages, 2092 KB  
Review
Training–Fuel Coupling (TFC): A Molecular Sports Nutrition Framework for Energy Availability, Chrono-Nutrition, and Performance Optimization
by Mirela Stoian and Dan Cristian Mănescu
Nutrients 2026, 18(4), 693; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18040693 - 21 Feb 2026
Viewed by 580
Abstract
In sports nutrition, performance adaptation emerges from the coordinated molecular interaction between physical training and nutrient availability. This narrative review with conceptual synthesis advances Training–Fuel Coupling (TFC) as a systems physiology framework that conceptualizes nutrient availability, timing, and recovery feeding as molecular control [...] Read more.
In sports nutrition, performance adaptation emerges from the coordinated molecular interaction between physical training and nutrient availability. This narrative review with conceptual synthesis advances Training–Fuel Coupling (TFC) as a systems physiology framework that conceptualizes nutrient availability, timing, and recovery feeding as molecular control variables proposed to govern exercise-induced adaptation. Integrating evidence from exercise metabolism and nutritional science, the model conceptualizes how substrate availability may modulate the dynamic crosstalk between AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR), shaping metabolic flexibility, anabolic recovery, and long-term performance optimization. Low-energy and low-glycogen contexts preferentially activate AMPK-dependent pathways supporting mitochondrial remodeling and oxidative efficiency, whereas nutrient-replete states facilitate mTOR-mediated protein synthesis and structural restoration. When strategically alternated through chrono-nutrition and nutritional periodization, these energetic states are hypothesized to generate oscillatory signaling patterns that enhance adaptive efficiency while limiting chronic metabolic strain. From a sports nutrition perspective, TFC provides a mechanistic rationale for energy availability management, recovery nutrition, and the prevention of maladaptive states such as Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S). By reframing nutrients as regulatory signals rather than passive fuel, this framework integrates molecular nutrition with performance physiology, offering a unifying, systems-level and hypothesis-generating perspective on training–nutrition interactions that delineates testable pathways for future empirical investigation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Insights in Sports Nutrition: Synergistic Mechanisms for Performance Optimization)
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