This thesis project will discuss how the three macronutrients, protein, carbohydrate and fat, benefit the body and what happens when the body is lacking in any of them. It also delves into micronutrients and supplements and how those can aid in the recovery process following an injury. Inflammation and sleep as well as mood disturbances are also explained. Meal options are available in the second half of this paper displaying pictures of nutritional meals along with their ingredients, instructions and calories. This project displays how a lack of protein can decrease muscle protein synthesis, how carbohydrate deficiency can lead to fatigue and more injury and how Omega-3 fatty acids are more beneficial than Omega-6 fatty acids. In addition, the paper discusses how vitamins, such as vitamin D and C, are important in providing bone strength and preventing excess inflammation. Supplements are reported to be beneficial, however, a disadvantage of consuming nutrients from a synthetic source can rob the athlete of a healthy mixture of nutrients and minerals. Overall, consumption of proper nutrients can aid in the recovery process following an injury and sleep is an important factor that should also be considered while the body heals.

My project goes over the biology of chronic kidney disease, including what CKD is, definitions to understand, the prevalence of it, the signs and symptoms, and the main causes. Then I go over the nutrition guidelines of the disease and the nutrients important to regulate, including sodium, protein, fats and whole grain carbohydrates, potassium, and phosphorus. Next, I write about recipes that I modify to be kidney-friendly and make nutrient analyses for each original recipe and each modified recipe. Finally, I made a video of myself cooking and trying two of the modified recipes.

Nutritional supplement use is very common in the public and even more common with more active populations like athletes. However, the supplement industry is loosely regulated, which puts athletes at risk for consuming products that can possibly be contaminated, adulterated, or contain banned substances. Third-Party Testing (TPT) is an approach that helps reduce these risks associated with supplement use. However, there is little research done on the prevalence and use of TPT supplements in the collegiate athletic population. Further, there is even less research done on if there is a relationship between sport type with use/prevalence of TPT supplements. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between sport type and TPT supplement use/prevalence in Division I (DI) collegiate athletes. An online questionnaire was developed that assessed athletes use, prevalence, and knowledge of TPT supplements. The questionnaire was distributed to eight DI university athletic departments. This provided a sample size of (n=725). The data was stratified for sport type which was grouped based on energy system(s) primarily used by the sport. The groups based on energy system(s) used were Phosphocreatine Energy System (PCr), PCr + Anaerobic Glycolysis Energy System (AG), and PCr + AG + Aerobic Energy System. Based on the sample this resulted in n=90 participants in the PCr group, n=227 in the PCr + AG group, and n=408 in the PCr+ AG + Aerobic group. Majority of the group 94.8% (n=688) had met with a sports registered dietitian (RD). Overall, the most frequently reported supplements were protein shake (62.6%), sports drink (60.8%), recovery drink (49.2%), caffeine (49.0%), sports bar (46.9%), and MVM/Mineral (46.9%). Overall, supplement/ TPT usage did not differ

much when split for sport based on predominantly used energy systems in this population. However, sports in the PCr energy system group had higher use of protein shakes, collagen, and L-carnitine. Additionally sports in this group used significantly less TPT combination of minerals. The group of sports that utilized all three energy systems had significantly less use of sports bars and single vitamins. The sports categorized in the PCr + AG group had significantly less use of TPT energy drinks. While majority of collegiate athletes do meet with an RD at least once, TPT supplements are only being consistently used 26.8% of the time. Based on the data supplement use is very prevalent in the collegiate athletic setting. Collegiate sport RDs need to educate athletes on TPT use and further tailor their education based on the athletes’ sport and the demands that come with it.

Supplement use is common among collegiate athletes, which comes with doping risk. This cross-sectional study aimed to explore differences between male and female use, compliance, knowledge, and/or attitudes toward third-party tested (TPT) supplements. Student-athletes, coming from eight PAC-12 athletic departments (n=725, 49.9% female, 50.1% male, age 20.0+/-1.55), were surveyed addressing demographics, nutrition information sources, supplement knowledge, supplement use, attitudes and barriers toward supplement use, including scales based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), and third-party tested supplement recognition. Data were reported for the total group and stratified for sex. Sex differences were analyzed using Chi-square tests, with p set for significance at ≤0.05. On average, participants used 8 supplements within the past year. Female athletes reported an average of 7.41 and male athletes reported using an average of 7.34. Overall, 64.6% (n=468) of athletes reported inconsistent TPT. When split for sex, more female athletes (71.0%, n=257) compared to male athletes (58.1%, n=211) self-reported inconsistent use of third-party tested supplements (p=0.001). Results for supplement use were stratified into three categories: low users (0-3 supplements, ≤25th percentile), average users (4-11 supplements, between 25-50th percentile), and high users (11-30 supplements, >75th percentile). Male student athletes reported a higher frequency of supplement use in the low user category (30.3%, n=110) as compared to females. Female student athletes reported higher supplement use in the average user category (53.3%, n=193). The lowest total frequency across both sexes (26.2%, n=190) was the high user category.
Sports drink was the most frequently reported nutritional supplement used within the total sample (60.8%, n=441), but more so in females (65.5%, n=237) than males (56.2%, n=204) (p=0.011). A large amount of the sample recognized at least one TPT logo 74.8% (n=542), but a lower number of females (69.3%, n=251) than males (80.2%, n=291) recognized one logo (p<0.001). In conclusion, this study did not observe a difference in M/F overall supplement use, but when categorizing for low/medium/high number of supplements used males report more extreme on both ends than females. A higher frequency of female athletes reported inconsistent compliance with TPT supplements. More male than female athletes recognized a TPT logo.