Objective The study's purpose was to examine a free-living, ketogenic diet (WFKD) on feasibility, satiety, body composition, and metabolic health in women. Methods Twenty-two women (age (yr.) 42.2 +/- 8.1, Ht. (cm) 164.2 +/- 5.9, BMI 27.3 +/- 6.0) participated in a 21-day, free-living dietary intervention. Daily ketone measurements and satiety/craving surveys, weekly diet records, and PRE and POST assessments of anthropometrics, body composition, blood pressure, and fasted capillary-blood glucose (BG) and cholesterol panels were collected. Results Women maintained calories (PRE: 1938 kcal vs POST: 1836 kcal) and protein (PRE: 17% vs POST: 20%) but decreased carbohydrate (PRE: 36% vs POST: 13%) and increased fat (PRE: 45% vs POST: 65%) PRE to POST (p <= 0.05). Daily self-reports suggested no changes in satiety or food cravings between PRE, WK 1, WK 2, and WK 3. Ketones increased (PRE 0.3 +/- 0.2 mmol vs POST 0.8 +/- 0.6 mmol) PRE to POST with significant differences between PRE and all other time points (p <= 0.05). Bodyweight (PRE: 73.9 kg vs POST: 72.3 kg) and body fat (PRE: 28.9 +/- 13.4 kg vs POST 27. 4 +/- 13.5 kg) decreased but there were no differences in fat-free mass PRE to POST (p <= 0.05). Systolic blood pressure decreased (PRE: 119.2 +/- 8.9 mmHg vs POST: 109.5 +/- 10.9 mmHg), diastolic blood pressure increased (PRE: 74.1 +/- 7.5 mmHg vs POST: 78.8 +/- 7.4 mmHg), and BG improved (94.0 +/- 8.3 mg/dL vs POST 89.9 +/- 9.0 mg/dL) PRE to POST (p <= 0.05). No differences were observed in total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and triglycerides (TG) but TC/HDL decreased and low-density lipoprotein increased PRE to POST (p <= 0.05). Conclusion Women were able to maintain calories, improve body composition, blood pressure, and BG, increase ketones, and improve some but not all cholesterol markers after 21 days on a free-living WFKD.

OBJECTIVES:Limited research has examined the effects of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) supplementation to improve healthy younger men's aging male symptoms. The study objective was to examine whether a fenugreek seed extract would improve healthy men's aging male symptoms, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), grip strength, and anxiety.METHODS:Randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial was employed, using a parallel design, with assessments at baseline, Day 30, and Day 60. Healthy male volunteers (n = 57, mean age = 26.1 years) were randomized to: fenugreek 400 mg/d (n = 19), fenugreek 500 mg/d (n = 19), or placebo group (n = 19).RESULTS:The fenugreek groups reported significant improvements in aging male symptoms, anxiety levels, grip strength, and indicators of HRQoL compared to the placebo group, p's < 0.05. No adverse events were reported.CONCLUSION:Fenugreek supplementation is an effective nutritional intervention for improving aging male symptoms, anxiety levels, grip strength, and aspects of HRQoL in healthy recreationally active men. Future researchers are encouraged to examine the health and ergogenic effects of fenugreek supplementation in hypogonadal and older populations.TRIAL REGISTRATION:Clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT03528538.

Objectives: To conduct a randomized single-blind placebo-controlled crossover trial on adults with insomnia symptoms to examine the efficacy of Wholetones (R) 2Sleep Music (WM) and Classical Music (CM) on sleep quality, anxiety/stress, fatigue, productivity, and mood. Methods: Following baseline assessments, 38 adults (M age = 46.6 years) were randomized to either WM or CM conditions for 10 days and then the alternative music for 10 days after a 4 day "wash-out". The outcomes were sleep quality (i.e., Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index) and psychological measures. Results: Listening to both the WM and CM resulted in significant improvements from baseline for sleep quality, stress/anxiety, fatigue, productivity, and mood (p<0.05). Conclusion: WM and CM provides a simple, noninvasive, and non-pharmacological intervention to promote sleep quality resulting in improved daytime mood, fatigue, productivity, and anxiety/stress.

Objectives: The study purpose was to conduct a four-week randomized double-blind placebocontrolled crossover trial on adults with insomnia symptoms to examine the effectiveness of Natural Frequency Technology® (NFT), found in Philip Stein Sleep Bracelets, on sleep quality, anxiety/stress levels, and mood. Methods: Adults (N = 44, M age = 41.9 years) were randomized to the Placebo Bracelet (PB) or NFT Sleep Bracelet (SB) for two weeks and then the alternative bracelet for two weeks. Self-reported mood, anxiety/stress, and sleep quality were completed at Day 0 (PRE) and following each condition; POST PB and POST SB). Results: When the participants wore the SB, compared to the PB, they had improved sleep quality (i.e., Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), anxiety/ perceived stress, and mood, p’s < .05. Discussion: The SB may be simple, noninvasive, and nonpharmacological intervention to improve sleep quality and daytime mood.

Elite-level endurance athletes are prone to low energy availability due to the high energy demands of the sport and the propensity to emphasize low body compositions. Low energy availability may lead to nutrient-related deficiencies such as low iron and low vitamin D. Chronic deficiency in these essential nutrients may lead to health issues, including symptoms related to the female athlete triad. Women endurance athletes are at a particular risk for low energy availability mid-season due to the high energy demands. Previous studies indicate that collegiate-level women’s cross country runners do not have enough knowledge on how nutrition and energy availability affect health. Little is known on how nutrition education may affect energy intake mid-season and how it may affect circulating markers commonly associated with the female athlete triad. PURPOSE: To observe: 1) If collegiate women cross country runners consumed adequate energy mid-season after receiving nutrition education. 2) To observe how mid-season nutrition affected serum Iron and serum Vitamin D values. METHODS: Five women from a NCAA Division I cross-country team (age: 20.8±1.5 years, height: 169.6±5.7 cm, weight: 58.3±4.1 kg) received nutrition education starting at pre-season and continuing on throughout the season. Three-day diet records were collected and analyzed by a registered dietician. After an overnight fast, blood samples were collected and measured for total ferritin and circulating Vitamin D by immunoassay. RESULTS: Athletes consumed an average (95% CI) of 1980 kcal/d (1740-2220kcal/day). Dietary carbohydrate was 4.2g/kg/d (95% CI: 3.4-5.0g/kg/d), dietary fat was approximately 28% (95% CI: 25-33%), and dietary protein was 1.5g/kg/d (95% CI: 1.3-1.6g/kg/d) of the diet. Serum ferritin was 28.1 ng/mL (95% CI: 14-35ng/mL) and Vitamin D was 46.8ng/mL (95% CI: 39.6-54.6g/mL). CONCLUSION: Despite the demanding training volume mid-season, collegiate women’s cross country runners were able to maintain adequate calories and recommended intake for dietary fat and dietary protein. Circulating markers commonly associated with female athlete triad were also within the recommended ranges for optimal health. A nutrition education program may help bring awareness and knowledge on how adequate energy is vital to health and performance.

In the aging population, low bone mineral density (BMD) is a prevalent health concern, ranging from the milder condition of osteopenia, to the more severe osteoporosis. Resistance training, particularly with heavy resistance that loads the axial skeleton is often prescribed as an intervention to increase BMD. Training for the sport of Olympic Weightlifting requires consistently exposing the axial skeleton to high loads and thus should lead to elevated BMD. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to measure total body and lumbar spine BMD in Olympic Weightlifters competing in the Masters National Championships. METHODS: 26 men (age: 49.8 ± 11.6 years; height: 172.9 ± 7.3 cm; weight: 85.0 ± 13.1 kg) and 21 women (age: 47.1 ± 9.3 years; height: 158.9 ± 29.6 cm; weight: 67.8 ± 13.7 kg) competing in the 2016 Masters National Championships for Olympic Weightlifting were invited to the laboratory to undertake dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans, including total body (TB) and posterior-anterior (PA) spine. A median split for age was performed, separating younger men (YM) (age: 41.2 ± 5.2 years) from older men (OM) (age: 60.4 ± 6.8 years) and younger women (YW) (age: 39.4 years) from older women (OW) (age: 53.7 ± 6.6 years). Independent T-tests were performed to compare age group within sex differences and also to compare sex within age group. RESULTS: Overall mean Z-score was not different between men and women for TB (men: 1.5 ± 1.5 vs. women: 2.1 ± 1.1) or PA spine (men: 1.2 ± 1.9 vs. women: 2.0 ± 1.5). Furthermore there were no significant differences between YM and OM for TB (YM: 1.6 ± 1.4 vs. OM: 1.4 ± 1.7) or PA spine (YM: 1.4 ± 2.0 vs. OM: 1.0 ± 1.8), or YW and OW for TB (YW: 2.3 ± 1.1 vs. OW: 1.7 ± 1.2) or PA spine (YW: 2.4 ± 1.1 vs. OW: 1.4 ± 1.8). Comparably, there were no significant differences between YM and YW, nor OM and OW in either TB or PA spine Z-scores. CONCLUSIONS: These data demonstrate that both men and women, including younger and older populations, all equally benefit from long-term, heavy resistance exercise that loads the axial spine when performed at the elite level. Based on these high Z-scores, it appears that this benefit is substantial and could be an effective intervention at developing bone density in populations with osteopenia or osteoporosis.