Nutrition & Exercise Performance Research Group

05/28/2026

Great job to Rachel for presenting her poster at ! It is an interesting concept examining the effects of increased protein intake on the muscle quality index (MQI) while accounting for training specificity.

05/28/2026

Congrats to Žan Zupančič for his 1st place finish in the 2026 GSSI Young Investigator in Sports Nutrition Award at !

05/28/2026

While whole foods are the foundation of a healthy diet, it appears the incorporation of targeted faster-acting isolated nutrients that ‘trigger’ a rapid, high-magnitude spike in amino acids (like leucine) may be more effective at ‘waking up’ anabolically resistant muscle in a fraction-specific way in adults with overweight and obesity.

Read the OPEN ACCESS PAPER HERE: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405457726004547?via%3Dihub

Nice job Takeshi!

05/28/2026

Our new work examined complementary protein pairing, or the concept of combining distinct plant foods (e.g., grains and legumes) to improve protein quality, from a performance nutrition perspective. Particularly, we wanted to examine how this approach impacted the stimulation of MPS and remodeling during recovery from resistance exercise when consumed as a whole-food meal. While optimized, specifically formulated plant protein isolates are known to be effective, our recent findings suggest that a ‘food-first’ approach introduces distinct anabolic challenges.

OPEN ACCESS PAPER in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition here:
https://ajcn.nutrition.org/article/S0002-9165(26)00189-9/fulltext

Congrats Žan Zupančič et al.

Combining plant proteins is a strategy to improve overall amino acid balance, however, the impact of this pairing on post-exercise myofibrillar protein synthesis (MPS) remains unclear.

02/07/2026

Our new work examined whether digestive enzymes help older adults get more out of their meals. Particularly, our new study found that a multi-enzyme supplement did speed up the delivery of muscle-building amino acids (like leucine), but the results varied from person to person. Our results suggest that body composition and current diet may play a role in whether these supplements work for you (R.E., it is not a "one size fits all" solution).

Nice job MMax Deutzet al!

Full study here: https://jn.nutrition.org/article/S0022-3166(26)00049-0/fulltext

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