Author: admin

“], “filter”: { “nextExceptions”: “img, blockquote, div”, “nextContainsExceptions”: “img, blockquote, a.btn, a.o-button”} }”>

A proper race nutrition plan can be the difference between a “DNF” and a smiling finish line photo. Keeping a steady flow of carbohydrates and electrolytes in the system is particularly integral to the success of endurance runners. That’s why ultramarathoners need to train their guts, and why nutrition is called “the fourth discipline” among triathletes. While it’s difficult enough to nail down a nutrition plan that keeps your stomach, tastebuds, and body happy all at once, adding allergens to the mix can make it even more difficult. Some products, like gels, are generally safe for most runners to consume, but energy bars, protein bars, stroopwafels, and protein powders can be rife with common allergens. 

We talked to Susan Kitchen, a board-certified sports dietitian, athlete, author, triathlon coach, and owner of Race Smart, a service that helps athletes hone their training and eating habits. Joining her is Shelly Bloom, a multisport athlete and coach as well as a neuropharmacologist and professor at Duke University. Here, they talk about the precautions that runners with allergies must take and offer assessments to help you sift through the myriad performance nutrition products on the market.

Section divider

What Are Food Allergies and Intolerances?

To start, let’s be clear on what allergies and intolerances are. According to Bloom, 11 percent of adults in the United States live with food allergies, while 20 percent experience food intolerances. Food intolerances are often confused with food allergies because their symptoms can appear similar to one another. However, they do not have the same causes and therefore require different responses. “In a nutshell, food allergies involve the immune system, while food intolerances involve the digestive system,” Bloom says. A food intolerance, such as a FODMAP sensitivity, is “generally due to the reduced ability to absorb or digest the ingredient appropriately; instead, gut bacteria do the digesting, giving off gas and generating [symptoms like] bloating and diarrhea.” Receiving a professional diagnosis of a food intolerance can help you better manage symptoms and learn about other ingredients that might quietly be causing harm; for instance, knowing that you have an intolerance to polyols (the “P” in FODMAPs) might mean avoiding sugar alcohols like sorbitol and erythritol.

In contrast, food allergies follow an immune system roadmap. “A food allergy is a specific immune reaction to the offending ingredient (an allergen – typically a protein), resulting in a ‘hypersensitivity’ to that ingredient,” Bloom says. When IgE antibodies are produced to combat an allergen, immune cells are triggered to release histamine. With repeated exposure, the histamine contributes to “an immediate, larger, allergic response, usually in the skin (rash) and bronchioles (wheezing), but also in the GI tract (GI distress), and in certain cases, in the cardiovascular system (profound hypotension).” When allergies are especially severe, Bloom said, “anaphylaxis can occur quickly within minutes or even up to four hours after eating.” After receiving a professional diagnosis, you can use oral antihistamines and/or epi-pens to help mitigate symptoms.

Non-IgE reactions, which are less common in adults and often delayed by a few days, are usually more inflammatory in nature. Bloom said that such reactions “can occur primarily in the GI tract (abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, gastric reflux, etc.), but can also affect the skin and lungs. Although sometimes severe, they do not cause anaphylaxis; an epi-pen will not help!”

Bloom further explained that because allergens (in the form of proteins) must be metabolized into smaller peptides before passing through intestinal membranes and triggering antibodies, “some breach of the intestinal barrier, i.e., a leaky gut” must have occurred. So if your gut has been damaged in the past by “toxins, bacterial infections, or other disorders that damage the small intestinal barrier, including celiac disease,” or even vigorous physical activity like that performed by elite athletes, you may be more at risk.

With professional consultation, and oftentimes some experimentation, runners can gauge whether they are suffering from food intolerances or food allergies and make a plan to eliminate offending ingredients from their diets. While food intolerances can sometimes be forgiving, especially in smaller amounts, repeat exposure to allergens can result in increasingly severe reactions, so it is crucial to accurately understand your situation. Equipped with that knowledge, you can then make informed decisions on what and how much to eat.

The Best Sports Nutrition Products for Food Sensitivities

Let’s take a closer look at the potential allergens in each type of performance nutrition product. But before we do, here’s how to interpret the charts in this article:

• X demarcates allergens contained
• * demarcates ingredients that may be present according to the ingredient label, whether due to potential substitutions, shared manufacturing equipment, or shared facilities
• Companies are not required to explicitly state on packaging if a product was manufactured in the same facility as other allergens – sometimes they do, and sometimes they don’t, and messaging is not even consistent within the same brand. So, for example, if a brand offers a peanut butter flavor and you are allergic to peanuts, you may want to exercise caution around its other flavors, too, even if no mention of peanuts is made on their wrappers.

Section divider

Allergen-Friendly Energy Bars

Carbohydrate-rich energy bars work well as pre-run snacks consumed an hour or two before your run.Many such bars contain protein, fiber, and fat in them, Bloom says, all of which are slow to be absorbed into the bloodstream. Bloom cautioned that chicory root fiber is a common energy bar ingredient that is also a FODMAP; therefore, people with insulin sensitivity may have difficulty digesting it.

Krono energy bars are among the best choices for those who experience intense allergies. Every single product sold by the brand is vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, and nut-free. With flavors ranging from chocolate and espresso to strawberry and pineapple, there’s something for everyone in this energy bar line. Maurten bars and BPN endurance bars are also fantastic choices across the board; just note that a handful of allergens are present in each of their respective manufacturing facilities.

When it comes to long endurance events, Kitchen says, “Clif Bars contain protein, carbohydrates, and fat, and help increase satiety due to a decreased gastric emptying rate. But beware: Clif Bars [can] contain wheat (gluten), soy, milk, peanuts, tree nuts, and barley.” Bloom also stressed that Clif Energy Bars are not suitable for those with soybean allergies or intolerances, and many flavors include either tree nuts or peanuts. Meanwhile, all Skratch Labs energy bars contain tree nuts, even in unassuming flavors like cinnamon + oatmeal, and raspberry + lemon.

Product	Flavor	Milk	Eggs	Fish	Crustacean shellfish	Tree nuts	Peanuts	Wheat	Soybeans	Sesame
Clif Bar Energy Bar	Cool mint chocolate (with caffeine)	*				*	*	*	X	*
	Peanut butter banana dark chocolate	*				*	X	*	X	*
	Blueberry almond crisp	*				X	*	*	X	*
Krono Bar energy bars	Raspberry and lemon
	Cherry and chocolate
	Apricot and cranberry
Maurten	Solid 160	*				*	*	*	*	*
Skratch Labs Energy Bar	Peanut butter chocolate					X	X
	Cinnamon and oatmeal					X
	Cherries and pistachios					X
BPN Go Bar Endurance Bars	Original oat	*	*			*	*

Section divider

Allergen-friendly Protein Bars

Protein bars, which are different than energy bars in that they provide much more protein and fewer carbs, can replenish glycogen stores and provide the building blocks to start rebuilding protein in damaged muscle fibers from exercise. “However, some people use them as snacks or ‘mini meals’ to add protein to their daily load,” Bloom says. When consuming plant-based protein bars, she recommends ensuring that all nine essential amino acids are accounted for. However you incorporate protein bars into your diet, there are plenty from which to choose.

Like its energy bars, each of Krono’s three protein bar flavors—brownie, crunchy salted caramel, and chocolate and banana—are free of all major allergens. That means they are gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free, dairy-free, and vegan. Similarly, each Styrkr recovery bar (also known as Bar+) is generally safe for those with allergies, except if you need to avoid soybeans or are especially sensitive to potential cross-contamination. Finally, while some flavors do contain peanuts or tree nuts, GoMacro bars are certified vegan, gluten-free, and soy-free.

Be more cautious around RX protein bars, all of which contain eggs and nuts (some flavors contain peanuts, while others contain cashews and/or almonds). Finally, Clif Builders bars are a mixed bag when it comes to peanuts and tree nuts, and they are all soy-based.

Product	Flavor	Milk	Eggs	Fish	Crustacean shellfish	Tree nuts	Peanuts	Wheat	Soybeans	Sesame
Krono Bar Protein Bar	All flavors
Styrkr Recovery Bar (Bar+)	All flavors	*	*			*	*		X	*
RXBar	Blueberry cashew butter		X			X
	Honey cinnamon peanut butter		X				X
	Strawberry		X			X
Clif Builders	Chocolate peanut butter	*				*	X		X	*
	Chocolate mint	*				*	*		X	*
	Vanilla almond	*				X	*		X	*
GoMacro	Oatmeal chocolate chip					*	*
	Peanut butter chocolate chip					*	X
	Dark chocolate + almonds					X	*

Section divider

Allergen-Friendly Protein Powder

Kitchen and Bloom agree that protein powder is best used when other protein-rich foods like yogurt or chocolate milk are not available. Bloom suggests that people with allergies and intolerances look for products containing amino acids, which are not usually allergenic—they are used by cells to make new proteins. She points to Tailwind Recovery Mix as an example, which contains an assortment of essential amino acids in addition to organic rice protein powder.

Today, there are plenty of plant-based protein powders on the market. A few of the most allergen-friendly ones are the SwissRX Total Recovery protein powders, the Momentous plant-based protein powders, and Skratch Labs’ oat milk latte protein powder. If dairy is not a problem for you, Skratch Labs’ recovery sport drink mix comes in three flavors that contain milk. Aside from that, though, no other allergens are listed. The same is true for every flavor of Momentous’ whey protein isolate and Recovery products (though Kitchen notes that depending on the manufacturing facility, Momentous whey protein isolate may cross-contact with soy or nuts).

When it comes to BPN and Podium, those with allergies need to be a bit more careful. BPN protein powders may contain milk, soy, coconut, and/or peanuts. Podium does not carry vegan protein powder, and its whey products might contain peanuts, wheat, and/or soybeans. The presence of these allergens is not always obvious; for instance, Podium’s peanut butter crunch and mint chocolate chip flavors both contain wheat.

Product	Flavor	Milk	Eggs	Fish	Crustacean shellfish	Tree nuts	Peanuts	Wheat	Soybeans	Sesame
Skratch Labs Recovery Sport	Chocolate	X
	Horchata	X
	Oat milk latte
SwissRX Total Recovery	Chocolate Mint
	Vanilla Chai
Momentous Grass-Fed Whey Protein Isolate	All flavors	X
Momentous 100% Plant Protein Powder	All flavors
Momentous Recovery	All flavors	X
BPN Whey Protein	Banana French toast	X							X
	Chocolate peanut butter	X					X		X
BPN Vegan Protein Powder	Oatmeal cookie					X (coconut)
Podium Whey	Mint chocolate chip	X	*	*	*	*	*	X	*
	Peanut butter crunch	X	*	*	*	*	X	X	X
Podium Isolate Whey	Vanilla buttercream	X	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

Section divider

Allergen-friendly Stroopwafels

Stroopwafels are popular among athletes because they are an excellent source of carbohydrates; one Honey Stinger waffle, for example, typically contains 16-21 grams of carbohydrates. The rate of glucose absorption from stroopwafels into the bloodstream varies among athletes, Bloom says, but maltodextrin and fat can slow it down.

The main allergens to look out for in stroopwafels are milk, eggs, wheat, and soybeans. While multiple options exist that forgo the first three ingredients, soybeans are more difficult to avoid. Except for Rip Van Wafel’s original line, soybeans are present in most stroopwafels on the market. And if you can find a stroopwafel product that contains neither soybeans nor gluten, let us know! Because we couldn’t find it.

Gluten-free stroopwafels haven’t always been a thing, but in recent years, multiple brands have heard consumers’ pleas and released lines of these sweet treats made with ingredients like rice flour and tapioca flour instead of wheat flour. Gu, Vafels, Honey Stinger, and Rip Van Wafel have all joined the gluten-free party. Plus, vegan stroopwafels are available from brands like Vafels and UnTapped.

Product	Flavor	Milk	Eggs	Fish	Crustacean shellfish	Tree nuts	Peanuts	Wheat	Soybeans	Sesame
Podium Protein Stroopwafel	Caramel	X	X					X	X
	Chocolate Brownie	X	X					X	X
Gu Energy Stroopwafel	All gluten-free flavors	*	X			X (coconut)			X
	Salty’s Caramel	*	X			X (coconut)		X	X
	Campfire S’mores	*	X			X (coconut)		X	X
Vafels Original Stroopvafels	All flavors	*	*					X	X
Vafels Gluten-Free Stroopvafels	All flavors	*	*					*	X
Honey Stinger Energy Waffle	Gluten-free salted caramel	*	X						X
	Original peanut butter	*	X				X	X	X
	Original honey	*	X					X	X
UnTapped Waffles	All varieties							X	X
Rip Van Wafels	Gluten-free snickerdoodle	X	X					X
	Honey & oats	X	X				X
	Chocolate brownie	X	X				X

Based in the College of Veterinary Medicine, the team found that the bacteria can manipulate a protein known as ATF6, which helps cells detect and respond to infection, to support its own growth and survival inside the tick. The findings, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could serve as a launching point for developing methods to eliminate the bacteria in ticks before they are transmitted to humans and other animals.

“Most research has looked at how these bacteria interact with humans and animals and not how they survive and spread in ticks,” said Kaylee Vosbigian, a doctoral student and lead author on the study. “What we have found could open the door to targeting these pathogens in ticks, before they are ever a threat to people.”

Vosbigian and her advisor, Dana Shaw, the corresponding author of the study and an associate professor in the Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, focused their research on Ixodes scapularis, also known as the blacklegged tick, which is responsible for spreading both Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agents of anaplasmosis and Lyme disease. Both diseases are becoming increasingly common and can cause serious illness in humans and animals.

The team discovered that when ATF6 is activated in tick cells, it triggers the production of stomatin, a protein that helps move cholesterol through cells as part of a normal cellular processes. The bacteria exploit this process against their tick hosts, using the cholesterol -which they need to grow and build their own cell membranes but cannot produce themselves – to support their own survival and success.

“Stomatin plays a variety of roles in the cell, but one of its key functions is helping shuttle cholesterol to different areas,” Vosbigian said. “The bacteria take advantage of this, essentially stealing the cholesterol they need to survive.”

When the researchers blocked the production of stomatin, restricting the availability of cholesterol, bacterial growth is significantly reduced. The researchers believe this shows targeting the ATF6-stomatin pathway could lead to new methods for interrupting the disease cycle in ticks before transmission occurs.

As part of the study, Vosbigian also developed a new research tool called ArthroQuest, a free, web-based platform hosted by WSU that allows scientists to search the genomes of ticks, mosquitoes, lice, sand flies, mites, fleas and other arthropod vectors for transcription factor binding sites – genetic switches like ATF6 that control gene activity.

“There aren’t many tools out there for studying gene regulation in arthropods,” Vosbigian said. “Most are built for humans or model species like fruit flies, which are genetically very different from ticks.”

Using ArthroQuest, the team found that ATF6-regulated control of stomatin appears to be prevalent in blood-feeding arthropods. Since the hijacking of cholesterol and other lipids is common among arthropod-borne pathogens, the researchers suspect many may also exploit ATF6.

“We know many other vector-borne pathogens, like Borrelia burgdorferi and the malaria-causing parasite Plasmodium, rely on cholesterol and other lipids from their hosts,” Shaw said. “So, the fact that this ATF6-stomatin pathway exists in other arthropods could be relevant to a wide range of disease systems.”

The research was supported in part by a National Institutes of Health R01 grant and a College of Veterinary Medicine intramural seed grant.

Specialty

Please chooseI’m not a medical professional.Allergy and ImmunologyAnatomyAnesthesiologyBiostatisticsCardiac/Thoracic/Vascular SurgeryCardiologyCritical CareDentistryDermatologyDiabetes and EndocrinologyEmergency MedicineEpidemiology and Public HealthFamily MedicineForensic MedicineGastroenterologyGeneral PracticeGeneticsGeriatricsHealth PolicyHematologyHIV/AIDSHospital-based MedicineI’m not a medical professional.Infectious DiseaseIntegrative/Complementary MedicineInternal MedicineInternal Medicine-PediatricsMedical Education and SimulationMedical PhysicsMedical StudentNephrologyNeurological SurgeryNeurologyNuclear MedicineNutritionObstetrics and GynecologyOccupational HealthOncologyOphthalmologyOptometryOral MedicineOrthopaedicsOsteopathic MedicineOtolaryngologyPain ManagementPalliative CarePathologyPediatricsPediatric SurgeryPharmacologyPhysical Medicine and RehabilitationPlastic SurgeryPodiatryPreventive MedicinePsychiatryPsychologyPulmonologyRadiation OncologyRadiologyRheumatologySubstance Use and AddictionSurgeryTherapeuticsTraumaUrologyMiscellaneous

Of these, 19% are children under 1 year of age, according to the prospective coverage plan.

‎This year, EIW in Kyrgyzstan was marked by the launch of a large-scale catch-up immunization campaign. During EIW 2025, 15,521 people were vaccinated as part of this campaign.

The goal of the 2025 EIW was to raise public awareness of the importance of vaccination and ensure wide access to vaccines for every resident of the country, including remote and hard-to-reach areas. Vaccinations were carried out against diseases such as: viral hepatitis B, tuberculosis (BCG), poliomyelitis, diphtheria, tetanus, Haemophilus influenzae and pneumococcal infections, rotavirus, measles, rubella, mumps, and human papillomavirus. 

‎To ensure access to vaccination throughout the country, 76 mobile teams were involved, including in mountainous and rural settlements.

Sports and mass events were held in seven regional centers, the Ak-Ordo residential complex and the Bishkek Park shopping center, bringing together more than 800 people. More than 20 round tables were also organized with the participation of doctors, representatives of local authorities and opinion leaders.

Earlier it was reported that Kazakhstan is to vaccinate boys against HPV starting from 2026. 

Pittcon’s professional quality online Short Courses are an affordable opportunity for continuing education. All courses count towards building your Professional Hours. Courses take place on Wednesdays, 1:00-3:00 PM EST. 

Course level: Intermediate

This hands-on course teaches step-by-step techniques for interpreting mass spectrometric data to identify molecular structures. Participants will learn elemental composition analysis, tandem MS interpretation, database use, and confidence level reporting, with a focus on manual (“pencil and paper”) methods. Real-world problems from CASMI and the Lockdown Challenge will highlight common pitfalls and effective strategies. Emphasis is on soft ionization and low-mass compounds (<400 Da), with examples from both natural and synthetic molecules. A take-home problem set will be provided for continued practice. Bring a pencil—let’s solve some spectra!

Who Should Attend This Course?

Students and professionals working in the fields that require compound identification using mass spectrometry, across fields such as natural products, environmental and forensic sciences. 

Learning Objectives:

At the end of the course, students will be able to:
1. Confidently determine elemental composition from MS data
2. Propose a reasonable structure from tandem mass spectral data
3. Understand origins of major fragment ions in tandem mass spectra
4. Assign confidence in the structure proposal and understand limitations of MS for structure elucidation

About the Course Instructor

Dejan Nikolic is a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, UIC. His research interests include structure elucidation of natural products using mass spectrometry, determination of ADME properties of plant ingredients and development of new assays for drug discovery from plant sources. For the past several years he has been actively involved in the Critical Assessment of Small Molecules Identification (CASMI) initiative aimed at unbiased assessment of different approaches used in structure elucidation by mass spectrometry. He has authored and co-authored more than 100 publications and trained numerous undergraduate and graduate students both through classroom and hands-on training.

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is commonly associated with autumn and winter months, but it can also emerge during the summer season, causing significant psychological difficulties.

Summer is generally regarded as a time of happiness and vitality, characterized by warm weather, vacations and outdoor activities. However, for some individuals, summer can trigger symptoms such as low energy, restlessness, sleep disturbances, appetite changes and a general sense of inner unease.

Experts note that summer seasonal depression is often triggered by extreme heat, high humidity, disruptions in sleep patterns and the atypical effects of prolonged or intense sunlight exposure.

Expert insights

Özlem Balaban, a specialist in Mental Health and Psychiatric Disorders at Bakırköy Mazhar Osman Research and Training Hospital, explained to Anadolu Agency (AA) that depression is a common condition, and seasonal depression is considered a subtype of this illness.

Balaban emphasized that seasonal depression is characterized by recurrent depressive episodes in specific seasons. “We generally expect individuals to recover during spring and summer. However, in some patients, depression recurs during these seasons rather than in autumn and winter, which is a less common pattern. This relates to factors causing depression, one of which is disruption in the biological rhythm of the body,” she stated.

Balaban explained that the human body operates on a 24-hour circadian rhythm, and disruption of this rhythm increases the risk of depression. She described depression as a state where a person feels significantly down, unhappy and lethargic compared to their usual self.

Symptoms of depression include loss of pleasure in life (anhedonia), lack of interest in previously enjoyed activities, low energy, impaired attention and concentration, changes in sleep and appetite, slowed movements, and intense feelings of guilt or worthlessness.

In seasonal depression, similar symptoms are expected, including a pervasive sense of unhappiness and mood decline. Specifically in summer depression, patients often experience reduced sleep or insomnia, which can lead to excessive daytime sleepiness, increased appetite, weight gain and cravings for carbohydrate-rich foods.

Importance of treatment

Balaban underlined that depression is a significant public health issue but is treatable. She stressed the importance of consulting a psychiatrist, as diagnosis and treatment require professional medical expertise.

“This is not something a person can overcome alone through casual conversation or home remedies. Treatment should be based on scientific medical knowledge,” she said.

The treatment of depression varies depending on the severity of symptoms. In mild to moderate cases, psychotherapy is usually the first step. For moderate to severe depression, medication is often necessary.

Balaban noted that depression treatments are consistent worldwide. “We are fortunate in our health care system; we have access to all treatments available internationally. Recently, bright light therapy has become more common, especially for seasonal depression. It is widely used in northern countries such as Norway and Sweden, where winters are longer and darker compared to our sun-rich, four-season climate. Bright light therapy has proven effective for treating seasonal depression,” she said.

Highlighting psychiatry as a successful medical field with many treatment options, Balaban encouraged individuals experiencing any mental health issues to seek professional help.

“In psychiatry, we have many treatment options tailored to fit the unique needs of each person. Therefore, anyone feeling psychological distress should definitely consult a psychiatrist,” she concluded.

The Daily Sabah Newsletter

Keep up to date with what’s happening in Turkey,
it’s region and the world.

SIGN ME UP

You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.