The Sports Nutrition Playbook · Amy Goodson

Ep. 58 Supplements & Performance: What Female Athletes Need to Know

·52 min·3 clips

Only 6% of female performance research is done in females alone.

1. The Sports Nutrition Playbook episode is about supplements and performance for female athletes, with Amy Goodson framing it around what female athletes need to know. 2. Amy Goodson hosts, and Dr. Rachel Pajednik joins as founder of Strong Process, director of scientific research for Restore Labs, and director of education for Stanford Lifestyle Medicine. 3. The episode asks how female athletes can use supplements without ignoring food-first nutrition, and Rachel answers by tying evidence, practicality, and female physiology together. 4. Rachel says only 6% of performance research is done in females alone, which leaves coaches and athletes extrapolating from young male data. 5. Amy notes that sports research often uses healthy men ages 18 to 25, which does not map cleanly onto high school and college female athletes. 6. Rachel argues that supplements should fill holes in the diet, not replace food, and she uses the 'bake the cake first' analogy to make that point. 7. She says a multivitamin is often the first supplement she considers when athletes cannot meet micronutrient needs through diet alone. 8. Rachel identifies vitamin D as a common gap because it is hard to get from food and winter sun from late October to early April is often not enough for skin synthesis. 9. She also flags omega-3 intake as low in many female athletes because many people do not eat much fish. 10. Amy and Rachel connect vitamin D and omega-3s to indoor sports like volleyball and basketball, where athletes spend a lot of time away from direct sunlight. 11. Rachel says creatine is getting significant attention because it supports explosive performance and also appears relevant for cognition and brain fog. 12. Amy raises creatine hydrochloride and says she likes its concentration and lower bloating concerns, especially for female athletes who worry about water weight. 13. Rachel responds that creatine monohydrate and creatine hydrochloride can affect people differently, so athletes may need to test which form causes less GI distress. 14. The conversation shifts to menstrual cycles, and Rachel says puberty, menstruation, and the menopausal transition create major hormonal changes across the female lifespan. 15. She says current data do not strongly support cycle syncing for strength or performance outcomes, even though athletes may feel different across phases. 16. Rachel and Amy both stress iron and ferritin testing for menstruating athletes, especially endurance athletes, because ferritin can drop before standard iron markers look abnormal. 17. Amy adds that ferritin is stored iron and says female runners often need explicit ferritin testing because doctors may not order it routinely. 18. The tone is practical and collaborative, with Amy prompting examples from high school and college sports while Rachel answers in a teaching style. 19. Female athletes, parents, coaches, and sports dietitians would get the most from this episode. 20. Listeners looking for entertainment or abstract theory without practical nutrition guidance might skip it.

As heard by us

A practical supplement discussion for female athletes, with a clear focus on creatine and what to know before buying into the hype.

This episode gives a practical look at supplements and performance for female athletes, with Amy Goodson setting up the conversation for athletes, parents, coaches, and athletic trainers. Dr.

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