Episode 57B - What’s the nutrition roadmap for recovery from relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S) | Tina Muir

Fueling Endurance - Nutrition for Runners, Cyclists & Triathletes

Many runners, cyclists and triathletes, male and female, can find themselves struggling to perform, or to recover, from training. Or they may have other health complications, like loss of their menstrual cycle for females and low testosterone in males, loss of bone density, effects on mental health, and constantly getting sick all the time.

In this episode our guest is Tina Muir, former elite distance runner who represented Great Britain. Tina suffered with amenorrhoea for 9 years, and although she didn’t realise it at the time, Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S). We chat to Tina about her realisation that energy availability was behind her lack of a menstrual cycle, some of the common symptoms of RED-S that she experienced but aren’t mentioned in the official guidelines, her decision to quit the sport at the peak of her career, her journey to recover from RED-S, and her ongoing work to support athletes (especially women) in understanding and recovering from this condition.

Useful resources mentioned in this episode:

• Tina Muir - An Open Letter to Runners With Amenorrhea - Self Magazine (2017) - https://www.self.com/story/letter-to-runners-with-amenorrhea-tina-muir
• Tina's YouTube Channel (expert interviews about RED-S and recovery from it) - https://www.youtube.com/@TinaMuir/playlists?view=50&sort=dd&shelf_id=1