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REVIEW article

Front. Sports Act. Living
Sec. Sport and Exercise Nutrition
Volume 6 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fspor.2024.1435494

Nutrition, hydration and supplementation considerations for mountaineers in high-altitude conditions: a narrative review Nutrition and supplementation in high altitude

Provisionally accepted
Ewa Karpecka-Gałka Ewa Karpecka-Gałka 1*Barbara Frączek Barbara Frączek 2
  • 1 Doctoral School of Physical Culture Sciences, University School of Physical Education in Krakow, Krakow, Poland
  • 2 Department of Sports Medicine and Human Nutrition, University School of Physical Education in Krakow, Krakow, Poland

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Staying and climbing in high mountains (>2500 m) involves changes in diet due to poor access to fresh food, lack of appetite, food poisoning, environmental conditions and physiological changes. The purpose of this review is to summarize the current knowledge on the principles of nutrition, hydration and supplementation in high-altitude conditions and to propose practical recommendations/solutions based on scientific literature data. Databases such as Pubmed, Scopus, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar were searched to find studies published from 2000 to 2023 considering articles that were randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials, narrative review articles, systematic reviews and meta-analyses. The manuscript provides recommendations for energy supply, dietary macronutrients and micronutrients, hydration, as well as supplementation recommendations and practical tips for mountaineers. In view of the difficulties of being in high mountains and practicing alpine climbing, as described in the review, it is important to increase athletes' awareness of nutrition and supplementation in order to improve well-being, physical performance and increase the chance of achieving a mountain goal, and to provide the appropriate dietary care necessary to educate mountaineers and personalize recommendations to the needs of the individual.

    Keywords: recommendations, Mountaineering, nutrition, Diet, mountains, himalaism

    Received: 20 May 2024; Accepted: 11 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Karpecka-Gałka and Frączek. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Ewa Karpecka-Gałka, Doctoral School of Physical Culture Sciences, University School of Physical Education in Krakow, Krakow, Poland

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.