Summary of the 2025 Professionals in Nutrition for Exercise and Sport “10 Questions/10 Experts” Session—Can Everyday Foods Replace Some Ergogenic Supplements and Commercially Available Sports Foods?

Abstract

This article provides a recap of the 10 Questions/10 Experts session at the 2025 American College of Sports Medicine Annual Meeting. Each of the speakers considered the validity of common “myths” while providing evidence-based opinions to support or bust myths addressing the following questions: (a) Do people get enough dietary creatine from everyday foods? (b) Are nonsugar sweeteners an effective way to reduce energy intake in athletes? (c) Do beef jerky or chocolate milk provide enough leucine, making branched-chain amino acid supplementation unnecessary? (d) Can honey, applesauce, or other foods effectively replace carbohydrate gels for fueling exercise? (e) Is a homemade sports drink made from juice and a bit of salt just as effective as a commercially available sports drink? (f) Do vegetarians need to supplement carnosine and carnitine? (g) Is teff grain a rich source of iron? (h) Is coconut water a sufficient replacement for electrolyte drinks? (i) Can B vitamins influence the accuracy of urine color scoring to determine a low versus high urine concentration as a marker of hydration status? and (j) What is the impact of preexercise food-sourced calcium intake on acute bone metabolism in response to exercise? This article describes the content of each of the presentations including the most important outcomes and conclusions drawn by the presenters.