All Articles by Lindsey Barton Straus, JD

The keys to good health and successful athletic performance are a carefully designed, healthful, and nutritionally balanced diet and well-developed program which promotes a "food-first" philosophy, says a helpful new position statement on evaluating dietary supplements from the National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA).

Reviewing current information about the content, benefits, and risks of the use of energy drinks by teens, a group of military doctors expressed "great concern" over the safety and negative effects of energy drinks, given their high caffeine content and the common practice on college campuses (and most likely at the high school level as well) of mixing energy drinks with alcohol.

History of prior concussion, collision sports, female sex, and women's soccer are the strongest known risk factors for concussion, while symptoms such as persistent headaches, migraines, amnesia, and multiple symptoms appear to be associated with prolonged recovery, says a new study.

High school athletes reporting four or more symptoms of concussion at the time of injury are twice as likely to experience symptoms lasting a week or more, says a 2013 study.

Using a sophisticated brain scan, researchers at UCLA have for the first time identified in living patients the telltale signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy. While the results are preliminary, the study opens up the possibility of using the scans to develop strategies to prevent C.T.E. and provide treatment for those who have it.

Structural abnormalities in children's brains persist in children and teens for months after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) or concussion, even when symptoms have cleared and results on neurocognitive tests have returned to normal, finds a sobering new study in the Journal of Neuroscience.

One way to fight childhood obesity may be to reduce dietary intake of salt by children, says a new study. Reducing the amount of salt may help reduce the amount of sugary beverages consumed, which in turn, may lower childhood obesity risk.

What do top sports dietitians and nutrition experts think of nutritional supplements? If you read their blogs last month, you already know the answer is, not much, with almost all saying that athletes should meet their nutritional needs with food.

Although pediatric primary care and emergency medicine ;providers regularly treat concussions, many admit to lacking the training or tools needed to diagnose and manage concussed patients, a new study finds.

The use of muscle-enhancing behaviors among middle and high school boys and girls - including such unhealthy behaviors as using protein powders or shakes, steroids, and other muscle-enhancing substances - is substantially higher than previously reported, a new study finds.