The Top 7 Sports Nutrition Trends of 2025

Here’s what athletes discussed, tried, and wondered about over the past year.

In 2025, the main sports nutrition trend was a shift toward personalized, evidence-based fueling. Generic plans are becoming less common as athletes look for nutrition that matches their bodies, training, and life stage.

Here’s a quick look at the seven biggest sports nutrition trends of 2025 and what they mean for endurance athletes, coaches, and anyone who likes to stay active.

 

1. Personalized Sports Nutrition Becomes Mainstream

 

“If a fueling strategy works for your training partner but not for you, that’s not a failure. That’s data.”

 

Photo by Sweet Life for Unsplash

 

In 2025, we saw a clear shift away from one-size-fits-all fueling plans. Heck! That’s why Fuel Kit was born. Instead, we saw personalized nutrition powered by smart tech taking centre stage.

Athletes increasingly used:

• Wearables to track heart rate variability, hydration status, and recovery.
• Continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) to understand fueling tolerance and carbohydrate timing.
• Genomic and metabolomic insights are emerging to fine-tune nutrient needs and supplement responses. Metabolomics is the study of substances necessary for, or formed by metabolism. For more on this fascinating growth area in precision sports nutrition, see this 2024 article in Nutrients.

This wasn’t biohacking for the sake of it- it was real-time feedback to answer practical questions like “Why does this gel work for my training partner but not for me?”.

 

Helpful Links:

• Devices: Levels Health CGM, WHOOP, Garmin HRV.
• Platforms: Hexis
• Scientific context:
  • Guest et al., Frontiers in Nutrition- Sport nutrigenomics for personalized nutrition in sport.
  • Bedrac et al., Nutrients- Towards precision sports nutrition for endurance athletes.

What this means for you:

You don’t need every piece of tech, but you do need to stop copying your training partner’s fueling plan. If a gel, drink, or pre-run meal consistently doesn’t sit well, that’s data. To start, use simple feedback like energy levels, gastrointestinal (GI) tolerance, and recovery quality. Once you have ticked the boxes and met the baseline nutrition strategies, you can consider investing in advanced technologies. Also, tech should confirm what your body is telling you, not override it.

 

2. Creatine Had Its Biggest Year Yet

“Creatine isn’t just for lifters, it can support daily physical and cognitive performance when used consistently and correctly.”

Creatine officially graduated from “gym bro supplement” to mainstream performance and health nutrient in 2025.

What changed?

• More discussion about recently expanded research in women and older adults, including benefits for muscle preservation, bone health, and cognition.
• New product formats like gummies and ready-to-drink formulations made daily use even easier. 
• Increased comfort among endurance athletes to use creatine strategically.

Read more:

• Hone et al., Journal of Dietary Supplements- Micro-encapsulated creatine monohydrate in aqueous solutions.
• Kreider et al., JISSN- International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand on creatine.

What this means for you:

Creatine isn’t just for lifters, and it's not something to fear. If you’re an endurance athlete doing strength work, entering perimenopause or menopause, or focused on long-term muscle and bone health, creatine may be worth discussing with a qualified practitioner. Daily consistency matters more than timing, and fancy formats do not work better.

 

3. Clean Label Isn’t a Trend- It’s an Expectation

“Fewer ingredients, third-party testing, and transparency matter more than flashy claims.”

If there was one consumer wake-up call in 2025, it was this: what’s in your supplement actually matters.

A widely circulated Consumer Reports investigation reinforced what many sports dietitians have long cautioned- some protein powders and supplements contain detectable levels of heavy metals.

The result?

• Greater appreciation for the meaning of third-party testing.
• A call for simpler ingredients.
• Lower tolerance for “proprietary blends” and vague sourcing.
  

Athletes have started not only asking what works, but also what’s safe.

 

Resources:

• Consumer Reports: Heavy metals in protein powders
• Third party testing that’s best for elites and recreational athletes alike: NSF Certified for Sport database.
• Informed Sport certified products:
  • Maurten- shop here
  • SaltStick- shop here
  • Nuun- shop here

What this means for you:

Third-party testing matters. Period. Choose supplements that are third-party tested by organizations like NSF Certified for Sport, and don’t assume “natural” means “safe”. When in doubt, fewer ingredients and transparent sourcing usually win.

4. Gut-Brain Axis Takes Center Stage

 

“Performance isn’t just physical; your gut plays a role in focus, stress tolerance, and decision-making"

 

Sports nutrition conversations moved beyond “don’t get GI distress” to a more nuanced understanding of the gut-brain axis.

In 2025, we saw:

• Increased interest in psychobiotics (targeted probiotics and postbiotics).
• Focus on reducing cortisol and improving mental resilience.
• Functional sports products featured adaptogens like ashwagandha and nootropics like L-theanine for calm focus. More research is needed on these foods, but they are worth watching.
  

Performance wasn’t just about legs and lungs anymore; it was about motivation, decision-making, and stress tolerance.

Dig Deeper:

• FoodNavigator: Gut health innovations.
• Wegierska et al., Sports Med- the good and bad connections between physical exercise and gut microbiota in athletes.
• Jager et al., JISSN: International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand on probiotics.

 

What this means for you:

Nutrition may be part of the solution if you find stress, nerves, and mental fatigue derail your performance as much as sore legs. Support gut health with consistent meals, adequate carbohydrates, and possibly targeted probiotics (when appropriate) to help both digestion and focus. Be cautious with trendy nootropics. If you would like to try them, start low, test in training, and never experiment on race day.

 

5. Evidence-Based Supplementation Is Embraced

“Supplements should solve a problem, not compensate for under-fueling.”

 

Perhaps the most encouraging shift of 2025? Athletes became far more science-literate about supplements.

Instead of chasing the newest shiny product, there was a renewed interest in tried-and-true, evidence-backed protocols, including:

• Creatine
• Sodium bicarbonate (with better dosing strategies)
• Nitrates (beetroot, arugula-based sources
• Beta-alanine

Key reads:

• Maughan et al., British Journal of Sports Medicine: International Olympic Committee consensus statement on supplements.
• JISSN has also published position stands on several of the supplements above: creatine, sodium bicarbonate, and beta-alanine.

What this means for you:

 

6. Blackcurrant Polyphenols Had a Moment

“Food-derived bioactives are earning their place in sports nutrition, quietly, but with real data behind them"

Photo by Anton for Unsplash

Every year has a “darling” nutrient, and in 2025, blackcurrant polyphenols took the spotlight.

At the 2025 ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) symposium, researchers highlighted over a decade of data suggesting benefits of blackcurrant polyphenols for:

• Changes in blood flow.
• Changes in gut microbiota.
• Repeated high-intensity performance.
• Recovery and oxidative stress.

This marked a broader shift toward food-derived bioactives backed by legitimate research, rather than synthetic novelty ingredients.

Learn More:

• Braakhuis et al., J Int Soc Sports Nutr.: Meta-analysis of blackcurrants and performance.
• Redha et al., Food Reviews International: Blackcurrants as functional foods to improve athlete performance.
• ACSM presentation part 1, part 2 and part 3, YouTube.

What this means for you:

Food-derived compounds are gaining traction for a reason. If you train hard, race often, or struggle with recovery between sessions, polyphenol-rich foods or targeted supplements backed by real data may offer marginal gains. Think of these as supporting players, not magic bullets. Look for these polyphenols in functional beverages for athletes.

 

7. Precise Hydration Replaces the Generic

“Hydration isn’t about drinking more- it’s about replacing what you lose"

 

Hydration advice moved beyond simple drinking targets and sports drinks. While many sports experts argue against blanket electrolytes during exercise, few dispute that targeted hydration, sweat testing, and customized electrolyte blends have captivated many athletes this year.

Key developments include:

• Sweat testing patches and sensors to estimate sweat losses (Gatorade sweat patches, Precision Hydration).
• Customized electrolyte blends based on individual sweat profiles.
• Demand increased for “clean” hydration: fewer artificial sweeteners, more potassium-forward formulas, and recognizable ingredients.

Hydration became strategic rather than reactive.

Explore:

• Nix Biosensor sweat patch
• Gatorade sweat patch (not available in Canada as of print time).
• Baker et al., Sports Medicine: sweat sodium and hydration strategies.

 

What this means for you:

Adequate hydration improves performance. For most people, drinking regularly and paying attention to thirst is enough. Athletes who perform in extreme conditions, wear heavy equipment, or sweat heavily may benefit from a more targeted approach.

Where Sports Nutrition Is Headed in 2026

Looking ahead, 2026 is shaping up as an integration year.

Trends to watch:

• Smarter synthesis of data from wearables, CGMs, and training platforms.
• Greater focus on female athletes and targeted research across the lifespan.
• Continued tightening of supplement regulation and transparency.
• More emphasis on long-term health alongside performance, especially for masters and lifelong athletes.

In short: less noise, more nuance, and better questions from athletes.

Better performance isn’t about using more products. It’s about making sure your training, physiology, and nutrition all work together. At Fuel Kit, we create practical, science-based nutrition plans tailored to you, using the products that fit your needs.

 

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Written by: Ashley Leone, RD, MSc, IOC. Dipl. Sport Nutr

Ashley is a sports and performance dietitian and the Founder of Fuel Kit and the Owner of Gazelle Nutrition Lab. Ashley has been a dietitian for over 25 years and holds a Master of Science degree from the University of Toronto, as well as a Diploma in Sports Nutrition from the International Olympic Committee.