Nutraceutical Periodization for eXercise (NPX): Matching Bioactives to Training Load, Recovery Demand, and Adaptation Windows
10 affiliations
- 1Department of Physical Education and Sport, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 010374 Bucharest, Romania
- 2ExPhy Research Group, Department of Physical Education, Instituto de Investigación e Innovación Biomédica de Cádiz (INiBICA), 11009 Cádiz, Spain
- 3Faculty of Physiotherapy, University of Physical Culture, 31-571 Kraków, Poland
- 4Herz-und Diabeteszentrum NRW, Diabeteszentrum, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, 32545 Bad Oeynhausen, Germany
- 5Faculty of Medicine, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania
- 6Romanian Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation, 010374 Bucharest, Romania
- 7Doctoral School, National Carol Davila University of Physical Education and Sport, 060057 Bucharest, Romania
- 8Carol Davila National Institute for Sport Research, 060057 Bucharest, Romania
- 9Witting CF1 Clinical Hospital, 011791 Bucharest, Romania
- 10Pharmacy, Science and Technology of Târgu Mureș, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, 540139 Târgu Mureș, Romania
Abstract
Nutraceuticals are evaluated as though efficacy were a stable ingredient property, although net value may vary with exercise stimulus, exposure schedule, recovery pressure, athlete state, and prioritized outcome. This structured narrative review integrates exercise-adaptation biology, periodized sports nutrition, training-load and recovery models, precision nutrition, and human evidence for sport-relevant interventions. Searches of PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Scopus were updated through August 2026 and supplemented by citation tracking. General efficacy was separated from direct evidence of timing, context, or state modification. Nutraceutical Periodization for eXercise (NPX) is an allocation layer applied only after safety, legality, product quality, and plausible efficacy are established. It defines four non-sequential functional windows—performance exploitation, adaptation-permissive signaling, restoration, and resilience—and separates intervention strategy, training context, athlete state, and outcome hierarchy. Four falsifiable propositions test context modification, temporal allocation, bottleneck/state dependence, and whole-policy utility. None of the allocation claims in the present evidence map met the criterion for direct NPX allocation evidence. NPX therefore formalizes hypothetical allocation rules rather than an established supplementation policy; proposed improvements in athlete-centered outcomes or equivalent outcomes with less exposure, burden, or harm remain to be prospectively tested against an explicitly defined active evidence-based comparator. Interaction and policy trials are needed to establish the value and boundaries of these rules.
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BibTeX
@article{manescu2026nutraceutical,
title = {{Nutraceutical Periodization for eXercise (NPX): Matching Bioactives to Training Load, Recovery Demand, and Adaptation Windows}},
author = {Dan Cristian Mănescu and Cristina Casals and Anna Kurkiewicz-Piotrowska and Tayana Silva de Carvalho and Costin Petcu and Cristian Băltărețu and Radu Bidiugan and Andrei Dragomir and Octavian Amzulescu and Simona Bidiugan and Osama Salloum and Răzvan Alexandrescu},
journal = {Nutrients},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/nu18203337},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/20/3337},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Nutraceutical Periodization for eXercise (NPX): Matching Bioactives to Training Load, Recovery Demand, and Adaptation Windows
AU - Dan Cristian Mănescu
AU - Cristina Casals
AU - Anna Kurkiewicz-Piotrowska
AU - Tayana Silva de Carvalho
AU - Costin Petcu
AU - Cristian Băltărețu
AU - Radu Bidiugan
AU - Andrei Dragomir
AU - Octavian Amzulescu
AU - Simona Bidiugan
AU - Osama Salloum
AU - Răzvan Alexandrescu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - Nutrients
DO - 10.3390/nu18203337
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/20/3337
AB - Nutraceuticals are evaluated as though efficacy were a stable ingredient property, although net value may vary with exercise stimulus, exposure schedule, recovery pressure, athlete state, and prioritized outcome. This structured narrative review integrates exercise-adaptation biology, periodized sports nutrition, training-load and recovery models, precision nutrition, and human evidence for sport-relevant interventions. Searches of PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Scopus were updated through August 2026 and supplemented by citation tracking. General efficacy was separated from direct evidence of timing, context, or state modification. Nutraceutical Periodization for eXercise (NPX) is an allocation layer applied only after safety, legality, product quality, and plausible efficacy are established. It defines four non-sequential functional windows—performance exploitation, adaptation-permissive signaling, restoration, and resilience—and separates intervention strategy, training context, athlete state, and outcome hierarchy. Four falsifiable propositions test context modification, temporal allocation, bottleneck/state dependence, and whole-policy utility. None of the allocation claims in the present evidence map met the criterion for direct NPX allocation evidence. NPX therefore formalizes hypothetical allocation rules rather than an established supplementation policy; proposed improvements in athlete-centered outcomes or equivalent outcomes with less exposure, burden, or harm remain to be prospectively tested against an explicitly defined active evidence-based comparator. Interaction and policy trials are needed to establish the value and boundaries of these rules.
SN - 2072-6643
ER -