Rating: 
Summary: An incredible book
Review: Hands down this is one of the most incredible books on nutrition, supplements or what have you. Anyone who is even mildly interested in sports (bodybuilding, running, cycling, wrestling, football) needs to get this book. It is worth its weight in gold.
Rating:
Summary: AWESOME!
Review: I am infinitly grateful to Michael Colgan for writing this book. I have benefitted immensely from the valuable information provided. Dr. Colgan is a genius.
Rating: 
Summary: There are better, more current books around...
Review: I bought this book in the early 90's, soon after it was first published. I was a regular reader of Colgan's monthly column in Muscular Development magazine at the time, so I bought the book.The good points of Colgan's book are his descriptions of what is wrong with much of our food supply- the adding of hormones and antibiotics to our meat supply, the chemicals abundant in our water supply-and his suggestions for dealing with the problems, e.g. water filters, range-fed beef and chicken etc. His explanation of why a post-workout drink is so important is excellent. However his nutritional prescriptions are a victim of the 'low-fat, high-carbohydrate' diet myth that was so fashionable in the 80's and early 90's, but is increasingly being challenged by both research and the enormous number of people who are discovering the benefits of lower carb eating. Colgan spends much time debunking 'establishment myths' - but ironically buys into their biggest myth of all - that the key to health and fitness is a high-carbohydrate, low-fat, grain-based diet. He recommends a food pyramid that, just like the government's, places grains and legumes at the base and states they should be the foundation of any healthy diet. He is either unaware, or evades the fact, that grains and legumes were not even a part of the human diet in any meaningful quantity in man's diet until about 10,000 years ago. The robust hunter-gatherers got on fine for two million years without them. Grains and legumes contain allergenic proteins,and anti-nutrients like phytates which bind to minerals and prevent their absorption. There are several studies showing low-carb, high fat diets to improve endurance, in many cases more effectively than high carb diets (you won't read about these in Colgan's book though, so you may want to log onto Medscape and do a search). I followed the bland diet Colgan recommends in his book for several years, and eventually got sick of the continual fluctuations in energy, the bloating, and the other insulin-induced effects of his 'healthy' high carb diet. I now follow a higher fat, lower carb diet, employing the principle of carb-cycling, and my endurance has never been better, not to mention my overall energy and mental focus. Colgan also recommends several supplements in the book which have not lived up to their hype. OKG is a good example -a very expensive supplement that came and went pretty quickly. There are far better, and more current resources available for those who would like to learn about athletic eating and training. 'Natural Hormonal Enhancement' by Rob Faigin is a great book,(if you are trying to build muscle or recover from intense training ignore the author's comments about post workout carb intake). I particularly like paleolithic nutrition, with slight adjustments it is great for athletes, see 'Neanderthin' by Ray Audette. Atkins is definitely worth a read for his analysis of high carb diets and insulin disorder, but I don't consider some of his food choices ( his much-maligned pork rinds for example!) to be optimal. For training, books by Poliquin, Bompa, Siff and Verkoshansky, and Zatsiorsky are highly recommended. Pavel Tsatsouline's books contain some useful tidbits, though they are a little thin for the price. Young bodybuilders with good recovery ability might want to check out 'Big Beyond Belief' by Leo Costa, this book has helped a lot of people put on a lot of muscle. Also the online strength mags Testosterone and Intensity are a great source of training info.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Good Reference Book For Understanding Nutrition
Review: I have been a longtime Dr Colgan reader through both his columns in Muscular Development and this book. Optimum Sports Nutrition is a great book for anyone, athlete or otherwise to draw on to construct their own nutritional regimen. He goes into great detail backs up every recommendation he makes with boatloads of statistics. I only have a few quibbles. The first is his hyping of Twinlab products - he clearly has a vested interest since he works for Twinlab's parent company. Having said that their products are excellent. Second the book could really do with updating notably including creatine as an ergogenic compound. Finally, and most seriously I feel his prescription of a low fat diet/high carb diet cannot possibly suit everyone. Although this type of diet will work well I feel more EFA's are required for most people. Furthermore he fails to touch upon ketogenic diets which many people find very effective for lowering their bodyfat percentage although it is a diet only really suitable for bodybuilders and the average joe. For a great book on this subject look up Lyle McDonald's "The Complete Guide to Ketogenic Diets".
Rating:
Summary: Great Material, but;
Review: I have only read the first ten chapters so far, but have only had the book a week. I have found the information very enlightening. I am a natural body builder who has problems putting on weight and keeping my energy level up, this information has already been helpful. However, I do have one concern! I would like to know if Dr. Colgan has a vested interest in Twin Lab Products, or are they really as good as he make them sound in this book. He makes reference to them in almost every section I have read to this point. I am not being critical, but I would just like to know if these products worth my money. I already use products sold by Body Wise for my glycogen rehydration. Thank you in advance for your reply.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book
Review: I have read several books on nutrition and nothing compares to the information contained in this fantastic book. I am well educated myself having degrees in nutrition and biochemisty. I perused the information Dr. Colgan has presented and found it to be accurate in terms of the biochemical workings of the human body. Dr. Colgan has been able to convert difficult to understand material into a more eaisly understandable format. His credentials are outstanding. There is no other individual that I have come across that can match his education and professional experience. Dr. Colgan is not your dime a dozen M.D. who writes a book on nutrition. He has a Ph.D in Biochemistry which is really what all of nutrition is based upon. The only thing that that I found negative was the excessive emphasis on Twin Lab products and some of the material on sports supplementation was out of date. Otherwise, the majority of the information I found to be of high quality. Both the athlete and non-athlete will find this book to be a welcome adjunct to thier nutrition knowledge and understanding.
Rating:
Summary: Very Enlightening
Review: I have recently purchased this book along with Stuart Mcrobert's Beyond Brawn. So far I have been very impressed with the material available in this book. One of the more important discoveries I had while reading this book was the section about vitamin dosages. I had been suffering from several physical ailments and violent mood swings that were directly from vitamin overdose. This book is pointed more at individuals who are very intense atheletes, but the information is helpful for even us regular joe's.
Rating:
Summary: Indispensable tool for training
Review: I purchased this book back in 1993 and continue to reference it to friends who ask me about supplements and effective ways of building muscle. It provides athletes from novice to professional, a thorough well-researched guide to sports nutrition.
Rating:
Summary: VERY WORTH IT - EVEN CONSIDERING THE TWINLAB ISSUE
Review: My suspicion is TwinLab products are as good or better than most others out there. But regardless of how you feel about Dr. Colgan's endorsement of that brand, the great thing about this book is he cites specific studies and their results to support his conclusions. You have the actual facts to make your own conclusions. My lifestyle has changed dramatically for the better since reading this and I find myself going back to look things up more than any other book I have.
Rating: 
Summary: ANYTHING CAN GET PUBLISHED THESE DAYS
Review: Only the uneducated would find this book appealing. Useful? Not even. Its contents are filled with contradiction and controversy. While the comments he makes look good on paper and in theory, in reality, the body just doesn't work like he thinks. He claims he can't fit more information in the book, but if he quit putting the words "Dr" before his name, and quit writing about himself, there would be room for at least 100 more pages. This book doesn't belong in one's library, and especially is not a bible for nutrition. Don't worry if you bought it - it'd make a great "white elephant" gift.
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