The Outlook on Active Nutrition Preview: Conversation with Katie Salomone

This article has been updated to include a transcription of the video.

Nutritional Outlook's managing editor, Sebastian Krawiec, interviews Katie Salomone, director of sports nutrition at Rutgers University. Salomone will be presenting about hydration routines at Nutritional Outlook's upcoming conference, The Outlook on Active Nutrition. In this interview, she discusses her role at Rutgers, highlighting her work with sweat testing, particularly in basketball programs, and shares her interest in finding innovative nutrition solutions.

To learn more and register for the conference, click here.

Transcription:

Sebastian Krawiec: Hello everyone. I'm Sebastian Krawiec, managing editor of Nutritional Outlook. I'm joined by Katie Salomone, director of sports nutrition for Rutgers University Athletics. Katie will be speaking at our upcoming conference, The Outlook on Active Nutrition. Thanks so much for joining us today.

Katie Salomone: Hi. Thank you for having for having me.

Krawiec: It's a pleasure. So to start, I wanted to give you an opportunity to tell us a little bit about yourself, about your professional background, and what you do at Rutgers.

Salomone: Sure. So I started at Rutgers in 2019 as the assistant director, and I got to oversee all the Olympic sports, and then quickly, through advocating and just seeing the growth in nutrition and the need for the athletes, we were able to increase our staffing to now five full time dietitians. I still oversee all of our Olympic sports, but I get to primarily work with the men's basketball program, women's basketball program, gymnastics, and dance and cheer, and then my other staff get to work closely with our other teams so that we can provide the best care possible.

Before I got to Rutgers, I did my fellowship at University of Maryland, where I got to work with their football program, softball, tennis, and also some track and field. I would say my whole experience started at Auburn University when I started volunteering with them and completed a dietetic internship with them as well. So it was nice to see the shift between SEC Big 10 and all the different variety that there is out there for a sports nutrition department.

Krawiec: Very cool. So I wonder if you could tell us a little bit about your presentation and the lessons that you want attendees to take away from it.

Salomone: Sure. So in my presentation, I'm focusing on hydration, and everything that the science has shown us behind it, and some real-life experiences. I do a lot of sweat testing, specifically with the basketball programs, so seeing what that data shows and how I can utilize different supplements and different hydration routines for the athletes has been effective for their performance. So I think it's going to be cool to share that.

Krawiec: Definitely. I think our audience would be fascinated to see that, and how their products have utilized in this this way, especially this real-world athletics.

Salomone: It's definitely helpful, because you can't always replicate things in a lab or even in a study, so getting it just right on the court is exciting to see how it plays out.

Krawiec: Absolutely, and what do you hope to learn from The Outlook on Active Nutrition? I'm sure you'll have a chance to see some other presentations. Is there anything particular that caught your eye?

Salomone: I always look to see what up and coming research is showing that can make it more advantageous for an athlete to be at their peak performance, anything that's going to help them, especially when we have literal seconds that can separate someone from first and second place, or them being able to just perform at their best in any which way. So finding what's going to be that next thing that can really bump, so any type of supplementation or different regimens and routines. I love to look more into those types of things.

Krawiec: And what excites you about the sports nutrition space currently, the products you're seeing or the innovations?

Salomone: Gosh, I always get excited when I see new products, because I'm always looking for variety. I've worked with 700 plus athletes at a time, and to find something that makes everybody happy is impossible. So when I see the different formulations that come out for everything, like when I think about hydration products, there are so many different formulations of the amount and ratios of the electrolytes that get put in there. There's different osmolalities that companies focus on so that you can work with athletes that have GI issues, that don't have GI issues, and then the flavor profiles that go along with it, because if it doesn't taste good, your athlete’s not going to have it, no matter how good it is for them. So that's always what I'm really looking for, is, how does something get to taste better for the athletes. I feel like common supplements that I continue to struggle with is giving them collagen and nitrates because they're just not tastiest, so it's just that extra bind that you have to get to you take it anyway. It's good for you. So I always, I always love trying new things out with them to see what can work and be effective for the majority, and just finding everyone their own routine that can work for them.

Krawiec: Excellent. Well, you know, I look forward to seeing a presentation, meeting you in person, and should be a good event.

Salomone: Awesome. Yeah, thank you so much. It's a pleasure meeting you too.

Krawiec: Pleasure.