The exposome-sports nutrition intersection: Effects of dietary environmental contaminants on exercise performance and metabolic health.

The purpose of this review was to examine how environmental contaminants entering through food, dietary supplements, and exercise-related inhalation may influence exercise performance and metabolic health in athletic populations. We synthesized epidemiological studies, controlled exposure studies, mechanistic experiments, and recent review literature spanning persistent organic pollutants, heavy metals, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, and particulate matter. Across the available evidence, air pollution shows the clearest direct performance signal: recent running and football datasets report slower race times and lower high-intensity activity under higher pollutant exposure, with effect estimates of roughly 1% to 2% for selected endurance outcomes [1-2]. By contrast, the literature on metals, persistent organic pollutants, and endocrine disruptors more consistently demonstrates mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, inflammation, altered glucose handling, and endocrine perturbation than immediate sport-specific performance loss. This distinction is important for athletes because repeated biomarker and recovery disruptions may still degrade training quality over time even when direct competition data remain sparse. Overall, the review highlights an athlete-specific exposome framework that integrates diet, supplements, and inhalation pathways, identifies key evidence gaps, and supports practical risk-reduction strategies such as certified supplement selection, diversified food sourcing, and air-quality-informed training decisions.