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Athletes often have inadequate nutrition knowledge and poor nutritional habits, which can have a negative impact on athletic performance. This study assessed the nutrition knowledge of competitive adolescent and young adult male hockey players, and examined the impact of a nutrition intervention program, Sport Nutrition for the Athletes of Canada (SNAC). Before the intervention, nutrition knowledge was tested in 175 adolescent and young adult male hockey players. The intervention was provided as part of a hockey camp curriculum and was based on the SNAC workbook, which emphasizes achieving a balanced diet with adequate energy and fluid intake. After the intervention, nutrition knowledge was assessed in a subgroup of 33 hockey players. The pre-intervention nutrition knowledge score was 45% (n = 175), which suggests this population had little sport nutrition knowledge. Nutrition knowledge scores two weeks after the intervention showed no meaningful improvement in the subgroup. The results of this study suggest that the SNAC nutrition intervention program offered under the conditions of this study, did not effectively improve nutrition knowledge in adolescent and young adult male hockey players.

Inclusion of rapeseed feeds in dairy cow diets has the potential to reduce milk fat saturated fatty acid (SFA) and increase cis-monounsaturated fatty acid (cis-MUFA) content, but effectiveness may depend on the form in which the rapeseed is presented. Four mid-lactation Holstein dairy cows were allocated to four maize silage-based dietary treatments according to a 4 × 4 Latin Square design, with 28-day experimental periods. Treatments consisted of a control diet (C) containing 49 g/kg dry matter (DM) of calcium salts of palm oil distillate (CPO), or 49 g/kg DM of oil supplied as whole rapeseeds (WR), rapeseeds milled with wheat (MR) or rapeseed oil (RO). Replacing CPO with rapeseed feeds had no effect (P > 0.05) on milk fat and protein content, while milk yields were higher (P < 0.05) for RO and MR compared with WR (37.1, 38.1 and 34.3 kg/day, respectively). Substituting CPO with RO or MR reduced (P < 0.05) milk fat total SFA content (69.6, 55.6, 71.7 and 61.5 g/100 g fatty acids for C, RO, WR and MR, respectively) and enhanced (P < 0.05) milk cis-9 18:1 MUFA concentrations (corresponding values 18.6, 24.3, 17.0 and 23.0 g/100 g fatty acids) compared with C and WR. Treatments RO and MR also increased (P < 0.05) milk trans-MUFA content (4.4, 6.8, 10.5 g/100 g fatty acids, C, MR and RO, respectively). A lack of significant changes in milk fat composition when replacing CPO with WR suggests limited bioavailability of fatty acids in intact rapeseeds. In conclusion, replacing a commercial palm oil-based fat supplement in the diet with milled rapeseeds or rapeseed oil represented an effective strategy to alter milk fatty acid composition with the potential to improve human health. Inclusion of processed rapeseeds offered a good compromise for reducing milk SFA and increasing cis-MUFA, whilst minimising milk trans-MUFA and negative effects on animal performance.

Based on potential benefits to human health, there is increasing interest in altering the composition of ruminant-derived foods. Including rapeseeds in the dairy cow diet is an effective strategy for replacing medium-chain saturated fatty acids (SFA) with cis-monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) in bovine milk, but there is limited information on the optimum level of supplementation. Decreases in SFA due to plant oils are also accompanied by increases in milk trans fatty acid (FA) content and it is possible that high oleic acid rapeseeds may result in a higher enrichment of cis-9 18:1 and lower increases in trans FAs in milk compared with conventional varieties. Seven multiparous lactating Holstein–Friesian cows were allocated to one of seven treatments in an incomplete Latin square design with five 28-day experimental periods, to evaluate the effect of replacing calcium salts of palm oil distillate (CPO; 41 g/kg diet dry matter, DM) with 128, 168 or 207 g/kg diet DM of conventional (COR) or a high oleic acid (HOR) rapeseed fed as a supplement milled with wheat. Rapeseed variety and inclusion level had no effect (P > 0.05) on DM intake, milk yield and composition. Both rapeseed varieties decreased linearly (P < 0.001) milk fat SFA content, which was partially compensated for by a linear increase (P < 0.001) in cis-9 18:1 concentration. Reductions in milk SFA were also associated with increases (P < 0.05) in trans 18:1 and total trans FA content, with no difference (P > 0.05) between rapeseed varieties. Replacing CPO in the diet with milled rapeseeds had no effect (P > 0.05) on total milk conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) concentration. Relative to a COR, inclusion of a high oleic acid variant in the diet increased (P = 0.01) the ratio of trans-MUFA : trans-polyunsaturated fatty acids in milk that may have implications with respect to cardiovascular disease risk in humans. In conclusion, data indicated that replacing CPO with milled rapeseeds at levels up to 1150 g oil/day could be used as a nutritional strategy to lower milk SFA content without inducing adverse effects on DM intake and milk production. HOR reduced milk fat SFA content to a greater extent than a conventional variety, but did not minimise associated increases in trans FA concentrations. However, the high oleic acid variant did alter the relative abundance of specific trans 18:1, CLA and trans 18:2 isomers compared with conventional rapeseeds.