Local Crops as Potential Dietary Strategies for Improving the Diet and Nutrition of Athletes in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Narrative Review

The diets of athletes in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) remain poorly studied, and the available evidence raises several concerns: limited sports nutrition knowledge, inadequate energy intake, poor dietary diversity, frequent dehydration in hot climates and growing use of imported supplements that are costly and sometimes contaminated. This narrative review examines the extent to which local African crops and food resources can serve as the basis of a "food first" strategy for these athletes. PubMed/MEDLINE, African Journals Online, Google Scholar, HAL and African institutional repositories were searched for publications in English or French up to 30 August 2026, and the evidence was synthesised narratively, distinguishing trials in athletes from human studies in non-athletes and from food composition data. Five groups of foods were selected: cereals and pseudocereals (maize, sorghum, millets, fonio, amaranth); roots, tubers and plantains (cassava, yam, taro, sweet potato); legumes, oilseeds and one oil-rich tuber (cowpea, Bambara groundnut, groundnut, soybean, tiger nut); fruits, leaves and traditional beverages (moringa, baobab, cashew apple, hibiscus or bissap, coconut water, cocoa, kola); and edible mushrooms (Termitomyces, paddy straw mushrooms, oyster mushrooms). Based on their composition, these foods could contribute substantially to the nutritional adequacy of athletes' diets, although this has not yet been tested by whole-diet modelling. They provide carbohydrates with a range of glycaemic indices, useful for glycogen loading and replenishment, plant proteins whose quality improves when cereals and legumes are combined, critical micronutrients (iron, calcium, provitamin A, vitamin C), electrolytes (potassium, magnesium) and bioactive compounds (polyphenols, nitrates, caffeine). Soaking, germination and fermentation may reduce antinutritional factors and improve mineral bioavailability. Several obstacles remain: athletes' needs are poorly understood, crop-specific composition and glycaemic index data are lacking, local processing remains limited and standardised sports products are scarce. Above all, the available data, which come mainly from composition analyses, do not yet demonstrate any effect on athletes' performance, recovery or health: only a few small trials have tested these foods in athletes or trained individuals, and only one of them was conducted in SSA. Optimised products (energy bars, rehydration drinks, protein powders) should therefore be tested in controlled trials among African athletes before any recommendation is made.