Nutritionists Stéphanie Côté and Marie-Pierre St-Onge are outlining the critical differences between eating for performance and eating for general health [1, 2].
This distinction helps individuals optimize their daily energy levels and sleep quality by moving beyond basic nutritional balance. Understanding these principles allows people to correct common dietary errors that can sabotage athletic results and recovery [2, 3].
The experts define "bien manger," or eating well, as the foundation of a balanced diet. This approach emphasizes overall nutritional equilibrium, and long-term health [1, 3]. It focuses on the types of food consumed to ensure the body receives necessary vitamins and minerals over time.
In contrast, "mieux manger," or eating better, focuses on the strategic application of nutrition to achieve specific goals [1, 3]. This method prioritizes the timing and quality of meals to enhance physical performance and improve the quality of sleep [1, 3]. While eating well provides the baseline, eating better optimizes how the body functions during and after activity.
Côté, a nutritionist at the Université de Montréal, and St-Onge, a doctor of nutrition, said that many people fail to see results because they confuse these two concepts [1, 2]. A person may eat healthy foods but fail to time them correctly for a workout or a night of rest — a gap that prevents them from reaching peak performance [2, 3].
By adjusting the timing of nutrients, individuals can better manage their energy levels throughout the day [1, 3]. This shift from a general health focus to a performance-based strategy is designed to help people move more effectively and recover more efficiently [1].
“"Mieux manger" focuses on timing and quality of meals to boost performance and sleep.”
The distinction between general healthy eating and performance-based nutrition suggests that caloric and nutrient quality alone are insufficient for peak physical output. By emphasizing the temporal aspect of nutrition—when nutrients are consumed relative to activity and sleep—experts are shifting the focus from a static dietary model to a dynamic one tailored to biological needs.
