Submission Guidelines
Make sure you are submitting to an appropriate journal
The Journal of Holistic Performance (JHP) is an international, peer-reviewed journal publishing reviews, case studies, and original research focused on evidence-based holistic nutrition, exercise, supplementation and lifestyle interventions.
We aim to encourage students, practitioners, and clinicians to start their publishing journey with us, and experienced researchers to publish articles of interest to the academic, health practice, and wider communities.
By eliminating financial and administrative barriers to entry for publishing, whilst maintaining exemplary standards of peer-review and scientific validity, we seek to become the premiere journal in the field on holistic health and performance.
Diamond Open-Access & 'Koha' Publishing Model
JHP is a 'Diamond' Open-Access journal with no charge to read and download articles. We only ask that authors make a small donation of whatever amount you deem fair, to help support the work of the Journal and the volunteers who review, edit, and typeset our articles.
We aim to encourage students, practitioners, and clinicians to start their publishing journey with us, and experienced researchers to publish articles of interest to the academic, health practice, and wider communities.
By eliminating financial and administrative barriers to entry for publishing, whilst maintaining exemplary standards of peer-review and scientific validity, we seek to become the premiere journal in the field on holistic health and performance.
Diamond Open-Access & 'Koha' Publishing Model
JHP is a 'Diamond' Open-Access journal with no charge to read and download articles. We only ask that authors make a small donation of whatever amount you deem fair, to help support the work of the Journal and the volunteers who review, edit, and typeset our articles.
Ensure your manuscript is accurate and readable
Manuscripts should be easily understood, grammatically correct, and free-from spelling errors.
Additional tips:
Additional tips:
- Avoid excessive use of jargon. While some technical words are necessary to convey scientific concepts, avoid unnecessary jargon and ‘wordiness’. If a simple word or term can be used to convey the same concept with equal scientific accuracy, use it.
- Avoid excessive use of acronyms. Acronyms are also necessary to convey scientific accuracy and to avoid repetition and excessive wordiness but avoid unnecessary acronyms if they are only used several times and their use could reduce readability.
Prepare your manuscript
All article types should include:
Title
A clear and accurate title that will be understood by interested people in your target audience. Also include the type of study where relevant (case study, pilot trial, randomised controlled trial etc.) I.e. Can baseline cardiometabolic markers predict the efficacy of carbohydrate restriction in healthy adults? A pilot study
Authors
Please list all contributing authors in order of relative contribution. Please indicate the corresponding author and author affiliations.
We use the ICMJE recommendations for authorship based on the following criteria
Keywords
Three to ten keywords relevant to the content of the article
Key points
Include 3-5 of the key findings (in plain English) from your article as bulleted points.
Original Research & Reviews
Abstract
The abstract should not exceed 500 words.
Abstracts for case studies, editorials, and letters should have a single paragraph abstract.
Abstracts for reviews and trials should include the following sections:
Article body
The main article body should include the following sections:
Case Studies
Case studies should include a non-sectioned abstract and the following sections:
Opinion pieces (editorials, letters, and popular scientific writing styled articles)
Popular articles should include the following sections:
Referencing
Please use the Journal of Holistic Performance style.
Summary of JHP style: Use numbered referencing in brackets after commas and periods with no space, and before colons and semi-colons and within parentheses.
For example:
Low-carbohydrate diets (LCDs) and very-low-carbohydrate ketogenic diets (VLCKDs) are routinely used for the management of a range of health conditions, including neurological disorders, obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome, and various cancers.[1-11] They are also used widely for a range of outcomes in the general population including weight loss and maintenance,[12] and improved satiety.[13-15]
Please ensure that the DOI (digital object identifier) is included in the reference as a clickable link where available, and if there is no DOI, include a link to the publisher’s primary version of the article referenced.
Journal names should be abbreviated according to the National Libraries of Medicine (NLM) title abbreviation: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog/journals
While we do not have strict policies on the number of references, please try to use the best supporting evidence for your statements rather than simply adding more. The following are a rough guide to the number of references that should be included:
Title
A clear and accurate title that will be understood by interested people in your target audience. Also include the type of study where relevant (case study, pilot trial, randomised controlled trial etc.) I.e. Can baseline cardiometabolic markers predict the efficacy of carbohydrate restriction in healthy adults? A pilot study
Authors
Please list all contributing authors in order of relative contribution. Please indicate the corresponding author and author affiliations.
We use the ICMJE recommendations for authorship based on the following criteria
- Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
- Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND
- Final approval of the version to be published; AND
- Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Keywords
Three to ten keywords relevant to the content of the article
Key points
Include 3-5 of the key findings (in plain English) from your article as bulleted points.
Original Research & Reviews
Abstract
The abstract should not exceed 500 words.
Abstracts for case studies, editorials, and letters should have a single paragraph abstract.
Abstracts for reviews and trials should include the following sections:
- Background
- Methods
- Results
- Conclusions
Article body
The main article body should include the following sections:
- Introduction
- Materials and methods
- Results
- Discussion
- Conclusions
Case Studies
Case studies should include a non-sectioned abstract and the following sections:
- Introduction
- Case presentation
- Discussion conclusions
Opinion pieces (editorials, letters, and popular scientific writing styled articles)
Popular articles should include the following sections:
- In brief (a summary of the article)
- Introduction
- Sections relevant to the content
- Conclusions
Referencing
Please use the Journal of Holistic Performance style.
Summary of JHP style: Use numbered referencing in brackets after commas and periods with no space, and before colons and semi-colons and within parentheses.
For example:
Low-carbohydrate diets (LCDs) and very-low-carbohydrate ketogenic diets (VLCKDs) are routinely used for the management of a range of health conditions, including neurological disorders, obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome, and various cancers.[1-11] They are also used widely for a range of outcomes in the general population including weight loss and maintenance,[12] and improved satiety.[13-15]
Please ensure that the DOI (digital object identifier) is included in the reference as a clickable link where available, and if there is no DOI, include a link to the publisher’s primary version of the article referenced.
Journal names should be abbreviated according to the National Libraries of Medicine (NLM) title abbreviation: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog/journals
While we do not have strict policies on the number of references, please try to use the best supporting evidence for your statements rather than simply adding more. The following are a rough guide to the number of references that should be included:
- Review articles: <50 references
- Original research: <30 references
- Opinion pieces: <20 references
- Case studies: <20 references

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Open & Collaborative Peer-Review
We have an innovative approach to peer-review which includes rapid, collaborative high-quality prepublication peer-review, and additional post-publication review.
Why open and collaborative review?
Speed
A major frustration in publishing is the inordinate amount of time that it can take a manuscript to be published, or even for a publication decision to be made. Our process reduces the time to publication without sacrificing quality by simplifying the process, using internal expert reviewers for initial (prepublication) review, and by collaboratively reviewing the document allowing for real-time review comments and author revisions.
Key benefits
Quality of review
Peer-review is designed to uphold high standards of scientific accuracy and writing. Unfortunately, it can be difficult for journals to find qualified and experienced reviewers and ultimately, the quality of peer-review can vary markedly. By using qualified, expert reviewers from within the Holistic Performance Institute for the initial review process, consistency in reviews is preserved, while also offering additional surety through open post-publication review.
Simplicity
Many submission systems and revision cycles are overly complicated. We have simplified the process of submitting, review, and revising.
Transparency
Transparency in the review process helps to eliminate biases in review and publication.
Collaborative & supportive
Manuscript submission can sometimes feel like a battle! We want to encourage practitioners, early-career researchers, and students to publish academic articles and results that will benefit the wider scientific and health communities in an open, supportive, and collaborative environment.
Why open and collaborative review?
Speed
A major frustration in publishing is the inordinate amount of time that it can take a manuscript to be published, or even for a publication decision to be made. Our process reduces the time to publication without sacrificing quality by simplifying the process, using internal expert reviewers for initial (prepublication) review, and by collaboratively reviewing the document allowing for real-time review comments and author revisions.
Key benefits
- Real-time suggestions and revisions
- Removes endless revision cycles
Quality of review
Peer-review is designed to uphold high standards of scientific accuracy and writing. Unfortunately, it can be difficult for journals to find qualified and experienced reviewers and ultimately, the quality of peer-review can vary markedly. By using qualified, expert reviewers from within the Holistic Performance Institute for the initial review process, consistency in reviews is preserved, while also offering additional surety through open post-publication review.
- Pre-publication review: By an expert editor from JHP along with at least one other subject matter expert
- Post-publication review: Reviews and comments from the HPI and wider community
Simplicity
Many submission systems and revision cycles are overly complicated. We have simplified the process of submitting, review, and revising.
Transparency
Transparency in the review process helps to eliminate biases in review and publication.
Collaborative & supportive
Manuscript submission can sometimes feel like a battle! We want to encourage practitioners, early-career researchers, and students to publish academic articles and results that will benefit the wider scientific and health communities in an open, supportive, and collaborative environment.