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Gut health and athletic performance -
So, is there a connection between gut health and performance? Here's a synopsis of what the science says about the connection between a healthy gut and optimized athletic and physical performance. First off: for a refresher and comprehensive review about the microbiome and gut health, check out this blog.
The gut microbiome can contribute to athletic performance both during and after intense exercise. First, an optimal gut microbiome can improve energy metabolism by supplying muscles with oxygen and nutrients during intense exercise. The gut microbiome can then also control inflammation and expedite tissue repair, helping to improve performance and expedite recovery.
Energy availability is an important limiting factor during intense exercise—the more energy available in the body, the more work you'll be able to do. So, during prolonged physical activity, the body needs to tap into various energy sources to maintain or exceed load.
Luckily, a healthy microbiome can contribute to this energy supply. When gut microorganisms break down and derive energy from food, they produce short-chain fatty acids SCFAs. These SCFAs act as a substrate for a process called gluconeogenesis, which generates glucose for muscles to use as energy.
Despite the established importance of gut health on physical performance, athletes are at particular risk of damaging the microbiome by underfueling. Underfueling or restrictive eating habits can lead to GI issues by a number of mechanisms.
It is also important to feed the good gut microbes with prebiotic, fiber-rich foods to promote gut health. The gut microbiota can mitigate inflammation , which is of critical importance for athletic performance. Exercise naturally induces muscle fiber tears, causing inflammation.
During the repair process, blood flow increases to the affected area to replenish oxygen, fuel our muscles, and clear out waste, allowing our muscles to repair and grow.
And while some inflammation is critical for the muscle-building process, prolonged inflammation can be detrimental to the immune system. But a healthy gut can counteract the potential for excess inflammation brought on by intense exercise.
As mentioned earlier, a well-fed microbiome produces SCFAs which contribute to energy usage. This mitigation of inflammation can also help to delay fatigue post-exercise. Like many topics in the sports nutrition world, further research is needed to understand the relationship between physical activity and the gut microbiome more deeply.
In the meantime, there are actions you can take as an athlete to promote a healthy gut microbiome:. A diverse gut microbiome is associated with increased sleep efficiency, increased total sleep time, and decreased mid-sleep awakenings.
Fuel up: Adequate intake of macro and micronutrients and diverse food groups can help support athletic performance and overall health. Restrictive diets or those which exclude entire food groups oftentimes carb sources can deprive good gut bacteria of the prebiotic, fiber-rich foods they need.
In addition, polyphenol-rich foods can positively impact the gut microbiome. A post shared by InsideTracker insidetracker.
Manage stress: This includes both life and training stress. Increased levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, have been associated with poor gut health, digestive problems, and loss of muscle tissue.
They can also lead to poor sleep quality, increased anxiety, poor mood, decreased bone density, and reduced immune system function. Monitor your biomarkers: In addition to cortisol, a number of blood biomarkers are associated with gut health.
Monitoring hsCRP, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, and HbA1c and taking the recommended actions to optimize these markers can help to improve your gut microbiome. Probiotics may be warranted: Probiotics are beneficial microbes that may help lower inflammation levels, promote weight maintenance, and improve mood and cognition.
While there are many potential benefits from probiotics, more research in athletes is necessary to learn more about the roles that probiotics play in physical performance and the modes of action behind these potential benefits.
After the announcement, we received nine articles, but only four met the standards for publication. The following section of this manuscript provides a comprehensive summary of the manuscripts that were performed on the role of diet, prebiotics, and probiotics in enhancing physical performance and strength.
The upcoming section delves into these aspects in detail, highlighting the current state of knowledge and areas for future research. Athletes recognize the importance of diet as a critical tool to optimize their fitness and performance.
Although significant research has been conducted on nutrition choices for physical wellbeing, there are still unanswered questions. There is mounting scientific evidence that suggests the need to pay closer attention to gut health, particularly if we want to improve our physical strength and performance.
Consuming a balanced diet that is comprised of fiber, fruits, and fermented foods can promote the diversity and function of GM, which in turn, can impact exercise performance Figure 1A. Figure 1. A Graphical illustration of diet influencing GM diversity and composition, and consequently improving physical exercise.
B Illustration of GM digesting dietary fibers, producing SCFAs as a byproduct, and SCFAs role in improving endurance performance. Diets designed for improving physical strength and performance include the high-protein diet and the carbohydrate-rich diet.
The ketogenic diet, which is high in fats and low in carbohydrates is also gaining popularity among athletes due to its potential to enhance fat utilization during exercise, improve endurance, and preserve muscle mass.
Although the ketogenic diet has been linked to weight loss and improved insulin sensitivity, its role in enhancing physical performance is not fully understood. To address this knowledge gap, Mancin et al. investigated the effects of a ketogenic Mediterranean diet supplemented with phytoextracts on GM diversity and composition in semi-professional soccer players.
Their ketogenic diet, differing from the standard version, had healthy fats, fiber, plant-based protein, and fermented foods as its main components. The authors found that their diet improved exercise performance and supported gut health by promoting the production of short-chain fatty acids SCFAs by bacteria from the genera Odoribacter, Butyricimonas , and Ruminococcus.
Other studies have shown that the ketogenic Mediterranean diet can increase the abundance of beneficial bacteria, such as Akkermansia muciniphila and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii , leading to improvements in gut health, inflammation, and metabolic function 3.
Prebiotics are dietary fibers that selectively stimulate the growth and activity of beneficial bacteria in the gut. They can increase the abundance of specific beneficial bacteria, such as Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus , which produce SCFAs that are important for energy production and immune regulation.
In a recent study, Huang et al. evaluated the prebiotic effect of hyaluronan, a mucopolysaccharide that naturally exists as extracellular matrix in all living organisms 3. After 15 consecutive days of treatment, the mice exhibited enhanced retention time on the accelerating rotarod and carried elevated levels of glycogen and superoxide dismutase in the muscle and liver.
Additionally, the level of malondialdehyde in the serum was lower. By taking Desulfovibrio vulgaris as a model for sulfate-reducing bacteria, the authors recorded cytotoxic effects of metabolic products of Desulfovibrio vulgaris on the H9c2 cardiomyocytes in a dosage-dependent manner.
In addition, metabolic products of Desulfovibrio vulgaris also triggered mitochondrial damage by causing mitochondrial fragmentation and depolarization. Certain types of prebiotics have been shown protective effects against post-exercise infections and intestinal problems.
Ruiz-Iglesias et al. found that cocoa fibers could prevent upper respiratory tract infections and gastrointestinal problems after acute intensive exercise.
The authors also observed a re-instated level of the lowered IgM contents in the salivary glands and Tγδ CD8αα cells count in Payer's patches.
Moreover, cocoa fibers also improved the concentration of SCFAs and SCFAs-producing bacteria which were declined after excessive exercise. In addition, prebiotics can also improve gut barrier function, which may reduce the risk of gastrointestinal distress during exercise Figure 1B.
Supplementation with specific probiotic strains may confer potential benefits, particularly for athletes and fitness enthusiasts. Probiotics, particularly strains belong to the genera Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium , have shown promising effects on nutrient absorption and utilization, energy metabolism, and exercise performance.
These strains can reduce oxidative stress, inflammation, and fatigue in athletes. Furthermore, probiotic supplementation with these strains has been associated with increased muscle mass and strength in both athletic and elderly populations. In a recent study by Yeh et al. it was demonstrated that Lactobacillus plantarum PL supplementation can enhance exercise performance and muscle mass while mitigating exercise-induced increases in lactate and blood ammonia levels in mice.
Notably, the combination of PL supplementation and resistance exercise training produced significant benefits in terms of increasing muscle mass and reducing exercise fatigue without inducing physical damage.
In another study, it was observed that supplementing with the probiotic Bacillus subtilis enhanced performance in female athletes 4. It is also reported that consumption of Bifidobacterium bifidum BIB2 probiotic by sprint athletes significantly improves immune system factors with a positive correlation observed between the duration of consumption and the effect 5.
How do probiotics impact exercise performance? One explanation is that the microorganisms present in the gut produce SCFAs as a byproduct of digesting dietary fiber. SCFAs have been shown to enhance glucose metabolism, boost energy production, and alleviate inflammation, all of which can enhance exercise performance 6.
Another possible mechanism is the role of specific bacterial strains, such as Veillonella atypica , which have been found to support the host's exercise performance by converting lactate produced during exercise into propionate 7.
The precise way in which probiotics impact physical performance is not yet completely understood, but there is a strong link between the two. GM may play a critical role in regulating energy metabolism and modulating immune system function, both of which are vital for optimal exercise performance.
Recent studies have demonstrated that manipulation of the GM, such as the introduction of probiotics or dietary changes, can positively impact exercise outcomes. Understanding the complex interplay between GM and exercise may significantly benefit athletes. Optimizing athletes' GM through targeted dietary interventions could improve their stamina, lower inflammation, and support physical fitness.
As our understanding of this relationship grows, it is likely that we will witness innovative ways to leverage this knowledge to optimize human wellbeing and physical performance. The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers.
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