Athletes looking for a competitive edge may find it in their gut microbiome

When milliseconds can mean the difference between silver and gold, endurance athletes in sports such as marathon running, cycling, rowing and swimming optimize every aspect of their physiology to gain an advantage over the competition.

Many of these efforts result in improvement mitochondrial efficiencyminuscule but mighty power plants that generate energy in your cells. Carefully calibrated doses of exercise in combination with beneficial stress – Height, Cold AND warm – and optimized recovery in form nutrition, meditation AND to sleephave a positive impact on the number and health mitochondria in your cells muscles, heart AND brain.

However, there is another aspect of endurance training that may be largely overlooked by athletes and coaches – the role gut microbiome in optimizing mitochondrial health and efficiency.

I am physician-scientist and gastroenterologist who has been studying how food affects the role of the gut microbiome in health and disease for over 20 years. In studies evaluating the impact of food on the microbiome and mitochondria improves our understanding of conditions such as obesity, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis AND Alzheimer’s diseasecan also lend a hand athletes reach recent levels of performance with an groundbreaking approach to nutrition.

About microbiomes and mitochondria

The gut microbiome, the hidden factory of highly collaborative microorganisms in your gut, keeps your metabolism, immune system, and brain running smoothly. Some researchers compare it to another body which senses nutritional stimuli, produces signaling molecules and prepares the body for an appropriate response.

Studies have shown that endurance athletes have a different gut microbiome compared to the general population. Their microbiome composition and functions such as increased production of short-chain fatty acids called butyrateare associated with increased VO2₂ max, a fitness index that measures your ability to operate oxygen during intense exercise. One body in particular, Weillonella occurs in some elite runners and can lend a hand raise the lactate threshold, a parameter of physical performance closely linked to mitochondrial function and how long an athlete can sustain intense exercise.

Vigorous microbiome communicates with mitochondriaminuscule structures in your cells that convert calories into raw cellular energy for muscle contraction and other indispensable functions. It does this by converting undigested nutrients healthy diet – like fiber, polyunsaturated fats AND polyphenols – into particles that enhance the number and health of your mitochondria.

Some of these metabolites – butyrate, conjugated linoleic acid AND urolithin A among them – they have been shown to improve muscle strength and endurance. Combining exercise with a diet opulent in fiber, polyphenols – a chemical compound from plants – and vigorous fats can therefore increase mitochondrial efficiency and improve exercise performance.

Dietary mishaps and gaps

A vigorous diet is key to a vigorous microbiome and mitochondria. On the other hand, ultra-processed diets have been linked to a variety of health conditions, from obesity AND cancer Down autoimmune diseases AND Alzheimer’s diseaseSome people believe that athletes are protected from negative health effects of ultra-processed diets due to beneficial effects of exercise. While this may be partially true, it is essential to consider other factors in your diet, not just calories burned.

Accessories used to improve the taste and appearance of dishes, as emulsifiersmay negatively affect the intestinal microbiome, causing its impairment intestinal barrier and causing inflammation in the body, an unhealthy state associated with metabolic disease, cancer, autoimmune diseases AND neurodegenerative diseases. Ultra-processed foods also lack key nutrients like fiber, polyphenols, and vigorous fats found in whole foods, which support gut health and signal the mitochondria that there are calories to metabolize.

Drinks, shakes, bars and gels used in endurance sports include: processed food designed to provide focused and accessible energy during intense exercise. While unhealthy in other contexts, they can be crucial for increasing efficiency during long endurance competitions, when the body depletes its reserves of available carbohydrates, so-called glycogen.

It is essential, however, to supplement these energy supplements with a vigorous diet during the recovery hours after exercise. Combining an unhealthy base diet with intense exercise can weaken the gut barrier and enhance inflammation. This has been linked to a variety of training-related issues, including stomach and intestinal upset, musculoskeletal injuries AND respiratory system diseases.

Microbes that improve performance

Reintroduction of a diet opulent in Foods that positively impact your microbiome — beans, nuts, seeds, whole grains, fruits and vegetables — consumed during the recovery phase of a workout can lend a hand most people prevent the adverse effects of intense exercise and optimize performance.

However, due to overuse of antibiotics AND processed dietssome people lack key microbes and metabolic mechanisms necessary for conversion fibers AND polyphenols into useful molecules that the body can operate. This deficiency may explain why some vigorous foods and diets may not be beneficial or tolerated by everyone.

Vigorous diets can then benefit from reintroducing key microbes into the digestive tract. Studies have shown that specific strains of probiotic bacteria can improve barrier function, reduce inflammation in the body and potentially improve athletic performance by alleviating side effects high intensity exercise. An alternative approach is to enhance your intake fermented foodssuch as yogurt and pickled vegetables that can increases microbiome diversity and reduces inflammation in the body.

In some cases, vigorous foods can also be supplemented by directly providing the body with key metabolites produced by microbes. Studies show that these metabolites – also called postbiotics Or exercise mimetics – enhance muscle strength and exercise performanceSome postbiotics also act as prebiotics, stimulate the growth of healthy microbes AND help restore damaged microbiome.

From research to the podium

Although the benefits of targeted nutrition Your Microbiome and Mitochondria for overall health are becoming increasingly obvious, but this approach is still in the early stages of exploration in endurance sports.

For occasional exercisers and weekend warriors, holistic nutrition strategies which support microbiome and mitochondria can be very helpful. These strategies have the potential to improve performance, protect against the adverse effects of training, and prevent chronic conditions such as obesity, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease.

For competitive athletes looking for even the smallest tweaks to an already fine-tuned training program, further research into the impact of the gut microbiome on performance could prove invaluable. In a highly competitive field where nothing can be left out—or stashed away in a cupboard—such interventions could be the difference between a podium finish and a place off.