How Gut Health Can Impact Your Performance

(Registered Dietician and PhysiVantage Pro, Amity Warme, shares with us an introduction to the science of gut health and performance.)

Athletes know that digestion plays a crucial role in how well they’re able to perform. There’s nothing like an upset stomach to blow up your best efforts. Your GI tract is also directly responsible for turning the food you eat into energy that the body can use for fuel. The better that system functions, the more energy your body can access and the faster it can send that energy to your hardworking organs, muscles, and tissues. But did you know that gut health also has an impact on your mental health?

Yep, millions of nerves connect the gut to the brain. Neurotransmitters like serotonin travel across those pathways and send messages concerning mood, mental capacity, and pain management—all essential components of athletic performance (not to mention everyday life).

Let’s start with some definitions:

Gut: The gastrointestinal (GI) tract which includes all organs involved in digesting, absorbing, and metabolizing food to supply the body with the nutrients it needs to operate
Gut microbiome: The collection of microbes (bacteria, fungi, and viruses) that naturally occur in the GI tract. There are roughly 1000 different species of bacteria in the human gut. Each species plays a different role and together function as an extra organ that contributes to your overall health.
Gut health: The species, diversity, function, and balance of the gut microbiome. Certain ‘good guy’ species contribute to better overall function whereas other ‘bad guy’ species can cause negative harm. Ideally, the bacteria throughout the GI tract are working synergistically to allow your body to thrive.

Why is gut health important for overall health?

Digestion: Bacteria in the gut help break down the food we eat and turn it into nutrients that your body can use for growth, repair, energy, and many other functions
GI discomfort and disease: Too many of the ‘bad guys’ can contribute to GI issues such as:

Crohn’s disease
Ulcerative colitis
Irritable bowel syndrome

This is due to the gas and other chemicals produced by the bacteria which contribute to the symptoms of intestinal discomfort like bloating, cramps, and abdominal pain.

Immune system: The gut microbiome helps regulate how your body responds to infection by communicating with immune cells.

Weight regulation: An imbalance of ‘good guys’ and ‘bad guys' can contribute to obesity.

Blood glucose regulation: The gut microbiome helps regulate blood sugar which impacts the risk of Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes

Brain health and mood: Certain species of bacteria help with production of chemicals called neurotransmitters that play a role in brain function. For example, serotonin is an antidepressant neurotransmitter that is mostly made in the gut. Additionally, the gut is connected to the brain through millions of nerves. The gut microbiome affects brain health by helping control messages that are sent to the brain through these nerves. Studies have shown that people with various psychological disorders have a different gut microbiome profile as compared to the gut of people without these disorders.

Cholesterol and heart health: The gut microbiome plays a role in promoting ‘good’ HDL cholesterol versus the ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol that builds up inside of arteries. Certain ‘bad guys’ in the gut may also contribute to heart disease by producing a chemical called TMAO which further contributes to blocked arteries and thus heart attack or stroke.

How does gut health impact performance?

Energy production: Exercise requires sufficient energy availability. Too little energy significantly impacts your ability to train and perform. A healthy gut microbiome contributes to energy supply by breaking down foods into short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). These SCFAs contribute to the creation of glucose that is used for energy during exercise.

Nutrient absorption and utilization: A healthy gut helps break down the foods you eat into components your body can absorb and turn into fuel for your activity.

Inflammation: Gut bacteria also play a role in reducing inflammation which is critical for recovery. Exercise causes microtears in your muscles which results in inflammation. While some inflammation is necessary for growth and recovery, too much can be detrimental to the immune system. The SCFAs produced by a healthy gut can help reduce excess inflammation by reducing gut permeability and inhibiting the release of cytokines (a pro-inflammatory molecule).

Minimizing illness: Improving in your sport requires more time spent practicing and performing. Illness can lead to missed practice time or competitions. As discussed previously, the gut microbiome plays a big role in immune function and preventing infection.

Brain power and mood: A happy athlete is a successful athlete. The gut microbiome communicates with your brain via the vagus nerve and plays a major role in mood and mental capacity. A healthy gut contributes to mental clarity, attitude, and pain threshold.

Improve sleep: Quality sleep is one of the most important things you can do for your athletic performance and a healthy gut can contribute to a good night’s rest. The gut microbiome helps create neurotransmitters called serotonin and dopamine which are involved in the regulation of sleep. Microbiome diversity has been shown to positively impact sleep efficiency and total sleep time.

Body composition: Many researchers believe a healthy gut microbiome plays a role alongside diet and exercise in helping achieve and maintain physical fitness, muscle growth and repair, and optimal body composition for sport.

What can you do to improve your gut health?

Gut health is impacted by a wide variety of factors. Generally, a higher microbiome diversity is considered healthier. Specifically, a wide variety of Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus are beneficial for gut health. Age, exercise, environment, stress, medications, and diet all play a role in the diversity and makeup of your gut microbiome.

Guidelines for good gut health:

Eat a diverse range of foods: A diverse diet contributes to a diverse gut microbiome and a diverse array of health benefits.

Increase plant-based foods: fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains are high in fiber and micronutrients. Your body can’t digest many of these fibers but the ‘good guys’ in your gut can. They act as prebiotics which ‘feed’ the good bacteria and stimulate their growth and function. Foods high in prebiotics include:

Asparagus
Raspberries
Swiss chard
Parsnips
Chickpeas
Onion
Garlic
Oats
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Include fermented foods: Fermented foods act as a natural probiotic and help replenish the ‘good guys’ in the gut. Examples include:

Yogurt
Kimchi
Sauerkraut
Kefir
Kombucha
Tempeh
Miso

Choose foods rich in polyphenols: Polyphenols are plant compounds that confer many health benefits. Human cells can’t digest many polyphenols, so they are broken down and digested by ‘good guys’ in the gut. Examples include:

Cocoa and dark chocolate
Green tea
Almonds
Berries
Broccoli
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Probiotic supplements: Studies have shown that probiotic supplements have little effect on a healthy gut microbiome but may be beneficial in restoring the microbiome to a healthy state after it has been compromised. For example, after taking antibiotics.
Breastfeed for at least six months: Breastfeeding helps an infant develop a healthy microbiome.

Exercise: Research has shown moderate exercise to be beneficial to the gut by helping minimize gut permeability and inflammation.

Pro Tip: Boost your gut health with PhysiVāntage Greens! Get your daily dose of prebiotics and probiotics, fiber, and polyphenols in one easy serving to support a healthy gut microbiome.