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gut health

Gut Health, Inflammation, Performance, Probiotics, Recovery, Supplements, Vitamins/ Minerals
Probiotics and Vitamin D Impact on High Intensity Athletic Performance
- May 24, 2023
Probiotics and vitamin D are two nutrients that have been shown to have a positive impact on athletic performance. Probiotics are live bacteria that are similar to the good bacteria that naturally live in the gut. Vitamin D is a nutrient that the body needs to absorb calcium for bone health and also aids the immune system and helps decrease muscle soreness. Both probiotics and vitamin D have gained a lot of attention but we continue to learn more about how they can impact the body.

A recent study investigated the effects of probiotics and vitamin D supplementation on athletic performance in male mixed martial arts (MMA) athletes. The study included 40 MMA athletes who were randomly assigned to receive either vitamin D or a probiotic supplement in addition to the vitamin D supplement. The athletes were followed for 4 weeks. While it’s MMA athletes being studied, the anaerobic events studies can be applied elsewhere as well.

Probiotics, Vitamin D and Physical Tests Studied

There were two separate groups in the study. The athletes in the vitamin D group received a vitamin D3 supplement that contained 3-4000 IU of vitamin D3 daily. The athletes in the probiotic with vitamin D group received the same vitamin D and a probiotic supplement that contained 2 billion colony-forming units (CFUs) of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. There are vast differences between strains of probiotics but these two are two of the most popularly studied.
The athletes’ athletic performance was assessed at baseline and after 4 weeks using a variety of tests, including:
- Wingate anaerobic test: This test measures anaerobic power and capacity.
- Countermovement jump test: This test measures lower-body power.
- Sit-and-reach test: This test measures hamstring flexibility.
- Isokinetic knee extension test: This test measures quadriceps strength.
Throughout the 4 weeks, participants were asked to continue training at least 5 days each week. This helped maintain their fitness levels to help mitigate some training adaptation effects on the results.

4 Weeks Later…. What Did We Learn?

The results of the study showed that the athletes who received the probiotic supplement had significant improvements in their anaerobic performance, as measured by their total work and mean power output during the Wingate anaerobic test. The athletes who received the vitamin D supplement also had significant improvements in their anaerobic performance, but these improvements were not as large as the improvements seen in the probiotic group.

The study also found that the athletes who received the probiotic supplement had relatively lower creatine kinase levels after a bout of exercise. Creatine kinase is an enzyme that is released from muscle cells when they are damaged. The reduction in creatine kinase levels suggests that the probiotic supplement may have helped to protect the athletes’ muscles from damage.

Keeping the good times rolling, there are benefits shown in lactic acid levels in the probiotic group. Lactic acid increasing during anaerobic activity and is a contributing factor of fatigue setting in. Lower increases in lactic acid could mean that the probiotics are helping to either process the lactic acid better or that it is aiding energy production in general and thus reducing the generation of lactic acid. Either way, this is a justifiable reason why the improved total work output was greater in that group.

There were no significant differences in the athletes’ performance on the other tests. Countermovement jump test, sit-and-reach test, or isokinetic knee extension test between the two groups were all comparable.

Takeaway Points of Probiotics and Vitamin D

Results in this study support the ever-growing research showing benefits of both probiotics and vitamin D. In particular, probiotics showed a potential to boost those benefits even a little bit more. The benefits of probiotics may be from a different manner but still helpful! It’s important to keep in mind though that everyone does respond differently. While on average the results were positive, try things out first. If it doesn’t feel good or the benefits are there for you, don’t force it. But if trying probiotics pay extra attention to the specific strains within it. Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium are the main two to be looking for. As always too, make sure you are choosing a third party tested product if trying it.

Study referenced: click here

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Energy, Gut Health, Performance
Gut training – What in the world is it?
- April 19, 2023
On paper there are a lot of things nutritionally that can really help someone. Putting that into practice isn’t always as straightforward though. Everyone responds differently to different things and a little trial and error is usually needed. That being said, if something doesn’t work the first time that doesn’t mean you have to write it off completely. Many athletes experience stomach issues during competitions and/or trainings which obviously isn’t ideal. There isn’t a universal obvious answer for everyone but often it stems from eating something the body hasn’t adapted to or too much overall. Just like you train your muscles when you exercise, gut training can help your gut to handle more.

What exactly is gut training?

Gut training is for the most part exactly what it sounds like. It’s getting the gut to be able to properly absorb and utilize the food and drinks you are consuming. For athletes, especially those doing long endurance events, fueling during competition is essential. Depending on what and how much is consumed can have both positive and negative results. With practice the gut is able to adapt and learn to tolerate more volume and do so efficiently. It’s almost impossible to eat enough to keep up with the energy being burned for most athletes. If able to close that gap though by being able to consume more, perhaps performance can improve too. Just like a car can go further with more gas, so can an athlete with more food/energy. Jumping in with too much too quickly though can result in problems though.

How to practice gut training

We’ve all seen or experienced first-hand when something doesn’t sit well and needing a bathroom immediately. Gut training helps the stomach learn how to handle additional nutrition to avoid that. Starting out it’s important to begin with small additions. For some people this could mean simply having a snack before training even starts. Many prefer to feel “light” and that food produces a “heavy” feeling. This is an indicator that the body hasn’t learned yet how to optimally handle food intake at that time.

Starting small though will start to force the body to learn to digest that food better. Something simple like a basic granola bar or a banana can be a wonderful start. As the body manages that and is feeling good during training, then we can continue to add. The next step would be to try consuming a little something during training as well. During training the body is primarily focused on keeping the muscles going to perform. Digestion typically is taking a bit of a back seat as a result of that. This combination can sometimes make mid-training/competition fueling the hardest part of gut training. If able to build this though, gradually increasing the intake, having more fuel in the body can help to increase endurance and thus performance. Again, it’s important to do this gradually and take things slow.

Be mindful of when you do this

Don’t try diving into things right away, especially if it’s during a game or competition! Practice and training sessions are when you should be experimenting with these strategies. This is exactly what practice is for and in case there is a negative response to something, it’s better to occur in practice than in a game. Rule number one is always “No new foods on game day!” When peak performance is needed, you don’t want to add any additional challenges to the body.

Should you try it?

If looking to get the most out of your body I would absolutely recommend gut training. There are times and places for training fasted but that is when specific adaptations are trying to be achieved. Focusing on peak performance here, helping keep the body fueled will always be beneficial. This is particularly true come breakfast time. How many times have you said or heard someone say “I don’t eat breakfast because I’m not hungry.” If you then ask when the last time they ate breakfast regularly they likely couldn’t answer that. Their body has adapted to not expect it and thus not release hunger or digestive hormones in anticipation. On the other hand someone who eats breakfast daily would be starving if they skipped breakfast! Gut training can help with these things but it’s important to go slow and be patient with it.

Study referenced: click here

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Gut Health, safety, Supplements, Wellness
Supplements and their big impact on an athlete’s gut
- March 22, 2023
You can find supplements for just about anything if you look hard enough. Not all of them though live up to their marketing hype. One area of interest is in helping athletes avoid stomach and other GI (gastrointestinal) issues. For individuals who push their bodies to the extreme, it puts a lot of strain on the body. This includes straining the gut and can cause some unwanted side effects. Typically, this can result in some hurried trips to the bathroom, nausea and burping. None of which are very pleasant experiences. As a result, some supplements have started to claim the ability to help those symptoms. Sadly, many of them aren’t quite all that they claim to be.

Supplements that may be helpful

Anytime that the gut is involved probiotics tend to make an appearance. In this situation they are a welcome addition though. With so many different types of probiotics it’s important to make sure you are taking the right ones. There is a lot to still be learned but the most beneficial strains are likely to be Biffidobacterium- and Lactobacillus-based species.

Glutamine is another supplement that in theory could help. Studied individually glutamine is involved with helping keep the gut lining tightly bound. This prevents any inflammatory items from getting into the body. While in theory this is great, be careful if trying it out. It is about a 50-50 chance that it could actually cause some negative GI effects on its own. Ginger is another supplement that can have some benefits. It is generally used to help reduce and relieve feelings of nausea. This is why most cruises will have ginger candies on board! Be careful with this as well though as sometimes the flavor doesn’t sit well and can also cause issues.

Supplements that could wreck your gut

It may come as a surprise but carbohydrates is a common one. Carbs are beneficial as a quick source of energy but it needs to be with the proper types and amounts. Too much carbohydrate can upset the stomach due to flooding the system with more than the gut can absorb. Consuming a mixture of different carbs that provides both glucose and fructose can help. Those two use two different transports to be absorb and ease the burden on the stomach. This is a great example again of why more isn’t always better for certain things.

Caffeine is one of the most studied and proven performance enhancers out there. Too much though can have a negative effect (notice a trend). Just like too much coffee itself can cause you to have to go to the bathroom, too much caffeine via other means as well can have a similar effect. Try limiting yourself to ~2 cups of coffee to avoid overdoing it while still getting the caffeine benefits. Sodium bicarbonate has also been shown to be beneficial with helping high intensity activities and muscular endurance. The reason many don’t use it though is because it can be easy to take too much and if that happens, you’re in for a rough ride. A very small amount is all that is needed to get the benefits so when scooping it be very careful. GI issues (most commonly diarrhea) can occur within about just an hour give or take.

Remember safety first

Like with all supplements you want to be very cautious with where you are getting them and the brands that you are selecting. Especially if you are an athlete getting drug tested! The two main logos to look for on a product to show it’s been tested are NSF Certified and Informed Choice Sport. While this doesn’t 100% guarantee anything it certainly helps provide a safety net.

Key takeaways

It goes back to rule number one, no new foods/supplements on game days! All of the items listed here do have benefits when used in the proper manner. It’s important to test things out during practice to ensure you know how to properly use them. There is also a lot of individualization with everything regarding how someone responds to it. What works great for one person could send another running to the bathroom. So make sure you are testing this in practice first to avoid any unwanted surprises during the game.

If looking to help provide a little extra protection for your gut though, probiotics as of now seem to be the way to go. As mentioned earlier the strains you will want to look for are Biffidobacterium- and Lactobacillus-based species. While there is lots of research needed to be done across the board, those seem to have the most promise.

Study referenced: click here

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Carbs, Gut Health, Metabolism, Performance, safety, Wellness
Fiber is great but caution around physical activity
- February 8, 2023
Fiber intake and conversations are important at younger ages too! It’s not just for your grandparent’s old faithful prune juice. Having a healthy gut is incredibly important for your overall health and well being from head to toe. Included in that though is having regular bowel movements. If you’ve ever been constipated before you know how important that can be! While regular and adequate intake is important, there are times which having too much could actually cause more problems than good.

What is fiber and its benefits

The most popular impact of fiber is its ability to help ensure regular bowel movements. There are two main types of fiber; soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber helps to absorb water to soften the stool and make it easier to pass. Insoluble fiber provides bulk and speeds up how quickly it passes through you. Regardless the type, the result is having an easier time going which always feels better compared to constipation.

Fiber is also able to help feed the good bacteria in your gut to keep that healthy. A healthy gut allows for optimal nutrient absorption while keeping out any potential contaminants. In short, it’s a pretty big deal. Absorbing nutrients into the body properly ensures that every part of the body needing to use those are able to acquire them. If those nutrients aren’t available, inflammation can begin building and cause some major problems.

How much do you need to be having

Consuming fiber is important for everyone at every level of physical activity and age. In general men should aim for 38 grams per day while women should aim for 25 grams per day. Great sources of fiber include fruits, vegetables, oats, nuts, seeds, whole grains and beans. If you take the time to evaluate your daily intake and realize you need to increase things a tad, do so gradually.

Adding in too much too quickly can have the opposite effect. It can cause constipation and a lot of stomach discomfort. The best strategy is to gradually add in those higher fiber items while also making sure to drink plenty of water. Maintaining proper hydration will help to ensure the water that gets pulled in isn’t dehydrating.

When not to be having fiber

Everything has its own time and place. For fiber, the time and place to AVOID it would be immediately before exercise and competitions. Digesting fiber takes a long time and when training your body is focused on other things. While busy elsewhere and unable to concentrate on digestion, that food just sits there. This results in some gas building and that cinderblock type feeling in the gut to arise. Not a fun time by any stretch of the imagination!

Away from physical activity though fiber is a great thing to have incorporated. They body will have that additional time to digest it and no worries of discomfort. Low fiber foods are much easier on the stomach pre-workout and why going for things such as liquid sports drinks or applesauce would be better than whole apples or a smoothie with veggies and seeds in it. Those are all great things to be having but the time and place of them matter. Stay mindful of your intake and make sure it’s working in a beneficial manner for you.

Study referenced: click here

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Brain Health, Gut Health, Memory, Wellness
Gut health can impact long term brain health and memory
- December 6, 2022
Research on gut health has been exploding! It feels like every week another study is showing how one’s gut health can impact something different. Lately one of the most popular topics is the connection between gut health and overall brain health. Short term and long term brain health can both be impacted. Don’t ignore the power of the gut and like most things, the sooner you start the better long term results.

Review factors impacting gut health

Surprise surprise, what you eat impacts your gut health. Consuming quality foods is key with a focus on veggies and fruit! Ensure you have decent fiber rich food items which will fuel the good bacteria in the gut to maximize their benefits. Quality omega-3s from fatty fish will help reduce inflammation in the brain as well to help keep it feeling and functioning optimally. None of this is to say that you can’t ever have a donut or else your gut health is ruined. You’ll rarely see me turn down a good donut! It’s the overall consistency that is key. One single moment doesn’t erase all the hard work done before it. That being said, one salad doesn’t correct a diet otherwise full of candy and fried food so make sure that you’re eating your broccoli regularly!

Brain and cognitive benefits

The gut is the gatekeeper for what is allowed into the body. For all the energy that your brain and body needs the gut needs to let that in while also keeping the bad stuff out. Proper nutrition is key for optimal brain function and growth just like for our muscles. Looking at older individuals suffering from memory related issues, one fairly common factor is poor gut health. Dementia is one situation in particular getting a lot of attention and justifiably so. There’s still a lot to learn in that area but prioritizing your nutrition sooner will help stack the odds to avoid that. While changes like that don’t happen over night but short term benefits can still be shown with a good diet aiding memory to encourage starting to prioritize things now. It’s always annoying forgetting where the keys are!

Helping your brain starts with the gut

Reiterating, it’s always better to start sooner than later. Having more veggies and fruit will rarely ever be a bad thing and especially in this case, your noggin will thank you. In addition to veggies, fruit and fatty fish like salmon, some supplements can play a role too. Specifically, probiotics can be very beneficial to aid gut health in certain situations. Antibiotics can crush your gut health by killing the good bacteria in there along with the bad bacteria. So depending on medications you are taking, double check to ensure if there are any additional impact on gut health to be mindful of. Staying mindful will help you to repair your gut health quicker and set things up for continued wellness. Again, none of this occurs quickly but you want to be sure to help your future self by prioritizing things now. Time flies!

Study referenced: click here

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Gut Health, Inflammation, Injury, Wellness
Improve your gut health to improve your sore joints and feel better
- October 26, 2022
In athletes and the general public, sore joints is an all too common thing. Whether it’s to the point of arthritis, tendinitis or general soreness, I’ve yet to meet anyone who enjoys sore joints. One common denominator in all of this though is inflammation. Getting a better control of inflammation can make these symptoms better. Our gut is a key regulator for inflammation control and can play a large role in helping those sore joints.

The gut’s role in inflammation

Another term for our gut is microbiome, the bacteria lining our intestines. This bacteria is the first line of defense from pathogens getting into our body. A weak or damaged gut means it’s easier for those pathogens to get in which can cause all sorts of problems. Many of these problems display themselves as inflammation which can be joint inflammation specifically in certain situations. Full circle; weakened gut leads to increased inflammation in the body leading to sore joints.

Ways to help sore joints

As described previously, inflammation is the main target to help. Antioxidant heavy foods are going to be the main target for this. Stop me if you’ve heard this before, eat your fruits and vegetables! Those are still the biggest antioxidant contributors and should make up a big part of your diet. In addition to the antioxidants they contain, fruits and veggies are generally high in fiber too. Fiber is the main “food” for the good bacteria in our gut. Just like us, a well fueled gut will perform better and help keep the bad stuff and and take in the good stuff. Other things to consider are probiotics and curcumin which strengthen gut bacteria and are potent antioxidants respectively.

Negative impacts on gut health

One of the biggest things that can damage gut health is consuming a poor diet day after day. Having a fast food burger or some candy once in awhile isn’t the end of the world. But 100% if done consistently our body isn’t going to be happy. Low quality and highly processed foods don’t properly feed the microbiome in the gut. Without food it’s tough for anything to survive and that results eventually in a weaker gut barrier. That allows more inflammation to get into the system. This is a big reason why individuals who tend to eat more processed foods more often also tend to be sick more frequently.

In the short term, antibiotics also can wreck havoc on the gut. Antibiotics are designed to eliminate those problematic bacterias causing inflammation and sickness in the body and they typically work great! The down side is that they tend to eliminate the good bacteria along with it. This can result in a bit of a spiral where poor diet increases the rate of being sick. Being sick can mean taking antibiotics to get better. After the antibiotics the gut is weakened and susceptible to getting sick….again. If restoring and strengthening the gut isn’t prioritized this process continues resulting in chronic inflammation which can certainly contribute to sore joints.

Key takeaways to help avoid sore joints

Nothing is a guarantee but there are things that can certainly help. Focusing on quality food is the foundation and potential supplements when needed can be that little extra boost in certain situations. But just as important is making sure we aren’t adding to that inflammation by consuming low quality foods. Big changes likely won’t occur overnight but consistency is the key.

Study referenced: click here

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