So you’ve put a lot of thought into yours max heart rateyour muscular endurance and your macros. But one thing you may not have given much thought to is your microbiome—specifically, how it can help or hinder your athletic performance.
Simply put, yours the microbiome is a combination of bacteria, fungi, protozoa and viruses that live on and inside your body. And the microbiome—the mix of flora that occurs inside your colon, intestines, and stomach—may be responsible for much more than just your digestion.
Although additional research is needed, studies they showed potential promising relationship between your body gut health and how good results you can expect.
“When your gut is healthy, you have more energy, your hormones function more smoothly, and your body can assimilate the nutrients you eat,” he says. Laura Londoncertified health advisor (AADP) and fitness expert. “This in turn can give you more energy, stamina, endurance and focus.”
How does the microbiome affect fitness?
Here are a few ways taking care of your gut can help you during your time under the bar, on the track or in the gym.
1. Metabolic function
Intestinal microbes help in absorption essential nutrients which your body needs to function properly. When you exercise, the increased metabolic activity places greater demands on your body, meaning it needs more energy (from nutrients) to meet that demand.
A healthy gut that contains the right balance of microorganisms can help your body they metabolize and absorb nutrients more efficiently and lead to better performance.
2. Sound sleep
Most exercisers know that a good sleep can greatly affect performance. And smart exercisers know that gut health is the first line of defense against these big energy robbers: insomnia and poor sleep quality.
Although these two factors are important enough to make a big difference for most active people, researchers are hard at work finding connections with other systems and functions. Bottom line: if performance is important to you, you can’t afford to ignore your gut health.
How to improve gut health?
So how do you achieve a healthy gut? It may help to start with what you don’t you want – namely, an imbalance of intestinal flora, such as an overgrowth of fungi or “bad” bacteria. These imbalances are associated with poor digestion and absorption of nutrients, reduced immune function, reduced ability recovery after trainingless energy overall, and even joint and bone pain.
A child with a high proportion sugar and processed food and few minerals and healthy fats they are associated with malfunctioning intestines. Overprescribing antibiotics doesn’t help either – they tend to wipe out the “good” bacteria along with the bad, leaving your intestines and colon vulnerable to an imbalance of the wrong “bugs.”
1. Exercise
Yes, a healthier gut leads to better athletic performance, but the reverse is also true. Studies suggest that people who exercise may exhibit healthier microbiomes, even those without previous sports routines.
Here’s the catch: exercise must be regular and continuous. After the participants stopped exercising, their gut health returned to its previous (less healthy) state.
2. Consider nutritional supplements
Probioticsprebiotics and digestive enzymes help improve gut health by encouraging the growth of beneficial bacteria in the gut (the role of prebiotics), actually putting them there (the role of probiotics), or helping your body break down food to allow for greater absorption of nutrients (the role of digestive enzymes.)
3. Refresh your diet
Reducing processed foods with high sugar content doc increasing fiber intake and by adding fermented food (like kimchi, sauerkraut, and yogurt) have been shown to improve the microbiome and create an environment where healthy microorganisms can thrive.
If controlling your digestion or performance proves difficult with modest dietary changes, consider a more restrictive regimen like the Gut and Psychological Syndrome (GAPS) diet. The GAPS diet is based on the understanding that your gut can affect your physical and mental health. Consult and work with a qualified professional (GI doctor, dietitian) who specializes in the GAPS diet.
Regardless of your fitness level, one thing is certain: it’s always better to finish a workout calm and full of energy than cramping and exhausted. Next time you’re thinking how break through the plateau or just go back there, give some thought to your gut health. Your colon and intestines will thank—and reward—you.
The 4 Week Gut Protocol
If you want to experience the benefits of a healthier microbiome, The 4 Week Gut Protocol is a comprehensive program with a three-pronged approach to help promote gut health:
- Nutrition: Over a period of four weeks, BODi Super Trainer Autumn Calabrese it will help to single out the seven most common foods and ingredients that can cause stomach problems and impair your overall well-being.
- Addition: Two plugins are included in the program. Revitalize is a powerful combination prebiotics and probiotics which supports beneficial flora in the digestive tract. Optimize includes digestive enzymes that aid nutrient absorption and bioavailability.
- exercise: Designed to accompany a diet program, 4 weeks for each body is a low-impact program that makes consistency and results accessible to everyone. You’ll do a total of 16 workouts — four workouts per week for four weeks — all under 30 minutes.
