There is much talk about the intestinal flora and the importance it has in our body. In recent years there has been a great awareness of the microbiota and now we dedicate all our attention to it, as if it were our son. The flora has very decisive functions in the body, and when it is altered it can cause serious health problems. All those millions of beneficial bacteria help keep us alive and healthy, and a recent study suggests that athletes may have a different gut flora.
Yes, athletes have a special microbiota
The research has been carried out by Harvard Medical School, in which they have discovered that it is possible that the microbiota enhances the physical performance of our body. «When starting this project, we hypothesized that the microbiotas of elite athletes must share a series of specific bacteria that somehow help them with their physical performance and recovery, and that, once identified, could become the basis for a series of probiotics designed to increase performanceexplains one of the main co-authors.
To reach this conclusion, the researchers had the participation of all the runners in the Boston Marathon in 2015. Their intestinal flora was analyzed to make it clear if they were different from the rest of the population. «Collecting samples daily during the week before the race and also the week after and analyzing them (of course) allowed us to identify important fluctuations of the entire microbiome, especially the increase of the genus Veillonella", he explained.
The bacteria Veillonella atypica Its main energy source is lactate. This substance is produced during muscle function, normally when we perform anaerobic exercise, in which the oxygen supply is not sufficient and lactic fermentation occurs.
How the intestinal flora can improve performance?
It turns out that while that's what the theory says, the practice was a bit different. Lactate enters the bloodstream during intense physical exercise. It then passes the intestinal barrier and is fermented by Veillonella bacteria (among others), which, in turn, produce a short-chain fatty acid called propionate. It crosses the intestinal wall again and re-enters the bloodstream. It is this acid that scientists think helps improve athletic performance.
It seems that you are going to have to pay special attention to your intestinal flora if you want to improve in training.