By Julia Howard
R
unning faster times is not just about logging miles. Training
programs that take nutrition into account are essential for
maintaining high performance. As more studies illustrate the
undeniable relationship between the foods we eat, the diversity of
our gut bacteria, and the power of our immune systems, naturally,
athletes are beginning to take notice and seeking out new dietary
strategies to help reduce risk of injury and illness due to high
training loads.
We can thank the symbiotic bacteria living in the lining of our
gastrointestinal tracts for activating our immune responses and
preventing harmful microbes and their endotoxins from entering
our bloodstream. However, the heat stress of exercise is known to
temporarily increase the permeability of the gut lining and increase
our risk of infection and inf lammation for a few hours post-exercise.
Luckily, not only can we can alter the diversity of our gut bacteria
and activate our immune systems with certain foods, supplementa-
tion with probiotics themselves may actually improve the body’s
antioxidant status and reduce risk for infection post-training. Here
are some of the ways athletes can keep their gut health in check to
build powerful immune responses during intense training periods:
8
GUT HEALTH
DOS AND DON'TS
- CONSIDER SUPPLEMENTING WITH A MULTI-STRAIN PROBIOTIC if you
are training in high temperatures. A study published in
the European Journal of Applied Physiology found that
supplementing with a multi-strain probiotic for four weeks
improved running time to fatigue in a small group of trained
male runners training in 35 C and 40 per cent humidity,
possibly due to an interaction between the immune system
and reduced gastrointestinal permeability resulting in
improved performance. - EAT PROBIOTIC FOODS like sauerkraut or kefir and take a multi-
strain probiotic if you have taken antibiotics over the last
year to replenish bacterial strains that were wiped out. - EAT FOODS HIGH IN SOLUBLE FIBRE such as root vegetables,
legumes, bananas, chia seeds, f lax seeds and oats to feed the
growth of good gut bacteria, which will help reduce overall
levels of inf lammation. - GET ENOUGH VITAMIN D through sunshine or supplements.
Vitamin d3 helps maintain the integrity of the tight junc-
tions between cells of the gastrointestinal lining to help
keep unwanted microbes from entering the bloodstream. - EAT IMMUNE-BOOSTING CRUCIFEROUS VEGETABLES POST-WORKOUT
such as broccoli or cabbage. Cruciferous veggies have been
shown to directly activate the immune system cells in the
small intestine via specialized receptors to help target and
destroy invading pathogens. - EAT FOODS HIGH IN OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS to reduce inflammation
of the gut lining such as ground flax seed and wild cold-
water fish like wild salmon, cod, mackerel and sardines. - AVOID GUT IRRITANTS POST-WORKOUT such as caffeine, ibuprofen,
alcohol, fried foods, sugary foods and gluten-containing
foods. These substances cause inf lammation of the intes-
tinal lining and increase susceptibility to harmful microbes. - AVOID A HIGH-GRAIN DIET. Grains can irritate the gut lining and
increase gut permeability, so incorporating a wide variety of
complex carbohydrates such as sweet potatoes, white pota-
toes and beets into your diet is important to maintain gut
health.
Julia Howard is a registered holistic nutritionist, runner and owner of
Switch Nutrition, a nutritional consulting company in St. John’s, N.L.No Guts, No Glory
Keep gut health in check to maximize performance
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