Probiotics has been shown to help you achieve your sports and fitness goals and can leave you feeling your best wherever your training takes you. Probiotics are healthy bacteria that can support digestive and immune function and well-being. Probiotic supplementation through capsules or consumption through foods encourages a healthy gut microbiome and immune function, which can lead to overall health.
Can Probiotics Help Increase Muscle Mass?
To fully benefit from dietary protein, it must be broken down properly. Only then can it be absorbed in the small intestines and used in the body. Male and female athletes sometimes consume much protein in one meal.
Some research suggests that probiotic supplements can effectively enhance the body’s absorption of vitamins and nutrients into the bloodstream. A 2018 review of clinical trials looking at the influence of probiotics on protein digestion concluded that probiotics had been shown to increase protein breakdown and absorption.
Furthermore, probiotics help the body to produce digestive enzymes that digest proteins that may otherwise be tough to break down and absorb. Athletes could gain more from protein powders, shakes and bars by improving protein absorption using probiotics.
Do Probiotics Give An Energy Boost?
Studies show that probiotics, especially those from the Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli genera, can produce B vitamins, 7 which are essential to energy production which is needed in sports and fitness.
It’s important to note that not all probiotics produce the same nutrients. Each species and strain will offer a different benefit, so it is hard to say which is the best probiotic for energy. Lactobacillus reuteri is particularly helpful for producing B12; we know that B12 is particularly important for energy production due to its involvement in red blood cell production. Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG can synthesize B1, B2, and B9 independently.
As all B vitamins are needed for energy production, it is safe to say that taking a probiotic which also aids vitamin and mineral absorption, will help support energy levels.
Should Sports and Fitness Experts Take Probiotics?
Since the term probiotics can refer to a wide variety of strains, it makes sense that they have various effects on the body. However, some strains of probiotics have been shown to help promote the good bacteria in your body, especially in the gut. You may also hear this community of microorganisms that lives in the human body be called the microbiome. Probiotics may help maintain a healthy microbiome or may help the microbiome return to a healthy condition after being disturbed due to triggers such as illness, stress, or antibiotic use.
Maintaining a healthy gut microbiome is important because these good bacteria work to keep you healthy in many ways. Good bacteria can help support proper immune function, control inflammation, and maintain normal digestion and absorption.
Research has focused on the effect of probiotics on sports and fitness enthusiasts. One potential benefit of including probiotics is their effect on immune function. An inflammatory immune response is triggered during intense exercise, which can increase harmful reactive oxygen species and mechanical damage. Furthermore, during lower-intensity endurance training, intestinal transit time is decreased, which can increase exposure to harmful pathogens in the gut and potentially increase susceptibility to illness. Probiotics can help modulate how the immune system reacts to these stressors and may help prevent the athlete from getting sick. Research is starting to suggest that probiotics may decrease athletes’ risk of upper respiratory tract infections.
The second main benefit of probiotics for sports and fitness is reducing susceptibility to gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, bloating, cramping, and diarrhea. These negative effects can be seen in athletes participating in prolonged endurance events, such as cyclists, runners, and triathletes. These symptoms occur because blood flow is redirected from the gut to other body areas, such as the working muscles or skin, for cooling purposes. Some studies have shown mild improvements with probiotic supplementation for the prevalence or severity of GI symptoms, while others have shown no difference. Again, further research is needed to identify best practice recommendations for using probiotics to improve GI symptoms in athletes.
