It Pays To Cultivate Your Gut Garden

SPORTS SCIENTISTS HAVE DISCOVERED THAT OUR MICROBIOME PLAYS A KEY ROLE IN PERFORMANCE

- Peta Bee

What is our microbiota?

It’s the vast ecosystem of yeasts and bacteria, fungi and viruses that inhabit our digestive systems and which is thought to influence everything from inflammation and metabolism to our susceptibility to allergies and the ease with which we ward off illness and disease.

We each have a unique fingerprint of microbes that is largely genetic but also influenced by our lifestyles. Stress, a lack of sleep, poor dietary choices and illness or medication can upset the delicate balance of our gut.

“Everyone’s microbiome profile is different and is shaped by almost every aspect of life from birth,” says Orla O’Sullivan, a researcher in the APC Microbiome Institute at the University College of Cork. Levels of good and bad bacteria are prone to ebb and flow depending on how hard you are training or whether you’ve been ill, with even small disruptions leading to possible problems.

Why do some athletes have superior bacteria?

In recent studies, scientists have uncovered links between gut bacteria and sports performance.

Elite athletes seem to have naturally superior levels and diversity of bacteria – and plans are afoot to produce supplements harvested from the bacteria in top sportspeople’s guts to develop probiotic supplements that could benefit performance at all levels.

What scientists don’t yet know is whether athletes are born with superior microbial composition or whether it evolves as a result of their training and diet.