Workout Culture: How Your Microbiome Affects Your Athletic Performance
Written by Aditi Mahajan
Edited by Aaron Wright
July 31st 2021
Edited by Aaron Wright
July 31st 2021
What if you could manipulate your gut to enhance your athletic abilities? New research shows that one’s microbiome can offer clues about one’s athleticism. Scientists have now found that a main function of gut microbes is the breakdown of complex carbohydrates to produce short chain fatty acids, or SCFAs, which enhance muscle function. Out of the most common SCFAs produced in the gut, the compounds butyrate and propionate, can only be produced by gut microbes. Results from a 2016 study show that “fitter participants had higher levels of butyrate in their faeces” (Estaki et al., 2016).
In one study analyzing bicyclists, scientists found that higher concentrations of the bacterial genus Prevotella in the human gut are responsible for metabolizing carbohydrates and branched chain amino acids in patients with higher levels of self-reported exercise (Petersen et al., 2017). Veillonella is another significant microbiome in our gut. A product of anaerobic respiration, Veillonella works to metabolize the lactate in our bodies that build up after we exercise (Petersen et al., 2017). A study conducted on laboratory mice found that Veillonella-supplemented mice ran 13% longer on a treadmill than non-supplemented mice. Furthermore, Veillonella produces the muscle-enhancing SCFAs (Petersen et al., 2017). This research can have profound implications in non-athletes, specifically diabetes patients. Nearly a third of individuals with diabetes do not get any metabolic benefit from exercising. This condition, known as exercise resistance, could potentially be overcome by inserting beneficial microbes into patients’ bodies.
Scientists are able to study our microbiomes through shotgun sequencing and marker gene sequencing. These techniques allow scientists to genetically ID the microbes in an individual’s gut. Shotgun sequencing sequences an entire organism’s genome and then compares it to other organisms in a database to identify it. Marker gene sequencing analyzes a gene common to all the microbes present in a sample; the gene that codes for 16s rRNA. Though many parts of this gene are similar, there is variation that allows for identification (Makin et al., 2021).
Certain restrictions arise in studies that involve studying microbes in the body. The microbes being studied may or may not be the specific organisms responsible for influencing and changing host fitness levels. It is a challenge to control for all the variables that can influence one’s microbiome. These include our diet, how we were birthed, who we share our living space with, and even our levels of stress. Diets of athletes and non-athletes tend to naturally differ in protein consumed, among other things, so it may be a confounding variable in microbiome studies. Another difficulty is that studies that were conducted on laboratory mice cannot directly be applied to humans as humans and mice are very different organisms. Lastly, the specific functions of microbiomes can change across different strains. In other words, “benefits are often strain specific” (Makin et al., 2021). Modern research on microbiomes is an emerging scientific field and though the results are enticing and appear applicable to humans, we must approach applying what research finds with caution.
References
Estaki, M., Pither, J., Baumeister, P., Little, J.P., Gill, S.K., Ghosh, S., Ahmadi-Vand, Z., Marsden, K.R., Gibson, D.L. (2016). Cardiorespiratory fitness as a predictor of intestinal microbial diversity and distinct metagenomic functions. Microbiome, 4, 42 . https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-016-0189-7
Makin, S. (2021). Do microbes affect athletic performance? Nature, 592(7852), S17–S19. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-00821-6
Petersen, L.M., Bautista, E.J., Nguyen, H., Hanson, B.M., Chen, L., Lek, S.H., Sodergren, E., Weinstock, G.M. (2017). Community characteristics of the gut microbiomes of competitive cyclists. Microbiome, 5, 98 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-017-0320-4
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