You Should Have A Gut Feeling About This Bacteria
Written by Jada Co
Edited by Charan Karthik
Jan 18, 2021
Edited by Charan Karthik
Jan 18, 2021
It is often easy to forget we have bacteria living in our bodies, especially our guts. Many people would hear this and think that is gross, but in reality, they are not all harmful! Some bacteria actually have symbiotic relationships with us, their host. One specific example is the special relationship between athletes and Veillonella bacteria. Did you know that Veillonella increases your exercise capacity?
How could a bacteria boost your athletic performance? A recent study from Joslin Diabetes Center discovered that it lies in what they metabolize. The process starts when we are exercising and there is a greater demand for faster delivery of oxygen to our muscles than we can supply by breathing. This triggers anaerobic respiration, which produces the waste product lactic acid. This process of anaerobic respiration then delivers energy to our muscles while we continue exercising. The buildup of lactic acid produced is then metabolized by Veillonella. So, a bacteria digests what we produce as waste. What is the importance of that? Well, the key part in this symbiotic relationship is that when Veillonella intakes lactate, it is converted into propionate, a short chain fatty acid; the significance here is that our bodies use propionate to improve exercise performance when it is used up for gluconeogenesis, which is energy production.
So how was this figured out? The researchers did experiments on mice where they introduced propionate to them by injecting it into their rectum, which resulted in an increased running ability. So, what does this mean for you if you are not a marathon runner? Including probiotic supplements containing Veillonella may give people the boost needed for better exercise. These supplements may be especially beneficial for those with type-two diabetes in which exercise can help avoid long-term health problems. This symbiosis creates a positive feedback loop in which Veillonella metabolizes the body’s waste product and converts it to propionate, which is used to increase exercise performance and thus increases the amount of Veillonella in our guts by allowing them to feed and reproduce from the lactic acid. This knowledge of symbiotic bacteria could even be the next wave of health recommendations. Maybe next time you think of the microorganisms that inhabit your body, you will be grateful for the handy work they do in helping your exercise performance!
Works Cited
Joslin Diabetes Center. Performance-enhancing bacteria found in the microbiomes of elite athletes: Introducing this bacteria to sedentary individuals improves exercise capacity. ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 24 June 2019. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/06/190624111441.htm>.