Probiotics are known for their role in gut health and function, where they support digestive function, but these beneficial living microorganisms also impact our performance in direct and indirect ways.

 A healthy gut that contains the right balance of probiotic bacteria enhances digestive function1, helping our bodies digest food and supplements and absorb the nutrients needed to fuel our training and racing efforts and support tissue repair and recovery after training.

Studies also show that probiotics can improve insulin sensitivity2, which makes your body more sensitive to circulating glucose from ingested carbs.

The resultant energy efficiency will help power your training or racing, delivering more benefits from every gram of carbohydrates you ingest.

The immune system and recovery link

As the gut houses a significant portion of the immune system3, probiotics play a supporting role in the recovery process by fortifying immune function4.

A study5 published in the Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism affirmed the multiple roles that probiotic bacteria play in our overall immune response.

After uncovering a host of beneficial effects on the immune system, the researchers concluded that probiotic bacteria “have significant effects on the functionality of the mucosal and systemic immune systems through the activation of multiple immune mechanisms”.

The enhanced immunity associated with a healthy gut indirectly benefits performance by reducing the risk of infections and illnesses, which can disrupt training, while directly impacting tissue repair through its role in inflammation regulation to speed up recovery and support performance at subsequent training sessions.

As the immune system initiates an inflammatory response after exercise to repair damaged tissues, immune cells like white blood cells and cytokines migrate to the injured area to clear debris, remove damaged cells, and promote tissue regeneration using the amino acids and collagen we get from digested food and supplements.

Importantly, probiotics play a role in cytokine and white blood cell production6, including interleukins, important cell-signalling molecules in the immune system. In this regard, research links the administration of selected anti-inflammatory probiotic strains to improved recovery from muscle-damaging exercise7.

Once the repair process is complete, the immune system down-regulates the inflammatory response. In this process, research8 shows that probiotics have anti-inflammatory effects, which could potentially help control the chronic inflammation that can negatively affect performance and recovery.

Cognitive performance benefits

From a mental standpoint, a healthy gut contributes to improved focus and cognitive function through the interconnectedness of the gut-brain axis, which involves the intricate communication between the digestive system and the central nervous system.

According to one study9, the bidirectional communication of the gut-brain axis “is essential for maintaining homeostasis, with pre-, pro-, and symbiotics potentially affecting various cognitive functions” including attention and perception, which can directly impact your physical performance during training and racing.

Research-backed benefits for athletes

With the growing body of research backing the exercise benefits offered by probiotics, the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) released its position stand7 on these gut health supplements, affirming that “probiotics can provide some clinical benefits in athletes and other highly active individuals.”

According to the ISSN stand, preclinical and early human research has also shown potential probiotic benefits relevant to an athletic population that include:

  • Improved body composition and lean body mass.
  • Normalising age-related declines in testosterone levels.
  • Reductions in cortisol levels indicating improved responses to physical or mental stressors.
  • Reduction of exercise-induced lactate.
  • Increased neurotransmitter synthesis, cognition and mood.

However, these potential benefits require validation in more rigorous human studies, particularly in athletic populations.

Additional research also shows performance benefits for power and endurance athletes. For instance, a systematic review10 of research conducted on endurance athletes found nine studies that met the quality criteria.

“Of these, three reported direct benefits on sports performance. The remaining six articles found improvements in the reduction of oxidative stress, increased immune response and decreased incidence of URTIs.”

Another systematic review11 found benefits across diverse sporting codes, from endurance athletes to rugby, badminton and baseball players.

Based on the evidence, the research team concluded that “the integration of athletes’ diets with some bacterial strains and also the consumption of multi-strain compounds may lead to an improvement in performance and can positively affect performance-related aspects such as fatigue, muscle pain, body composition, and cardiorespiratory fitness.”

Power up with digestive support

As excessive stress, including the physical stress we experience during hard training, can destroy the probiotics in our gut, along with various other lifestyle and environmental factors, supplementing with a suitable probiotic product serves as a sensible approach to support our gut health and physical performance.

Probiotic products may help to improve and restore the microbial balance in the intestines when ingested on a regular basis by repopulating the gut with a diverse range of beneficial bacteria.

References:

  1. Bodke H, Jogdand S. Role of Probiotics in Human Health. Cureus. 2022 Nov 9;14(11):e31313. doi: 10.7759/cureus.31313. PMID: 36514580; PMCID: PMC9733784.
  2. Salles BIM, Cioffi D, Ferreira SRG. Probiotics supplementation and insulin resistance: a systematic review. Diabetol Metab Syndr. 2020 Nov 11;12(1):98. doi: 10.1186/s13098-020-00603-6. PMID: 33292434; PMCID: PMC7656736.
  3. Wiertsema SP, van Bergenhenegouwen J, Garssen J, Knippels LMJ. The Interplay between the Gut Microbiome and the Immune System in the Context of Infectious Diseases throughout Life and the Role of Nutrition in Optimizing Treatment Strategies. Nutrients. 2021 Mar 9;13(3):886. doi: 10.3390/nu13030886. PMID: 33803407; PMCID: PMC8001875.
  4. Wang X, Zhang P, Zhang X. Probiotics Regulate Gut Microbiota: An Effective Method to Improve Immunity. Molecules. 2021 Oct 8;26(19):6076. doi: 10.3390/molecules26196076. PMID: 34641619; PMCID: PMC8512487.
  5. Carolina Maldonado Galdeano; Silvia Inés Cazorla; et al. Beneficial Effects of Probiotic Consumption on the Immune System. Ann Nutr Metab (2019) 74 (2): 115–124.. https://doi.org/10.1159/000496426.
  6. Mazziotta C, Tognon M, Martini F, Torreggiani E, Rotondo JC. Probiotics Mechanism of Action on Immune Cells and Beneficial Effects on Human Health. Cells. 2023 Jan 2;12(1):184. doi: 10.3390/cells12010184. PMID: 36611977; PMCID: PMC9818925.
  7. Cristofori F, Dargenio VN, Dargenio C, Miniello VL, Barone M, Francavilla R. Anti-Inflammatory and Immunomodulatory Effects of Probiotics in Gut Inflammation: A Door to the Body. Front Immunol. 2021 Feb 26;12:578386. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.578386. PMID: 33717063; PMCID: PMC7953067.
  8. Jäger, R., Mohr, A.E., Carpenter, K.C. et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Probiotics. J Int Soc Sports Nutr 16, 62 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-019-0329-0.
  9. Fekete M, Lehoczki A, Major D, Fazekas-Pongor V, Csípő T, Tarantini S, Csizmadia Z, Varga JT. Exploring the Influence of Gut-Brain Axis Modulation on Cognitive Health: A Comprehensive Review of Prebiotics, Probiotics, and Symbiotics. Nutrients. 2024 Mar 10;16(6):789. doi: 10.3390/nu16060789. PMID: 38542700; PMCID: PMC10975805.
  10. Díaz-Jiménez J, Sánchez-Sánchez E, Ordoñez FJ, Rosety I, Díaz AJ, Rosety-Rodriguez M, Rosety MÁ, Brenes F. Impact of Probiotics on the Performance of Endurance Athletes: A Systematic Review. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Nov 4;18(21):11576. doi: 10.3390/ijerph182111576. PMID: 34770090; PMCID: PMC8583504.
  11. Di Dio M, Calella P, Pelullo CP, Liguori F, Di Onofrio V, Gallè F, Liguori G. Effects of Probiotic Supplementation on Sports Performance and Performance-Related Features in Athletes: A Systematic Review. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Jan 26;20(3):2226. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20032226. PMID: 36767593; PMCID: PMC9914962.