{"id":2034,"date":"2020-07-08T22:58:18","date_gmt":"2020-07-08T20:58:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dieticiansatwork.co.za\/blog\/?p=2034"},"modified":"2020-07-08T22:58:19","modified_gmt":"2020-07-08T20:58:19","slug":"probiotics-exercise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dieticiansatwork.co.za\/blog\/probiotics-exercise\/","title":{"rendered":"Probiotics &#038; Exercise"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Are\npro-biotics beneficial for athletes?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By Colette Dreyer RD (SA)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The\nmajor functions of the gut are digesting food and absorbing nutrients. Pro-biotics\nis known to increase the number of beneficial bacteria in the gut which lead to\nimproved gut health and regulate immune function. Various factors could\ninfluence the gut microbiota (micro-organisms that live in the digestive\ntract), such as use of antibiotics, exposure to environmental factors such as\nexposure to crowds of people, poor hygiene, and exposure to pathogens. The\nroute of birth delivery, exercise, and diet could also influence the gut\nmicrobiota. Certain pro-biotic strains assist in absorption of nutrients such\nas amino acids that comes from protein, especially in athletes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Research\nhas shown that changes in gut microbiota can be seen within 24 hours of adapting\ndietary intake. Protein intake appears to have a role in the diversity of\nmicrobiota, specifically whey protein has shown some beneficial results.\nDietary fibre and carbohydrate intake have shown to increase bacteria,\nspecifically Prevotella. The effect of fats needs further investigation, but it\nhas been shown that the type of fat may be important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Research\nhas shown that individuals with a higher physical activity level have a more\ndiverse and higher level of beneficial bacteria which promote health. A\ncompromised immune system will lead to experiencing a higher training load,\nmental stress and irregular sleeping patterns which could all increase the risk\nof respiratory tract infections. Research indicates that approximately 70% of\nthe immune function is found in the gut, and that pro-biotics can be beneficial\nin assisting in a healthy immune function and reducing the duration and\nseverity of upper respiratory tract infections, and getting sick often. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other\nprobiotic benefits shown in the athletic population is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Improved body\ncomposition and lean body mass<\/li><li>Normalizing age-related declines in\ntestosterone levels<\/li><li>Reducing cortisol levels indicating\nimproved response to a physical or mental stressor<\/li><li>Reduction of exercise-induced lactate<\/li><li>Improved neurotransmitter production, cognition,\nand mood. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The\nabove-mentioned benefits require validation by conducting more human studies.\nThere is however sufficient evidence that regular pro-biotic intake, of\nspecific strains may assist with immune function and may prevent getting sick\noften during training and competition periods. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Consult\nwith your health care practitioner to determine which probiotic will be\nbeneficial for your individual desire and need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>1.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; J\u00e4ger\nR, Mohr AE, Carpenter KC, Kerksick CM, Purpura M, Moussa A, et al.\nInternational Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Probiotics. Journal\nof the International Society of Sports Nutrition. 2019;16(1):62.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Are pro-biotics beneficial for athletes? By Colette Dreyer RD (SA) The major functions of the gut are digesting food and absorbing nutrients. Pro-biotics is known to increase the number of beneficial bacteria in the gut which lead to improved gut health and regulate immune function. Various factors could influence the gut microbiota (micro-organisms that live [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2035,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[95],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dieticiansatwork.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Pro-biotics-and-exercise-scaled.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4CNFS-wO","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dieticiansatwork.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2034"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dieticiansatwork.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dieticiansatwork.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dieticiansatwork.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dieticiansatwork.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2034"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dieticiansatwork.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2034\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2036,"href":"https:\/\/dieticiansatwork.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2034\/revisions\/2036"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dieticiansatwork.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dieticiansatwork.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dieticiansatwork.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dieticiansatwork.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}