New research suggests that people who exercise regularly, especially professional sportspeople, have markedly different gut bacteria.
In a study of professional rugby players, researchers discovered more bacteria in the digestive system (microbiome) to be able to repair tissue. The players’ microbiome had also adapted to be better at harnessing energy from the diet.
The findings, published in the journal ‘Gut’, suggest that the fitness is not just linked to physical ability, but also to their gut health.
A spokesperson for the scientists, who came from the APC Microbiome Institute, Teagasc and Imperial College London, said that the micro-organisms found in the gut of full-time athletes were noticeably distinct functionally and metabolically from those that didn’t exercise regularly. The researchers also pointed out that the study provided a good reason to further explore the link between exercise, diet and the body’s microbiome, as this could help with the development of improved exercise and fitness programmes.
“Our earlier work,” said Professor Fergus Shanahan, Director of the APC Microbiome Institute, “also published in ‘Gut’, had shown that the microbiome of the athletes differed in composition from that of non-athletes. But now we have found that the functional behaviour of the microbiome separates the athletes and non-athletes to an even greater degree.”