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Probiotic Benefits

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Pre and Probiotics can fuel your running and boost your defences

By Patience Lister

You swallow your last bite of garlic linguine and mentally plan out the route for tomorrow’s long run, unaware of the complex digestive process that will convert this pre-run dinner into fuel and waste while you sleep. About five metres into the digestive marathon, your meal will be exposed to trillions of tiny bacteria clinging to your intestinal walls. Here the good bacteria will ferment some of the fibre that is left from your meal, helping to release nutrients, strengthen your immune system and buffer post-run gastrointestinal symptoms.

To experience these benefits, runners need to maintain a diet that promotes digestive health – for many people this means eating pre and probiotics regularly. Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that live in the digestive tract and prebiotics are the non-digestible carbohydrates that help them grow. They are added to hundreds of functional food products for their purported health benefits, which are increasingly supported by clinical research.

IMMUNE STRENGTH

As good and bad bacteria pass through your digestive tract, some of them make a pit-stop on your intestinal wall. It’s here that probiotics out-compete the pathogenic competitors by releasing bacteriocines, inhibiting toxins and altering the local pH. Because probiotics relay signals to immune system cells and rev-up antibody production, they help counteract the immune suppression that often follows long and intense runs. As a runner, this can mean fewer colds to interrupt your training and recovery days. In fact, a 2010 study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that the probiotic Lactobacillus fermentum boosted the immune function of a group of long-distance runners and reduced their number of respiratory tract infections by more than 50 per cent.

HEALTH

Probiotics can also help runners with sensitive guts. Whether it’s from underlying food sensitivities, chemical and hormone changes or the combination of intense running and dehydration, surveys show that up to 71 per cent of runners experience lower gastrointestinal symptoms after a run. A 2007 study published in the International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism found that adding probiotics to the diets of marathon runners shortened the dura- tion of their gastrointestinal symptoms by 33 per cent during training and 57 per cent after a marathon. The underlying reason for this result hasn’t been well studied, but it’s believed to be from the strengthening of the intestinal barrier.

NUTRIENT ABSORPTION

To fuel their endurance, probiotics ferment prebiotics, such as inulin and galactooli-gosaccharides, which come from fortified bread and yogurt or natural sources such as artichokes and oats. Research studies show that this activity increases the body’s absorption of dietary calcium and magnesium. It also makes it easier for the body to absorb iron. As a runner, this means you’ll get more of the minerals needed for proper muscle contraction and for red blood cells to carry oxygen to your working muscles.

HOW TO BENEFIT

Not all bacteria are created equally. Different strains have different effects on the body and only those that promote health are called probiotics. Some lactic acid bacteria that have been used to ferment and preserve food for thousands of years can provide health benefits, but are often killed off through modern manufacturing processes. The International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics recommends that you only buy probiotics-rich food made by trusted manufacturers. It’s important to look for food labels that list the strain of live active bacteria and the number of cfus (colony forming units) per serving.

Since good and bad bacteria are continuously pushed through your digestive system, it’s critical that the good bacteria and their fuel are replenished regularly. As a runner, you know that one long run is not enough to get in shape for a marathon. The same concept holds true for probiotics – benefits are not gained through a single dose, but by making a long-term commitment to fuelling your digestive tract with a healthy diet that includes probiotics and prebiotics. Over time, this practice will translate into more healthy days to run, better nutrition and a more comfortable recovery.

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