Our intestines are colonized by about 100 trillion bacteria from 400 bacterial species. The microbiome – i.e. the totality of bacteria in our body – accordingly exerts a great influence on us. How diverse this is can be seen in the large number of diseases for which studies in humans or animals have achieved success with probiotics. These are:
- Lactose intolerance
- Colon cancer
- Elevated cholesterol levelsv
- High blood pressure
- Bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine
- Diarrhea
- Constipation
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Chronic inflammatory bowel disease
- Allergies
- Urinary tract infections and osteoporosis.
Probiotics are also thought to have a beneficial effect on immune function and mineral absorption in the gut. This list also shows that previous research in the field of probiotics has focused on the treatment of acute and chronic diseases. In the meantime, however, there are also some studies on their effect specifically in athletes.
Why are probiotics useful?
Good health is extremely important for athletes to be able to perform at a consistently high level. And the intestine plays a decisive role in the defense against infections. However, especially during intense physical exertion, its mucosal barrier can be disturbed, which can be accompanied by nausea or diarrhea, for example. This is most likely due to the fact that blood from the intestines is directed into the working muscles and skin. But the constant ups and downs during sports can also promote such complaints.
How do probiotics work?
An essential service of the immune system is to distinguish between good and harmful bacteria. When training the immune system on the intestinal mucosa, the bacteria located there play an important role. Probiotics probably provide better communication between the immune system and the bacterial flora. There are many different explanations for this. One deals with short-chain fatty acids formed by bacteria. They influence the balance of the mucosa by controlling the rate of epithelial renewal and the formation of regulatory immune cells (T cells).
What do the studies say?
Several strains of bacteria (including L. casei, L. fermentum, L. rhamnosus and combination preparations) have already been shown to have a beneficial effect on colds. In runners, probiotic administration over the winter more than halved the number of cold days and reduced discomfort when infections occurred. Other studies also confirm the trend that colds not only occur less frequently, but also do not last as long.
In athletes with chronic fatigue, interferon-γ levels could be raised back into the normal range by 4 weeks of L. acidophilus administration. This may be due to a defect in regulatory T cells that could be corrected by probiotics. A small study of 10 runners even found a slight increase in run time to exhaustion in hot environments with probiotic use. Gastrointestinal problems also occurred less frequently.
One problem with the studies to date is that not all of them survey clinical parameters such as cold frequency, but in some cases only look at changes in the immune system. Moreover, the immune markers used for this purpose vary widely. Therefore, it is problematic to derive consequences for practice in many studies.
Recommendations for athletes
Probiotics can also not replace a complete diet and should only be seen as a supplement to a healthy basic diet. The intake of probiotics can be useful for athletes, but also in the general population, if gastrointestinal diseases or diseases of the upper respiratory tract occur frequently. Probiotics can also prevent traveler’s diarrhea when traveling extensively.
Athletes should not start taking probiotics immediately before important competitions or training camps, but should keep an interval of about 2 weeks or ideally get used to the preparations at the beginning or in the middle of the season. Especially at the beginning of the intake it can come to increased gastrointestinal activity with flatulence and stomach rumbling. However, this should return to normal after a few days. The bacteria need about a week to colonize the intestine.
Summary
Although there is preliminary evidence of performance enhancement with probiotics, the body of studies is still too immature to recommend taking them with this goal in mind. The main benefit is the prophylaxis of gastrointestinal diseases and colds.
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