Exercise Makes Your Gut and You Healthier
The gut flora or gastrointestinal microbiota are important for our health. They are not simply co-existing inside of us, but have a mutual symbiotic relationship with our bodies. When our gut flora is out of whack, we can experience inflammation in the GI tract and even develop autoimmune conditions.
What we eat matters. Diet changes effect the microbiota and our overall health. Recent research has also linked healthy gut bacteria to a healthy brain, relating it to autism and Alzheimer's. It seems the tiny microorganisms have a huge impact on our health.
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It's not only diet or antibiotics that can positively or negatively effect the microbiota in our gut, but exercise too. The first definitive evidence of exercise alone changing gut flora has been shown in two studies. One study on mice involved transplanting fecal material from exercised and sedentary mice into the colons of sedentary mice who had no microbes. The other study was on humans which measures the microbial changes as lean and overweight people went from a sedentary to a more active exercising lifestyle, and then back to not exercising again.
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Mice who received gut flora from other mice showed the same changes in their microbiota levels, with a difference in the microbes from exercised or sedentary mice. Those receiving exercised microbes were producing higher levels of butyrate which is a short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) that promotes healthy intestinal cells, reducing inflammation and increasing energy. These mice also were more resistant to an inflammatory bowel disease (IBS) called ulcerative colitis, as they had reduced inflammation and quicker recovery from exposure to a colitis-inducing chemical.
The human study had 18 lean and 14 obese participants. Their gut microbiomes were sampled before exercise, again after a 6-week exercise regiment of 30-60 minutes 3 times per week, and one last time after another 6 weeks of sedentary behavior. No diet changes were made at any time. Short-chain fatty acid fecal concentrations went up as a result of exercise, especially the butyrate, just like in mice. But after a sedentary lifestyle was resumes, those concentrations fell.
Body size (lean vs. obese) had an effect on the level of microbiota as well. Obese participants had only a moderate increase in SCFA-producing microbes compared to lean people. Lean people had lower levels of these microbes to begin with, but had a more dramatic increase from exercising. More work is required to determine why there are different responses in the gut microbiota levels for lean or obese people who exercise.
Try plant based life style :) so good for you!
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and also it all effects the way our minds and brain function. Our mental health is linked to a good and balanced gut. So often we try to treat the symptoms and neglect the root causes of the issues which in many cases start in the gut. Very well put. I also wonder why that is that exercise affects the gut flora ...interesting . Jax -
"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food." The gut matters, and is likely the root for many health issues.
Yess! gut brain axis is incredibly powerful.
:) I think the gut is the central operating system...If the gut is bad with low acid and no enzymes everything else goes out of whack lol..
Yes, as Hippocrates said: "all disease begin in the gut.
We as a people were meant to exercise and be active. We have become too lazy and dependent on our conveniences that make our life easier but make us fatter. Thanks for sharing a healthy blog LOL
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Yes, we are supposed to be active, as we have been most of human existence... but technology is making us lazy indeed :/ me too ... heh
Now that's an interesting detail I never knew. Most of what I've read and heard so far only involves fat loss and overall health, but nothing related to the bacterial flora in our guts.
I've started noticing effects on my mind and body when not exercising enough. I've been doing sports since 16 years ago, always outside and active and never really had an office job.
One year ago I started working as a content writer, and that involves working on my laptop a lot. The first thing I've noticed is the bad effects on my body for not doing as much exercise as I used to.
It's so interesting to understand how our bodies work. Thanks for the info. ;)
Yes our bodies are pretty amazing :)
Wow! Everyone knows exercise is good for your health. I had no idea though that there was any correlation between exercise and the microbes living in my gut. Life is a wondrously strange thing.
Yup, our gut bacteria is super important to our overall health.
So scfa increases due to exercise and provide nutrition to cells..
So it is good if you're trying to bulk up..
I need to study which foods are abundant in scfa..
Really helpful post , thanks friend
Apple cider vinegar is a great source.
thank you for the information, is very important for health although we often learn in biology book but very few people realize it. through this post, I can repeat biology lessons in school.
Every morning I do a green smoothie, but one of the most important ingredients is the kefir I add for the pro-biotics. I also drink a dilluted shot of apple cider vinegar in the morning.
I have been doing smoothies or a few years now and my digestion is the best it has been in my life and I rarely get sick (actually I don't recall the last time I had the flu or even a cold really.)
I have been reading more and more as well of the connection between mental health and the gut biome. Very cool stuff and thanks for sharing!
I just went back on exercising through dancing and walking because I wanted to get fit again. I had troubles breathing lately. Thank you for this insight about some other benefits of exercising. It did motivate me to continue on my fit journey. Ciao!
Apart from what we eat, taking antibiotics unnecessarily when it is not prescribed can hamper the normal working of our normal flora and this can spell doom