Running comes with many benefits, which includes shedding excess weight off of the waist. While you may look good on the outside from running, your gut may not be feeling the best on the inside. Vigorous exercise like running can cause those with sensitive GI tracts to flare up with issues. Runner’s gut is real, and it can have you diverting from the finish line to the bathroom stall. Let’s take a look at what causes runner’s gut and how can you fix it. 

What is Runner’s Gut?

We all have a naturally acidic body. This environment is necessary for our digestive tract to break down solid foods so we can get nutrition and energy. To help ease the discomfort of an acidic atmosphere, we have oxygenated blood.  

 

When we go running, the blood leaves the gut to provide comfort to the muscles in your arms and legs. That leaves any solid food particles and stomach acids to splash about your system.

 

That is why many runners may experience bouts of:

 

 

A lack of blood flow to a runner’s gut is known as ischemia. The symptoms of this condition are further exasperated when you eat right before a run. Give your body at least thirty minutes to digest your food and be sure to stay hydrated, so you have something to counteract the stomach acids when your blood leaves for the muscles.

 

While diet has a lot to do with managing ischemia, it’s not the be-all, end-all for the approximately 70 million who suffer from a GI disorder. However, research shows that probiotics may help fight off runner’s gut for these millions who run through the discomfort. 

How Probiotics Help Runner’s Gut 

Think about the action of running. You are legitimately throwing your body up and down. Our small intestine is porous, as it allows nutrients to seep back into the system. However, if you have minuscule toxin particles broken down inside the intestines that are ready to be eliminated from the system, running may cause them to shake back into the bloodstream.

 

Research shows that maintaining a healthy level of probiotic bacteria in your stomach can assist in repairing a damaged gut lining. Probiotics help make the gut barrier harder to permeate. Furthermore, they fight off the harmful bacteria that spark inflammations in your gut. Therefore, probiotics can help ease any flare-ups when you go for a run.

Probiotics Help With Runner’s Performance

Probiotics can be a runner’s best friend. Not only do they help keep down your burrito bowl from lunch, but they also might increase your endurance. One study followed athletes for four weeks. During that time period, some took a probiotic supplement, while others took a placebo.

 

Results found that those who took the probiotic clocked longer endurance rates. Those who received a probiotic supplement lasted 37 minutes, compared to the placebo subjects. They lasted 34 minutes. 

 

While a four-minute advantage doesn’t sound like much, it sounds like a lifetime when you’re beating someone within seconds at a finish line. However, these sort of results doesn’t happen overnight.

How to Use Probiotics to Help Your Running Game 

You might’ve noticed that those who conducted the study followed the athletes over a four week period. While it takes three days to change your microbiome, it takes longer to make the alterations permanent. As they say, “Rome wasn’t a built in a day.”

 

One study found that probiotics are very effective in helping athletes who are prone to GI problems or have stomach issues after traveling. However, the study noted that the results are not instantaneous. That’s because probiotics are living beings. 

 

Probiotics in your supplement are entering an acidic environment full of other bacteria, toxins, and various microbes. They need to colonize the gut and then populate like any other living being. This sort of growth doesn’t happen overnight. That’s why it’s recommended you make probiotics a part of your wellness regimen. 

What are the Best Probiotics for Runners?

Runners are particular people. After all, it’s a pretty solo activity. You dictate the music, choose the footwear, and map out the course. So, the best probiotic supplement is one that’s unique for you. That’s easier than ever to accomplish with Thryve Inside.

 

Thryve Inside is a gut health program that sends you a gut test kit in the mail. All you do is follow their simple instructions for collecting a sample. Use their pre-stamped package to mail back your sample to their laboratories. This company uses mRNA sequencing to determine which bacteria are in your gut and which bacteria your gut needs. 

 

With this information in mind, they formulate a probiotic just for you. To help with consistency, they deliver this personalized probiotic to your door every month. 

 

Since they tested your gut, they know which foods should be in your diet. Like runners, bacteria need to eat as well. They’re picky like runners, too. Therefore, the Thryve Gut Health Program helps you find delicious recipes that fit your dietary preferences…and your probiotics’. Learn more about the Thryve Gut Health Program to step up your running game today.