Effect of Exercise on Your Gut Microbiome

Understanding your Gut Microbiome

What exactly is ‘Gut Microbiome’? Like all the living organisms on earth, form an ecosystem in the same way your body has ecosystems of its own. One of these is your gut ecosystem, which is commonly known as gut microbiome.

Your gut microbiome is the diverse population of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other microorganisms that are present in the gastrointestinal tract. It is crucial for almost all of your body functions like digestion of food, production of vitamins, and support for your immune system, mood, and mental health.

A healthy gut microbiome includes a diverse range of microorganisms. Any disruption in this balance can lead to digestive issues, inflammation, skin issues, and other health issues.

How Exercise Influences the Gut Microbiome

Regular physical exercise has innumerable health benefits. It helps maintain a healthy weight, balance hormones, improve flexibility, reduce joint pain and stiffness, boost libido, combat several chronic and lifestyle disorders, and improve mood and mental health. Similarly, it improves gut health.

Below are some ways by which exercise can influence your gut microbiome:

1. Increased Diversity of Your Gut Bacteria

A study has shown that the gut microbiome of athletes has increased biodiversity. The more diverse your microbiome, the better your digestive process becomes. This eventually improves your immunity, helping to keep diseases at bay.

2. Production of Beneficial Compounds

Exercise stimulates the production of beneficial compounds such as short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) like butyrate, propionate, and acetate. These compounds are an indicator of good gut health. These are produced when your gut bacteria ferment dietary fibre and are vital for gut health as they help reduce inflammation and support the integrity of the gut lining.

3. Improved Gut Motility

If you suffer from constipation, regular physical activity can provide you relief. Consistent physical activity can boost your gastrointestinal tract’s peristalsis (bowel movements). This helps to maintain adequate motility in your gut, reduces the risk of constipation, and helps with digestion, smooth elimination, and proper nutrient absorption.

4. Impact on Specific Bacteria

Good and bad bacteria both reside in your gut together. Regular physical exercise can increase the number of these beneficial bacteria present in your gut environment, such as Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus, which have a positive impact on your gut health and digestive health and also improve your immunity.

Different Types of Exercise and Their Impact on the Gut

You can do different kinds of exercise to boost your gut health. Some of these are as follows:

1. Aerobic Exercise

Exercises such as running, cycling, and swimming require a lot of oxygen. They are known as aerobic exercises due to this. This increase in oxygen can boost the diversity of microorganisms in your gut, thus improving your gut health.

2. Resistance Training

Strength training can have beneficial effects on your gut health, as well as your overall health. However, its results can sometimes be less noticeable. It supports muscle growth and metabolic health, which in turn may benefit gut function.

3. Yoga and Mind-Body Exercises

While these types of exercises are not as vigorous as aerobic or resistance training, they can still positively affect gut health by reducing stress and promoting better gut-brain communication.

The Link Between Exercise, Inflammation, and Gut Health

Your gut health, inflammation, and exercise are all connected. Let’s explore how this occurs:

1. Reduction of Inflammation

Inflammation is when your body responds to an illness, injury or something that doesn’t belong in your body (like germs or toxic chemicals). These can cause various changes in your body’s mechanisms, which can be harmful in the long run. Regular moderate-intensity exercise has been shown to reduce such systemic inflammation. Chronic inflammation can lead to conditions such as leaky gut syndrome, which impacts overall health. Hence, regular exercise can help prevent such conditions.

2. Improved Immune Response

Exercise is known to boost your immune system. This helps to support your gut microbiome’s ability to resist harmful pathogens, which can cause various disorders, alter your gut microbiome, and maintain a healthy balance of microorganisms.

Potential Risks of Over-Exercising

While exercise has numerous benefits, overdoing anything is unsuitable for your well-being. Similarly, over-exercising has its risks like:

• Excessive exercise can have the opposite effect on its benefits. It weakens your body. It can also lead to a disturbance in your gut microbiome diversity. This can have a negative impact on your gut health by increasing levels of stress hormones.
• Athletes may experience gut disturbances such as bloating, discomfort, or changes in bowel habits due to prolonged intense exercise. Proper nutrition, hydration, and rest are important to reduce these effects.

How Ayurvedic Principles Consider This

From the Ayurvedic viewpoint, when you over-exercise, the vata dosha (bioenergy related to air and movement) in your body increases many folds, which can disturb the balance in your body. It also affects your digestive fire, causing many issues like bloating and other gastrointestinal diseases.

When to Seek Professional Advice

Exercise at an optimal level and strength is safe and has many advantages. However, you should reach out for medical help and seek professional advice if you face any of the following:

• If you experience chronic digestive issues, such as severe bloating, abdominal pain, or changes in bowel movements after starting or increasing an exercise regimen, it’s important to consult with a healthcare professional.
• Suppose you are an athlete who frequently exercises at high intensities and experiences continuous discomfort in your gut. In that case, you should consult a healthcare practitioner to find a balance between your exercise and dietary habits.

Wrapping Up

Exercise is a very powerful tool to fix your gut health. Regular exercise can increase the biodiversity of microorganisms in your gut, which is important to maintain optimum gut health and decrease inflammation in your body. However, it is necessary to maintain a proper balance in this to prevent the side effects of over-exercising. Along with this, a balanced and healthy diet, adequate hydration, complete sleep, and proper rest are also vital to maintaining your gut and overall health. If you are facing severe and persistent symptoms, you can connect with our team of Nirva healthcare experts to help you fix your gut health and create a personalised treatment plan. You can also try Nirva Health’s gut reset program. In the end, a good gut is the key to a healthy body.