College of Health Solutions, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ, USA.
Increnovo LLC, Milwaukee, WI, 53202, USA.
J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2020 May 12;17(1):24. doi: 10.1186/s12970-020-00353-w.
The microorganisms in the gastrointestinal tract play a significant role in nutrient uptake, vitamin synthesis, energy harvest, inflammatory modulation, and host immune response, collectively contributing to human health. Important factors such as age, birth method, antibiotic use, and diet have been established as formative factors that shape the gut microbiota. Yet, less described is the role that exercise plays, particularly how associated factors and stressors, such as sport/exercise-specific diet, environment, and their interactions, may influence the gut microbiota. In particular, high-level athletes offer remarkable physiology and metabolism (including muscular strength/power, aerobic capacity, energy expenditure, and heat production) compared to sedentary individuals, and provide unique insight in gut microbiota research. In addition, the gut microbiota with its ability to harvest energy, modulate the immune system, and influence gastrointestinal health, likely plays an important role in athlete health, wellbeing, and sports performance. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms in which the gut microbiota could play in the role of influencing athletic performance is of considerable interest to athletes who work to improve their results in competition as well as reduce recovery time during training. Ultimately this research is expected to extend beyond athletics as understanding optimal fitness has applications for overall health and wellness in larger communities. Therefore, the purpose of this narrative review is to summarize current knowledge of the athletic gut microbiota and the factors that shape it. Exercise, associated dietary factors, and the athletic classification promote a more "health-associated" gut microbiota. Such features include a higher abundance of health-promoting bacterial species, increased microbial diversity, functional metabolic capacity, and microbial-associated metabolites, stimulation of bacterial abundance that can modulate mucosal immunity, and improved gastrointestinal barrier function.
胃肠道中的微生物在营养吸收、维生素合成、能量获取、炎症调节和宿主免疫反应中发挥着重要作用，共同促进人类健康。年龄、出生方式、抗生素使用和饮食等重要因素已被确定为塑造肠道微生物群的形成因素。然而，运动所扮演的角色描述较少，特别是与运动/锻炼相关的饮食、环境及其相互作用等相关因素和应激源如何影响肠道微生物群。特别是与久坐不动的个体相比，高水平运动员具有显著的生理学和代谢特征（包括肌肉力量/功率、有氧能力、能量消耗和产热），并为肠道微生物群研究提供了独特的见解。此外，肠道微生物群具有获取能量、调节免疫系统和影响胃肠道健康的能力，可能在运动员的健康、幸福和运动表现中发挥重要作用。因此，了解肠道微生物群在影响运动员表现中的作用机制对于那些致力于提高比赛成绩和减少训练期间恢复时间的运动员来说是非常有意义的。最终，这项研究的预期应用不仅限于运动领域，因为了解最佳健身对更大社区的整体健康和幸福都有应用。因此，本综述的目的是总结目前关于运动员肠道微生物群及其形成因素的知识。运动、相关饮食因素和运动分类促进了更“与健康相关”的肠道微生物群。这些特征包括更丰富的有益细菌种类、增加的微生物多样性、功能代谢能力和微生物相关代谢物、调节黏膜免疫的细菌丰度的刺激以及改善的胃肠道屏障功能。
