Exercise dietary supplementation effects on microbiota

Resumen

Human microbiota are a key element for both health status and physical performance. Several microbiota species are linked to critical physiological and biochemical processes involved in food digestion, nutrient absorption, immunomodulatory responses, general fatigue status and even psychological responses to environmental stressors. Current sport practice is closely linked to exhaustive training refimens, drastic and restrictive diets, or frequent consumption of daily nutritional supplements. For all these reasons it is common to observe, among both professional and amateur sport pracitioners, gastrointestinal disorders which may compromise physical and psychological well-being. Additionally, in the worst cases, important digestive, metabolic or immune processes can be altered by microbiome dysregulation, reducing the physical performance of the patient or even health status. The aim of this chapter is to evaluate the most common microbiota alterations linked to several types of sport and to provide the reader with some nutritional strategies and daily supplements to avoid these undesirable situations.