The practice of exercise and the feeding They go hand in hand so that our body is healthy in equal parts. When we exercise we usually control the type of diet we eat, the quantities we eat… But the balance is not only based on these two factors, but we would have to ask ourselves what role what we eat has during sports practice since it is not going to have the same impact if it is a more intense exercise than if it is a gentler practice.
The thing is that the more intense the sports practice, the more likely it is that the intestinal flora will be damaged. So in this sense, it would not be about the intake of foods with more or fewer calories but rather other supplements such as probiotics that will help regulate the intestinal transit.
“To be effective, probiotics must survive passage through the stomach and reach the intestine in a viable form”
The probiotics They are bacteria that are found in some of the food that we take and have the function of maintaining the healthy microbiotaso consuming them during sports practice will help cover the deterioration that has occurred in the body during intense exercise.
The microbiota is important in the regulation of the immune system, it synthesizes vitamin K which is important for bone metabolism and for blood clotting, allowing it to be more fluid for promote blood circulation in athletes.
What are probiotics good for during sports practice?
Many athletes present gastrointestinal problems and alterations in the microbiota and the cause that may have caused the discomfort is unknown. In this way, probiotics contribute to maintaining the balance of the intestinal microbiota, through which they prevent and combat pathologies such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), infectious diarrhea and diarrhea that is related to the administration of some antibiotics. .
When a person plays sports, they have a greater predisposition to contracting diseases. According to the nutritionist and food technologist, Monica Acha, “It is not that he has a weak immune system but that he is using most of his resources on physical exercise and recovery after it, so it would be leaving the rest of the body unprotected.
In order to treat these problems, it would also be good to consume probiotics as a way of increase the body’s defenses. On the other hand, physical exercise sometimes causes inflammation and when the body is inflamed, the immune system is activated focusing on that swelling, leaving aside attention to other possible pathogens.
Characteristics of probiotics
In order to receive all the benefits of the probiotics, these must be alive when consumed and these benefits are strain specific. Different strains of bacteria can have different effects on the body, so it is important to identify which one has been specifically used.
To be effective, probiotics must survive passage through the stomach and reach the intestine in a viable form. This implies resistance to gastric acid and bile. They must be able to stick to the walls of the intestine to colonize and exert its beneficial effects.
Probiotics must be safe for human consumption and one way to know this is by consuming those that contain the species of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. Some probiotics can produce antimicrobial substances that inhibit the growth of pathogens in the intestine since they positively influence the composition of the intestinal microbiota, promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria and reducing the amount of those that are harmful to our health.
