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How Gut Microbes Respond to Physical Exercise

“The microbiota of lean individuals may be more responsive to an exercise intervention than that of overweight or obese individuals,” says Professor Woods.

Everyone can agree that the pillars of overall health include (but not limited to) physical exercise and gut health. But do these two pillars operate independently or cooperatively?

A healthy gut microbiota profile, in general, means one with (i) high microbial diversity, (ii) high abundance of gut microbes that produce beneficial metabolites like butyrate and other short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), and (iii) low abundances of inflammatory gut microbes that produce toxins like lipopolysaccharides (LPS). More details here:

Gut Microbiota: An Entity That Connects to Distant Organs

3 Ways Exercise Influences Gut Microbes

First, exercise directly modulates the gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) — where 70% of the body’s immune cells reside. Exercise resolves inflammatory and oxidative reactions in the GALT…