Train your gut

With up to 30 – 50% of athletes struggling with gut problems this is one of the most common issues in sport. However, you can reduce your gut problems by employing strategies to train your gut.

First off, what exactly IS your gut?

Your “gut” refers to your digestive system – your small and large intestine being the most important parts we are going to look at.

For us to understand our gut, it is important to know what factors affect our digestive system when we are training. There are 3 main causes for gut issues in athletes:

Firstly, there is physiological causes
when you get gut problems due to your body’s response to exercise. When we exercise, less blood flows to the digestive system, and more to our working muscles. When we are dehydrated, or have food in our system, there will be less blood digest the food, and this will lead to cramps, pain and bloating during training.

Secondly, gut problems may arise from mechanical causes
for example, posture can also affect how you experience gut issues in sport. For example, cyclists tend to get more problems in the upper part of their digestive system when in the “aero” position, whereas runners tend to get more lower gut problems. Swallowing air while drinking water on the bike or during a run can also cause you to experience some discomfort.
While you can’t really do anything about your body’s response to exercise or mechanical issues, you CAN do something about the third cause – nutrition.

Here is a few science-based tips to prevent gut issues:

• Eat your larger, more balanced meals 3 – 4 hours before a session. Fiber, fat and protein have all been associated with a greater risk of developing digestive problems – therefore, if you are having meals or snacks 90 – 60minutes before a race or workout (especially hard ones) keep them simple, low to moderate fat, low fibre and moderate to low in protein. Examples of this may be: A banana with electroytes, pre-race/workout energy drink crackers with hone, toast with some nut butter and hone or a smoothie (liquids are generally easier to digest).
• Avoid sports drinks that are too concentrated. The more concentrated the sports drink is, the more likely you are to experience symptoms.
• Choose sports drinks that have “multiple transportable” carbohydrates such as glucose and fructose (this is just a fancy term to say that they are absorbed in different areas in the gut). Look for this on the product ingredient label.
• Avoid aspirin and NSAIDs such as ibuprofen. Both aspirin and NSAIDs have commonly been shown to increase the risk of gut issues. Especially if you are an athlete who regularly experience gut problems, NSAIDS and aspirin should be avoided before training and races.
• Avoid dehydration. As dehydration can exacerbate gastrointestinal symptoms, it is important to prevent dehydration. Start the race (or training) well hydrated.
• Practise new nutrition strategies. Make sure to experiment with the pre-race and race-day nutrition plan many times before the race day. This will allow the athlete to work out what does and does not work, and reduces the chances of getting gastrointestinal symptoms.

To train your gut, practice different strategies while in training. Do not try new things on race day! If you are training or racing for >60 minutes, you require about 30 – 60grams of carbohydrate per hour to perform optimally. For more information on carbohydrates – what they are, why you need them, and how much you need for different sessions, click here. However, you might not be able to tolerate this amount of carbohydrates right out of the gate.

Here is some steps to take to train your gut:

• Start with a diluted version of your sports drink by replacing ½ of the volume with water in the first week or so, and gradually progress to diluting by replacing ¼ of the volume with water the next week, and by the third week, try to see if you can tolerate the full concentration of sports drink.
• Start by drinking smaller amounts more frequently. Instead of trying to gulp down 30 – 60g of carbohydrates at once every hour (1 Gu energy gel, for example is 23 – 30g of carbohydrates), take about ½ of this every half hour, or ¼ of this every 15 minutes. Gradually increase the amount of carbohydrate you take in at once every 1 – 2 weeks. For example, if you start out at 15g of carbs every 15 – 20 minutes, increase this to 30g every 30min to 60min in 2 weeks’ time.
• Training with relatively large volumes of fluid to “train the stomach”, training shortly after taking in some nutrition, training with relatively high amounts of carbohydrate during exercise, simulating race day nutrition in race-specific workouts, and increasing the overall carbohydrate content of your diet are more science-based ways to train your gut.

As an athlete, you regularly challenge yourself to expand your comfort zone with your workouts. See “training your gut” in the same way – it might feel uncomfortable at first, but the more you train through the discomfort, the better you will be able to tolerate fuel during training.

What does 30g of carbohydrate look like?

• 1 energy gel (23 – 30g depending on brand)
• 6 jelly babies/jelly sweets
• 1 banana
• 2 dates
• 250ml sports drink, like Cytogen, 32GI, Powerade, Energade, etc.

Find the fueling strategy that works for YOU. Some people do well with taking in fuel every 30 minutes, some tolerate fuel better every 60minutes. The main idea is to start small to train your gut – either through diluting the concentration or by taking in less at a time – and just like you increase your mileage or training load each week, increase the concentration or amount you take in at once.

With all these guidelines in mind, it is important to remember that athletes are all very unique and the way you react to training might differ to another athlete. Some athletes are more prone to gut discomfort that others, while others might be able to chug down a Coke and burger before a race without experiencing any gut issues at all. Finding what works for you might take some trial and error but is worth it in the end when you cross that finish line with a personal best.

References

Oliveira, E.P., Burini, R.C., & Jeukendrup, A.E. 2014. Gastrointestinal Complaints During Exercise: Prevalence, Etiology, and Nutritional Recommendations. Sports Medicine (Auckland, N.z.). 44:79 – 85.