A gutsy performance: the potential for supplementation of short-chain fatty acids to benefit athletic health, exercise performance, and recovery

The gut microbiome is known to play an important role in the day-to-day physiology and health of the human host. It is, therefore, not surprising that there is interest surrounding the gut microbiome and its potential to benefit athletic health and performance. This has, in part, been driven by the consideration that gut bacterial by-products (i.e. metabolic waste) could be harnessed by the host and utilised for a beneficial outcome. The concept of harnessing bacterial metabolites as beneficial health modulators has developed the theory of leveraging short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) as novel supplements for enhancing athletic performance. This review discusses the current literature investigating SCFA administration in cellular, animal, and human models, with the aim of linking the demonstrated physiological/biochemical mechanisms to potential exercise/athletic benefit. In addition, practical implications and factors relating to SCFA-supplementation in athletic populations are considered. The literature demonstrates a tangible rationale that SCFAs can have a positive impact on human physiology to afford benefits to the athletic population. These advantages include the capacity to improve respiratory immunity to combat elevated levels/severity of upper respiratory tract infections often reported in athletes; the blunting of pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic pathways to aid in exercise recovery; and the role of SCFAs as usable energy sources and metabolism modulators to fuel exercise and improve performance and/or endurance capacity. However, there is currently minimal research completed in human participants and thus further investigations into the direct benefit of SCFAs in exercise performance and/or recovery-based studies are required.

Sportomics: metabolomics applied to sports. The new revolution?

Sportomics is the application of metabolomics in sports to investigate the metabolic effects of physical exercise on individuals, whether they are professional athletes or not. Metabolomics is one of the "omics" sciences that provide a picture of the metabolic state of a person in physiological or pathological conditions. This is achieved through the analysis of metabolites present in a biological fluid, such as saliva, blood, feces, and urine. The authors revised the recent literature concerning this topic and discussed the useful information that sportomics can provide and the limits of the current experimental settings. Furthermore, in the future, sportomics analyses could be used to prevent and manage injuries as it would be known in advance if an athlete is more prone to experience muscular damage or fatigue. Following more trials, it would also be possible to set the best diet and training programs to get the best performances out of the athletes. Moreover, based on their metabolic profiles, both adults and children could choose tailored physical training in order to preserve and improve their health.