PhytoNOTE #5

"Fuel the microbes" for better performance?

image by Thomas Vimare, unsplash

The relevancy of the #microbiome for mental and physical health and performance has started to receive concentrated attention. This explains why MarketsandMarkets estimates that #prebiotics, probiotics, food, and other products marketed for a healthy microbiome will represent a $1.598 billion market by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 21.3% between 2025 and 2028.

Certain microbiome modulators, probiotic strains or prebiotic ingredients impact health and performance outcomes. At the same time, physical activity can impact the make-up of our microbiome.

Studies show that fitness is associated with greater microbial diversity and we expect the #gut microbiota to play a significant role in #athlete health, wellbeing, and sports performance.
Scheiman et al. identified a performance-enhancing microbe in elite runners (Nat Med. 2019).

A promising but still emerging area of research, more studies are needed to find out about the interplay between diet, exercise and gut microbiome  to provide recommendations for athletes.

Nathan Gray, one of the industries most savvy experts on microbiome, confirms this: "we’re nowhere near ‘peak microbiome’ right now. In fact, we have still barely scratched the surface."

blue ocean ahead...