FIGURE 1.

Fueling your microbes for athletic performance. Sport-centric and gut-centric dietary strategies both modulate the composition and function of the gut microbiota, which may then mediate or modulate the effects of these dietary strategies on athletic performance. Human digestive processes produce amino acids and fatty acids from ingested protein and fat, respectively, while nondigestible carbohydrates make it down to the large intestine intact. These components as well as ingested supplements such as probiotics then interact with the gut microbiota, which produces metabolites that influence local gastrointestinal barrier function as well as systemic functions such as glycogen storage, fuel utilization, and muscle function that have the potential to affect athletic performance. BCFA, branched-chain fatty acid; GI, gastrointestinal; FODMAP, fermentable oligo-, di-, monosaccharides and polyols.