If you never start a run without toilet paper tucked into your shorts or you know where every porta potty is on all your running routes we dig into the science on why it happens and how to fix it for good
If you never start a run without toilet paper tucked into your shorts or you know where every porta potty is on all your running routes we dig into the science on why it happens and how to fix it for good
The digestive system needs blood flow to function efficiently, but as soon as you start running your body diverts blood rom your digestive system to fuel your working muscles, heart, and lungs.
In fact, research has shown that…
Blood Flow Decreases
With 10 minutes of starting to run
Further Decreases By
After 1 hour of running
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing in the short term, it’s how your cardiovascular system prioritizes survival during physical exertion.
But it does create problems for your gut.
Without this blood flow, your gut doesn’t have the oxygen and nutrients it needs to supply the digestive organs, transport absorbed nutrients from the gut to the rest of the body, and remove waste products.
The second major mechanism involves heat stress, and this is where things get really interesting from a scientific perspective.
As your body heats up, both from the running you’re doing and the outside temperature, blood is further diverted away from the digestive system and allocated to cooling itself.
Heat & humidity divert blood away from the stomach to cool your body
Your body generates heat the longer you run, further diverting blood
So, both increased duration and increased temperatures create a compounding effect on your digestive system.
Moreover, recent research has identified that when your core temperature reaches 38.5°C (101°F), intestinal permeability increases.
This often called “leaky gut” or, more scientifically, “exercise-induced gastrointestinal syndrome”, and is estimated to affect 70% of endurance athletes.
You may have heard the term “leaky gut” thrown around before, but never really knew what it meant.
Basically what happens is that stress in the gut (from heat, lack of blood flow, and jostling) causes intestinal damage and increases intestinal permeability.
In layman’s terms, this is like developing tiny holes in your gut lining that allow things to pass through that normally shouldn’t.
This includes bacterial lipopolysaccharides, also known as endotoxins.
When these endotoxins leak into your bloodstream, they trigger an acute-phase inflammatory response.
Specifically, the release of interleukin-6 in response to an increasingly endotoxic environment.
This inflammatory response is part of what causes the cramping, nausea, and urgent bathroom needs you experience during runs.
If you suffer frequently from stomach and bathroom issues while training and racing, then you have to address these 3 issues.
Sadly, simply changing what you eat before a run likely won’t work (I am sure you’ve tried. So, here are some of the innovative solutions based on the latest scientific research.
If you’d rather just skip to an all-in-one solution, I recommend MAS Flush.
It’s the only probiotic formulated specifically to address the exact needs and stomach issues endurance athletes face when training and racing hard.
Starting your runs with an empty gut will help eliminate many of the digestive problems that result from reduced blood flow.
Since you’re reading this, I can probably assume you’ve tried changing your pre-run and even your night-before nutrition to eat foods that will be digested quickly and are easy on the stomach.
This is definitely a good step, but as you’ve likely noticed, it doesn’t always work.
Luckily, there is one relatively new ingredient we’ve seen make a huge difference: Psyllium seed husks.
Psyllium seed husks are a source of soluble fiber and have been shown in research to help make bowel movements easier and more consistent.
Taking psyllium in the evening helps ensure you can evacuate completely before your morning run.
of runners reported immediate relief from runner’s trots
Experienced less stomach pain during workouts and races
Probiotics are a combination of live beneficial bacteria and/or yeasts that produce enzymes that aid in breaking down difficult to digest foods.
This means your stomach is more efficient and does not need to work as hard to digest the foods you eat, dramatically reducing the stress placed on it while running.
But, not all probiotics are created equal. In the case of runners dealing with stomach issues, two strains stand out in the research.
Bifidobacteria has been shown in literature to reduce the severity of GI symptoms during training as well post-race in marathon runners.
ProbioSEB Duo helps create a favorable environment for the growth of “good microflora” in the large intestine.
Helps produce enzymes that breakdown difficult to digest foods
Reduces the stress placed on the stomach so there is less chance of GI distress
New Zealand blackcurrant extract is rich in anthocyanins and has been shown in research to strengthen the gut lining, mitigating heat stress and improving thermoregulation.
In one study, participants who supplemented with New Zealand blackcurrant for 7 days and then raced in hot conditions experienced a 40% reduction in heat-induced cell damage and “leaky gut”.
In a separate study, blackcurrant was shown to reduce total gastric distress symptoms in runners by 73%.
reduction in leaky gut when racing in hot conditions
total reduction in GI distress symptoms in runners
Recent research has demonstrated that specific probiotic strains (bifidobacteria) can “increase mean total carbohydrate oxidation from 1.87 grams per minute to 2.20 grams per minute during 2-hour endurance sessions.”
This enhanced utilization occurs because this combination of probiotics increases both the abundance and activity of sodium-glucose transporter 1 (SGLT1), a protein that actively transports glucose into cells
The data has also demonstrated that the enhanced carbohydrate absorption allows the body to rely more heavily on ingested fuel rather than depleting precious muscle glycogen stores.
Increases glycogen utilization by up to 15%
Prioritizes ingested carbs to help spare muscle glycogen
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