"Exercise Changes Our Gut Microbes, But How Isn’t Yet Clear?" Ashley Yeager

Sara Campbell, an assistant professorship in exercise science, at Rutgers University wondered if exercise could influence the microbes in the gut. Everyone knows all the benefits that come along with exercising, including keeping down inflammation and the enhancement of antioxidant defenses. Campbell realized the symbiosis and mutualism that goes on between the host and the microbes, which led to the beginning of the research process. After creating a research team, Campbell designed an experiment to analyze fecal samples of male mice that were fed a normal or high-fat diet for 12 weeks, while some mice were allowed to exercise and others were not(Yeager 2019). The mice that participated in physical activity generated a "unique microbiome in the guts" and also hosted, "Faecalibacterium, Clostridium, and Allobaculum"(Yeager 2019). In contrast, the mice on the high-fat diet, without any exercise, had inflammation in the gut. Exercising does boost the levels of gut microbes, which also produces butyrate. Which means, "exercise alone, without any dietary changes, is enough to change the composition of gut bacteria"(Sandoiu 2018). Overall, exercise has a larger impact on the human body than ever expected.

Moving more in depth into the research, looking at obese individuals who began to exercise had changes in their gut microbes. Although, lean individuals had different changes, "developed higher levels of Clostridiales, Lachnospira, Roseburia, and Faecalibacterium in their guts, but those microbes returned to baseline levels when the individuals stopped exercising"(Yeager 2019).the difference in changes between lean and obese individuals is still unknown, bur regardless of diet or body composition, change in the gut microbiota is still apparent. Researchers are still unsure of how exercise exactly changes the gut microbes, or if the changes are beneficial to the health, but are determined to find answers.

https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/exercise-changes-our-gut-microbes--but-how-isnt-yet-clear-66281

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323351.php