Probiotic Supplement Attenuates Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage After Just Four Weeks

Probiotics are best known for their effects on the digestive system, but growing research suggests that their influence may extend considerably further. In this randomized controlled trial involving 48 men, researchers found that four weeks of supplementation with the probiotic bacterium Lactiplantibacillus plantarum GKK1 reduced several biological signs of muscle damage, oxidative stress, and inflammation following strenuous exercise.

Intense physical activity can temporarily increase inflammation and the production of harmful free radicals, contributing to muscle soreness and fatigue during recovery. Significantly, therefore, participants receiving the probiotic also showed improvements in some measures of exercise recovery compared with those given a placebo.

While the study was relatively small, it adds to increasing evidence that the microorganisms living in our digestive system can influence health throughout the body. Maintaining a healthy intestinal environment through appropriate nutrition may therefore have consequences extending far beyond digestion alone. Rather than regarding different organs and biological systems as essentially separate entities, research into the gut microbiome increasingly underlines how closely interconnected the human body really is.

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