To reach peak athletic performance, many athletes consider restrictive diets or harsh exercising routines to help enhance their ability to perform during endurance exercises. Although athletes are known for being in great shape and valuing their health, sometimes they neglect nutrients needed for long-term health goals. 

That’s where probiotics come in. Probiotics are often underutilized and underestimated by athletes. These supplements have the power to positively impact your gut flora, improve athletic performance, and aid your long-term goals. 

When you prioritize a healthy gut, you can experience long-lasting health benefits that positively impact your wellbeing past your athleticism. 

Let’s take a closer look at why athletes should prioritize probiotics and alternatives they can use to see the same results.

Why athletes should prioritize probiotics

Probiotics have proven to help us with gut health, indigestion, the immune system, and inflammation caused by allergies. This is because probiotics have live bacteria called microorganisms that work to balance the bacteria in our stomachs. This type of bacteria is commonly known as “good bacteria” and can be found in common household foods like yogurt, miso, and kimchi. 

Probiotic-rich foods can be a great alternative to supplements if you're an athlete not looking to take a daily supplement. 

Another option is to consider adding a prebiotic into your daily routine. Prebiotics provide you with the same benefits as probiotics but don’t contain the live bacteria that can cause irritation or unwanted side effects for individuals who have sensitive stomachs.

The importance of gut health 

You may be wondering: Why do athletes need to prioritize gut health? For starters, a large portion of our immune system lives inside our guts and is influenced by our gut health.

Our guts contain over 100 trillion live bacteria. To maintain a healthy balance, you’ll need to prioritize foods or supplements that help the live bacteria thrive. By doing this, athletes may experience reduced joint or muscle pain, less fatigue, better sleep, and help with bone support. A healthy gut can also decrease your chances of developing cancers or diseases. 

Research suggests there's a direct correlation between diet, the amount of exercise an individual has, and the gut microbiota in our guts. With that in mind, athletes can see optimal results when prioritizing exercise and a probiotic-rich diet. 

Since everything works together, making an active effort to restore balance inside our guts can help athletes stay healthier year-round and reduce the risk of illnesses or unwanted diseases. 

Athletic Performance 

It's said that certain probiotics can help athletes improve the integrity of their gut barriers. It has also shown signs of helping to improve muscle damage caused by intense exercise. Not only that, but probiotics may provide athletes with the energy needed for endurance exercising by oxidizing stress and fighting dehydration. 

Reduce Inflammation

If you’re an athlete who doesn’t work out as much as you once did, you may be susceptible to higher rates of inflammation. This is because your body is no longer getting the same amount of physical activity that kept you at a lower inflammation level. The best way to combat this is by taking a dietary supplement like a probiotic. 

Studies have also shown that probiotics have been able to help 

reduce muscle inflammation in athletes, which can significantly increase their athletic performance and recovery time.

Immune Support

The problem athletes encounter is that they overuse the nutrients in their bodies rather than find ways to increase their nutrient intake. Athletes who partake in frequent endurance exercises are more prone to illnesses because they're suppressing nutrients. 

Prioritizing exercise is essential to our wellbeing but, if we aren’t eating or taking enough nutrients to keep up with the levels of physical exercise, it can do more harm than good. A probiotic or prebiotic supplement can help our bodies maintain the good bacteria in our guts that help enhance our immune system rather than deplete it. 

Probiotics can also help athletes decrease their chances of getting sick so they can focus on practices, competitions, and improve athlete performance.

Improve Digestion

Our digestion helps us break down foods in our bodies and absorb needed nutrients such as proteins and fats. When athletes use a probiotic supplement, they are helping aid the absorption process which can help eliminate bloating or any intestinal inflammation. Since athletes need a higher amount of nutrients to support their active lifestyles, they can benefit from prioritizing probiotics into their routine.

Why EM-X Gold is recommended for athletes

When it comes to improving your performance and looking for ways to maximize your health, you want to make sure you’re choosing something easy to take and good for your body, like EM-X Gold. 

EM- X Gold was developed by Prof. Teruo Higa using EM technology. Prof. Teruo Higa discovered EM or “effective microorganisms” in 1982. EM is commonly used in agriculture and the environmental fields. However, it also can provide the human body with needed nutrients in the same way. 

The beverage contains highly active antioxidants as well as 40 vital minerals and bioactive substances.

Not only does EM-X Gold provide you with many of the same benefits as probiotics, but it can also improve your quality of sleep, provide you with more energy, and improve your joint pain. As an athlete, you understand how essential these benefits are to improving the quality of your everyday life, outside of being an athlete. 

EM-X Gold can also help combat chronic joint pain caused by over-exercising or intense workouts. The liquid prebiotic beverage contains metabolites that may help reduce the symptoms of inflammatory-related diseases and relieve unwanted inflammation.

Overall, It has a strong antioxidant effect and a surplus of free radicals, which leaves many of the elementary functions of the body revitalized. When you start prioritizing EM-X Gold and taking it regularly, it reinforces the immune forces and activates the body’s self-healing mechanisms.

As an athlete, you understand why it’s so important to prioritize all aspects of your health. The extra stress on your body needs to be outweighed by nutrients. If you don’t want to take a daily pill or supplement to receive the probiotics needed for a nutrient-rich diet, you can always consider changing your diet or trying EM-X Gold. EM-X Gold is an easy-to-drink solution for athletes that are looking to prioritize their health and enhance their overall performance.

Not only is EM-X Gold easier on the stomach than most probiotics, but it also provides more lifelong nutrients that can help enhance an athlete’s quality of life. If you’re an athlete looking to improve your overall wellbeing, a probiotic such as PRO EM-1 or a prebiotic may help you see the results you're hoping to see.