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Probiotics and athletic performance: a systematic review.

Andrew W Nichols1

  • 1Division of Sports Medicine, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96813-5534, USA. nicholsa@hawaii.edu

Current Sports Medicine Reports
|July 10, 2007
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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Probiotics, live beneficial bacteria found in fermented foods, lack direct evidence for enhancing athletic performance. However, they may offer athletes indirect benefits like improved immune function and recovery.

Area of Science:

  • Sports Science
  • Microbiology
  • Human Nutrition

Background:

  • Probiotics are live microorganisms conferring health benefits.
  • Found naturally in fermented foods like yogurt and kefir.
  • Linked to benefits in gut health, immunity, and more.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the scientific literature on probiotics and athletic performance.
  • To identify any direct or indirect ergogenic effects.

Main Methods:

  • Systematic literature review.
  • Analysis of published studies on probiotics and athletic performance.

Main Results:

  • No studies directly investigated probiotics' ergogenic effects.
  • Two studies suggest probiotics may boost immune response in fatigued athletes.

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Conclusions:

  • Direct scientific evidence for probiotics as an ergogenic aid is currently lacking.
  • Probiotics may indirectly benefit athletes through improved recovery, immunity, and gut health.