Between all of the social media ‘hacks’, the sensational promises and the scientific jargon, the path to better gut health can feel nearly impossible to navigate. Allow us to give you an insider’s guide GUT LAB JANUARY 2024 RUNNERSWORLD.COM/UK 055
Perhaps it was a stomach-in-knots work week. Or maybe it was a series of not-so-solid bowel movements before, after or during your fivemiler. Whatever the specific circumstances that left you with questions, you’re not the only one looking to gut health for answers.
Gut health-focused products are top of mind for today’s consumers, according to the International Food Information Council’s 2023 trend forecast survey. And gut health is a sought-after benefit when shopping for products such as wellness drinks and supplements. Over on social media, there’s a massive community obsessed with healing your gut, with some users peddling unproven interventions, from DIY wellness shots to gut cleanses (on TikTok, #guttok videos have 1bn views, while there are more than 5m Instagram posts with the hashtag #guthealth).
Yes, the functioning of your gut is important for your overall health, and by extension, your running. And researchers are continuing to find evidence that the impact of strong gut health goes way beyond digestion; you’ve got an entire colony of microbes inside you that have a role in everything from immunity to heart health and mood. That said, working to improve your microbiome isn’t necessarily the answer to every single health woe. And not everyone has a gut problem in the first place. ‘As with everything else in health, I have to issue caution,’ says Will Bulsiewicz, gastroenterologist and author of The Fiber Fueled Cookbook. ‘There are hyperbolic, ridiculous claims on the internet regarding the gut.’
As it turns out, you can do most of your gut-health heavy lifting with some well-planned nutrition, sleep and stressmanagement interventions that are influential enough to make a difference to your daily wellbeing. Use our guide to help you digest what’s truly important.
Is it normal?
First, a little perspective. ‘We all get bloated or have indigestion sometimes,’ says Dr Bulsiewicz. ‘It doesn’t mean that every time we’re bloated we have a gastrointestinal problem and need to be concerned.’ What is worrisome is that the issue may be chronic, which generally means that ‘it’s a condition that lasts three months or longer and may require medical treatment or limit daily activities’, says gastroenterologist Karl
