By If you’re going to make changes to your health & body — do this one thing
Although we don’t all want to train or be athletes, they have much knowledge to share.
This knowledge & experience could create a breakthrough for you regarding training and attaining better health and longevity.
As a former bodybuilder, I still live by the basic principles in a very ‘toned-down manner. So, for example, I’m no longer a fan of higher-than-high protein consumption or eliminating food groups because bro science said to do so.
Let’s get back to basics.
The basics are here to stay, but we can always take something which may not be suitable for the general public and use it because it resonates with us — for instance, Intermittent fasting or The Mediterranean diet.
Another prime example is gut health — which is a problem for a lot of people.
Tick Tok has many individuals upload tips on improving gut health, ensuring you go to the toilet effectively, and eliminating pain or discomfort.
It’s no surprise that gut health profoundly impacts our lives — from health, well-being and athleticism.
Your gut health matters more than you realise
Gut imbalances happen to affect people in different ways. For instance, acute symptoms could manifest into cramps & nausea.
A study found that those on a high-protein diet may have disturbances within their gut microbiome.
From an athletic perspective, it also results in a 23.3% reduction in time trial performance.
That’s pretty high if you ask me!
A result might suggest that athletic performance is linked to gut microbial stability.
Athletes with more stable gut microbial communities continuously performed better in each dietary intervention than those with more turbulent gut microbiota.
Researchers cannot be certain that the high amount of protein in the body was entirely responsible for the significant drop in time trial performance.
However, it was found that there were certain changes to the gut microbiome following a short-term, high-protein diet which appears to be associated with performance.
The question I have for you now is something only you can answer.
Have you taken a higher-than-usual protein diet to gain muscle or lose weight?
How has this change affected your gut health?
This research suggests that consuming a high-protein diet may impact the gut via an altered microbial pattern.
In contrast, a high carbohydrate intake (containing a variety of grains, vegetables, fermented foods etc.) was associated with greater gut microbial stability.
Key take away
It’s ideal to carefully note any impact on your gut health when adding higher protein sources.
Although this research has indicated it to be a problem with athletes and their performance, I’m pretty sure it could have a vastly similar issue to us.
Perhaps some of us are a lot more sensitive than others. Individuals should also consider this.
Unfortunately, I had this problem eating a high-protein diet in preparation for body-building competitions.
I don’t believe my gut health ever recovered, which is one true indicator that we should all be very careful about adding or eliminating certain foods.
A whole-food, balanced diet will always surpass a diet filled with too much protein.
That’s not to say you should not consume protein — but our body needs various nutrients, and we should be mindful of any consequences that may result when making dietary changes.
I’d love to know if anyone else experienced negative effects from eating a higher-protein diet.
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