Need Exercise Motivation? A Healthy Balance Of Gut Microbes Could Be The Answer By Study Finds via Natural Blaze
Need exercise motivation? It turns out keeping fit really is a gut instinct, according to a new study.
Researchers found that certain microbes in the gut can boost the motivation to work out. The team in Pennsylvania explained that some species of gut-dwelling bacteria activate nerves to promote the desire to get physically active.
The study in mice, led by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, reveals that the “gut-to-brain pathway” explains why some bacteria boosts our performance in the gym.
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Study authors discovered that differences in running performance displayed a connection to the presence of certain gut bacterial species, especially among higher-performing mice. The researchers traced the effect to small molecules called metabolites that the bacteria produce. These metabolites stimulate sensory nerves in the gut, enhancing their activity in the brain region which controls motivation during exercise.
“If we can confirm the presence of a similar pathway in humans, it could offer an effective way to boost people’s levels of exercise to improve public health generally,” says study senior author Christoph Thaiss, PhD, an assistant professor of Microbiology at Penn Medicine, in a media release.
2 microbes may be key to exercise motivation
The team conducted a broad search for factors that determine performance during physical activity. They recorded the genome sequences, gut bacterial species, bloodstream metabolites, and other data from genetically diverse mice. Researchers then measured the amount of voluntary wheel running the animals did on a daily basis, as well as their endurance during these sessions.
The Penn Medicine team then analyzed the data using machine learning techniques, looking for traits in each mouse that could explain their sizeable differences in running performance.
