Playing a sport has an obvious effect on some parts of your body: you sweat, you may lose or gain weight, your muscles grow firmer, but it also has a significant impact on your internal organs – specifically your gastrointestinal system. Many athletes experience gastrointestinal disturbance during training, ranging from mild stitches to cramping or diarrhea. Understanding the effects of sports on your GI tract can help you alleviate potential problems. If you have severe or recurrent difficulties consult your doctor.
Blood Flow
When you are doing sports, the primary effect on the gastrointestinal tract is to divert blood from your intestines. According to the “Sport Nutrition E-Book” your body prioritizes blood flow to your working muscles while playing sports, meaning blood flow to your GI tract can be reduced by up to 80 percent. This temporarily weakens your intestinal tract, making it less resilient and less absorbent, meaning that food and fluids can pass through quickly, causing cramps or diarrhea. In some cases lack of blood flow can cause a disease called ischemic colitis, an injury of the large intestine.
Mechanics
Many sports, especially high-impact sports such as running, affect the GI tract by causing jarring or unusual contractions. “Sport and Exercise Nutrition” notes that sports including cycling and rowing often cause upper GI symptoms such as heartburn and vomiting, due to the posture and repeated flexing of the exercises; running more commonly causes lower GI problems including cramps and diarrhea. Correct training and hydration may help ease these problems, though severe cases may require anti-diarrheal or anti-emetic medication.
Food Tolerance
Participating in sports can cause problems with specific types of food as the stressed gastrointestinal tract may not be able to cope with foods that are normally well-tolerated. According to “Nutrition for Sport and Exercise” fruit juices or sports drinks with high fructose content can cause GI distress during exercise. Other common foods that may upset the system include high-fiber foods and dairy products, even if you are ordinarily able to digest them. For this reason, it is wise to limit or avoid these foods entirely before heavy training or competition.
Preventing GI Problems
You can alleviate some GI tract changes by modifying your diet and fluid intake. Registered dietician Christopher Jensen suggests a number of strategies to reduce gastrointestinal difficulties, such eating your last pre-exercise meal 3 to 4 hours before training, consuming liquid rather than solid food as a pre-exercise meal, and avoiding high-fat and high-fiber foods and eating easy-to-digest carbs and a moderate protein instead. Avoid caffeine, which increases gut activity.
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