The Role of Fiber in Athletic Performance: A Missing Link in Sports Nutrition
Date
2-19-2025
Faculty Mentor
Majid Koozehchian, Kinesiology; Gina Mabrey, Kinesiology
Files
Submission Type
Conference Proceeding
Location
10:30-10:40 am | Houston Cole Library, 11th Floor
While carbohydrate intake is a key focus in sports nutrition, fiber is often neglected—even though it plays a critical role in gut health, performance, and recovery. This is intriguing because changes in fiber intake are a common approach in sport nutrition to optimize GI comfort during exercise and to achieve body mass or composition goals. Beyond its role in digestion, fiber is crucial for overall health—especially for athletes with high protein intakes, who may experience gut imbalances if fiber is lacking. Current sports nutrition recommendations emphasize limiting fiber intake before exercise to minimize GI distress. However, sports dietitians commonly manipulate fiber for various athletic needs, often based on clinical experience rather than comprehensive research studies. The absence of research emphasizes the need for evidence-based fiber recommendations specific to athletes. Although research is still developing, emerging evidence suggests that adequate fiber intake supports gut microbiome stability, which may contribute to better health and performance. Further, fiber classification goes beyond the standard soluble versus insoluble distinction and includes fermentable versus non-fermentable fiber and microbiota-accessible carbohydrates or MACs. Understanding these classifications is necessary for understanding fiber and gut bacteria interactions. MACs are important substrates, especially for healthy gut bacteria, promoting diverse production of short-chain fatty acids or SCFAs. SCFAs, such as butyrate, become important in gut barrier integrity, reducing inflammation and influencing various physiological functions. The 'athlete's dietary behaviors, like the intake of a high amount of protein and carbohydrate manipulation, could affect both the intake of fiber and the gut microbiome. Despite consuming high amounts of protein, most athletes fail to meet general dietary fiber recommendations. The association between consumption, fiber intake, and gut microbiota is complex, with an adequate amount of fiber potentially offsetting the negative effects of high protein diets on microbial diversity. It is recommended that athletes gradually increase their fiber intake to about 30 grams per day, including two grams of beta-glucan. Beta-glucan is a soluble fiber that may offer inflammation-controlling benefits and improve muscle strength and endurance. This highlights the need for individualized fiber recommendations since every athlete responds differently. Personalized recommendations for fiber should account for pre-existing GI issues, exercise intensity, and individual differences in microbiome composition. Sports nutrition guidelines should evolve to include specific, research-backed fiber recommendations that account for gut health, performance, and individual needs. Although more research is needed to fully understand the relationship between fiber, gut microbiota, and athletic performance, it is certain from current evidence that fiber can no longer be forgotten in the athlete's diet.
Description
Please note: no video is available for this presentation.
While carbohydrate intake is a key focus in sports nutrition, fiber is often neglected—even though it plays a critical role in gut health, performance, and recovery. This is intriguing because changes in fiber intake are a common approach in sport nutrition to optimize GI comfort during exercise and to achieve body mass or composition goals. Beyond its role in digestion, fiber is crucial for overall health—especially for athletes with high protein intakes, who may experience gut imbalances if fiber is lacking. Current sports nutrition recommendations emphasize limiting fiber intake before exercise to minimize GI distress. However, sports dietitians commonly manipulate fiber for various athletic needs, often based on clinical experience rather than comprehensive research studies. The absence of research emphasizes the need for evidence-based fiber recommendations specific to athletes. Although research is still developing, emerging evidence suggests that adequate fiber intake supports gut microbiome stability, which may contribute to better health and performance. Further, fiber classification goes beyond the standard soluble versus insoluble distinction and includes fermentable versus non-fermentable fiber and microbiota-accessible carbohydrates or MACs. Understanding these classifications is necessary for understanding fiber and gut bacteria interactions. MACs are important substrates, especially for healthy gut bacteria, promoting diverse production of short-chain fatty acids or SCFAs. SCFAs, such as butyrate, become important in gut barrier integrity, reducing inflammation and influencing various physiological functions. The 'athlete's dietary behaviors, like the intake of a high amount of protein and carbohydrate manipulation, could affect both the intake of fiber and the gut microbiome. Despite consuming high amounts of protein, most athletes fail to meet general dietary fiber recommendations. The association between consumption, fiber intake, and gut microbiota is complex, with an adequate amount of fiber potentially offsetting the negative effects of high protein diets on microbial diversity. It is recommended that athletes gradually increase their fiber intake to about 30 grams per day, including two grams of beta-glucan. Beta-glucan is a soluble fiber that may offer inflammation-controlling benefits and improve muscle strength and endurance. This highlights the need for individualized fiber recommendations since every athlete responds differently. Personalized recommendations for fiber should account for pre-existing GI issues, exercise intensity, and individual differences in microbiome composition. Sports nutrition guidelines should evolve to include specific, research-backed fiber recommendations that account for gut health, performance, and individual needs. Although more research is needed to fully understand the relationship between fiber, gut microbiota, and athletic performance, it is certain from current evidence that fiber can no longer be forgotten in the athlete's diet.
Keywords
student research, kinesiology
Rights
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Disciplines
Kinesiology
Recommended Citation
Jones, Chloe, "The Role of Fiber in Athletic Performance: A Missing Link in Sports Nutrition" (2025). JSU Student Symposium 2025. 66.
https://digitalcommons.jsu.edu/ce_jsustudentsymp_2025/66
