Synergistic benefits of probiotics and omega-3 for upper body strength 💪

Evidence of gut-muscle connection?

Synbiotic Supplementation with Probiotics and Omega-3 Fatty Acids Enhances Upper-Body Muscle Strength in Elite Swimmers: Evidence for Gut–Muscle Axis Modulation During Race-Pace Training

Study Details

This new study recruited 60 elite male swimmers to an 8-week study, directed to consume either…

🐟 Omega-3 (500 mg EPA + 180 mg DHA)

🧫 Probiotics (45 billion CFU)

🐟🧫 Omega-3 + Probiotics (“synbiotic”)

💊 Placebo

During the 8-weeks, athletes consumed their products daily alongside specific ultra-short race-pace training 🗓️

There were also two additional groups…

⚡️ No supplement intervention (ultra-short race-pace training only)

🏊‍♂️ No sprint specific training programme (normal training only)

Here is what they found ⬇️

Key Findings

Compared to other groups, the synbiotic group showed greater improvements in…

✅ High-velocity measures

✅ Sprint-relevant measures

✅ 180°/s torque and power

✅ Rate of force development

✅ Shorter time-to-peak torque

Effect sizes were in the medium–large range 📈

Conclusion

Combining omega-3 and probiotic supplementation alongside sprint training enhances dynamic (explosive) upper-body strength in elite sprint swimmers 📈

Further studies are required to establish if these outcomes are replicable across different sports or if there is evidence of gut–muscle-axis adaptations 🔍

Reference

https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/17/18/2959

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