Thirsty (for knowledge) Thursday: Pooping Helps Racing!

Triathlete Mag recently wrote about a study about pooping. I love it. Here was the study's title:

Their goal was to "determine the effect of rectal defecation on endurance performance and blood supply to the prefrontal brain and sub-navel regions of elite triathletes." Or in other words: does pooping help you race faster? As someone who prides himself with his pre-race porta-potty stops, this is BIG NEWS for me.

"We were surprised to find that after defecation, the blood distribution and oxygen saturation in the prefrontal cortex and intestines were even lower compared to the non-defecation condition," Dr. Chen-Chan explained. "In our paper, we infer that defecation may increase the oxygen demand in other regions of the brain and enhance the tolerance to hypoxia in the lower gastrointestinal tract."

To break it down, after defecating, blood flow to the prefrontal region of the brain increased, which is essential for high-intensity and longer lasting workouts. During exercise, the brain becomes increasingly deoxygenated, therefore it demands more oxygen to maintain high levels of energy output. Red blood cells, which carry oxygen to important organs in the body, including the brain, are key in this process. When your brain is not focused on bowel functions, it can concentrate more on transporting oxygen to vital organs, such as your brain, lungs, and heart.

They used a near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) device to examine blood oxygen distribution, and they found that during high-intensity exercise, the lower gastrointestinal region experienced hypoxia and ischemia. This had nothing to do with if the athlete pooped or not, but it tied into bloodflow to the lower intestine. Dr. Chen-Chan noted that they needed to do further research in this field, but it's interesting to note that there's a tie-in between race-day efforts and what may or may not be cooking in your gut.

The study summerizes their conclusion as this:

Our results suggest that improved exercise performance after defecation is associated with greater blood availability to compensate deoxygenation in the prefrontal brain region during exercise. Further investigation is needed to examine the role of increasing sub-navel oxygen consumption in the performance improvement after defecation.

Dr. Chen-Chan wrapped it up by adding "we recommend that athletes engage in defecation approximately 90 minutes before a competition, as it can have beneficial effects on brain-gut function during the sporting event." That's all more the reason to show up early to a race before the bigger crowds to have a... good time(?) in a clean porta-potty.

For more "Thirsty Thursday" posts that highlight workouts, body science, and all kinds of interesting information, CLICK HERE. As always, back with some "Friday Funnies" tomorrow.