HEALTH Prioritize Your Gut for Prime Health

4. Lessen your stress levels

Stress can contribute to several gastrointestinal issues, but did you know that stress directly impacts the gut microbes in your body, too? Stress may lead to inflammation by reducing the amount of SCFAs. If you recall, SCFAs are crucial for your immunity! Chronic stress can also affect the durability of your intestinal barrier, leading to leaky gut syndrome, a condition that increases inflammation in your body.

5. Get Dirty!

By Heather Casey

intolerance.

By Dave Iltis

MOAB, Utah — Utah mountain bike racer Hannah Otto set the Fastest Known Time (FKT) on Moab’s Whole Enchilada Loop. The loop isn’t just the well known and epic 26 mile descent, it’s also the 29 mile fire road climb to the top with no shuttling involved. Otto’s time of 5:50:38 posted on October 11, 2022 beat the previous FKT of 6:46:05 set in 2017 by Slash! (on Strava).

Hannah, sponsored by Pivot and DT, worked with Competitive Cyclist to document the ride.

We caught up with Hannah and asked her some questions about the ride:

Cycling West: What made you decide to tackle the Whole Enchilada Loop?

Hannah Otto: When I first rode the Whole Enchilada trail several years ago, I absolutely fell in love. In my opinion, the trail is everything that mountain biking should be. The trail covers a wide variety of terrain from high-alpine aspen groves to desolate desert terrain. It forces a rider to constantly adapt and overcome. It takes every rider on an adventure that is sure to highlight both strengths and weaknesses. Add the climb to the top, and you add the fitness component as well. I had been dreaming of doing this FKT for a couple of years, and finally everything aligned to make it happen. My hope is that it will inspire others to go out and experience all this trail has to offer as well.

Cycling West: Have you attempted any other FKT’s?

Hannah Otto: I’ve never attempted another FKT of this magnitude before because most of my performance goals are generally set around racing. I’ve always enjoyed challenging myself on the occasional Strava QOM/KOM as a part of my training, but this was my first experience attempting an “official” FKT. I had a blast and I hope to tackle some more FKTs in the future!

Cycling West: Did you do any special preparation for the Whole Enchilada FKT?

Hannah Otto: Since I had been racing all season, I relied on all of my race experiences and training for my fitness to be high enough to tackle this challenge. My primary preparations that were specific for this FKT were planning and research oriented. I practiced the descent several times in order to dial in both my line choices and my equipment choices for this attempt.

Cycling West: Any tips for others attempting the Whole Enchilada Loop?

Hannah Otto: I think one of the most exciting things about this route is how many different variables there are to account for and consider. It seems like the planning and advice for a route like this could truly be endless. If I had to pick just one piece of advice then I would tell people that “smooth is fast.” On this type of terrain there is a tendency to want to take risks to gain a couple seconds here or there, but mistakes, crashes, and mechanics will be the slowest way to tackle this challenge. Minimizing mistakes will be the fastest way to ride.

Cycling West: What are your racing plans and goals for 2023?

Hannah Otto: In 2023 I plan to tackle the World Cup XCO Calendar with a big overarching goal of being on the Olympic team in Paris in 2024. I also plan to apply to race the Lifetime Grand Prix Series here in the United States.

FKT Stats: 55.27 miles

8,011 feet of elevation gain

Lowest Elevation: 4,004 feet

Highest Elevation: 11,146 feet

Finishing Time: 5 hours 50 minutes and 38 seconds

Previous Fastest Known Time on this route (Male or Female): 6 hours and 47 minutes

Equipment Hannah used:

Bike: Pivot Mach 4SL

Wheels: DT Swiss XRC 1200 Carbon

Wheels

Power Meter: Stages Dual-Sided

Power Meter

Cycling Computer: Stages M200

Dash Cycling Computer

Glasses: Julbo Fury Glasses

Grips: ESI Fit CR Grips

Fork: Fox Factory 34 120 mm Fork

Suspension: Fox Factory DPD Rear Shock

Dropper: Fox Transfer SL Dropper

Post Cockpit: Race Face Next SL Bars and Stem

Tires: Kenda 2.4 SCT Booster Tires

Did you know that diverse bacteria in the gut are responsible for 70% of the body’s immune function? “A whopping 70%, says David Heber, MD, Ph.D., professor emeritus of medicine at UCLA Health. He further adds that nutrition is “a key modulator of immune function.”

When this microbiome achieves balance with good bacteria, it can boost your immunity and support your emotional well-being. Your diet contributes to your mood and keeps your gut microbes happy or sad. You choose! To help you treat your gut better, here are five ways you can improve your gut health and immunity.

Five ways to improve gut health for better immunity

1. Have a field day with plantbased foods

Fruits and vegetables are beautiful on your plate but also crucial as diverse sources of fiber! Many fruits and vegetables are rich in microbiota-accessible carbohydrates (MACs), and they set the stage for diverse microbial populations in the gut. Our bodies’ superheroes are dietary fiber, gut microbes, and the gut mucosal barrier. They all work together to defeat the bad guys (pathogens) in your gut. You’ll keep these superheroes strong with a diet of varying fiber sources! If your diet lacks fiber, significant amounts of beneficial bacteria are lost, and their health benefits also get sacrificed.

2. Increase Probiotics

Probiotics are microorganisms in the gut that provide health benefits for your body. Regarding immunity, some probiotics increase lymphocytes (white blood cells) that protect against infection and inflammation. Other probiotics speed up healing from ailments while minimizing inflammation-associated tissue damage in the body. You can find probiotics in kimchi, kombucha, and other dietary supplements. These foods and supplements are an excellent way to check in with your bio-individuality! Not everyone can tolerate probiotic-rich foods (hello, bloating!), and they’re also not advisable if you experience immunosuppression or have histamine

If you can incorporate probiotics into your routine, slowly add them to your diet. Discuss probiotic supplementation with your healthcare provider first (especially if you have gastrointestinal issues).

How to introduce more probiotics into your meals:

Substitute yogurt or kefir with “live active cultures” in your cereal, oatmeal, or smoothies instead of milk.

Fermented vegetables such as sauerkraut or kimchi are a flavorful condiment and a fun side dish.

Choose naturally fermented pickles instead of vinegar pickles when making tuna salad, sandwiches, and burgers.

3. Pile on Prebiotics

Once you’ve added probiotics to your diet, you’ll need plenty of prebiotics to help your gut flourish. Prebiotics are different from probiotics as they are the non-digestible food ingredients that “feed” the probiotics.

Let’s liken the microbiome to a garden; the flowers are the probiotics, while the fertilizer, water, and sunlight that help the flowers blossom are the prebiotics. By assisting probiotics to “grow,” prebiotics ultimately determine the gut’s bacterial composition. Prebiotics also generate short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) that regulate the immune system by positively affecting the surrounding immune cells. Just like probiotics, not everyone can tolerate prebiotics well. Some people (including those with IBS) are sensitive to them, so starting with small portions of prebiotic-rich foods can be crucial to estimating your prebiotics’ tolerance.

How to incorporate prebiotics into your diet:

Cashews, pistachios, apricots, dates, figs, and watermelons are just a few of my favorite nuts and fruits with prebiotic-rich fibers.

Swap out one meat-based meal weekly for a plant-based meal made with garlic, onions, and legumes. They are all great sources of prebiotics.

Love tea? Sip on a teacup of chicory root or fennel tea to have that sweet kick of prebiotics!

It doesn’t hurt to get dirty, and here’s why: one teaspoon of soil contains one billion beneficial microbes! Overly sanitized environments significantly decrease gut microbe diversity, which is why you should get dirty!

Get Dirty:

Seek adventure hiking, trail running, and even skiing is perfect for getting dirty.

Shift one or two of your hobbies to the outdoors.

Dig deeper! Even if you don’t have a green thumb, potting a few plants is a great way to expose yourself to soil microbes!

Trust your gut

When your heart (or, in this case, your gut) tells you something isn’t right about your body, it can come through as an emotion, such as fear, or a physical symptom, such as gastrointestinal distress. Listen more often to what your gut tells you; perhaps you’ll begin to make choices more aligned with health, wellness, and overall immunity.

Heather Casey and her husband Pat own Peak State Fit Performance Center located in Salt Lake City, UT where they specialize in bike fitting, coaching, and nutrition services. Heather is a 5 X Ironman finisher including Ironman World Championships in Hawaii. Heather’s professional experience includes NSCA, Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, Precision Nutrition Master level sports nutritionist, 500-hour Yoga Instructor, PNOE Metabolic Health Specialist.