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The Athlete's Gut: The Inside Science of Digestion, Nutrition, and Stomach Distress
The Athlete’s Gut is an in-depth look at the GI system that offers a much-needed resource for troubleshooting GI problems.
The majority of endurance athletes suffer from some kind of gut problem during training and competition. Symptoms like nausea, cramping, bloating, side stitches, and the need to defecate can negatively impact an athlete’s performance. Why are gut problems so common during exercise? And what can athletes do to prevent and manage gut symptoms that occur during training and competition?
The Athlete’s Gut makes sense of the complicated gastrointestinal tract and offers solutions to the tummy troubles that keep athletes from enjoying and excelling in their sport. Written by Patrick Wilson, professor of exercise science and registered dietitian, this gut guide for athletes combines the latest research on exercise and the gut with humorous descriptions and relatable stories. Athletes will better understand the inner workings of their own gut and will be equipped to make the needed changes to diet and exercise to perform—and feel—better.
The majority of endurance athletes suffer from some kind of gut problem during training and competition. Symptoms like nausea, cramping, bloating, side stitches, and the need to defecate can negatively impact an athlete’s performance. Why are gut problems so common during exercise? And what can athletes do to prevent and manage gut symptoms that occur during training and competition?
The Athlete’s Gut makes sense of the complicated gastrointestinal tract and offers solutions to the tummy troubles that keep athletes from enjoying and excelling in their sport. Written by Patrick Wilson, professor of exercise science and registered dietitian, this gut guide for athletes combines the latest research on exercise and the gut with humorous descriptions and relatable stories. Athletes will better understand the inner workings of their own gut and will be equipped to make the needed changes to diet and exercise to perform—and feel—better.
320 pages, Paperback
Published May 12, 2020
43 people are currently reading
378 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
January 22, 2022
Although I personally think 95% of nutrition books are TRASH based on bold, unfounded claims, cherry picking data, or limited data, this book is--HALLELUJAH--not one of them. The author takes the time to explain the strength of the research behind certain dietary claims related to exercise. The research in this book will likely only keep the interest of those who are serious endurance athletes or folks who work in the sports nutrition/exercise science space. I'm not a serious athlete by any means, but I do half marathons occasionally and am obsessed with any evidence-based info I can find about the gut. In my summary, I've focused on what information will help me train for races:
-Avoid foods that slow gastric emptying 2-4 hours before a long run/race: sizeable quantities of fat, fiber (2 hours before), solid-protein foods (2-4 hours), and concentrated carbohydrate beverages
-Despite recommendations to choose low fiber foods for pre-event meals, moderate intakes of fiber are unlikely to cause major gut problems if a meal is eaten more than two hours before exercise.
-Carbohydrate consumption doesn't help boost performance in events less than one hour because you likely haven't run out of glycogen stores. Typically, it takes 60-90 minutes to run out of glycogen stores.
-For 1-2 hour runs/races: 30-45 g of carbohydrates per hour is enough to prevent fatigue without overloading the gut. If you are a more intense athlete and are competing for over 2 hours, however, you may want to ingest 50-90 g. In that case, you want to do a mix of fructose and glucose because they are absorbed by different transporters in your intestine and would be less likely to overload your gut.
-Ingesting protein during performance hasn’t been shown to help improve performance.
-A high fat diet is only helpful if you are an ultraendurance athlete who does low intensity exercise that lasts many hours to days. Burning fat alone cannot provide ATP fast enough to supply all the energy needed for high intensity exercise. AKA--don't do keto if you are into high intensity exercise.
-Hydration: During non-hot/humid exercise, responding to thirst cues is sufficient. When exercising longer than 2 hours, recommendations for hydration get a little murkier because there aren't a lot of studies to go off. Athletes are recommended to obtain estimates of their sweat rates and try to replace at least 50-75 percent of their sweat during exercise when sweat rates are expected to be between 17-34 oz. Anymore than that will likely result in gut distress.
-Sodium: "Sodium supplementation is in many ways one of the most overhyped sports nutrition strategies out there." Consuming a sodium-rich beverage 1-2 hours before exercise can be effective at increasing body water stores. If you decide to consume a concentrated sodium drink to fluid load, start consuming the beverage 2 hours before competition, taking 3-4 oz servings every 10 min for one hour. However, sodium ingestion during exercise doesn't elicit many positive performance effects. Sodium ingestion also stimulates the drive to drink...which is a great reason why sports beverage makers add it to their products. ;)
-Muscle cramps: Taper your training volume going into competition, and don't start out out of the gate too fast during endurance races. Stretching and massage may help. People often believe that dehydration and electrolyte imbalances lead to exercise-associated muscle cramps. Research hasn't shown that to be the case. He addresses the pickle juice myth and how its sodium content supposedly helps with cramps. Pickle juice can moderately help with cramps. However, the theory with pickle juice is that the vinegar in pickle juice is responsible for cramp-relieving effects, not the actual sodium. "Vinegar is believed to activate receptors in the mouth and upper gut that quiet the neurons that send signals to your muscles." Turns out other food ingredients can do this as well: ginger, cinnamon, mustard and chili peppers.
-Avoid foods that slow gastric emptying 2-4 hours before a long run/race: sizeable quantities of fat, fiber (2 hours before), solid-protein foods (2-4 hours), and concentrated carbohydrate beverages
-Despite recommendations to choose low fiber foods for pre-event meals, moderate intakes of fiber are unlikely to cause major gut problems if a meal is eaten more than two hours before exercise.
-Carbohydrate consumption doesn't help boost performance in events less than one hour because you likely haven't run out of glycogen stores. Typically, it takes 60-90 minutes to run out of glycogen stores.
-For 1-2 hour runs/races: 30-45 g of carbohydrates per hour is enough to prevent fatigue without overloading the gut. If you are a more intense athlete and are competing for over 2 hours, however, you may want to ingest 50-90 g. In that case, you want to do a mix of fructose and glucose because they are absorbed by different transporters in your intestine and would be less likely to overload your gut.
-Ingesting protein during performance hasn’t been shown to help improve performance.
-A high fat diet is only helpful if you are an ultraendurance athlete who does low intensity exercise that lasts many hours to days. Burning fat alone cannot provide ATP fast enough to supply all the energy needed for high intensity exercise. AKA--don't do keto if you are into high intensity exercise.
-Hydration: During non-hot/humid exercise, responding to thirst cues is sufficient. When exercising longer than 2 hours, recommendations for hydration get a little murkier because there aren't a lot of studies to go off. Athletes are recommended to obtain estimates of their sweat rates and try to replace at least 50-75 percent of their sweat during exercise when sweat rates are expected to be between 17-34 oz. Anymore than that will likely result in gut distress.
-Sodium: "Sodium supplementation is in many ways one of the most overhyped sports nutrition strategies out there." Consuming a sodium-rich beverage 1-2 hours before exercise can be effective at increasing body water stores. If you decide to consume a concentrated sodium drink to fluid load, start consuming the beverage 2 hours before competition, taking 3-4 oz servings every 10 min for one hour. However, sodium ingestion during exercise doesn't elicit many positive performance effects. Sodium ingestion also stimulates the drive to drink...which is a great reason why sports beverage makers add it to their products. ;)
-Muscle cramps: Taper your training volume going into competition, and don't start out out of the gate too fast during endurance races. Stretching and massage may help. People often believe that dehydration and electrolyte imbalances lead to exercise-associated muscle cramps. Research hasn't shown that to be the case. He addresses the pickle juice myth and how its sodium content supposedly helps with cramps. Pickle juice can moderately help with cramps. However, the theory with pickle juice is that the vinegar in pickle juice is responsible for cramp-relieving effects, not the actual sodium. "Vinegar is believed to activate receptors in the mouth and upper gut that quiet the neurons that send signals to your muscles." Turns out other food ingredients can do this as well: ginger, cinnamon, mustard and chili peppers.
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June 4, 2022Fantastic. Well researched, chatty but incredibly scientific, funny but not goofy. I love that Wilson wrote an ode to Mary Roach in the back because it's so obvious throughout that he's inspired by her work, and this is definitely more reserved than the way she writes, but it has shades of that same reverence-but-not-worship of the technical.
January 17, 2026
This book is a great way to expand one's knowledge about nutrition in sport, and most importantly, FACT BASED nutrition during sport activities. As an amateur cyclist I find this topic extremely important, so I can stay healthy, motivated and improve my performance over time. Whether you are an amateur like me or someone with more professional goals, you'll benefit from this book for sure.
May 4, 2020
Very good and comprehensive book about digestion and nutrition for athletes. About as evidence based as a non scientific publication could be. Lots of good tips and interesting tidbits. Would recommend for any endurance athlete trying to figure out the in-race fueling routine.
May 25, 2023
Took me forever to finish this because I kept dipping in and out. Thorough exploration of the topic, and I learned a couple things, but most things I knew already from years of running. Would recommend to anyone who has issues, though!
May 15, 2025
So much good information but it is so pretentiously written (I mean come on, put away the thesaurus and write it as if middle schoolers or high schoolers are going to read it, the way we were taught in grad school)
No one is going to read this other than other Dietitians which means all of this very important information will not be used to combat the bro science out there! (The bros won’t make it past the first chapter!)
No one is going to read this other than other Dietitians which means all of this very important information will not be used to combat the bro science out there! (The bros won’t make it past the first chapter!)
June 17, 2020
As a runner who suffers from GI issues, I was thrilled to see this title. I wasn't disappointed. This book is an in-depth exam (not unlike a colonoscopy) into all the reasons for GI issues that plague athletes. For some readers, it might be too detailed. But if you are looking for answers to your distress, you just might find some here.
December 28, 2024
This was the best book I’ve read in my career thus far about the science of digestion, stomach issues, and nutrition as they specifically pertain to athletes.
Dr. Wilson gives an excellent overview of the physiology of the gut, and he does so in a way that is easy for non-medical professionals (aka people like me) to understand. He then focused on two main things that impact an athlete’s gut: Nutrition and Psychology.
When athletes are interested in hiring me for coaching services, one of the things that they are most curious about and/or seeking in a coach is education about nutrition and workout fueling. The reason for this is quite simple: gut issues are extremely prevalent among humans (and therefore athletes), and every athlete is an individual. Therefore, finding answers and tangible solutions to the gut issues they experience can be challenging on their own, and many athletes accurately recognize that they might need an outside person to help them with this.
While some people claim that they are experts in both coaching and nutrition, I’ve found that it is nearly impossible (if not completely impossible) to be an expert in two fields of study like this. My professional specialty does lie in coaching (not nutrition), but that being said, I do try to help athletes with broad recommendations, and I base these recommendations both on the limited nutrition education I do have and on the experience I’ve gained from working with hundreds of individual athletes over the years.
"The Athlete's Gut" gave me a lot of education about strategies and interventions I can recommend for athletes, as well as really clear guidance on when it’s time for an athlete to seek a nutrition or medical expert for any gut issues they may be experiencing.
Dr. Wilson gives an excellent overview of the physiology of the gut, and he does so in a way that is easy for non-medical professionals (aka people like me) to understand. He then focused on two main things that impact an athlete’s gut: Nutrition and Psychology.
When athletes are interested in hiring me for coaching services, one of the things that they are most curious about and/or seeking in a coach is education about nutrition and workout fueling. The reason for this is quite simple: gut issues are extremely prevalent among humans (and therefore athletes), and every athlete is an individual. Therefore, finding answers and tangible solutions to the gut issues they experience can be challenging on their own, and many athletes accurately recognize that they might need an outside person to help them with this.
While some people claim that they are experts in both coaching and nutrition, I’ve found that it is nearly impossible (if not completely impossible) to be an expert in two fields of study like this. My professional specialty does lie in coaching (not nutrition), but that being said, I do try to help athletes with broad recommendations, and I base these recommendations both on the limited nutrition education I do have and on the experience I’ve gained from working with hundreds of individual athletes over the years.
"The Athlete's Gut" gave me a lot of education about strategies and interventions I can recommend for athletes, as well as really clear guidance on when it’s time for an athlete to seek a nutrition or medical expert for any gut issues they may be experiencing.
August 29, 2025
Science is often funnily the kind of field where the action -> reaction pipeline makes you go "well, duh!" which is why I think most people would get, say, 95% of the effect by reading just the chapter-end summaries.
The content's good though, for sure. The humor in this book didn't add much for me, I'd say I usually found it mildly annoying, but that's totally just my opinion.
Basically: I didn't learn much that's both new to me and realistically applicable, but the author certainly tries their best to make sure you're not missing anything. Good illustrations!
The content's good though, for sure. The humor in this book didn't add much for me, I'd say I usually found it mildly annoying, but that's totally just my opinion.
Basically: I didn't learn much that's both new to me and realistically applicable, but the author certainly tries their best to make sure you're not missing anything. Good illustrations!
June 21, 2020
Great book with useful information for athletes looking for help with their gut issues. Provides a foundation of the GI anatomy and mechanisms. This allows the reader to understand how what they are placing in their mouths is being absorbed by the small intestines and colon to be distributed to the rest of the body. Author provided enough humor to help the reader not feel as if they are reading a textbook.
June 29, 2020
Dr. Wilson did a great job writing this book! Using humor and evidence, this will be an easy and informative read for any athlete or practitioner to add to their bookshelf as an additional resource to keep referring to. The book is filled with practical tips given for practitioners and athletes to utilize and understand how the gastrointestinal system can impact health and performance.
December 28, 2022
For the most part this book was easy to read. There was still a lot of medical/scientific jargon used but the author made sure to keep the tone light and made some funny references to pop culture (ie. The Office) which I appreciated. There is a lot to learn though so not sure how much info I actually retained. But definitely an interesting read!
May 21, 2020
Dr. Patrick Wilson wrote a comprehensive, yet easy to read and understand, overview of nutrition and how it relates to athletics. He even provides all of his sources for further research.
So far, this has been the best book on the subject that I've ever read.
So far, this has been the best book on the subject that I've ever read.
January 5, 2021
I had taken Anatomy & Physiology and Microbiology in college at mid-life and had average grades. This book is thick with that but is also light-hearted and entertaining. Too dry for me. I can't give it a bad rating but I felt it good to give fair warning.
February 18, 2022
Super informative and surprisingly entertaining! An effective blend of science, layman's terms, anecdotes and references to "The Office."
July 24, 2023
I like it because it’s not pedantic, just delivering what it promises: accurate information.
August 14, 2023
I am a runner with severe digestive distress. This was great and I have lots to things to implement in my diet going forward!
October 27, 2023
Interesting, but not sure I learned incredibly much. Not sure what I was expecting, but a lot of it was repetition of existing knowledge.
February 22, 2025
Good overview of niche topic
March 12, 2023
It is a well structured book.
very informative, good informations as well but trash.
comprehensive and i liked the fact that he actually disclaimed prior he start the chapter.
But at the last 20% of the book, i kinda lost interest.... i finished it anyway.
very informative, good informations as well but trash.
comprehensive and i liked the fact that he actually disclaimed prior he start the chapter.
But at the last 20% of the book, i kinda lost interest.... i finished it anyway.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews