Nutrition Research Column – July 2026 – Gut Check – Probiotics for Tactical Readiness and Resilience
by Drew Gonzalez, PhD, CISSN, CSCS, TSAC-F Sheyla Leon
TSAC Report
August 2026
Vol 82, Issue 1
This nutrition research column explores how probiotics support gut health, immune function, recovery, and occupational readiness in tactical athletes and first responders.
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This article originally appeared in TSAC Report, the NSCA’s quarterly, online-only publication geared toward the training of tactical athletes, operators, and facilitators. It provides research-based articles, performance drills, and conditioning techniques for operational, tactical athletes. The TSAC Report is only available for NSCA Members. Read more articles from TSAC Report
REFERENCES
1. Agans, RT, Giles, GE, Goodson, MS, Karl, JP, Leyh, S, Mumy, KL, et al. Evaluation of probiotics for warfighter health and performance. Frontiers in Nutrition 7: 70, 2020.
2. Bressa, C, Bailén-Andrino, M, and Pérez-Santiago, J. Differences in gut microbiota profile between women with active lifestyle and sedentary women. PloS One 12(2): e0171352, 2017.
3. Clarke, SF, Murphy, EF, O’Sullivan, O, Lucey, A, Humphreys, M, Hogan, A, et al. Exercise and associated dietary extremes impact on gut microbial diversity. Gut 63(12): 1913-1920, 2014.
4. Estaki, M, Pither, J, Baumeister, P, Little, J, Gill, S, Ghosh, S, et al. Cardiorespiratory fitness as a predictor of intestinal microbial diversity and distinct metagenomic functions. Microbiome 4(1): 42, 2016.
5. Gonzalez, DE, McAllister, MJ, Waldman, HS, Ferrando, A, Joyce, J, Barringer, ND, et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: Tactical athlete nutrition. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 19(1): 267-315, 2022.
6. Jäger, R, Mohr, AE, and Pugh, JN. Recent advances in clinical probiotic research for sport. Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care 23(6): 428-436, 2020.
7. Jäger, R, Mohr, AE, Carpenter, KC, Kerksick, C, Purpura, M, Moussa, A, et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: Probiotics. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 16(1): 62, 2019.
8. Latif, A, Shehzad, A, Niazi, S, Zahid, A, Ashraf, W, Iqbal, MW, et al. Probiotics: Mechanism of action, health benefits and their application in food industries. Frontiers in Microbiology 14: 1216674, 2023.
9. Maathuis, A, Keller, D, and Farmer, S. Survival and metabolic activity of the GanedenBC30 strain of Bacillus coagulans in a dynamic in vitro model of the stomach and small intestine. Beneficial Microbes 1(1): 31-36, 2009.
10. Mohr, AE, Jäger, R, Carpenter, KC, Kerksick, C, Purpura, M, Townsend, J, et al. The athletic gut microbiota. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 17(1): 24, 2020.
11. Mörkl, S, Lackner, S, Müller, W, Gorkiewicz, G, Kashofer, K, Oberascher, A, et al. Gut microbiota and body composition in anorexia nervosa inpatients in comparison to athletes, overweight, obese, and normal weight controls. International Journal of Eating Disorders 50(12): 1421-1431, 2017.
12. Plaza-Diaz, J, Ruiz-Ojeda, FJ, Gil-Campos, M, and Gil, A. Mechanisms of action of probiotics. Advances in Nutrition 10(suppl 1): S49-S66, 2019.
13. Shen, Y, Fan, N, Ma, SX, Cheng, X, Yang, X, and Wang, G. Gut microbiota dysbiosis: Pathogenesis, diseases, prevention, and therapy. MedComm 6(5): e70168, 2025.
14. Stecker, RA, Moon, JM, Russo, TJ, Ratliff, K, Mumford, P, Jäger, R, et al. Bacillus coagulans GBI-30, 6086 improves amino acid absorption from milk protein. Nutrition and Metabolism 17(1): 93, 2020.
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Andrew Gonzalez, PhD, MS, CSCS, TSAC-F
Customer Service, Sam Houston State University
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Drew Gonzalez is a Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in the Department of Kinesiology and the Director of the Occupational, Performance, and Nutrition ...
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Topics:
Exercise Science Nutrition Program design Organization and Administration Safety Basic Pathophysiology and Science of Health Status or Condition and Disorder or Disease Professional Development
Exercise Science Nutrition Program design Organization and Administration Safety Basic Pathophysiology and Science of Health Status or Condition and Disorder or Disease Professional Development
Keywords:
Weizmannia Coagulans Physiological Stress Immune Health Recovery Microbiome Nutrition Tactical Performance
Weizmannia Coagulans Physiological Stress Immune Health Recovery Microbiome Nutrition Tactical Performance
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