A new article published in Nutrients discussed that classic heat stroke (CHS) primarily impacts incapacitated individuals – such as, elderly, infants and chronically ill, whose thermoregulatory responses are insufficient to compensate against increased ambient temperatures. Meanwhile, exertional heat stroke (EHS) affects some individuals engaged in arduous physical activity – for example, athletes, military personnel and firefighters.

The authors elaborated that EHS – a life-threatening medical condition involving thermoregulatory failure, is the most severe condition along a continuum of heat-related illnesses. Current EHS policy guidance principally advocates a thermoregulatory management approach, despite growing recognition that gastrointestinal (GI) microbial translocation contributes to disease pathophysiology. Contemporary research has focused to understand the relevance of GI barrier integrity and strategies to maintain it during periods of exertional-heat stress.

This article stated that strenuous exercise is strongly characterized to disrupt GI barrier integrity, and aspects of this response correlate to the corresponding magnitude of thermal strain. The etiology of GI barrier integrity loss following exertional-heat stress is poorly understood, though may directly relate to localized hyperthermia, splanchnic hypoperfusion-mediated ischemic injury and neuroendocrine-immune alterations.

Nutritional countermeasures to maintain GI barrier integrity following exertional-heat stress provide a promising approach to mitigate EHS. Alongside other nutritional supplements like liquid multi-transportable CHO, L-glutamine, bovine colostrum and probiotics, short-term (1–3 days) high-dose supplementation with zinc-Carnosine (ZnC) appears an attractive consideration.

Source: Nutrients. 2020 Feb 19;12(2):537. doi: 10.3390/nu12020537.