A Probiotic That Turns Stress Into Power
Every athlete knows the wall. It comes in different forms: legs locking up on a long run, your breath tightening during a final set, your body resisting as if it’s reached a limit you didn’t sign up for. The villain is almost always the same: lactic acid. It builds up as your body pushes into anaerobic effort, flooding muscles, signaling the onset of fatigue. For decades, we’ve been taught to clear it, avoid it, buffer it.
But what if we’ve been thinking about this all wrong?
What if lactic acid isn’t a toxic byproduct, but a missed opportunity?
Recent breakthroughs in microbiome science are reshaping the landscape of health and performance, far beyond sports. These advances are now driving innovation in fatigue reduction, cellular energy, longevity, and biohacking, opening up entirely new frontiers in wellness and personalized health optimization.
At the heart of this shift is a gut microbe called Veillonella atypica, and a groundbreaking probiotic supplement named VNella. Their secret weapon? A process that converts exercise-induced lactic acid into an elite performance fuel: propionate.
This isn’t biohacking with hype. It’s biohacking with biology. And it could change the way we think about recovery, longevity, and what it means to fuel the human body.
The Problem with Power: How Stress Limits Performance
During high-intensity physical activity, your body shifts from aerobic to anaerobic metabolism. Oxygen can no longer meet your energy demands fast enough, so your body turns to a backup system that burns glucose and produces lactate (often mistakenly called lactic acid). This is normal. In fact, for a time, it helps you keep moving.
But when lactate accumulates faster than it can be cleared, things break down. Muscle pH drops. That burning sensation kicks in. Fatigue sets in, and eventually, you slow down, not for lack of willpower, but from a biochemical bottleneck.
Traditionally, the goal of high-performance communities or anyone affected by lactic acid accumulation (including but not limited to individuals focused on fatigue management, recovery, longevity, or overall metabolic health) has been to delay or counteract the buildup of lactic acid. Supplements, alkalizing drinks, ice baths - they’ve all aimed at suppressing the consequences of lactate overload.
But no one really asked: what if we could use it instead?
That’s the question researchers at Harvard’s Wyss Institute asked when they studied the gut microbiomes of elite marathoners. The answer led them to an unlikely hero.
Veillonella: The Microbe That Eats Your Fatigue
In the days following the Boston Marathon, researchers noticed something strange. A particular bacterial strain, Veillonella atypica, had increased in abundance in the gut microbiomes of runners. What made this fascinating wasn’t just the timing. It was the behavior of the microbe itself.
Unlike most gut bacteria that feed on fiber, Veillonella consumes lactate.
More precisely, it uses the lactic acid that leaks into your bloodstream and eventually into your gut during intense physical effort. What happens next is biochemical magic. Veillonella ferments the lactate and produces short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), most notably propionate.
And this is where the magic kicks into high gear.
Propionate: From Exercise Fuel to Longevity Signal
Propionate isn’t just an energy molecule; it may be a biomarker of healthy aging and metabolic resilience.
Once absorbed into the bloodstream, propionate becomes a multi-system player:
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It supports mitochondrial function, increasing the efficiency of oxygen utilization, a key determinant of VO₂ max.
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It exerts anti-inflammatory effects, especially important for muscle recovery and immune regulation.
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It interacts with gut-brain pathways to improve fatigue tolerance, cognitive clarity, and energy balance.
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And most compelling: elevated circulating levels of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), especially propionate, have been linked to increased physical activity, improved glucose uptake, enhanced muscle signaling, and even stimulation of GLP-1 production. In older adults, higher propionate levels are also associated with reduced frailty and greater biological youth, making it a key player in both performance and longevity.
VO₂ max, your body’s peak ability to consume oxygen, has long been considered one of the strongest predictors of longevity. A higher VO₂ max isn’t just good for running PRs. It correlates with lower risk of cardiovascular disease, neurodegeneration, and mortality from all causes. It is, quite literally, a snapshot of how efficiently your body uses oxygen to live.
By enhancing mitochondrial function and buffering the fatigue caused by lactate buildup, propionate may help sustain and even improve VO₂ max. This makes V•Nella not just a performance enhancer, but a potential tool for preserving function over time.
When viewed this way, V•Nella is less of a supplement and more of a gut-based aging intervention. It’s not just about running faster. It’s about staying stronger, longer.
V•Nella: From Elite Microbe to Everyday Performance Tool
This research didn’t stay in the lab. It became the foundation for V•Nella, the first and only clinically validated probiotic supplement based on Veillonella atypica. Unlike traditional probiotics that support digestion, V•Nella has one specific mission: turn lactic acid into propionate. And it does so in a delayed-release capsule designed to survive the harsh environment of the upper GI tract and reach the colon, where Veillonella thrives.
This makes V•Nella the first all natural “lactic acid metabolizer” on the market, a supplement that works with your body’s natural output, not against it.
In clinical trials and pilot studies:
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V•Nella users showed improved anaerobic performance after just a few weeks.
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Participants reported less fatigue, faster recovery, and consistency in endurance levels.
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One placebo-controlled study over 8 weeks showed a significant improvement in self-reported energy and physical activity.
And it’s not just for elite athletes. While VNella has been used by:
- Cyclists and CrossFitters looking to improve endurance and delay fatigue
- Weightlifters aiming to sustain energy during high-volume training
It has also benefited:
- Busy professionals and parents managing daily fatigue
- Older adults seeking to maintain stamina, mobility, and reduce soreness
Whether you’re chasing a podium or just trying to power through your day, VNella is designed to support energy, recovery, and resilience.
The Gut-Muscle Feedback Loop
The implications go beyond performance. What VNella taps into is a feedback loop that has long existed but remained unused.
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Exercise produces lactic acid.
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A significant portion of that acid travels to the gut.
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Veillonella atypica digests it, producing propionate.
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Propionate re-enters the bloodstream and fuels muscles.
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Energy is restored, and the cycle continues.
This loop transforms your gut from a passive digestive organ into an active energy-processing engine. It’s the kind of elegant, circular biology that evolution favors , and science is only now learning to optimize.
The Future of Energy Lives in Your Gut
We’re entering a new era in human performance , one not based on chemical stimulants or artificial hacks, but on the microbiological reality of the human body. The idea that your gut could transform fatigue into fuel isn’t science fiction.
It’s science fact.
It’s V•Nella.
It’s stress recycling.
Its performance reimagined.
It’s running not away from the wall, but straight through it, with your gut powering the final push.
References
1. Veillonella atypica and Lactic Acid Metabolism in Athletes, Scheiman, J., Luber, J.M., Chavkin, T.A. et al. (2019). Meta-omics analysis of elite athletes identifies a performance-enhancing microbe that functions via lactate metabolism. Nature Medicine, 25(7), 1104–1109. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-019-0485-4
2. Short-Chain Fatty Acids and Human Metabolism, Koh, A., De Vadder, F., Kovatcheva-Datchary, P., & Bäckhed, F. (2016). From Dietary Fiber to Host Physiology: Short-Chain Fatty Acids as Key Bacterial Metabolites. Cell, 165(6), 1332–1345. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2016.05.041
3. Propionate and Mitochondrial Function, den Besten, G. et al. (2013). Short-chain fatty acids protect against high-fat diet-induced obesity via a PPARγ-dependent switch from lipogenesis to fat oxidation. Diabetes, 64(7), 2398–2408. https://doi.org/10.2337/db13-0827
4. VO₂ Max as a Predictor of Mortality, Kodama, S. et al. (2009). Cardiorespiratory fitness as a quantitative predictor of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular events: a meta-analysis. JAMA, 301(19), 2024–2035. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2009.681
5. SCFAs, Physical Performance, and Aging, Lustgarten, M.S. (2021). The Role of Short-Chain Fatty Acids in the Aging Process. Gerontology, 67(1), 105–117. https://doi.org/10.1159/000508132
6. Gut-Muscle Axis and Exercise, Ni Lochlainn, M., Bowyer, R.C.E., & Steves, C.J. (2018). Aging and the microbiome: the role of dysbiosis and loss of microbial diversity in aging-related diseases. The Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging, 22(8), 1039–1051. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-018-1062-7
7. VNella Clinical Trial Results (FitBiomics) https://fitbiomics.com/products/vnella-lactic-acid-metabolizer-for-fatigue-endurance