This system is the supply chain. It determines whether your body can actually absorb the fuel, fluids, and nutrients you give it, and whether those resources are reaching the systems that need them.
Your Hydration & Digestion score reflects how well your digestive organs are breaking down food, how effectively your kidneys and GI tract are managing fluid balance, and whether your body has adequate levels of the amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals it needs to perform. If this system is stressed, you might experience GI distress during training, feel like your nutrition plan isn't translating into energy, notice cramping or fluid retention, or test low in key micronutrients despite what feels like a solid diet. This is the system that turns your fueling strategy into actual performance.
Want the full picture? Keep reading.
You can eat and drink perfectly on paper and still underperform if your body can't absorb and distribute what you're giving it. This system captures the full absorption and distribution chain: stomach acid and enzyme production, intestinal integrity, kidney filtration, gallbladder bile release, and the specific nutrient levels that matter most for endurance performance.
For endurance athletes, this system takes on extra importance because training itself stresses digestion. Blood flow redirects away from the gut during effort. GI motility changes. Electrolyte demands spike. And the volume of fuel and fluid you need to process during training and racing is significantly higher than what a sedentary body handles. This system tells you whether your supply chain is keeping up.
Stomach reflects your stomach's ability to produce acid and begin the digestive process. For athletes, stress here often relates to the timing and composition of meals around training, or to patterns of eating in a stressed (sympathetic) state.
Small Intestine is where the majority of nutrient absorption happens. Stress here means your body may not be extracting full value from the food you eat, which directly limits fuel availability.
Large Intestine handles water reclamation and waste formation. Stress here can relate to hydration patterns, bacterial balance, or elimination issues.
Gallbladder releases bile for fat digestion and waste elimination. For athletes who rely on fat as a fuel source at aerobic intensities, gallbladder function matters more than most people realize.
Renal Cortex (kidney tissue) manages blood filtration, electrolyte balance, and fluid regulation. This is central to hydration status. Stress here can reflect high filtration demands from training volume, inadequate fluid intake, or electrolyte imbalance.
Pancreas is shared with Energy Production & Metabolic Efficiency. It produces digestive enzymes and regulates blood sugar. Stress on this point in the hydration and digestion context often relates to enzyme production capacity or blood sugar management around training.
Allergies Response to Foods (Lower Body/Digestion) captures your immune system's response to food-based triggers in your GI tract. This bridges digestive and immune function and can correlate with patterns you see in your food sensitivity results.
Liver contributes through bile production, nutrient processing, and its role in managing metabolic waste.
This system has the broadest item category list on an Endurance Scan:
Hydration & Electrolyte Balance evaluates your body's fluid and mineral balance during and between training. Out-of-balance items here directly affect cramping risk, cardiac output, and thermoregulation.
Digestive Enzymes & Stomach Function covers whether your body is producing adequate enzymes to break down the food you're eating.
Intestinal & Gut Integrity reflects the state of your gut lining and barrier function. Gut permeability ("leaky gut") is common in endurance athletes due to repeated blood flow redistribution during training.
Amino Acid Deficiencies, Fatty Acid Deficiencies, Mineral Deficiencies, and Vitamin Deficiencies tell you which specific micronutrients your body is running low on. For athletes, Iron Deficiency is one of the most common and impactful findings. These categories give you a precise picture of what's missing rather than guessing with a generic multivitamin.
Composite & Pattern-Based Markers capture broader functional patterns that don't fit neatly into a single nutrient category.
GI distress during or after training: nausea, cramping, bloating, or urgency. Cramping that doesn't resolve with typical electrolyte strategies. Feeling like your nutrition plan should be working but isn't translating into energy. Puffy hands or feet during long runs. Slow recovery that seems disproportionate to the training load. Persistent low energy despite adequate caloric intake.
Energy Production & Metabolic Efficiency. Pancreas and Liver bridge both systems. You can't metabolize what you can't absorb. If this system is stressed, your metabolic system is working with less fuel than you think you're providing.
Cardiovascular & Oxygen Efficiency. Hydration status directly affects blood volume and plasma quality, which determine cardiac output. Dehydration or mineral depletion limits what your cardiovascular engine can do. Iron Deficiency specifically limits oxygen-carrying capacity.
Inflammation. Gut integrity issues and food-based immune responses can drive systemic inflammation, which diverts resources from performance and recovery.
Recovery & Fatigue Resistance. Nutrient deficiencies slow every recovery process. If your body doesn't have the raw materials it needs, repair happens slower regardless of how much rest you take.
Address deficiencies specifically. Your item categories give you a precise map of what's missing. Use your Balancing Protocol and deficiency-specific items to target the gaps rather than relying on broad supplementation.
Simplify your race-day and training nutrition. If your digestive points are stressed, reducing complexity around meals near training can help. Easy-to-digest foods, adequate spacing between eating and effort, and tested race-day protocols all reduce GI demand.
Hydrate with intention. If Renal Cortex or Hydration & Electrolyte Balance items are stressed, your hydration strategy may need recalibrating. Consistent fluid intake throughout the day matters more than trying to catch up before or after sessions.
Protect your gut lining. If Intestinal & Gut Integrity items are out of balance, gut barrier support is a priority. Avoiding unnecessary NSAIDs (which directly damage the gut lining), managing training intensity in heat, and supporting gut repair through your Balancing Protocol all help.
Follow your protocol and scan again in 6 to 8 weeks to track how your supply chain adapts.
Send us 5 supplements and we’ll test them with your scan to see if they balance with your body.
Supplements are a wonderful way to support your body as you heal. But, what if some of those supplements aren’t working or are causing your body to work harder? Send in up to 5 supplements with your Ruti Scan and we’ll test to see if they help balance you based on your results.
