Years ago I remember reading how vigorous excercise suppresses your immune system, which seemed contrary to all the other benefits that excercise brings. I'm a keen cyclist so I thought I would check it out and it turns out new research shows it isn't true. Excercise is more likely to strengthen your immune system.
We do not know exactly if or how exercise increases your immunity to certain illnesses. There are several theories. However, none of these theories have been proven. Some of these theories are:
Physical activity may help flush bacteria out of the lungs and airways. This may reduce your chance of getting a cold, flu, or other illness.
Exercise causes change in antibodies and white blood cells (WBC). WBCs are the body's immune system cells that fight disease. These antibodies or WBCs circulate more rapidly, so they could detect illnesses earlier than they might have before. However, no one knows whether these changes help prevent infections.
The brief rise in body temperature during and right after exercise may prevent bacteria from growing. This temperature rise may help the body fight infection better. (This is similar to what happens when you have a fever.)
Exercise slows down the release of stress hormones. Some stress increases the chance of illness. Lower stress hormones may protect against illness.
Exercise and Immunity
Research paper
Debunking the Myth of Exercise-Induced Immune Suppression: Redefining the Impact of Exercise on Immunological Health Across the Lifespan
19 comments:
I'll be riding my bicycle today to get some groceries. If transit is shut down, I'll be getting even more exercise.
Exercise is more likely to strengthen your immune system.
Moderate exercise, k :)
sola dosis facit venenum
Or for those here who had the good fortune to learn Greek instead of Latin,
Παν μέτρον άριστον
And regarding weightlifting,
All you really need for a muscular/toned physique (I am not called the handsome Greek for nothing, you know ;) ) is a sturdy pull/chin-up bar and just doing push-ups. Forget the sit-ups and bench exercises with weights -- nothing but trouble, as in needless aches and pains and injuries. The frequency and duration? No sooner than every 72 hours, and 30-45 mins in duration. It's not about muscle recovery but tendon and ligament recovery; they need longer time than muscles to fully recover. You get a bad case of tendinitis from over exercising and, let me tell you, you'll have a hard time lifting a freakin' paperclip let alone a dumbbell :(
The brief rise in body temperature during and right after exercise may prevent bacteria from growing. This temperature rise may help the body fight infection better. (This is similar to what happens when you have a fever.)
This video (about 15 mins) was posted yesterday by Dr. John Campbell (Brit). Excellent. Must watch. (note: anyone here who has a kid in high school -- his youtube channel is a great resource to learn biology :) )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJqSdmNNwW4
Exercise slows down the release of stress hormones. Some stress increases the chance of illness. Lower stress hormones may protect against illness
You just described the effects of caffeine, K ;) I am not a coffee drinker. It (like alcohol) makes me sluggish to the point where I feel like napping. I found that weird since coffee has caffeine and the caffeine is supposed to make you alert, not sleepy. I had assumed that it was probably due to some other compound in the coffee, and not the caffeine itself. Wrong, it was the caffeine. When my wife's mother had a heart attack a couple of years ago, the cardiologist told her that she must stop any beverage or food that contained caffeine. So, no more coffee or tea (unless decaffeinated) or dark chocolate. Why? Well she was told that not only does caffeine elevate your stress hormones (this, btw, is the source of the so-called "alertness" that caffeine brings on) but it also constricts your blood vessel. Blood flow... as in a reduction of! Now it made sense why I always felt sleepy after a cup of joe.
PS: Justine Trudeau needs to self isolate himself permanently. Totally screwed up Canada's pandemic response. And please don't get me started on the orange buffoon who occupies the White House.
Correction:
Where I said "You just described the effects of caffeine, K ", meant to say that caffeine, unlike exercise, elevates stress hormones.
They say tea lowers cortisol. But regular tea drinkers may get elevated cortisol without tea, so a cup of tea would appear to lower it.
I might cycle for about an hour to an hour and half twice a day. It's not vigorous. I cane it a bit on the way back as it's slightly down hill, but it's not stressful.
No caffeine for me, tyvm. I did my grocery run and brought back bread, marshmallows and orange juice.
What is lobster going for up there Bob?
Tea does seem to calm me down. I had an article about it my old phone. Caffeine directly stimulates cortisol but it is also calming and this indirectly lowers cortisol, as long it's not too much caffeine.
Also, I had another article on my phone which showed how neuro-protective caffeine was. I was surprised by that because raised cortisol damages the hippocampus, although not permanently as it can repair itself when stress is lowered.
The Missing Link between Coffee and Neuroprotection: Is it the Caffeine or Another Component?
https://www.obgproject.com/2018/11/15/the-missing-link-between-coffee-and-neuroprotection-is-it-the-caffeine-or-another-component/
@Matt
I don't eat lobster.
I found out that cocoa has all the health properties of coffee but without the caffeine. It has theobromine which is a mild heart stimulant, but it's not a central nervous system stimulant so it won't keep you awake. On the Internet most sites will say that cocoa does have some caffeine, but app
Apparently this is wrong.
Cocoa, like coffee, protects the liver and also reduces blood pressure. Raw cocoa is best, but alkalised cocoa case a fantastic taste. It has half the antioxidants, so just drink more of it.
Case = has.
Sweet dreams: eating chocolate prevents heart disease
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/sweet-dreams-eating-chocolate-prevents-heart-disease-201506168087
I recommend:
https://scotsburn.com/page/branded_products/category/ice_cream/product_line/by_the_scoop/product/0_63124_05082_5/
For Maritimers only:
https://www.farmersdairy.ca/en/products/scotsburn-joins-farmers/death-chocolate
Looks nice!
I drink loads of cocoa now. I had to stop drinking decaf coffee because it could upset my stomach.
I adore tea, especially darjeeling, but you mustn't have too much caffeine.
I never could get on with herbal tea all that much, except some occasional chamomile. But then I found out that cocoa has no caffeine and is very good for you. It satisfies me as much as tea and coffee and it has all the health benefits.
I prefer the standard roasted alkalised cocoa to the raw because it has a darker, richer more chocolaty taste. It's cheaper too but still has a lot of antioxidants. 50% less than raw, so just drink a bit more of it.
A medicine scientist told me old people should drink coffee. It enhances blood flow in the brain.
I loved my tea, being English, but I also loved a pint, real ale. I was surprised to learn how protective of the liver coffee can be, so much so, that if a drug company had invented it, it would have been a miracle drug. 5 cups of coffee a day and you have 80% less chance of cirrhosis of the liver, even if you are a heavy drinker.
Fortunately, I found out that cocoa is just as good.
Oh, and I don't drink much anymore. When you get older, the downside outweighs good side. I would sooner have a decent night's sleep, and then an early morning cycle ride.
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