You may not be able to banish those dreaded winter ills completely but research shows that moderate levels of regular exercise may boost the immune system.
Catherine Viljoen, Biokineticist at Virgin Active South Africa, said in a press release: “This means that those people who exercise regularly are less prone to illnesses than those who do no exercise or lead a sedentary lifestyle.”
But this doesn’t mean the harder you exercise the better off you are.
Viljoen says that if you do a really strenuous bout of exercise, the immune system can take a knock especially during the first 3 - 24 hours after exercise. This explains why sometimes you wake up the day following an exercise session with a stuffy nose and possibly a sore throat. This is more likely to happen after continuous, prolonged moderate to high-intensity exercise (more than 1.5 hours). And even more so when nutrition needs have not been met.
“So the trick is moderate exercise and good nutrition and your body should be able to help fight off the bugs on its own. When you consider that we experience about 2-4 common cold episodes a year and sore throats are the most common reason for athletes visiting the doctor, it makes sense to coddle yourself in winter – not only to keep away colds and sore throats but to prevent them becoming bad enough to need antibiotics.”
The main cause of respiratory infections are viruses such as rhinovirus and adenovirus that result in symptoms of the common cold and flu viruses that cause the more severe symptoms of ‘flu, the press release said.
If you are unlucky enough to get full blown flu there are some basic guidelines for safe exercising during your illness and recovery from the British Association of Sports and Exercise. Use these for exercise during infectious episodes and before being referred to a doctor:
* DAY 1 of illness: Avoid strenuous exercise when experiencing upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) symptoms like a sore throat, coughing, runny or congested nose. Avoid all exercise when experiencing symptoms like muscle/joint pain and headache, fever and generalised feeling of malaise, diarrhoea or vomiting.
* DAY 2: Avoid exercise if fever, diarrhoea or vomiting is present or if coughing is increased. If no fever is present and there is no worsening of ‘above the collar’ symptoms; undertake light exercise (heart rate 120 beats per minute) for 30-45 minutes (indoors during winter), by yourself.
* DAY 3: If fever and URTI (or gastrointestinal) symptoms are still present, consult your doctor. If no fever is present and there is no worsening of initial symptoms; undertake moderate exercise (heart rate 150 beats per minute) for 45-60 minutes, preferably indoors and by yourself.
* DAY 4: If there is no symptom relief, do not try to exercise and visit your doctor. If this is the first day of improved condition, wait one day without fever and with improvement of URTI or gastrointestinal symptoms before returning to exercise.
Finally, it is important to stop training and consult your doctor if a new episode with fever occurs or if initial symptoms become worse, coughing persists or breathing problems during exercise occur. It is generally agreed that prevention is always preferable to treatment. Here are some practical guidelines to keeping healthy during winter:
* Advise ‘sick’ co-workers to stay at home if symptoms are infectious.
* Wash hands regularly, before meals, and after direct contact with potentially contagious people, animals, blood, secretions, public places and bathrooms.
* Use disposable paper towels and limit hand to mouth/nose contact when suffering from respiratory or gastrointestinal infection symptoms. Carry alcohol-based hand-washing gel with you.
* Do not share drinking bottles, cups, towels, etc with other people.
* Ensure adequate dietary energy, protein and essential micronutrient intake and avoid crash dieting and rapid weight loss. Ensure adequate carbohydrate intake before and during strenuous prolonged exercise
* Wear appropriate outdoor clothing in inclement weather and avoid getting cold and wet after exercise (have a change of dry clothes).
* Get adequate sleep (at least 7 hours per night is recommended).
* Keep other life stresses to a minimum where possible.
The lowdown on Vitamin C
Is Vitamin C the panacea for colds? According to Sandi van Zyl, a dietician at Virgin Active, ‘although your vitamin C intake should be optimal and is believed to reduce the duration of colds in some people, you must be careful not to overdo it. Supplementing with more than 1000mg per day can result in more side-effects than benefits in many people. The most common side-effect is diarrhoea. Some vitamin C-rich foods include strawberries, citrus (oranges, naartjies), kiwi fruit, tomatoes, broccoli/dark green veggies and peppers to name a few.’
Of course it’s best to avoid getting ill at all by maintaining a healthy lifestyle, getting enough moderate exercise and taking precautions which are reasonable and practical. But if you are unlucky enough, remember to look after your body and give yourself time to recover before you step on life’s and the health club treadmill again! - IOL