Does exercise lower your immunity?

[crispini]

Dagnabbit! I have ANOTHER cold! My second of the seaason! This NEVER happens to me! I'm wondering if all of the working out I'm doing is lowering my immunity? Does it stress your body more? Or maybe the fact that I'm just around a lot more people, more often? Anyone got any good quick cold fixes?

[wildeyed]

1. I think that in moderation, it improves immunity.

When I was training seriously and really stressing my body, I felt I got sick more easily. Also, I tended to train sick, so it was harder to recover. Learning to listen to my body was one of the hardest lessons I ever learned. But back in the day, I really wanted to see fast results, so I pushed hard. Eventually the injuries got to me and I started developing something that was sounded like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, so I had to back off.

Good advice: wash hands often, don't touch your face and get enough sleep. Also, those zinc lozenges seem to help if you take them s soon as you feel the cold coming on. Did you try the neti pot thing?

[crispini]

3. No, thanks, I'll have to try it.

I got better, so I didn't buy it. But I will. ;)

I have a hard time knowing whether or not I'm working out too hard. I *am* doing an hour and a half of yoga a day. As far as yoga goes, it's fairly intense. I would say I get 30 minutes of moderate to high cardio. There is a good core strength component: leg lifts, situps, etc. But no weight involved, and certainly I am not doing any high impact aerobics. I mean, compared to what I WAS doing (nothing) it is certainly hardER, but it's not like I'm going into the gym and slamming around weights for hours on end. :shrug:

I'll try the zinc and the neti pot, thanks! :hi:

[wildeyed]

8. Ta-dum!

An article about neti pots in my daily today. http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/living/health/13642173.htm

The way to figure out if you are working too hard is by how you feel and what your goal is. If you are tired and cranky, getting injured and/or sick a lot, it may be that your routine is too strenuous. On the other hand, you may be working toward a personal goal that makes the discomfort worth it. :shrug:

If you are doing a Bikram style yoga class everyday and running on top of it, you are doing more than most weight lifters. That is a strenuous class! Maybe you want to try doing a shorter class that is less strenuous or practicing at home a few days a week?

[crispini]

9. That's a good standard.

I would really like to push it for the next couple of weeks because I have a big trip coming up and I'd like to have my cute "small pants" available to me! :D I'm soooooo close to fitting into them! So maybe I will continue to push for the next couple of weeks and then back off. It's only a head cold right now; if it gets worse or moves into another area I'll rethink my plan.

Went out at lunch and bought the zinc lozenges.

[MemphisTiger]

2. Yes it does. I'll have to find the journal article I read on this

subject later, but you can supplement with L-Glutamine to help with this.

EDIT: Here it is

http://www.abcbodybuilding.com/glutamine.php

[crispini]

4. Thanks!

Wow, that's quite a technical article and website! Very interesting!

[MemphisTiger]

7. It is quite technical, but a very informative article

The site I took that from has started a new Laymans articles for those of us who did not take biology in college. Should be good.

[flamingyouth]

5. That's really interesting.

Oddly, I seem much healthier now that I work out regularly. I chalk that up to an improvement in my asthma. I usually get a really bad cold and bronchitis every winter.

[politicat]

6. It's been a bad cold and flu season so far...

My only thought would be that an artificially warm, humid environment is an excellent breeding ground for germs. It's almost impossible to prevent bacterial growth in such an environment and viri survive longer in a warm, humid environment than in a cooler one. (In natural hot and humid environments, the sunlight provides a sterilizing effect.)

There's no good fix for a cold - it's a virus and the best thing you can do is immune support - lots of warm fluids, keeping warm, get enough sleep and plenty of protein and vitamins. Unfortunately, the immune system takes about 72 hours to really mount a defense to a viral infection under most circumstances, and the immune system requires another 48 hours to beat it back.

[crispini]

10. I think you're right.

It's a whole new population of people (and thus, germs) at the yoga studio, and although it's a clean environment, I'm sure the heat and the high humidity don't help the situation.

[davidinalameda]

11. all of my doctors have told me that exercise strengthens

your immune system

that's one of the reasons I started working out again

[IronLionZion]

12. Do you know how many germs are on gym equipment?

That's probably why you're getting sick.

Excercise is definitely good for your immune system. Just remember to use anti-bacterial soap often.