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Prevent Illness With Exercise

Published on February 18, 2016 by Lu-Jean (fengclinic.com) Feng

Source: The National Library of Medicine

Battling another cold? Feeling tired all the time? Taking a daily walk or following a simple exercise routine a few times a week may help you feel better. Exercise helps decrease your chances of developing heart disease and keeps your bones healthy and strong.

There are several theories that hypothesize why exercise has a positive effect on your immune system:

Physical activity may help flush bacteria out of the lungs and airways. This may reduce your chance of getting a cold, flu, or other airborne illness.
Exercise causes changes in antibodies and white blood cells (the body’s immune system cells that fight disease). These antibodies or white blood cells 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 more effectively. (This is similar to what happens when you have a fever.)
Exercise slows down the release of stress-related hormones. Learn how hormones prevent disease.

Although exercise is good for you, be careful not to overdo it. People who already exercise regularly should not exercise more intensely just to increase their immunity. Heavy, long-term exercise (such as marathon running and intense gym training) could actually decrease the amount of white blood cells circulating through the body and increase stress-related hormones. A Certified Personal Trainer will work with you and show you how to prevent workout related injuries while optimizing your results. Nutrition also plays a vital role in the prevention of disease.

Studies have shown that people who go from a sedentary (“couch potato”) lifestyle to a moderately energetic lifestyle benefit most from starting (and sticking to) an exercise program. Exercise can help you feel better about yourself, just by making you feel healthier and more energetic. So go ahead, take that spin class. You’ll feel better and healthier for it.

References

Barrett B. Viral upper respiratory infection. In: Rakel DP, ed. Integrative Medicine. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders; 2012:chap 16.Hewitt MJ. Writing an exercise prescription. In: Rakel DP, ed. Integrative Medicine. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders; 2012:chap 88.Ivker RS. Chronic sinusitis. In: Rakel DP, ed. Integrative Medicine. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders; 2012:chap 15.Johnson R, Knopp W. Nonorthopaedic conditions. In: DeLee JC, Drez D Jr, Miller MD, eds. DeLee and Drez’s Orthopaedic Sports Medicine. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders; 2009:chap 3.Walsh NP, Gleeson M, Shephard RJ, et al. Position statement. Part one: Immune function and exercise. Exerc Immunol Rev. 2011;17:6-63.

Lu-Jean Feng, M.D.

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