“Carbs
During Workouts May Fend Off Colds”
By
BIOL 1610 1PM
Here is an interesting article for the
cold/flu season we are currently experiencing. This article explains how eating
carbohydrates during a workout can help fend off the common cold. I chose this
article to potentially inspire exercise in myself and others during these cold winter
months. This article also shows how intelligent our bodies are in protecting themselves
against sickness.
There is
an accepted belief that after exercise the body has a immunodepression. This
means that the immune system is compromised during recovery. In the Journal I chose to use, the article references
stated, “Exercise increases
circulating neutrophil and monocyte counts.” In other words: During exercise, white blood cells are circulated throughout the body helping
immune defense. Neutrophil and monocytes are white bloods cells in the body
that are responsible for protecting the body from infectious diseases and
foreign invaders.
A distinction should be made
however. This article is focusing more on vigorous or intense workouts lasting
about 90 minutes or more. It is during that time when the body is being
stressed that an increased carbohydrate intake is beneficial. It is estimated that
about 30-60 grams of carbohydrates should do the trick by helping the body
maintain blood sugar levels and reducing the stress response associated with
high intensity exercise.
As a society struggling with
obesity, new diseases, and miss information, I believe this article can be used
as a motivator for many individuals who struggle with the threat of diabetes or
heart disease due to not getting off their couches to properly take exercise
their bodies. If that is not motivation enough then perhaps simply avoiding the
common cold can lace those shoes for them. I know personally that if I can help
control or eliminate the yearly cold I get, I would be exercising daily. I can
only assume this may inspire others to get up and hit the gym as well.
I am interested in understanding more about the physiology in this research. Why does the body go into imunodepression after exercising? And do the 30-60 grams of carbs prevent the increase of neutrophil and monocyte counts? Or how do the carbs reduce the body’s stress response to protect against post-exercise imunodepression? - D.S.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI was curious about some of the questions you posed in your response. Particularly how carbs could reduce the body's stress response to protect again post-exercise immunodepression. This is a pretty fascinating topic, so I did a little research ( and I do mean a little - I googled a few articles on the subject), and the general consensus is that there is little data to prove that a single nutrient will reduce the body's stress response to prolonged exercise. From an article I read from the US National Library of Medicine ( I'll attach at the end of my response), seems to conclude that "an overall adequate nutrient availability provided by a well-balanced diet and sufficient fluid delivery may help to maintain immunocompetence in athletes, since inadequate nutrition affects almost all aspects of the immune system". They also stated that a lot more research needs to be done in this field, which I think will most likely happen because who doesn't want to be the maker and promoter of the next hot sports drink that can prevent immunodrepression!? R.T.
Deletehttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3475230/
I read the full research paper on this topic and found the main reason for it's lowering the stress response. It was simply that without the added carbs. The body's glycogen stores would have been emptied which then made the sugars from the blood stream fill the muscle back up. Lowering the blood sugar levels which in turn caused an additional stress response on the body.
DeleteI believe the body goes into imunodepression after exercising because it has just exerted all that energy and is now fighting to use whatever it has left in the tank. With so much work it becomes exhausted and its immune system weakens. J. RYAN
DeleteI found this article awesome because this time of the year, I try to do anything and everything I can to fight off a cold. I was curious to understand the exercise physiology a little bit more. I understand that if you execrise too hard it could cause you to get sick because your cells spend so much effort trying to repair your muscles. How can you find a in between moderate exercise prescription if you are feeling close to getting sick? What would you recommend your heart rate to stay below?
ReplyDeleteAccording to the article, "Most people only need carbohydrates during high-intensity or prolonged exercise that lasts for 90 minutes or more." So as long as you keep it light, maybe do 30 minutes or so, you should be fine.
DeleteMatt N.
With all of the diets that are out there that claim they make you loose weight, I think carbohydrates have picked up a bad reputation over the years as being something that should be avoided when trying to loose weight. I do agree with the comment left by R.T. that a well balanced diet is one of the most important way to maintain the immune system. I think this article is a good reminder to not listen to the diet myths and that making your body healthy is the most important goal.
ReplyDeleteS.N.
It is also sad that most of those diet programs out there don't even work. If people took the time to learn the science behind it, they would realize that they are crap. Too much of anything is bad, the key is always to find balance, no matter what it is.
DeleteMatt N.
Haha i'm trying to get myself to exercise this season too. The gym or even front door just seems so far away when its like twenty degrees. I feel like I always find a reason to not exercise and not knowing that my body goes into a immunodepression after exercising, that just gives me one more reason to stay inside. That's super interesting that carbs can help fight this though. Most people just pound a protein shake after working out. With this information, maybe we should blend a roll up in our protein shakes now or something :)
ReplyDeleteCB
I like to exercise quite a bit so I found this article interesting. I think I understand what you and others have said about glycogen stores being depleted causing deficiencies in the immune system during recovery but from my limited knowledge, I understand the depletion of glycogen stores what you wanted to do to get the body to turn to other sources. With the right nutrition, that other source is fat, not muscle. Then post workout, getting all those fast carbs right away restores the glycogen stores and, from your article, boosts back up the immune system, I guess? Very interesting. Especially considering that the gym can be one of the worst locations for picking up a sickness. I will have to do more research on this.
ReplyDelete- Alex G.
Hearing the title of this article, it did not surprise me at all. People think that carbohydrates are bad for you but they're not. They give you the necessary energy that you need. So when it comes to working out, our bodies need energy to keep us going. After reading the article, I can understand why our bodies need carbs to help us from getting sick when we work out. It is important to give our bodies energy when we are exerting energy and from your article the carbs help our immune system after an intense workout by boosting the glycogen stores. I would love to read more about this topic and have more information.
ReplyDelete-B.N.K
Are you supposed to eat the carbohydrates while you are working out? Or is it right before or after the work out? Also, does this mean after working out I am more susceptible to getting sick? My last question is does it matter what kind of work out you are doing? Does it make a difference whether it is resistance training or cardio?
ReplyDeleteKP
According to the article, "Most people only need carbohydrates during high-intensity or prolonged exercise that lasts for 90 minutes or more." and "Consuming carbohydrates in the first few hours immediately after strenuous exercise also helps to restore immune function."
DeleteSo it sounds like during and after is best, but as stated, this is really only needed for people who are working out at high intensity for 90+ minutes, so it doesn't really seem like it works for the common person.
Matt N.
I find this article to be very interesting, because I did not realize that having carbohydrates in your body during exercise, or rather, I didn’t know carbohydrate consumption was that important for your body, in order to prevent illnesses like the common cold. I had always assumed that Vitamin D was the most important nutrient needed to fend off cold and flu viruses. Your article states that it is the circulation of the white blood cells in the body that is important for immune defense, and that blood sugar levels need to be maintained in order for this to happen. I find that particularly interesting, because so many diets are low carb and require vigorous amounts of exercise. Do people on those type of diets get the cold and the flu more often than people who are not? Could that be the reasoning behind the fact that many people say they get the common cold when they start dieting?
ReplyDeleteCZ
I love going to the gym, mainly because it is a huge stress reliever for me. I have found that when I work out regularly and eat healthy I become sick less often. I understand that when someone exercises they increase blood flow but I would imagine the WBC count would increase because lactic acid increases in your body from glycolysis fermentation. Carbohydrates are essential when working out because if you don't have enough and not enough fat, your body could potential start to break down proteins for energy which is not a good thing.
ReplyDeleteR.W.
Based on what I had read in this article, this really only applies to high intensity work outs that go for 90+ minutes. I think that exercising definitely can keep us healthier like you said, and that the main key is to wash your hands!
DeleteMatt N.
This is interesting. I have heard that you should eat a meal with high carbohydrates the night before a game, and such. How does this relate to that? Are they suggesting that you eat while working out or before or after? B.C.
ReplyDeleteI put this on another comment already, but I might as well put it here so that everyone sees. I read the article real quick, and it said that during, and some after for the best results. From my understanding, eating carbs the night before is just to build up energy stores, but who knows, there might be more too it.
DeleteMatt N.
Your third paragraph was what caught my attention. The title is that 'exercise' helps ward off the common cold, but it isn't until that paragraph that you specify what 'exercise' really means. We have to be careful, different words can mean completely different things to everyone who reads them.
ReplyDelete-BG
loved this read, when I would work out (when sick) I felt a difference shortly after, I hope your post helps others to see the benefits as well. I haven't connected the carbs to the work out/ feeling better though. sb
ReplyDeleteI find this a bit amusing just because I am currently fighting a cold, and I am a big fan of not leaving my couch (I am not obese), but I think it's interesting because who would have thought that carbs would solve this problem in this society. We usually hear "stay away from carbs" if you wanna get skinny. haha I don't think it's so much the carbs faults that we get obese, it's us not exercising. If we exercised we would get out carbs and get skinny.
ReplyDeleteGomez
How differently would high protein intake vs. carb intake affect the workout and increase results? It would be an interesting study.
ReplyDeleteSkyler H.
This article reminds me of a time in high school when I had the cold. I had the cold and a really bad sore throat so I didn't want to go to my Lacrosse practice. My mom told me that I had to go because working out can help you get over a cold faster. I told her that wasn't true and that going outside in the winter is what caused the cold. She laughed at me and made me go. I guess she had a point. - T Anderson
ReplyDeleteThis article is awesome I have been trying to work out for a long time but honestly I am just to lazy for that but this article is great because I usually get sick during vacation wish is horrible but I always have that excuse of "I'm sick I won't work out!" Now article this takes out all the excuses I had at that time for not working out.
ReplyDeleteSteph S.
I found this article very interesting. Have there been studies done to differentiate the results of different kinds of carbs? Are there certain kinds of carbs that produce better results? I could see how this information could help many people in the future.
ReplyDelete--A.S.
I would imagine that simple carbs would be the most ideal, as the body needs to immediately refuel those glycogen storages in the worked muscles.
DeleteHW
I workout often so this is pretty interesting for me. I have noticed that sometimes after a hard workout I will not only feel beat up but also I'll feel internally bad and weak. Its cool to know how just by taking a good dose of carbs can counteract the immunity-depression, and to know that white blood cells go crazy in the body during a workout. - C. Martin
ReplyDelete