How do you keep your immune system strong for winter training (whether outside or on the indoor trainer)?

Cold and flu season is upon us like every year, and once your training program kicks into high gear for next season, the most important thing is to stay healthy. You don't want a viral infection to slow down your training and affect your performance. This blog focuses on some nutritional strategies that you can use both in your daily diet and supplementation, and especially as part of training sessions, to keep your immune system at its highest level.

From a nutritional perspective, it is important to prevent deficiencies and consume optimal amounts of nutrients that play an essential role in maintaining a healthy immune system. Periods of intense exercise are also associated with weakened immune function, and impaired immune function can be made worse by inadequate nutrition. The body's susceptibility to respiratory infection can be increased for 24 hours after a hard workout, and a demanding competition can affect your immune function for one to two weeks.

The combination of training with external stress factors such as school or work can overwhelm an endurance athlete as the body is put under too much strain and the ability to fight infections is impaired. You will also likely come into contact with people who have a cold or flu in the next few months. A strong immune system means you are less likely to get colds or viral infections, and if you do get sick, recovery will be quicker.

Vitamins and minerals

Since increased oxygen utilization during training or competition can increase the production of free radicals (molecules that cause tissue damage at the cellular level), increasing dietary intake and supplementing with antioxidants can counteract this and improve immune system performance. One of the nutrients most commonly associated with preventing colds is vitamin C, which is widely known as an immune system booster.

While a multivitamin-mineral preparation easily supplies the daily requirement of vitamin C for normally active people, you should not underestimate how important it is to take C vitamin additionally through dietary supplements, because intensive training causes the release of free radicals to be much higher and therefore the To prevent this, you should take additional antioxidants such as: To consume vitamin C in larger quantities.

While there is limited data on the side effects of high vitamin C supplementation, amounts over 1,000 milligrams at a time could result in some gastrointestinal side effects. That's why you should use the fat-soluble variants - so-called ascorbates. Even in quantities of 2-3 g daily, they do not cause any gastrointestinal problems. Regardless of the level of your supplementation, sticking with a high intake of fruits and vegetables should pay off from an immune system perspective. They contain hundreds of phytochemicals that provide many preventive health benefits and are also excellent sources of carotenoids, which increase the activity of white blood cells called lymphocytes. Beta carotene can also be converted in your body into vitamin A, an important nutrient for the immune system. Other nutrients that are essential for a strong immune system include sufficient intake of zinc, iron and vitamins B6 and B12. A good daily multivitamin and mineral supplement that provides 100 percent of the daily values ensures adequate intake of these nutrients in addition to a balanced diet.

Although iron is an important mineral for endurance athletes, iron supplements should be taken as needed and iron status monitored regularly. Excess iron can increase inflammation in the body. Research on zinc supplementation shows that zinc supplementation can reduce the severity or duration of a cold, but it appears that zinc must be taken within 24 hours of the onset of cold symptoms to provide any benefit. Vitamin E is also a popular antioxidant nutrient and many experts consider 200-400 IU per day to be safe and effective.

Revolutionary Cherry Juice

Montmorency tart cherry juice has gained a reputation as a recovery drink among elite and recreational athletes. Research suggests benefits in reducing strength loss and improving muscle recovery after intense physical exercise. Now, a new, first-of-its-kind analysis published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition found that tart cherries improved the study participants' endurance exercise performance.

After combining the results of the 10 published studies, the meta-analysis concluded that tart cherry concentrate in juice or powder form significantly improved endurance exercise performance when taken up to 1.5 hours before cycling, swimming or running for seven days. The results of this meta-analysis found that tart cherries actually helped improve performance, and we gained greater insight into the potential mechanism responsible for this benefit.

Other benefits of taking cherry juice include:

Better sleep

Athletes who focus on rapid recovery, strong mental processing, and high motivation to train need top-notch sleep. This can be difficult to achieve for athletes with non-stop lifestyles and high stress schedules. Tart Montmorency cherries contain melatonin, a phytochemical that is critical for regulating sleep cycles. Studies have shown that consuming tart cherry juice concentrate increases melatonin levels. This improves the length and quality of sleep. A portion of tart cherry juice in the evening will ensure you sleep like a baby.

It has anti-inflammatory effects - tart cherries contain a high concentration of anthocyanins, a flavonoid that has similar anti-inflammatory properties to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen and naproxen. Inflammation-related joint problems such as osteoarthritis are common in top athletes. Painful joints make you slower because training volume and intensity are reduced. Drinking tart cherry juice can significantly relieve joint pain without the side effects often associated with arthritis medications and NSAIDs. Muscle pain is also reduced at the same time.

It boosts the immune system

Rigorous training and competition are known to weaken your immune system. Tart cherry juice may reduce the onset of upper respiratory symptoms.

Research has confirmed the benefits of both tart cherry concentrate and the powdered form. Sour cherry juice tastes great and makes a nice snack before bed. As a bonus, mix in 20g of the slow-digesting protein casein to boost your protein synthesis as you sleep. The next morning, take another dose of tart cherry juice to maximize the performance-enhancing benefits.

Calorie balance and essential fatty acids

Rapid weight loss can have negative effects on the immune system. Of course, sufficient calorie intake also has a positive effect on an athlete's regeneration and energy level. Poorly planned and low calorie diets can also lead to a protein deficiency, which also weakens your immune system. A diet that is too low in energy can also lead to an inadequate intake of immune-boosting vitamins and minerals. If you ensure the right balance of fats in your diet and choose good fats, you can also strengthen your immune system. While a diet very high in fat can impair immune function, a diet very low in fat does not provide enough essential fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids are especially good for the immune system. Walnuts, fatty fish, and linseed, soy, and rapeseed oil are good sources of this healthy fat. Unfortunately, it is still very difficult to take enough EPA and DHA (two most important omega 3 fatty acids), which is why many experts recommend nutritional supplements with EPA-DHA preparations.

Nutrition strategies around training

In addition to a healthy diet and sensible nutritional supplements, specific nutritional strategies related to training are also beneficial. If your immune system is weakened by exercise, this effect is related to increased levels of stress hormones. Nutritional strategies to boost the immune system around exercise sessions have focused on reducing stress hormone response, less disruption to the number of immune cells in the blood, and less oxidative activity. Some of the most important nutritional strategies focus on carbohydrate intake before, during and after exercise - a well-known practice for endurance athletes. Training with optimal carbohydrate stores not only provides energy for your training, but also supports a strong immune system.

Endurance athletes who train in a low-carb state experience a greater increase in stress hormones, which rise during exercise. Consuming carbohydrates before, during, and after endurance exercise appears to reduce some of the immunosuppressive effects of intense exercise. Consuming carbohydrates before, during and after exercise leads to lower cortisol levels, fewer changes in the number of immune cells in the blood, lower oxidative activity and a reduced inflammatory response.

Overall, a good carbohydrate replacement in your daily diet that matches your training session (based on intensity and volume) supports your immune system. When you exercise for a long period of time, the carbohydrates you consume (usually in the form of a sports drink) also reduce some of the immunosuppressive effects of endurance training. After a hard workout, give your energy stores a nutritional boost by consuming 50 to 75g of carbohydrates along with 20 to 30g of high-quality protein to start the recovery process. The so-called Recovery Drinks, which contain exactly these amounts of nutrients, are very well known and very popular and very effective. Your recovery can begin immediately after training or competition. This is particularly important because there is a period of at least several hours of weakened immune function after intense physical activity. Try to stay away from people who get a cold after hard exercise. Of course, coping with life's stress and getting enough sleep also support a healthy immune system.