Friday, October 27, 2006
Want to prevent colds? Start exercising - Yahoo! News
Exercising moderately for 45 minutes, five days per week can help you avoid the common cold this winter, according to research discussed in this Yahoo News story. The key to preventing the colds was the consistency of the exercise over time. Those who did it over a year (the length of the study) significantly reduced the number of colds they experienced against the control group.
The article doesn't speculate as to why this was the case. But we can take a few educated guesses. First, when you're exercising moderately, your immune system gets a boost. You're also helping your body process waste in the system by getting the blood and lymph moving.
According to many doctors, naturopaths and authors, viruses just don't have the chance to take hold in a healthy body, because the body is quick to destroy them. In a compromised body, however, the viruses can easily lodge themselves in, as the body is so busy taking care of detoxification measures that it doesn't have the resources to fight the virus. (They believe this not just for colds, but for all viruses. Some include AIDS in that category, but I certainly wouldn't go so far as to test that theory!)
One thing the article might have mentioned, though, is that the benefits of exercise decline if one goes too far past a moderate rate of exertion. When the body is constantly overtraining, the immune system weakens and health declines. Digg This!
The article doesn't speculate as to why this was the case. But we can take a few educated guesses. First, when you're exercising moderately, your immune system gets a boost. You're also helping your body process waste in the system by getting the blood and lymph moving.
According to many doctors, naturopaths and authors, viruses just don't have the chance to take hold in a healthy body, because the body is quick to destroy them. In a compromised body, however, the viruses can easily lodge themselves in, as the body is so busy taking care of detoxification measures that it doesn't have the resources to fight the virus. (They believe this not just for colds, but for all viruses. Some include AIDS in that category, but I certainly wouldn't go so far as to test that theory!)
One thing the article might have mentioned, though, is that the benefits of exercise decline if one goes too far past a moderate rate of exertion. When the body is constantly overtraining, the immune system weakens and health declines. Digg This!
