3 Bodybuilding Supplements That Can Boost Your Immunity To Train Through Winter
Hard training can suppress certain elements of your immune system, which is problematic at a time when winter cold and flu viruses are circulating in the gym. Thankfully these 3 common supplements can help boost your immune system.
While exercise is generally good for your health, consecutive hard sessions stresses your body and increases your recovery demands, which can potentially lead to temporary immune depression.
A position statement published in the respected Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition by the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) explains that “immune depression in athletes worsens with excessive training load, psychological stress, disturbed sleep, and environmental extremes, all of which can contribute to an increased risk of respiratory tract infections.”
Impaired Immune Function
This happens because intense exercise increases stress hormones like cortisol, which can suppress immune cell activity.
Intense or prolonged training also depletes glycogen stores, the body’s most readily available energy source, which can impact immune cell function. And hard training causes inflammation, which is a natural response to tissue breakdown. However, excessive inflammation can impair immune function.
Fortunately, you probably already have three products in your supplement cupboard that can support your immune system to help you train through winter.
Muscle Up Your Immune System
Studies have shown that glutamine stimulates the activity of certain immune cells¹, but circulating levels can fall following intense or prolonged exercise. In addition, certain immune cells have a high capacity to utilise glutamine, but are unable to synthesise it in its original state and require a constant supply from your blood stream.
You can also maintain glutamine levels with a Branched-Chain Amino Acid (BCAA) supplement, because these amino acids – Leucine, Isoleucine, and Valine – have an indirect impact on glutamine availability.
During exercise, especially intense training, muscles demand more BCAAs to support repair and energy production, which can reduce the biological resources needed to produce glutamine in skeletal muscle, including the production of an important amino acid called glutamate.
By providing readily-available BCAAs to meet the energy and protein synthesis demands from muscle cells, BCAA supplements may help reduce the competition for resources within muscle tissue, which, in theory, could allow the body to allocate more resources for glutamine production.
BCAAs also play a more direct role in immune function, supporting lymphocyte responsiveness and are necessary to support other immune cell functions².
As whey is a rich source of BCAAs, this supplement can also support recovery and immune function. In addition, whey provides essential amino acids, which are important for immune cell function and repair.
In one study³, whey protein concentrate (WPC) “improved the immune response compared to amino acids supplementation, which indicates that the protein can offer more health benefits than amino acids. Increased whey protein consumption might increase the immune response against antigen exposure and might decrease the incidence of disease.” In addition, immunoglobulins contained in whey are antibodies that can directly fight pathogens.
Additional Immune Support
You can also strengthen your immune system and response to infections with specific nutrients such as vitamins C and E, zinc, selenium, beta carotene and coenzyme Q10.
Among these micronutrients, antioxidants are necessary to limit damage to important immune cells caused by free radicals, particularly during an infection and following hard training sessions.
While it is vital to get most of these micronutrients from a wholesome and balanced diet, supplementing whole food sources with high-potency vitamin and mineral products may help to address deficiencies or meet heightened demands for specific essential or conditionally essential nutrients during heavy training blocks.
References:
- Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Military Nutrition Research. Military Strategies for Sustainment of Nutrition and Immune Function in the Field. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 1999. 11, Glutamine. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK230973/
- Calder PC. Branched-chain amino acids and immunity. J Nutr. 2006 Jan;136(1 Suppl):288S-93S. doi: 10.1093/jn/136.1.288S. PMID: 16365100.
- Ha DJ, Kim J, Kim S, Go GW, Whang KY. Dietary Whey Protein Supplementation Increases Immunoglobulin G Production by Affecting Helper T Cell Populations after Antigen Exposure. Foods. 2021 Jan 19;10(1):194. doi: 10.3390/foods10010194. PMID: 33477967; PMCID: PMC7835905.