Will Exercise Combat the Common Cold?

Exercise may fight colds and illness. 

That is the finding of several major studies concerning the effects of exercise on the common cold.  For example:

1.  A Harvard immunologist found that five out of seven studies that measured white blood cells (those responsible for fighting infection) showed that the count definitely increased with exercise.

As of now, it isn’t 100 percent conclusive that exercise will prevent colds or illness, but there is strong reason to believe that it may.  Likewise, there’s no reliable evidence proving that a cold is made worse through exercise.  However, doctors don’t recommend exercising with a cold.

2.  In a study published the Journal of the American Medical Association , researchers found that exercise produces an increase in white blood cells.

3.  Strong scientific research shows that exercise may boost immune power.  One very intriguing theory as to why exercise might help has to do with endorphins — mood-elevating chemicals that occur naturally in the body.  Immunological researchers found that exercise stimulates the production of endorphins as well as enkaphalins, both pain-killing brain chemicals.  These chemicals enhance the activity of “killer cells” the immune system uses to fight off harmful invaders.

4.  An Italian study showed that blood levels of a virus-fighting substance (interferon) doubled in men who rode bicycles for one hour with moderate intensity.

Despite the evidence, this does not give you the green light to work out when suffering from an illness. Before resuming an exercise program, you should be aware that the old idea of “sweating it out” when you have a cold isn’t well-founded.

In fact, you may regain good health sooner by temporarily giving up exercise when suffering from a cold.  The reason is that exercise induces more overheating and sweating than you would normally expend.  Additionally, you’re forced to breathe harder as a result of the fatigue caused during exercise, because colds produce an extra amount of mucous in the respiratory passages.

While it must be understood that exercise is vital to the immune system, some precautions must be taken before you start.  Exercising vigorously immediately after a cold may be dangerous.  However, the importance of exercise before and after a cold should not be underestimated.  Nonetheless, it’s important that you not jump right into a training with the intensity performed prior to the cold or illness.  It’s imperative that your post-cold activities are not too strenuous.  If you experience chills, excessive sweating or a fever, stop working out.