Smoothies, Greens, and Boosting the Immune System
There are good lessons to be learned from performance athletics and research on the disease preventative affects of plant-based whole food consumption in the time of Covid-19. Whether you are wanting to run your first marathon or simply taking up an exercise regime for the first time, here are some things to know.Did you know that about 40% of marathoners get sick about 2 months into their training? And about 14% of marathon finishers get sick within 3 days after a marathon compared to about 3% who haven't run a marathon. 😮
Now, given that endurance athletes tend to be sick LESS than the couch potato or weekend warrior, this might seem strange. Well, it just so happens that, while running a moderate distance boosts the immune system, running a marathon or doing a similarly strenuous endurance activity actually suppresses the immune system for about 72 hours after the event. I'm just guessing here, but I imagine that those who do not get sick tend to be the professionals who train really well and whose bodies are primed for such an event. I assume it is less strenuous to their bodies than the bodies of people who decide to train for the same event in 6 months after years of relative inactivity.
Should we just give up then? HECK NO! Let's take preventative action! Here are a few ways we can help strengthen our immune systems, knowing the beating they will take when we run our first marathons or simply push our bodies to their limits.
- Rest: Our bodies will need more rest than ever as we transform them from cubicle-jocks to athletes. Go to bed by 10pm. Don't skip rest days in your training plan just because you're feeling so great! You will need them even if you don't always feel like it!
- Eat lots of greens: Introduce at least 1 green smoothie into your daily diet. One way dark green leafy vegetables and other vegetables help the immune system fight infections by breaking down the defensive walls around invaders so that our immune systems can get to those invaders and defeat them! According to well-known endurance athletes like Rich Roll and Scott Jurek, eating a whole food, plant-based diet also speeds up recovery time, so you can run again sooner. I don't know about you, but I'm going to listen to these guys! They are amazing, champion ultra-athletes!
- Only easy/moderate exercise when you have a cold: If you get a cold you can take an extra rest day and SLEEP or keep training gently! Save your long runs and more robust workouts for after it passes. If you have any type of respiratory infection, STOP until you are better. Otherwise, you'll just suck that sickness deeper into your lungs, chancing pneumonia. If you have a fever or influenza, STOP. You may only make it worse and lose more training time, not to mention endanger your health!
