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The role of exercise in immunity

3/23/2020

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During this time of quarantine,  the topic of IMMUNITY is front and center on our minds.  We may be looking for ways to give our body's defenses a little boost to ward off a certain viral infection going around right now!   My goal here is to dig and sift through peer-reviewed research, and summarize the key findings on the role that exercise plays in our immunity.   The topic is very well researched, and I'm sure I only scratched the surface. However, I believe I've seen enough to decipher certain consistencies. Some things may surprise you!  

Physical activity has long been linked to countless positive health benefits, to where it is easy to attribute  any and all health benefits to it.  But does it actually impact our IMMUNITY in a positive and meaningful way?   I think most would argue that yes, of course it does!  How could it not??  The broad medical and health/wellness community holds that as a fundamental truth.  But lets look at some more!
​In regards to basic relationship:
  • Research suggests that there is indeed a very strong relationship between physical activity and immunity.  The immune system is very responsive to exercise, with the extent and duration reflecting the degree of physiological stress imposed by the workload (more on this below!).
  • Randomized clinical trials consistently support the inverse relationship between exercise training and incidence of upper respiratory tract infections.   The direct linkage between exercise and long term defense against more serious medical conditions, like cancer, metabolic disease, etc,  is a bit tougher see, but still widely considered a MUST as part of an overall strategy to boost the immune system.
Main takeaway:  Overwhelming evidence that there IS indeed linkage between exercise and our immunity.  Check!  Now let's explore some more.
In regards to aging:
  • Word of the day:  immunosenescence  - refers to the age-related decline of immune system function, including increased susceptibility to infections, autoimmune diseases, neoplasias, metabolic syndrome, osteoporosis, and neurologic disorders. 
  • Recent evidence supports that immunity can be remodeled during the aging process as a result of interactions with the environment and lifestyle and is instrumental in shaping immune status in later life (sourced here).  Thus,  as we age, exercise becomes more and more important in order to slow the decline of our immune system.  
  • Habitual exercise is capable of regulating the immune system and delaying the onset of immunosenescence, and has been associated with the following
    •Enhanced vaccination responses,
    •Proliferation of T-cell activity (T-Cells are responsible for recognizing, attacking, and eliminating foreign and dangerous cells)
    •Lower circulatory levels of inflammatory cytokines (cells that signal the body to create inflammation)
Regarding training mode, and Chronic (long term) VS Acute (short term) effects
  • Exercise has a very distinct acute effect on immunity,  and to a lesser extent chronic effect (sourced here).
  • The acute immune response to exercise depends on the intensity and duration of effort 
  • Acute exercise bouts of less than 60 minutes of light-moderate activity enhance immediate immunoserveillance by boosting the action of blood-circulating agents of immunity (T-Cells, white blood cells, inflammatory cytokines, and more), and in turn prevent stress hormones from driving their suppressant nature (sourced here).
  • SURPRISE FINDING ALERT!   Overwhelming research findings indicate that high metabolic activity like heavy exercise bouts (above 60% HRMax), or that done in a high intensity group fitness class or a typical regimen done by an athlete, actually show an acute DECREASE in immunity!  (Sourced here) In fact, the measurement of immune responses to prolonged and intensive exercise by athletes continues to receive high attention. The best evidence supports that high exercise training workloads, competition events, and the associated physiological, metabolic, and psychological stress are linked to immune dysfunction, inflammation, oxidative stress, and muscle damage!   So much so, that load management is a key strategy, according to the International Olympic Committee,  to decrease illness incidences and subsequent drop in performance, interruptions in training, missed competitive events, and risk of serious medical complications for athletes!   2%–18% of elite athletes experience illness episodes, with higher proportions for females  (sourced here)  See the graph below
  • This finding underscores the importance of proper recovery from exercise,  in order to quell the effect of stress hormones that circulate after heavy metabolic activity!  
  • In terms of upper respiratory tract infection (IE, the common cold), exercise during the incubation phase or during peak sickness can actually slow down the body's response time, and exacerbate symptoms!
  • The chronic effect of exercise on immunity seems to be secondary, as part of an overall healthy lifestyle, rather than a singular factor.  ​​
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Regarding carbohydrate consumption, exercise and immunity
​
  • High carbohydrate diets produce a lower stress hormone response. This is associated with less post-exercise immune suppression. Research shows that feeding carbohydrate during exercise can further reduce stress hormone production. This, in turn, seems to keep the immune system strong during and after your exercise session.   (Sourced here)
  • Ensure your everyday diet provides an ample supply of carbohydrate at all times. Up to 60% of your daily calories might come from carbohydrates, depending on your training volume. 
  • ​Further studies confirm that preventing carbohydrate depletion helps to prevent post-exercise immune suppression.
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Key Takeaways: 
  • Think of exercise as stirring up a cocktail of all blood-circulating immune cells,  proliferating cell-to-cell, and cell-to-tissue communication and function!
  • Acute immune response to exercise depends on training intensity and duration. 
  • The strongest immunity boosting form of exercise is light to moderate,  below 60 minutes!  This should serve as a great news to those who stand to benefit the most:  the elderly, obese, and sedentary individuals.   Even better, the effect is strongest immediately!   
  • ​Exercise slows down immunosenescence!  Thus, as we age, exercise plays a larger role in our immunity.  The 60+ crowd are suggested to be the highest responders to exercise, in terms of immunity
  • If you are already sick with the cold or flu,  it is best to just let it be, rest, and recover faster.  There is no such thing as "sweating it out" when it comes to recovery.   In contrast, more serious medical conditions like cancer and metabolic syndrome benefit greatly from exercise, and is an essential part of recovery.
  • Coaches, athletes, and those who enjoy chronic heavy exercise loads,  should recognize the short-term risk of illness associated with heavy metabolic activities.   
  • Enjoy a diet full of healthy carbohydrates, especially before and after exercise.  Consume unprocessed, wholegrain bread, pasta and cereals, rice, corn. Include all types of fruit and vegetables, beans, peas and lentils in your diet. This is important, even on days when you don’t train. It’s during these rest days where you can really top up depleted muscles and glycogen reserves. Remember, your immune system is still doing its best to ward off infection on the days where you don't exercise.
  • 20 minutes of light-to-moderate activity is all that is needed to give your immune system a boost!   We are all able to do at least that during our time of quarantine. 
​

So get outside, go for your walk, jog, or ride, and be confident that you are giving your immunity a boost today and every day!

​Until next time!
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Preparing for Quarantine: Part Two - The Body

3/17/2020

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Welcome to part 2 of prepping the mind and body for quarantine!   The last thing we need right now is body aches, pains, and stiffness.  Apply these simple truths of posture and breathing to keep your body ready for anything and to keep the positive vibes flowing through the body.​  Take advantage of working at home by getting up and moving more often than you do while in the office, but also laying down to decompress and breathe. Make it habit so that when you get back in the office, your body will go off like an alarm when it is time to move.   

Get your spine set,  braced and organized for optimal movement!
  1.  Flawed thinking.  "My (Insert Pain/discomfort Here) is caused by (Insert activity here)" 
When describing pain in the morning, your conversation often starts with "My knee hurts from running"., or  "My back is stiff from gardening / yard work",  or "my shoulder hurts from playing catch".    We tend to blame the activities we do for our pain/discomfort.    Why does it hurt?  "I went running",  "I worked in the yard",   "I played catch".   This is flawed thinking that keeps us blind to the real and very consequential issue at hand: lack of functional mobility during everyday activities.  This flawed thinking causes us to: 

  • Wait for a terrible injury / tissue failure (ruptured disc, torn achilles tendon) to inspire corrective action 
  • Take advantage of the human body's freakish tolerance to poor movement quality until it's too late 
  • Prioritize TASK COMPLETION above everything else. 
  • Ignore the simple solution that is right in front of us every day, all day! 
 
  1. MOST dysfunction caused by missing range of motion (overtension) and/or moving in a bad position (open-circuit faults).  The precursor to this is POSTURE 
    1. Extended sitting is a major cause of movement  and positional impairments, and combines with other factors (genetics, previous injuries, etc) to reinforce negative impacts in daily living 
    2. Leads to open-circuit faults.  Tissues not intended to manage forces will expire.  Just a matter of time. 
    3. Sitting is toxic for the human movement system, but an unfortunate inevitability in modern society 
      1. Rounded back 
      2. Shoulders rolled forward 
      3. Feet turned out 
      4. Head tilted up or down 
      5. Elbows flared out 
 
  1. Solution:  Creating a CLOSED CIRCUIT 
    1. Body operates best - IE, TRANSFERS and DISSIPATES FORCES -when in a closed circuit 
    2. Fire the big guns to create a braced neutral spine.  Relaxing leads to slouching.  We should always be carrying light tension in the big players - glutes, abdominals, upper back, in order to dissipate gravitational forces.  Here's how:
      1. Bracing sequence 
        1. Squeeze butt cheeks as hard as you can (to 100% tension), and release down to 20%.  Maintain this tension while sitting and standing, at all times.  
        2. Pull ribcage down 
        3. Tighten up the belly -"sphincter to belly button".  Same thing: 20% abdominal tension while seated and standing at all times
        4. Belly-smack test-  brace as if someone is going to pop you one in the gut. 
        5. Head neutral – ears over shoulders 
        6. Shoulder blades- "reach down towards your back pockets".  Again, with 20% tension.  Hold while seated and standing.  
      2. Two-hand rule  ​
        1. Place one thumb on sternum, palm splayed out and down, and one thumb on pelvis so that both hands are parallel 
        2. Determines whether you are in a broken position 
        3. Hands move together – you are rounded forward 
        4. Hands move apart – you are over extended 
      3. Breathing  
        1. Diaphragm breathing – expand stomach region instead of ribcage 
        2. Engage abs as you exhale – from 
        3. This breathing patter is automatic when in proper braced-neutral position 
    3. Braced neutral sitting (see pic below of proper sitting, using the the 2-hand rule)
      1. Employ the same bracing strategy and two-hand rule as when standing 
      2. 20% abdominal, glute, and upper back tension
      3. Very taxing to maintain position with defaulting to a bad position 
      4. If possible, get up and move every 20 minutes in order to reorganize 
      5. Change your position as often as possible.  You are not limited to one sitting position – you can lean forward and back while in braced-neutral. 
      6. SIT AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE 
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Breathing

Practice breathing by expanding the stomach, instead of the chest.  Stomach breathing calms the body down and ellicits a parasympathetic (calming) response.   Chest breathing triggers a stress response, and feeds any negative emotions or dispositions in a feedback loop.  To break that loop, focus on deep inhales while pushing the tummy out, hold, and exhale slowly, to where one inhale/exhale cycle lasts 10 seconds or more.  Maintain that 20% tension if you are seated or standing.   Sometimes it helps to lay down to solely focus in breathing.  You are at home, so take advantage of that throughout the day.   Note how good and relaxed you feel

If it helps,  take breathing breaks every 10 minutes just to shut your eyes and focus on the sequences above.  Set an alarm on your phone or computer

Breathing better and carrying yourself more efficiently with proper posture is an underlying factor into a great state of mind during these tough times.  

Until next time!  Leave comments with any feedback or questions!
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Preparing for Quarantine: Part One-The Mind

3/16/2020

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Greetings Amway Employees!

Welcome!
Before I dive in to this topic,  I would like to welcome all of you to the first post in my Broad Scope, Narrow Vision Blog!  I am excited to carry on from my previous blog on the former website.  What better way to spend some time working from home- as many of us are for the foreseeable future- than to offer a brand new look and feel to the blog!  Bear with me as I work to add images and other content as we go.  As I've done before,  I will include category tags to help ease navigation through the content as I build it up.  I will cover many topics ("broad scope"),  but each post will work to emphasize the importance of the small things ("narrow vision") as we explore the vast wilderness of fitness and wellness together!

That said,  on behalf of all of the Fitness Facility staff, I would like to extend our best wishes to you and your families as we deal with this whirlwind situation taking place in our world right now.  If you're like me, you're tired of watching the news covering the fallout caused by Covid19.  Although some of it has been speculation and misinformation - only adding to the fear and anxiety - we have seemed to weed through a lot of it and arrive at a central message of how to contain this aggressive virus.  Thus, here we are, possibly working from home, many with school age children, trying to juggle everything.  It is my goal with this post to contribute to a positive outlook of how we can best use this time as stepping stone rather than a step back!  Understand, I use the term quarantine both in the strict sense of the word, and also for any other accommodation of this situation!
 
Prep the mind. Direct your thinking to the positive:

Prepping for quarantine starts with the mind.  All we see, hear, and process with our mind has an inextricable connection to our body's response system.  A positive frame of mind is perhaps the best way to approach this .   Below are some positive vibes for the broad scope of Covid-19;  I'm sure many of you are aware of these already, but my goal here is to invite you to simply take a deep breath, and spur you into positive thinking with some fundamental truths:

  •  This particular Coronavirus is historically mild, as far as pandemics go.  This is not to downplay the seriousness of the virus, as it is deadly for a portion of the population.  Rather,  this experience can serve to galvanize our response system globally and locally.  An organized response quells fear and anxiety.  It is better to go through this learning process with a virus that is ultimately containable, and seemingly only slightly more deadly than the flu, yet serious enough that these measured responses of quarantine are appropriate. It has been widely believed that much of the world was woefully unprepared for a pandemic outbreak - see this study from 2017.   Furthermore,  research on creating vaccines for broad coronaviruses can only help.  Covid-19 could turn out to have a huge silver lining.
  • There are so many in need during times like this, and thus is a great opportunity to see the positive side of human nature where we help each other out.  This is a great opportunity to be a source of good in our communities.  Helping others makes us feel good, and often serves as a reminder of the good in our own situations.  Make yourself a part of it-  it's good for mind and soul.  So look outward for opportunities to help
  • Ignore the urge to panic-buy just because those around you might.   Panic buying, and the images of empty shelves at the stores on the news, spreads fear and anxiety, well, like a virus!   Don't be a part of it - your panic buying only serves to spread that fear, and contributes to food shortages for those that might need it.  Buy enough for the next week or two - grocery stores are telling us there is no need to stock up.  Listen to them
  • The fallout of the stock market will impact many, but like other pandemics, the market after virus scares typically rebound quickly.  Leaders in finance are generally suggesting to leave things alone with your long term investments.   Talk to your adviser, but avoid emotion- and panic- based financial decisions.   In short, if we were to listen to the experts, we shouldn't have to stress about the temporary financial fallout.  Narrow your vision to the here and now to meet immediate needs 
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  • Instead of feeling enclosed by walls,  view this as a time of opportunities.  Finish that project,  learn something new, explore nature during your conference call, improve at least one area of fitness,  challenge your kids with a new fun project.  My son and I are going to start work on a Rube Goldberg Machine using toys and other things around the house and garage.  Think opportunity, not enclosure!  We will have more on this topic in coming weeks!



I challenge you to use this and opportunity to dwell on the upsides.  Continue this in your own situation, especially if you find yourself struggling with any fear and anxiety.  Do not underestimate the power of positive thinking!

See the next post on how to prep the body for work at home, or any other physical activity!  Just how the mind impacts the body,  the body will positively influence the mind, with proper posture and breathing!   You'll be amazed at how your outlook changes just by sitting properly and employing proper muscle activation.  
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    Broad Scope Narrow Focus Blog

    Welcome to the Broad Scope Narrow Focus Blog!   I hope you find a lot of useful and applicable information as we explore the broad world of Wellness together.  Check in often, as there will be new posts weekly!  Enjoy

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