Whatever your age, fitness and training schedule we can all feel under attack during the winter months, with endless colds, the dreaded ‘24-hour bug’ or a dose of flu. One of the best ways to counter this onslaught is to keep your immune system fighting fit.
How healthy is your immune system?
- Do you get more than three colds a year?
- Do you find it hard to get rid of infections?
- Do you suffer from joint pains and fatigue?
- Do your glands in your neck, armpits or groin feel tender?
- Is your performance during training or competition failing?
- Do you suffer from an inflammatory disease such as eczema, asthma or arthritis?
- Do you have antibiotics at least once a year?
- Do you frequently suffer from respiratory symptoms?
- Do you get less than 5-7 hours of sleep each night?
- Do you suffer from allergies to certain foods?
If you answered YES to five or more of these questions, it’s time to focus on boosting your immune system.
Various factors can compromise our immunity including poor diet, nutritional deficiency, environmental pollution, stress and, yes, over-training. The good news is there are plenty of natural remedies to help. Try some of these...
ADVERTISEMENT
1. Vitamin C
Vitamin C is one of the best anti-viral agents there is for athletes. Our white blood cells need this powerful vitamin to fight infection, so boosting your intake when you’re feeling under par can be a good move. An ongoing daily intake is around 1,000mg — best in divided doses during the day. If you find some supplements a little acidic, look for the more alkaline form known as ascorbate (calcium or magnesium ascorbate) or a time release supplement. If you take too much you’ll get loose bowels, which is an indication to reduce the dose.
2. Cherries
As well as tasting delicious, cherries are packed with nutrients. Their rich red colour comes from anthocyanin, a super anti-inflammatory and antioxidant agent. They also contain plenty of ellagic acid and vitamin C. While winter may not be the season to get them fresh, there’s an excellent sports recovery drink containing 100 percent Montmorency cherries known as CherryActive, which is taken by numerous elite athletes including cyclists. Not only a potent antioxidant, it can reduce muscle soreness and, being a natural source of melatonin, promote restful sleep.
Nutritional advisor to British Cycling Nigel Mitchell includes CherryActive in the endurance squad’s nutritional strategy and it was a key feature in their preparation for the Beijing Olympics.
3. Elderberries
4. Echinacea
5. Tea
6. Probiotics
7. Zinc and Selenium
- Top zinc-rich foods include wholegrains, nuts, seeds, poultry, yogurt and shellfish
- Selenium is notoriously hard to come by in a typical western diet due to the poor levels in soil, but good food sources include Brazil nuts, mushrooms, fish, calf’s liver and lean lamb
8. Iron
9. Garlic
10. Omega 3 and 6
11. Astragalus
12. Plant sterols
13. Sunlight
14. Mushrooms
15. Antioxidants
16. Thyme and rosemary
17. Grapefruit seed extract
18. Eucalyptus and lavender oils
19. Stop over-training
20. Get a good night's sleep
You can read more at BikeRadar.com
via BikeRadar All the latest from BikeRadar.com http://ift.tt/2eKXTvn
No comments:
Post a Comment