# improving immunity



## ttcycle (27 Dec 2008)

I'm training for the bike leg of the triathlon this coming summer with a longer term goal to do some time trials and road races.

The problem is that I have atrociously poor immunity. Get a cold once every couple of weeks which is detrimental to the overall training as once I've recovered I have to build up my training load and intensity again.

I've noticed a few factors that predict a cold: 
1. lack of sleep
2. stress
3. Getting cold

Even when I take the above into account- I'm still getting sick - it's taking less time for me to recover from a cold but I still get lots of colds- I don't think I'm overtraining as I take care not to do this but my weakness is overall endurance and climbs. I know that prolonged training can lower general immunity but are there any suggestions as to improving this overall?

I eat a very healthy diet, have recovery/easy days and take a multivitamin supplement.

Any suggestions?!

PS as an afterthought do you guys know any London based fast runners who want to do the 10k run in the triathlon in 2009?


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## BentMikey (27 Dec 2008)

Don't use public transport, wash your hands regularly, keep alcohol gel at your desk, and get out of the habit of touching your eyes/mouth/nose. Oh, and hope like hell you don't have kids/partner who is a school teacher. More rest and sleep.


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## ttcycle (27 Dec 2008)

thanks for the sugestions!

no school teachers in this household -lol


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## punkypossum (27 Dec 2008)

Lots of Zinc!


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## Danny (27 Dec 2008)

BentMikey said:


> Don't use public transport, wash your hands regularly, keep alcohol gel at your desk, and get out of the habit of touching your eyes/mouth/nose. Oh, and hope like hell you don't have kids/partner who is a school teacher. More rest and sleep.


Don't really agree with this. You are not going to improve your immunity by trying to put yourself into some sort of anti-septic cocoon. In fact you might do the opposite - there's quite a lot of evidence now that children who are brought up in household which are "too clean" become more vulnerable to certain conditions because they do not build up their natural immunity.

If you are falling ill that regularly I would personally suggest you consult your GP and ask if you can have a full check up. 

You also mention stress and lack of sleep as being warning signs of a cold coming. Are you not sleeping because you are stressed? If so you really need to think about how you are managing stress, which is easier said than done I know, but again your GP should be able to help.


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## Globalti (28 Dec 2008)

All this stuff about immune systems is bollocks in my opinion. BM's advice above is correct - wash your hands frequently especially after coming in from outside where you will have picked up viruses from door handles etc. Wash your hands before sitting down at work whenever you've been out around the work place. Get out of the habit of rubbing your eyes and touching or picking your nose and you'll find you stop suffering frequent infections. My worst cold in recent years came fom a contact lens practitioner who just rinsed his fingers under a tap briefly before sticking them in my eyes.

The stuff about vitamin C is bollocks too - your body simply loses the ability to process vitamin c during a cold, it doesn't prevent colds. There is some evidence that zinc in small doses can strengthen resistance to infection. I take it and I believe it helps.

Whenever I feel that tickle at the back of my nose and throat I gargle with an antiseptic mouthwash, which seems to see it off. I probably get one bad cold a year and a few minor sniffles.


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## Steve Austin (28 Dec 2008)

Eat lots of dark green veg. Spinach, broccoli,kale and savoy cabbage. boosts your immune system. 
Garlic, eat losts of it. also boosts your immune system.
In fact, eat lots of good healthy fruit and veg. its all good


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## Danny (28 Dec 2008)

Rigid Raider said:


> All this stuff about immune systems is bollocks in my opinion. BM's advice above is correct - wash your hands frequently especially after coming in from outside where you will have picked up viruses from door handles etc. Wash your hands before sitting down at work whenever you've been out around the work place.


Do you have any scientific evidence to back up this advice? I do not believe that obsessive hand washing routines are going to do anything to stave off the common cold.

Most colds are transmitted through the air - that is someone with a cold coughs or sneezes, and you just breath in their germs. Some infections can obviously be transmitted by touch, but these are not generally the sort of common cold viruses the OP was referring to.


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## Jonathan M (28 Dec 2008)

Dannyg said:


> Don't really agree with this. You are not going to improve your immunity by trying to put yourself into some sort of anti-septic cocoon. In fact you might do the opposite - there's quite a lot of evidence now that children who are brought up in household which are "too clean" become more vulnerable to certain conditions because they do not build up their natural immunity.
> 
> If you are falling ill that regularly I would personally suggest you consult your GP and ask if you can have a full check up.
> 
> You also mention stress and lack of sleep as being warning signs of a cold coming. Are you not sleeping because you are stressed? If so you really need to think about how you are managing stress, which is easier said than done I know, but again your GP should be able to help.



I agree with Danny on this subject, trying to prevent exposure to all sources of infection means your immune system won't build up immunity to day to day infections. Danny also makes reference to the "hygiene hypothesis", which is that to have a fully functional, normal response immunse system there has to be exposure to germs, viruses, bacteria etc. The hygiene hypothesis suggests that conditions with immune system involvement (type 1 diabetes, asthma etc) have increased considrably in modern society because modern society has become "cleaner". 

Take pre-school & new school start kids, they get everything in the first couple of years, then settle down. It is part & parcel of building up an immune response.

I work with kids (some with acute illness, I'm a children's nurse), and don't generally suffer much in the way of illness, I got all that there was in the first few years of nursing years ago.

You say you are not overtrained, yet your precursors for getting ill are also some of the recognised precursors of overtraining. It may pay to reconsider this as a possibility first before blaming a poor immune system.


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## wlc1 (28 Dec 2008)

My brother in law can run 10k in 32 mins ?

I'll ask him


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## Twenty Inch (29 Dec 2008)

What a load of macho bollocks in this thread. I'm surprised no-one has told you to toughen up and sweat it out yet.

Everyone has a different physiological make-up, with different vulnerabilities. For instance, I get lots of chest infections, my wife has problems with her gut. We both have different strategies for staying healthy. 

People's vulnerabilities and resilience change as they age and as their circumstances. For instance, I never used to suffer migraines until I started in my new job. Whether I get them now because I'm 40, or because I work in that office, I'll never know. However I've had to deal with them.

So, back to the OP. BentMikey, Rigid, Punky, and Steve Austin are giving the medically and scientifically recognised advice. There are about 500 varieties of cold virus. You'd need 10 colds a year for 50 years to build up antibodies to each one. The best protection is to avoid picking them up in the first place. 

I use the phrase "picking them up" deliberately. Cold virii will only survive a short time in open air but can survive for many hours on surfaces and in environments where air is recirculated. So washing hands, avoiding hand-mouth contact, avoiding public transport are EXACTLY the right things to do.

I'm surprised at Jonathan M's generalisations. The hygiene hypothesis (first noted in Germany, a society that knows a thing or two about obsessive-compulsive cleanliness) refers to auto-immune illnesses, such as asthma, not day-to-day infections. An important distinction. If his conflating of the two were correct, older people would never get ill, would they? With their 60 years' worth of immune system reinforcement. Also, being in public health, he must be aware of the hand-washing protocols now so visibly in force, and the advice given to health professionals about staying infection free. Yes, it's "wash your hands, and don't put things in your mouth".

In response to Danny G's direct question about scientific evidence, link below - first result on a google search

http://www.flemingforum.org.uk/slides/handwashing.pdf

GPs are unlikely to help unless you have a recognisable syndrome or illness. At the most, you'll be sent for blood tests and then told that the results are fine. His first response will probably be "Well, stop running then." You may get a more helpful response from a sports doctor, but that will probably have to be privately funded.

FWIW, when I was a (fat, slow) triathlete, I found echinacea helped. I know that it has mixed reviews and there is a lack of scientific evidence about its effectiveness, but it helped me. I'll give Danny and Jonathan their due - adequate sleep and recovery are important too.

(This has probably wound me up so much as I am in day 4 of a killer cold that started on Xmas day, left me feverish for 2 days, and has wiped out our travel plans and left us sitting indoors all week. I'm not normally this grumpy)


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## ChrisKH (29 Dec 2008)

My own personal maxim is to avoid enclosed spaces with other people (e.g. public transport), eat well and exercise regularly. Since I took up cycle commuting and no longer use the tube my cold & flu incidence rate has dropped by 50% at least. And I have two young varmints to catch things off as well.


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## ttcycle (29 Dec 2008)

thanks that would be great! let me know if he's interested.


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## ttcycle (29 Dec 2008)

The above reply- aimed at wlc1!

Jonathan M- have been really careful about increasing training loads gradually
the precursors to getting ill are stress in working life and am more adept at stress management these days. The lack of sleep is a symptom of busy life Danny G (ie getting to sleep later and not getting standard hours needed) not cause of stressful events in the day and also not due to increased training time ie physical stress on the body.

I measure my RHR in the morning so see this as an indicator of overtraining or coming down with a cold. 

Twenty Inch - what you said re the GP- very true; they have no idea why I am getting sick so frequently as blood tests always come back normal and other measures are very healthy and I think they've drawn a line under it as my leg is not about to drop off anyday soon. Also sorry to hear about the cold- forced myself into work today off the bike and had to be sent home as once again I'm ill- can sympathise with nightmarish exps!


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## Globalti (29 Dec 2008)

Dannyg said:


> Most colds are transmitted through the air - that is someone with a cold coughs or sneezes, and you just breath in their germs. Some infections can obviously be transmitted by touch, but these are not generally the sort of common cold viruses the OP was referring to.



With respect, this is bollocks. When you go out and touch door handles, money, items in shops, etc, you pick up millions of viruses. Most common cold viruses are picked up on the hands and transmitted into the upper respiratory tract when infected fingers touch eyes or nose. This gives the virus a direct route into the nice warm wet environment it loves and it multiplies by the millions. If somebody sneezes near you, the best advice (apparently) is to breathe through your mouth because your saliva and digestive juices stand a good chance of neutralising the virus.


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## Jonathan M (29 Dec 2008)

Twenty Inch said:


> I'm surprised at Jonathan M's generalisations. The hygiene hypothesis (first noted in Germany, a society that knows a thing or two about obsessive-compulsive cleanliness) refers to auto-immune illnesses, such as asthma, not day-to-day infections. An important distinction. If his conflating of the two were correct, older people would never get ill, would they? With their 60 years' worth of immune system reinforcement. Also, being in public health, he must be aware of the hand-washing protocols now so visibly in force, and the advice given to health professionals about staying infection free. Yes, it's "wash your hands, and don't put things in your mouth".



I never said that the hygiene hypothesis referred to anything but autoimmune conditions, and as for the disiticntion, the point in hand is that autoimmune conditions are on the increase (type 1 diabetes in the under 5 year old population in the last 25-30 years for example) and these increases cannot be accounted for through standard epidemiology - so therefore there are other factors in play which means that the immune system is triggered to react within the body. Many diabetes professionals subscribe to the hygiene hypothesis in association with genetic predisposition and viral triggers. But the hygiene hypothesis itself hasn't been proven, it remains a hypothesis, but one that has received some support from publsihed research in recent years. As far as illness in later life, how much is due to the "wear & tear" that occurs after 60 years, regardless of how a person has lived theire life? If aging didn't weaken the immune system then we'd all live forever.


Back to the OP. You seem happy that your situation isn't overtraining. The effects of exercise on the immune system are actually not clear. Lots of evidence that "moderate" exercise strengthens the immune system, equally lots of evidence that episodes of intense physical exercise can increase susceptibility to infection, especially in the immediate short term post exercise. Depending on what bloods your GP the results may not be clear cut as to whether there is a problem with the immune system - do you know what investigations were requested?



There you go, a response without resorting to the word bollocks to make a point.


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## Steve Austin (29 Dec 2008)

messing with someone else's bollocks is likely not to help matters

Keeping fit is a balance. you can't keep getting fitter without stretching your system. So you need to push yourself to the limit of your system whilst avoiding illness.
In my experience, the only way to do this is to keep your diet healthy, and avoid overtraining. You can't do anything about the 'normal' exposures to virus/infections, so do something about the risks you can manage.
Interesting as it is to read about exposure to germs and how this happens, its a red herring when thinking about fitness and training as its something none of us has any control over.


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## Danny (30 Dec 2008)

Twenty Inch said:


> ...I use the phrase "picking them up" deliberately. Cold virii will only survive a short time in open air but can survive for many hours on surfaces and in environments where air is recirculated. So washing hands, avoiding hand-mouth contact, avoiding public transport are EXACTLY the right things to do....
> 
> In response to Danny G's direct question about scientific evidence, link below - first result on a google search
> 
> ...


OK - having read Twenty Inch's post I spent quite a while reading up on "cold prevention" and am happy to accept that cold viruses can be transmitted by touch. However I remain to be convinced that it is practical for most people to keep up the sort of hygiene regime that would be required to really reduce the risk of picking up infections.

Most people don't follow such a rigid regime and don't get colds every two weeks, which is why I still wonder whether ttcycle might have something else wrong.


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## Danny (30 Dec 2008)

ttcycle said:


> Twenty Inch - what you said re the GP- very true; they have no idea why I am getting sick so frequently as blood tests always come back normal and other measures are very healthy and I think they've drawn a line under it as my leg is not about to drop off anyday soon.


Clearly you've been round the houses with your GP, and it sounds like your's has done more than most. 

Although I am a massive sceptic when it comes to alternative medicine, I wonder whether you should consider seeing an acupuncturist. They would certainly claim to be able to treat problems such as your's, and I know quite a number of people who feel they have benefited from acupuncture. 

As I say, I am a sceptic, but if I was in your position I would probably try it.


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## another_dave_b (30 Dec 2008)

I add 2-4 brazil nuts to my breakfast. They're rich in selenium, which I understand is good for your immune system.


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## dave r (30 Dec 2008)

Another one here who would say echinacea is worth trying. I have used it in the past with a lot of success. Its no good taking it if you already have a cold, its not a cold cure. It seems to work best if your immune system is week. I took it a few years ago over November and December one winter and found the amount of colds I was getting dropped from three or four a year to perhaps one every twelve to eighteen months and it has remained at that level ever since. I would also agree with those who said keep well rested and eat well, it helps.


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## BentMikey (30 Dec 2008)

dave r said:


> Another one here who would say echinacea is worth trying. I have used it in the past with a lot of success. Its no good taking it if you already have a cold, its not a cold cure. It seems to work best if your immune system is week. I took it a few years ago over November and December one winter and found the amount of colds I was getting dropped from three or four a year to perhaps one every twelve to eighteen months and it has remained at that level ever since. I would also agree with those who said keep well rested and eat well, it helps.



That seems to contradict the studies I've read, which indicate echinacea is only worth taking when you actually have a cold. It's supposed to be effective in reducing the severity/length of a cold, but not reduce your chances of catching one in the first place.


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## dave r (31 Dec 2008)

BentMikey said:


> That seems to contradict the studies I've read, which indicate echinacea is only worth taking when you actually have a cold. It's supposed to be effective in reducing the severity/length of a cold, but not reduce your chances of catching one in the first place.



I must admit I haven't read any of the studies. The post simply stated my experience with ehinacea. I did once try it when I had a cold and it had no effect at all.


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## Jonathan M (1 Jan 2009)

BentMikey said:


> That seems to contradict the studies I've read, which indicate echinacea is only worth taking when you actually have a cold. It's supposed to be effective in reducing the severity/length of a cold, but not reduce your chances of catching one in the first place.



I've read the same, needs to start at onset of symtpoms IIRC? Same with zinc, that taking the larger doses cannot prevent a cold, but may shorten duration.

Equally though a honey &lemon drink, with no pahramceutical additions was recently discussed as being as effective os the over the counter symptom releif drinks available.


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## BentMikey (1 Jan 2009)

Placebo effect for dave r? I'm not knocking it, whatever works.


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## ttcycle (1 Jan 2009)

Some interesting suggestions - have tried echinacea but didn't find it very helpful at preventing colds and lowering duration of illness.

Used to have acupunture for stress relief but haven't tried it in relation to immunity-may give that a shot. 

In relation to the diet -my breakfast already contains brazil nuts, I take a zinc and high dose vit C supplement and eat lots of veg, including the leafy green variety!!

Good to see some debate on what I thought was a straightforward-ish topic!!
Thanks for all the input.


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## Euan Uzami (1 Jan 2009)

dont' ever take ANY (prescription) drugs,. EVER.
esp. antibiotics.


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## Jonathan M (1 Jan 2009)

Euan Uzami said:


> dont' ever take ANY (prescription) drugs,. EVER.
> esp. antibiotics.



Could be as contentious as the avoiding illness part of this thread!


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## dave r (2 Jan 2009)

BentMikey said:


> Placebo effect for dave r? I'm not knocking it, whatever works.



It worked that was the important bit, still rare for me to have a cold, just get the odd one here and there. Thinking about it must have been ten years ago or more when I used it. I am sure at that time it was considered a preventative not a cure, thats why I tried it. They must have done more research into it since then and changed what they think about it.


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## Twenty Inch (3 Jan 2009)

Jonathan M said:


> There you go, a response without resorting to the word bollocks to make a point.



But you did!


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## Jonathan M (4 Jan 2009)




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## Twenty Inch (7 Jan 2009)

Sitting at home at day 5 of a raging ear infection as a result of the previous flu infection, I was listening to Case Notes on BBC4. There's some very interesting and convincing work being done on using probiotics to boost immunity. Yakult and the like - at one stage the researchers had to go and buy the probiotics from the supermarket. The MD seemed quite sure that advising or prescribing probiotics would become standard practise for people in hospital, on antibiotics or with heightened vulnerability i.e. older, diabetics and so on. Certainly convinced me, I shall be on them as soon as I can bear to get down to the supermarket.

Listen again link here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00gd3g1/Case_Notes_Antibiotics/


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## Twenty Inch (7 Jan 2009)

Sorry, meant to say "bollocks" as well.


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## Jonathan M (7 Jan 2009)

Sorry, forgot the bollox


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## Jonathan M (7 Jan 2009)

Twenty Inch said:


> Sitting at home at day 5 of a raging ear infection as a result of the previous flu infection, I was listening to Case Notes on BBC4. There's some very interesting and convincing work being done on using probiotics to boost immunity. Yakult and the like - at one stage the researchers had to go and buy the probiotics from the supermarket. The MD seemed quite sure that advising or prescribing probiotics would become standard practise for people in hospital, on antibiotics or with heightened vulnerability i.e. older, diabetics and so on. Certainly convinced me, I shall be on them as soon as I can bear to get down to the supermarket.
> 
> Listen again link here:
> http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00gd3g1/Case_Notes_Antibiotics/



About 10 years ago I religiosuly drank a Yakult every day. Coincided with a big increase in the riding |I was doing, and significant weight loss, and I've never been able to replicate the same performance since. I've often wondered whether the probiotic had some effect.

You have my sympathy re flu, I had it just before Christmas, I have not been so ill since the last time I had flu 20 years ago.


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## BentMikey (8 Jan 2009)

I've always dismissed probiotics as marketing and fake medicine, perhaps wrongly. I thought that little if any of the bacteria actually made it past your stomach alive and undigested to the point of uselessness?


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## Crackle (8 Jan 2009)

My post is not so much about immunity but dealing with the colds you get. You mentioned it earlier, about the 'symptoms' you get pre-cold. A depressed resting heart rate or an elevated HR when riding are all symptoms of an oncoming virus, whereas a depressed riding HR are more likely to be overtraining, so my experiece goes, we are all different. Learn to tune in to what your body is saying. If you are on a training curve, then pushing yourself even slightly too hard may lower your immunity and make you susceptible. If this is a regular pattern, think about changing your training routines and adding more recovery.

You can ride with a cold and this is where a trainer comes in useful, as it allows you to contol and monitor your effort much easier than riding outdoors. It can also supplement having to train outdoors in bad weather. Your susceptibility to colds and their effect on training will improve as you get further up the curve, it just may take you longer to get there.

I must say, I'm no expert, they are just my own obsevations based upon my particular susceptibilty to viruses which also seems to be higher than others, probably due to my various sinus and asthma problems.

Edit: I forgot to ask. Do you have any sinus problems? If for instance you have nasal polyps, something your GP could easily miss, you will be more susceptible (I know).


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## brontesorearse (8 Jan 2009)

According to this months cycling plus the largest immune organ in your body is your stomach, between 70-80 % of all immune cells in you exist there . taking antibiotics and other medications wipes out good and bad bacteria.
So basically probiotic drinks and foods high in fibre are a great way to support the immune system long term.
It also mentions, garlic,zinc,green tea,ironand vit c among a whole host of other ideas.


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## Crackle (8 Jan 2009)

Just further to my sinus question and thinking about your ''cold every few weeks" which just doesn't sound right. If you have polyps you will often get coldlike symptoms i.e. blocked nose, green mucous, stuffy head cold feeling and generally feeling lousy without actually having a cold. If you've any history of allergy or rhinitis this could be worth exploring as a possibility, even if you haven't it's worth a thought. The other thing is, your GP might not be able to see polyps, you might need to see an ENT specialist but your GP should be able to refer you if he has suspicions.


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## Blonde (8 Jan 2009)

Sorry for the long post, but I hope at least some of it will be relevant: Between 2004 and 2006 I was getting about 8-12 colds a year and also got the flu most years which always wiped me out for a month. In 2006 I began to deteriorate and developed severe fatigue (which my GP put down to post viral fatigue). I had aching limbs and joints, jaundice and stomach cramping and diarrhoea after most meals and snacks. Of course this affected my cycling and audax events. I got slower and slower. I had no energy – I got the “bonk” every two hours (including when I was at work sitting about at my desk - I had to eat every two hours to combat this). I couldn’t do anything else if I had been cycling (i.e. get out of bed the next day, make a drink, go to work etc). My sleep hours began to increase from 8 to 10 to 12 to 14 and sometimes 15 hours a day. 
Eventually, after 18 months, a lot of sick days from work, and many blood tests at the GP, I went to a nutritionist. The stress levels I had been experiencing over the past ten years (divorce, moving house, new relationship, new job, unemployment, relationship breakdown, moving house etc) had depressed my immunity. In one year I moved house 4 times, had two significant relationships/breakdowns and three different jobs. I was also a heavy user of antibiotics due to numerous infections each year. I had a poor diet due to low income and debt (which caused more stress). I based most of my meals on cheap white bread with sugary sauces (i.e. beans on toast – a poor meal choice in nutritional terms, but necessary when you are so skint you literally count up your pennies and two Ps to go to Netto) and on cheap white pasta. All of these factors had lowered my immunity. 

Cycling 10,000 miles a year plus (and attempting long audax events) on top of this lowered it further still. The stress of no hot water, heating or washing machine wasn’t great to come home to after a long audax on several occasions either! 
The way to break the cycle of stress, illness, fatigue and poor performance and begin to recover is usually to rest. This in itself did not stop my fatigue though. I also had to begin a new diet. I cut out all sugars (including fruit) for a while because the nutritionist’s tests had showed Candida infection in the gut and lack of probiotic activity which was giving me diarrhoea. At the same time I took a good high dose probiotic supplement every day as well as a range of other nutritional supplements and began to reduce my other stress levels. Over time the stress subsided anyway, due to much better circumstances but I can recommend using self-help, stress management techniques as well as avoiding people/not having relationships with people who are causing some or all of your stress. I am now more or less fully recovered but it has taken nearly two years after the initial appointment with the nutritionist. Not everyone needs to see a nutritionist of course but it really is worth taking a GOOD multi vitamin and mineral supplement (unless you can’t due to other medication or are pregnant – check what is safe with the chemist). I used BioCare adult multi which seem to have worked but they are very high dose (200% RDA for some vitamins, so please do check with the chemist first) I would strongly urge you to consider what other stresses you have that could be affecting your immunity - even if the stress was weeks or months ago it can effect you for some time aftewards. Tackling stress, as well as addressing poor diet and boosting vitamin and mineral intake and has made the most difference to me. I eat little bread or pasta now – it usually has so little nutrition in it that a meal based around those items doesn’t benefit me. Instead, I eat a lot more vegetables (half or more of my dinner plate is filled with veg, with a quarter protein and a quarter other such as potatoes in their skins). I also eat more good quality protein than I did previously. Even my hair grows now - It’s longer that I have ever managed to grow it without breaking before! One last thing: On top of the usual hand washing etc, I would recommend you also get the flu jab - it’s really worth avoiding that nasty illness. Many chemists now sell the flu jab. I was lucky to get it on the NHS this year – it is worth asking after the flu clinics have just finished at your GPs as they usually have some left over.

Hope this helps,


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## Twenty Inch (8 Jan 2009)

Hi Blonde

Good to hear from you again. Plenty of food for thought there, I've had a crappy year in terms of health, with lots of stress and depression in the mix. 

Cheers


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## Blonde (9 Jan 2009)

A major problem for "serious" ameteurs and for professional cyclists and indeed for athletes generally is that doing a _lot_ of exercise (as opposed to _some_) actually does reduce your immunity. To combat the effects of this we need to take extra care of our health; eating well, avoiding stress and getting enough rest and recovery.

Recovery periods are one essential part of looking after your health, but many people, particularly those who don't have a "training plan", but simply cycle a lot, don't want to be told to rest, or to take time off, so that's where I think having a more structured training programme with peaks and tapers as well as rest days scheduled into it can actually help ensure you do get sufficient recovery. Either that or you need to be more relaxed generally about the whole thing, listen to your body and simply not cycle when you feel tired - but many cyclists just can't do that, so the structured training plan option is probably more useful to them. Some athletes do not see recovery periods as being of equal importance as other parts of their training but they are. Recovery and rest periods need to be part of every cyclists routine and should be viewed not as a passive option; simply being lazy, but as an active, planned and useful part of training or cycling life.

Regarding stress: The effects can't be underestimated. I used to think it was all a mind thing, but it isn't: Heart rate is raised, muscles are contracted, stress hormones are produced which in time can produce unpleasant side effects, including liver problems, when the body can't deal quickly enough with all the chemicals being produced. This will effect your moods and relationships with others, your sleep patterns, your immunity and your on-bike performance.


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## wlc1 (10 Jan 2009)

Oh and by the way - the brother in law cannot commit I'm afraid.

Work is a bit stressful - he's a lawyer for a hedge fund firm in thre city and it's all going bent at the moment.

He says sorry


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## summerdays (11 Jan 2009)

Heard something on the radio/tv at the beginning of the year saying that now was not the time of year to diet. Apparently reducing your calorie intake also seems to lower your immunity. It was in a discussion about flu, and they were suggesting that you dieted in the 8 months of the year when flu wasn't around. So it sounds as if nutrition certainly plays a part in your immune system.


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## ttcycle (11 Jan 2009)

Blonde

Thanks for your comments - I know that stress plays a massive role in immunity. There was a time when there were several stressful things going on and I literally had an 'ongoing' cold where I'd be sick for months and months and keep getting ill continuosly. Perhaps there is a little residual stress from recent events which are now winding down thankfully! Nutrition wise - I eat a very balanced and healthy diet and quite a large amount of food (portions wise and lots of snacks) as I seem to get hungry quite quickly - don't have too much sugar except maybe in fruit and chocolate at times as I find a lot of food 'too sweet'. Have a good multivitamin and have had the flujab through work and I will try out the probiotic. I'm trying to plan out a training plan - that was the intention before I got ill again but I do build in a decent amount of rest days/easy days for recovery.Though reducing stress I think has been an important element. I hope it improves with time!!

Crackle - I don't think I have nasal polyps as don't experience any problems with my sinuses that I've noticed.

Thanks for the feedback Wlc1 - think we've finally found our runner!


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