Spoonful of Bacteria may lessen athletic ailments

[Celebration]

http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080528/COLUMNISTS44/148193542/0/FOOD

People exercising at the elite or very strenuous level – think marathoners and triathletes – often suffer from jeopardized immune function, however. People who are sedentary – think sofa spuds, sitting office onions – also suffer from impaired immune function. It’s the people who get moderate exercise – think 30-60 minutes on most days – who seem to get ill less often.

Researchers at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra found that a daily dose of “healthy bacteria” significantly limited the number of illness days for the marathon runners in their study.

Despite small numbers in the study (20 healthy elite distance runners) the incidence of cough and colds averaged 30 days for those taking probiotics versus 72 days for those taking a placebo (sugar pill).

The runners averaged 62 miles of running a week during the four-month period the study was conducted. Blood tests showed that levels of interferon gamma, a substance secreted by T cells, doubled in the athletes given the probiotics.

Interferon gamma plays a key role in fighting viral infections.

[wtmusic]

1. Interesting.

By most standards I exercise a lot, and I also have a lot of colds, flu, etc.

Ima give this a try. :thumbsup:

[greenman3610]

2. when I was doing triathlons I used to get frequent colds