HOW CAN I BOOST MY IMMUNITY?
Seven key tips to ensure a healthy off-season
We’ve all experienced it. You dress up for a 3hr Sunday ride, clip your shoes in, roll the pedals… and you just don’t have any power in your legs. Your mood drops as you realise a debilitating cold is on its way. Worse, it could be a pre-cursor to full-blown flu. But what can you do to boost your immune system and get back on track? Aside from full rest, try the following quick and simple health-safeguarding methods…
MEET TRAINING DEMANDS
Vegans and vegetarians, or those whose normal diet includes very little meat, fish or dairy products, should feature a mixture of the following foods in their diet each day: pulses (beans and lentils), seeds and nuts, soya foods, and products such as tofu and mycoprotein (quorn). Ensure that you’re eating enough total energy to meet your training demands and, if you’re aiming to banish the pounds, make sure that you’re not losing more than 0.5-1kg per week.
SUPPLEMENT WITH A FISH OIL
If you’re not a fish fan and instead take fish oil supplements, stick to the recommended dose – no more than 3g per day of EPA and DHA, which are types of essential fatty acids found in fish – as more may be detrimental to your health.
TAKE AN ISOTONIC ELECTROLYTE DRINK
If you’re training hard on a daily basis or doing prolonged training lasting more than 90mins, use an isotonic electrolyte drink to provide both fluid and carbohydrate. A cheaper option is to use regular diluted squash or diluted orange juice with a pinch of salt to provide the carbohydrate and fluids required for optimum training. At all costs, avoid a dry mouth.
BOOST IRON LEVELS
Taking an iron supplement of 17mg or less per day is unlikely to cause you any harm. A greater dose should only be taken if recommended by your GP. Dietary sources include meat, nuts and dark green, leafy vegetables. To increase its potential benefits, taking it with foods high in vitamin C with non-meat iron sources increases absorption. For example, having a small glass of unsweetened orange juice with meals is useful for athletes who eat little meat. Avoid tea and coffee for 30mins before and after meals as they can inhibit absorption.
Unless under medical supervision, take no more than 25mg of zinc per day. Dietary sources include meat, shellfish and fortified cereals.
KEEP IT COLOURFUL
Follow a diet naturally high in antioxidants from food sources rather than supplements by eating a variety of colourful fruit and veg. Other good sources are red wine (in moderation!), black grape juice, green tea and dark chocolate. If using vitamin-C supplementation, 500mg a day is more than sufficient.
Vitamin A is found in fish, liver and dairy products, and we don’t recommend supplements unless medically advised. If you eat liver or liver pate, this is especially true. If you do take vitamin A, take no more than 1.5mg in total per day.
Vitamin E is found in soya, corn oil and olive oil, though, like vitamin A, it’s not required every day as it can be stored in the body.
TRY ECHINACEA
On the basis of the available limited safety data, echinacea appears to be well tolerated at the doses recommended on the labels. Documented safety concerns are the possibility of an allergic reaction, effects on those with autoimmune diseases and that it may interact with conventional medicines.
RECOVER WELL
Have a 500ml low-fat milkshake or drinking yoghurt post-exercise, as they contain sufficient carbs and some protein to aid recovery.
“Follow a diet naturally high in antioxidants from food sources rather than supplements”