Complex carbs can help keep workouts healthy

Q: Every year about this time, I head to the gym to burn off some winter fat. Problem is, I always start off overdoing it. Then after I go once or twice, I get a cold. Is it me or the gym or what?—Hugh L., Lafayette, Indiana

A: It could be the gym, and it could be you. But it’s probably a little of both.

The gym is a closed indoor environment, and it’s possible to pick up something from the folks who used the free weights and machines before you. (Always clean equipment with an alcohol-based wipe before you use it!)

A recent study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology shows “changes in the distribution of immune cells between blood and peripheral tissues during and after exercise” temporarily weaken your immune system. That, the researchers point out, “leaves our bodies vulnerable to infections, and generally speaking, the more strenuous the exercise, the longer it takes for the immune system to return to normal.”

Maybe, Hugh, before your immune system has a chance to build itself back up again after your “overdo it” workout, you pick up an infection at the gym.

The researchers offer an interesting solution: shorten or tone down your workout and beef up your complex carb intake (to mix a metaphor!). They suggest consuming 30 to 60 grams of carbs an hour while exercising. Try a medium banana (27 grams carbs); a mango (50 grams per whole fruit); or three dates (around 55 grams). Postworkout, eating those carbs in the first few hours also aids in restoration of immune function. (c) 2017 Michael Roizen, M.D.

and Mehmet Oz, M.D.