5 immune boosting tips for runners
Avoid having to take time out from training with our handy tips
1/ - EAT. Make sure you are eating enough calories for training and day to day living. Excluding the calories needed for training and racing, the body needs a specific number of calories just to function. If there is a deficiency your immune system could be compromised and may result in illness.
2/ - DON'T AVOID FAT
Active individuals should be aiming to consume approximately 25 per cent or more of their total calories from fat for optimal immune function. To ensure you're getting sufficient fat in your diet, aim to include foods such as eggs, read meat, oily fish, nuts, avocados, butter and full fat dairy.
3/ - SUPPLEMENTS
Vitamin D - 'the sunshine vitamin'
More than half of the UK have insufficient vitamin D levels especially in winter . Compromised vitamin D can effect a runners overall health and ability to train by negatively affecting bone health, innate immunity and exercise related immunity. Vitamin D supplements are available at most health shops.
4/ - OFFAL
Offal - Kidneys, heart, liver are one of the most nutritionally complete food's around. It contains fat, has a high protein content and provides more variety of vitamins and minerals than any other individual food making it a great immune boosting choice!
5/ - PROBIOTIC
Taking a daily probiotic (found in yoghurt and dietary supplements) has been shown to reduce frequency, duration and severity of immunity illness and improve gut health among athletes during heavy training periods.
