How Does Being Fit Help You Fight Illness?

Here’s a benefit of regular exercise that you may not have thought about. If you are a person who would like to start moving more as a way to burn calories, reach your ideal healthy body weight, shed fat and be your fittest, know that there’s an even bigger reason to exercise frequently. A fit and in shape person is better able to fight illness. How so?

You have probably had the misfortune of contracting the flu and maybe getting a touch or even a bad bout of bronchitis while sick. For a person who is out of shape, this aftermath of illness with difficulty breathing, can linger on to keep you coughing and wheezing well past what you would consider a typical recovery time. People who do regular cardio exercise will find that their lungs are able to bounce back more quickly. Also, exercising in the fresh air after being sick is a really good way to get your cardiovascular system fired up to speed healing.

Did you know that you can train your lungs for better performance just like any other part of your body? Taking mindful breaths is a great way to do that, as is cardio exercise. It is true that if you are feeling weak and lethargic post illness, you won’t want to overexert yourself as your body may need to conserve its energy for continued healing. However, as soon as you can muster up the effort to take yourself outside for some light exercise in the fresh air, the better off you will be and the quicker you can clear congestion from your lungs and return lung function back to normal.

Outdoor Exercise for Allergy Sufferers

Do you love being outdoors but hate the allergies that go along with it? Many seasonal allergy sufferers find it challenging to keep up with their outdoor exercise program such as running and other cardio like biking, skating, or doing sports, when it’s difficult to breathe.

Especially for people with allergies, it’s important to maintain healthy lung function. If you are doing regular cardio, then your respiratory organs are likely to be in better shape than someone living the couch potato life.

What are some things you can do when allergies rear their ugly head and slow you down as a runner or other person engaging in fitness activities outdoors?

Find a good antihistamine that you can take in the daytime which won’t make you drowsy, such as Claritin or its generic version, loratadine. You can find these over-thecounter antihistamines at your grocery store in the pharmacy aisle or at your neighborhood drug store. Loratadine is very effective at blocking allergy symptoms and fighting that feeling of fatigue and brain fog that allergy sufferers know so well.

Increase your intake of vitamin c. Vitamin C is a natural antihistamine which means it will take your body out of fight mode if your immune system has perceived and invader and has launched another allergy attack with all the annoying symptoms and fatigue that go along with it.

Try a saline spray or irrigate your nasal passages with a saline solution. A neti pot does a nice job of clearing allergens such as dust, pollen, pet dander and mold spores from your nasal cavity. These are the allergens that result in respiratory distress such as sneezing, runny nose, itchy eyes, and wheezing. It’s a simple thing but believe it or not, irrigating your sinuses with saline is very effective. It also may prevent you from catching a cold by wiping out viruses that take up residence in your nostrils which is a very useful thing.

Decrease your intake of sugar and balance your gut flora. Here is a lesserknown tip for people who have allergies and don’t want their symptoms interfering with exercise they enjoy outdoors. The less sugar you eat, and the more gut friendly foods you ingest, the less likely you are to experience allergy symptoms and be susceptible to illness or complications from things like the common cold.

This happens because when we eat too much sugar, yeast grows in the digestive tract and throws off the balance of good bacteria. We are less able to break down the healthy food that we eat. The undigested food remains in our stomach causing digestive upset and creating an environment where the yeast, as well as other pathogens continue to thrive. Poor digestion results in inflammation of the body and an increase in allergy symptoms. You may notice that your ears are more likely to become blocked and seasonal allergies become more severe if you have been eating a lot of crap foods that throw off your gut balance.

Fixing the microbiome of your gut will help you digest better and prime your immune system. Doing this will also bring a flatter stomach which is definitely something

desirable for the fitness minded.

If you continue to have severe allergies despite making these healthy changes but you would like to still enjoy cardio exercise in the fresh air, there are some other things you can do.

Talk with your doctor. Tell him or her your symptoms, including trouble breathing if that is a problem for you. You may discover that you are an asthma sufferer and be prescribed medications or given an inhaler to help open up your lungs.

Avoid exercising outside on days when the pollen count is very high. Pollen causes allergy symptoms even for people who don’t generally have allergies.

Avoid exercising outdoors during the fall if you are sensitive to mold. Fall is a moldy time of year when the leaves fall and there Exercise outdoors after a rain. It’s also a time if you live in a rural area when farmers are cutting down their fields of corn, wheat, and other grains. This puts a lot of particles in the air and increases mold spore count. Your best bet in this case is to exercise after a rain when the air has been freshened and the sun has

returned to dry up any remaining mold spores. Improve the air quality of your home. Yes, we are discussing outdoor exercise for people who suffer with allergies but it’s also cumulative. If you can give your body a break from allergens while living and sleeping in your home, you can improve immune system function. To do this, get a good vacuum with a HEPA filter that will remove most particles from the carpets, floors and the air of your home including pet dander.

Vacuum frequently. If you have rugs, you are more likely to be suffering from allergies especially if you are dust allergic. If you would normally vacuum once a week, try for two times a week or even more if you have pets.

Get an air filter. It’s good to run your air filter at night when you sleep to give your body a break from breathing in particles that may increase your sensitivity and cause allergy symptoms. Getting this needed rest at night May lessen the severity of your allergies during the daytime. You can return your immune system to a good level of function and enjoy running outdoors without a lot of symptoms.