Immune nutrition and exercise: Narrative review and practical recommendations

Area of Science:

• Sports Medicine
• Immunology
• Nutritional Science

Background:

• Intense training in elite athletes may impair immune function, potentially increasing susceptibility to infections and upper respiratory symptoms (URS).
• The link between heavy training, URS incidence, and athletic performance remains debated, necessitating further investigation into contributing factors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between elite athletes' nutritional practices and their risk of developing URS.
• To evaluate the efficacy of immune-enhancing nutritional supplements in mitigating URS in elite athletes.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing evidence on training load, immune function, and URS in athletes.
• Identification of nutritional strategies and supplements (e.g., probiotics, bovine colostrum) relevant to immune health in sports.

Main Results:

• Meeting macronutrient (carbohydrate, protein) and micronutrient (vitamin D, antioxidants) requirements is crucial for immune health.
• Limited high-quality randomized controlled trials exist to confirm the benefits of specific nutritional intakes or supplements on reducing URS in elite athletes.

Conclusions:

• Further research is required to determine if elite athletes' current nutritional habits increase URS risk.
• Well-designed randomized controlled trials with adequate sample sizes are needed to validate the immune-protective effects of supplements like probiotics and bovine colostrum against URS in elite athletes.