Abstract
Elite athletes use high-intensity training to maintain their fitness level. However, intense training can harm the immune system, making athletes suspectable to COVID-19 and negatively affecting their performance. In addition, the diet of athletes should be appreciated more as it is another influencer of the immune system, especially during the COVID 19 pandemic. The other important issue elite athletes face currently is vaccination and its possible intervention with their training. The present study attempts to discuss the impact of different training intensities, nutritional strategies, and vaccination on the immune system function in elite athletes. To this end, Scopus, ISC, PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases were searched from 1988 to 2021 using the related keywords. The results of our review showed that although high-intensity exercise can suppress the immune system, elite athletes should not stop training in the time of infection but use low- and moderate-intensity training. Moderate-intensity exercise can improve immune function and maintain physical fitness. In addition, it is also better for athletes not to undertake high-intensity training at the time of vaccination, but instead perform moderate to low-intensity training. Furthermore, nutritional strategies can be employed to improve immune function during high-intensity training periods.
Highlights
The immune system plays a significant role in protecting the human body from bacterial and viral infections and other environmental contaminants [1]
A literature search was conducted on Scopus, Web of Science, ISC, Pub-Med, and Google Scholar databases from 1988 to 2021 to find the related articles using several keywords, i.e., low-intensity exercise and immune system, moderate-intensity exercise and immune system, high-intensity exercise and immune system, low-intensity exercise and athlete recovery, moderate-intensity exercise and athlete recovery, high-intensity exercise and athlete recover, sports nutrition and athlete immune system, athlete stress and immune system, athlete sleep and immune system, carbohydrate and athlete immune system, vaccination and elite athletes
It has been reported that low-intensity exercise for less than 60 min can reduce inflammation and improve immune function [24]
Summary
Several factors affect the function of the immune system, including age, gender, nutritional habits, medical status, exercise training, diet, and fitness level [2,3]. Both in its acute and chronic forms, physical exercise performance significantly alters the immune system function [4,5]. Current evidence suggests that regular exercise can exert both positive and negative effects on the normal functioning of the immune system [4,5]. It has been well documented that the modulation of the immune response by exercise depends on several factors, including regularity, intensity, duration, and type of exercise [6].
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