{"id":207347,"date":"2025-10-17T21:04:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T21:04:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/207347\/"},"modified":"2025-10-17T21:04:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T21:04:08","slug":"how-endurance-workouts-boost-immune-health-according-to-experts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/207347\/","title":{"rendered":"How Endurance Workouts Boost Immune Health, According To Experts"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new study suggests that the type of workout<\/a> you do could boost your health.Specifically, doing endurance workouts<\/a> can support a healthier, younger immune system<\/a>.Here’s what these findings might mean for you, according to experts
<\/p>\n

Everyone is fully locked in on longevity right now, investing in all kinds of supplements and biohacking products and workouts that will make them age more slowly. But a little-known yet key part of longevity involves cultivating a healthy immune system. It makes sense: The stronger your immune system<\/a>, the less likely you are to get sick and the more likely you’ll be able to fend off infections<\/a> and cancerous cells<\/a>. And while our immune system function is actually quite complex, new research suggests that one type of exercise in particular could help support it well into the future.<\/p>\n

Yep, a new Scientific Reports<\/a> study found that endurance exercise (think: long-distance running<\/a>, swimming, or cycling) is linked to a healthier, younger-acting immune system as you age. <\/p>\n

Want to know more about the connection? Here\u2019s what the study found, plus what doctors want you to keep in mind.<\/p>\n

Meet the experts: Amesh A. Adalja, MD,<\/a> is a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security; Thomas Russo, MD,<\/a> is a professor and chief of infectious diseases at the University at Buffalo in New York
<\/p>\n

What did the study find?<\/p>\n

For the study, researchers analyzed health data and the cells of nine participants with an average age of 64. The participants were split into two groups: One that was considered \u201cuntrained\u201d and the other that was made up of people who had done endurance exercise for years. <\/p>\n

The researchers specifically looked at natural killer cells, which are a type of white blood cell that targets infected or damaged cells, like cancer cells. Natural killer cells play a key role in the body’s first line of defense against pathogens, detecting and neutralizing the stuff you encounter daily that can make you sick.<\/p>\n

The researchers discovered that people in the endurance training group had natural killer cells that were more adaptable, used energy more efficiently, and were less prone to inflammation than those of the people in the \u201cuntrained\u201d group. <\/p>\n

Ultimately, people with years of endurance training under their belts had immune cells that worked better and aged slower, suggesting they had healthier, younger immune systems compared to those who didn\u2019t do endurance exercises. <\/p>\n

More On Endurance Training From WHWhy is endurance exercise good for your immune system?<\/p>\n

This particular study found that the inflammation that naturally happens with endurance exercise has an impact on natural killer cells, encouraging them to be more efficient over time, says Amesh A. Adalja, MD,<\/a> a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.<\/p>\n

Regular exercise can also help you maintain a healthy weight, which can support your immune health, says Thomas Russo, MD,<\/a> a professor and chief of infectious diseases at the University at Buffalo in New York. \u201cPeople who are overweight or obese are more susceptible to infections, tend to have worse outcomes when they get infected, and have a low baseline pro-inflammatory response,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

But Dr. Adalja has a very important caveat: \u201cWhat this translates into clinically is what matters.\u201d Meaning, it\u2019s not clear at this point if this will help you get sick less or live longer, just that it seems to have an effect on the immune system.<\/p>\n

What does it mean to have a \u201cyounger\u201d immune system?<\/p>\n

Your immune system tends to get less robust as you age. But a \u201cyounger\u201d immune system may be more adaptable than your chronological age would suggest.<\/p>\n

\u201cA younger immune system refers to an immune system that responds robustly and efficiently to challenges,\u201d Dr. Adalja says.<\/p>\n

Can different types of exercise also be good for your immune system?<\/p>\n

This study specifically looked at endurance exercise, like long-distance running, cycling, swimming, rowing, and walking. But \u201cdifferent types of exercise likely have different impacts on different arms of the immune system and will thus have different implications for infectious disease risk,\u201d Dr. Adalja says. <\/p>\n

But he also points out that you can have too much of a good thing. \u201cAfter a marathon, there are studies<\/a> illustrating individuals might be more susceptible to respiratory virus infections,\u201d Dr. Adalja says. <\/p>\n

What else can I do to boost my immune system?<\/p>\n

Your immune system is impacted by lots of different elements, like how you sleep, what you eat, the level of stress you\u2019re under, medications, and more, Dr. Russo says. So, it’s hard to say what, exactly is going to boost your individual immune system.<\/p>\n

That being said, there are some things that can generally help. Dr. Russo suggests doing your best to get good, consistent sleep, maintain a healthy weight, and get your recommended vaccines. \u201cPeople always look for supplements to help, but the data is not really there unless you have a deficiency,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Korin Miller is a freelance writer specializing in general wellness, sexual health and relationships, and lifestyle trends, with work appearing in Men\u2019s Health, Women\u2019s Health, Self, Glamour, and more. She has a master\u2019s degree from American University, lives by the beach, and hopes to own a teacup pig and taco truck one day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A new study suggests that the type of workout you do could boost your health.Specifically, doing endurance workouts…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":207348,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[379,89317,381,6647,2788,102,380,89316,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-207347","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-content-type-news","9":"tag-contentid-0a222d2f-9cd6-49a6-a967-3e7b1e7ed4b6","10":"tag-displaytype-standard-article","11":"tag-fitness","12":"tag-hasproduct-true","13":"tag-health","14":"tag-locale-us","15":"tag-shorttitle-the-link-between-exercise-and-a-healthy-immune-system","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom","18":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=207347"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207347\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/207348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=207347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=207347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=207347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}