Articles

The past 40 years have seen intense research conducted and published on long-term endurance exercise and changes in your immune system associated with URS (Blocher 2013; Nieman 2019 201, 2019 341; Peake 2017; Walsh 2019). Surveying this research helps explain the causes and complications while providing avenues for athletes to avoid them – or at least mitigate the risk of exposure.

At this point in time, everyone is (rightfully) very concerned about their immune health, so we’re updating and rereleasing this blog, which was originally published last year. Colds, the flu, COVID-19, travel, indoor gatherings – there are any number of reasons to prioritize immune function this time of year, so this is to touch on general practices to help maintain good immune function and keep you healthy.

By Jeff Rocco MD

Beta glucans are naturally occurring polysaccharides of D-glucose monomers linked by beta-glycosidic bonds. They serve as structural components of cell walls and energy stores in plant, fungal, and bacterial cell walls. They are not found in animal cell walls; however, an ever-growing body of research demonstrates that they have a pronounced supporting effect on human immune systems.