Supplements Protect Against Damage Caused By Exercise

Exercise is usually associated with improved health, but strenuous exercise can also cause problems. Supplements such as chlorella and curcumin can counter those ill-effects. 

Lengthy, strenuous exercise, for example, increases chances for upper respiratory infections (URI) in athletes, as the immune salivary system secretes fewer protective antibodies. In this study, 34 healthy, physically active men and women took a placebo or 6 grams of chlorella per day, beginning four weeks before and continuing two weeks after two days of intense exercise training.

By week four, protective immune antibodies in mucous secretions were increasing for the chlorella group, but not for placebo, and continued to increase during training and afterwards at rest. Both groups reported a similar number of URIs, but doctors believe chlorella would provide effective protection from respiratory infection by taking the supplement longer.

Rugby is an intense, high-impact physical sport. In this pilot study, 50 male rugby players complaining of muscle and joint pain from injury and exertion overload took a standard analgesic anti-inflammatory drug or 1,000 mg of curcumin every 12 hours for up to 10 days.

Doctors measured pain and physical function before, during, and 10 days after the end of the supplement period. Both groups improved in pain and physical function compared to the start of the study, but 16 percent of those taking the standard analgesic drug complained of gastrointestinal side effects compared to only 4 percent for curcumin.

Discussing the findings, doctors said even though the study sample size was small, curcumin appears to be a safe and effective remedy for relieving muscle and joint pain from intense, high-impact physical activity.

Chlorella is a fresh-water green algae. It is available in powder form from Jarrow Formulas, Product Number 33664, Yaeyama Chlorella. It is also available in capsules, but to get the 6 Gm. dose, one would need to swallow 15 capsules.

Curcumin is the active principal of the herb Tumeric. Two excellent, well absorbed products are Theracumin, made by Natural Factors, Product Number 63860, and Curamed, made by EuroPharma, Product Number 64758.