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Why Wait Until Your Immune System

Completely Falls Apart?

You’re just a few weeks away from getting on the stage. Everything is going great with your diet, your training is going perfectly and then you come down with a virus. At this point you have two choices; Option A, keep working out and hope to make it through but risk getting sicker and missing your contest. Option B, lay off to try and re-coop but risk losing muscle, gaining fat and blowing your peak. Not a fun choice to make. I know what you’re thinking, what about Option C, there’s always an Option C, right? Of course there is, Option C is to always be prepared. I’ll quote the old reliable, “Failure to plan is planning to fail.” Had you just taken some mission critical measures to protect your immune system things would have been fine. The primary function of the immune system is to identify and kill disease causing microorganisms known as anitgens that invade the body. You see, when your immune system is running properly, your body can fight off just about anything. Arming your immune system with the right supplements is the key to your defense.

Here’s The Problem

The immune system is very complex and different than other systems because it’s decentralized. It has components spread throughout the body that communicate back and forth. Once your immune system becomes overloaded it becomes hyper-responsive and cannot distinguish between antigens and what is native. It becomes a loose cannon and your good tissue and organs get caught in the crossfire. During dieting and training there are a few points of vulnerability that can wreak havoc on the immune system:

Food Sensitivity/Poor Digestion – We’ve all been there, you’re training and dieting but the plumbing just isn’t working like it should. You might have eaten something different or maybe even the same thing you always do but for some reason your body just didn’t agree with it. Maybe it’s water intake, not enough carbs, whatever the case might be when digestive issues happen your body does not break the food down correctly. These undigested food particles seep into your bloodstream and cause your immune system to become overloaded. The enzyme Protease helps to break down viruses and disease causing microorganisms that could otherwise overload your immune system.

Workout Stress/Sugar Consumption – We all know when we workout and tear our muscle fibers it puts your body through stress. We also know that during exercise the body releases toxins into the blood stream. In addition, most of us follow our workouts with simple carbs to help repair the muscles and help the body recover. Sugar causes a decline in white blood cells; also bacteria and yeast thrive on sugar making it more difficult to fight infections. Workout stress combined with consuming a much needed post workout shake means double trouble, if you don’t take your healthy immune enzymes, vitamins, and minerals with your post workout meal.

Here Is The Answer

Below are some micro miracles to consider when creating your ironman immune defense:

Protease – The enzyme Protease helps to disarm viruses and disease causing microorganisms. Another important function of Protease, especially for bodybuilders, is that it’s the digestive enzyme needed to digest protein.
Probiotics – Probiotics help replace the good cells that get killed in the crossfire when the immune system becomes overloaded.
Vitamin C – Vitamin C – A well known powerful antioxidants that blocks some of the free radical damage caused by exercise.
Vitamin D3 – Vitamin D3 helps with immune function, bone strength, and over-all health.
Beta-Carotene – Beta-Carotene is converted into Vitamin A in the body and performs antioxidant functions which regular Vitamin A can’t do.
Zinc – Zinc is essential to cell division, growth, and repair, helps detoxify the liver, aides in digestion, and increases the production of protein.
Ubiquinol – Ubiquinol is a much more bio-available and active antioxidant form of CoQ10 that will provide protection against post workout free radical attacks.
Quercetin – Quercitin is a potent antioxidant and is great for fighting of viral infections.

Supplementing with enzymes, probiotics, vitamins and minerals can be used to prevent and greatly reduce the impact disease causing microorganisms can have on the immune system that would otherwise knock you down for the count. Remember bodybuilding success is a planned event. Keeping your immune system strong will help you stay healthy and on track to reaching your goals.