
The authors of the study published by the European Journal of Sport Science show the main factors that affect the immune health of exercise-active people. Based on them, recommendations were made regarding training, rest, and nutrition to maintain immune health. Recommendations include:
Recommendations for training:
Keep the size of increments in volume and intensity to 5–10% per week
Increase the frequency of shorter, spike training sessions rather than enduring fewer but longer sessions
Implement recovery activities immediately after the most intensive training sessions
Undertake easy-moderate training sessions after each high-intensity session
Plan an easier recovery/adaptation week every second or third week of the training cycle
Sleep recommendations:
Aim for >7 h sleep each night
Avoid restricting sleep over many days and ‘catching-up’
If possible plan daytime naps
Ensure darkness at bedtime
Nutritional recommendations:
Match energy intake to expenditure and eat a well-balanced diet
Consume >50% daily energy intake as carbohydrate
Ensure adequate protein intake (1.2−1.6 g/kg body mass/day)
Consider 1000 IU/day vitamin D3 from autumn to spring to maintain sufficiency
At the onset of a cold take zinc acetate lozenges (75 mg/day)
Consider probiotics (≥1010 live bacteria/day) for illness prone athlete
Source: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17461391.2018.1449895