Quarantine’s Over Get Moving: Get Outside for Exercise and Eat Healthy for Your Immune System’s Sake

Kate Hauf enjoys a Pure Juice smoothie after a walk to the beach.

I’ll tell you what, Stone Harbor has been bustling lately. The sun has been shining. The seagulls are laughing. Not that I like seagulls, but their laugh is a welcome sound signaling the coming of the best season at the beach. I think every rental on the island is fully booked. By the time this article is released, summer will have fully begun. And it will have begun none too soon.

I think everyone is ready to move on from this past year and get a real summer underway. It’s been a rough year for just about everyone, I assume. While quarantine and other restrictions were put in place for everyone’s well-being, there were also detrimental effects. These restrictions radically changed many people’s lifestyles, limiting their ability to get enough physical exercise and affecting their overall well-being.

Aside from weight, physical exercise greatly affects immune response. A lack of physical exercise can potentially downregulate the ability of organs’ systems to resist viral infection and increase the risk of damage to the immune, respiratory, cardiovascular, musculoskeletal systems and the brain. So, the restrictions that were put in place to keep us healthy end up doing the opposite as well, and make us more prone to negative outcomes from viruses.

I’m not a doctor and I’m not saying we should not follow the restrictions. There are things we can do that have been proven to help support our immune function and mitigate effects and recovery from viruses. Luckily, everything you need to get that immune system working with high efficiency and get you back in great physical and mental shape can be found right here in Stone Harbor. I’m not sure the borough is going to be changing its slogan of “The seashore at its best” anytime soon, but how about “Stone Harbor – Back to Health.” No? I’ll put a focus group together.

One of the easiest, safest, and most effective things you can do to boost the immune system is to get outside and work on that cardiovascular system. Take to the sunny streets (or beach) and get moving. A study published in the Exercise and Sports Sciences Review found that “moderate-intensity exercise reduces inflammation and improves the immune response to respiratory viral infections.” It hypothesizes that acute and chronic moderate exercise induces a level of stress hormones that downregulates excessive inflammation within the respiratory tract and aids in activating innate antiviral immunity.” It goes as far as to say, “Based upon the available evidence, moderate intensity exercise training should be used as an adjunct to other preventative measures against respiratory tract viral infection.”

Cardiovascular exercise can also play a role in conditioning the diaphragm. There have been many hospitalized COVID-19 patients who have developed respiratory failure and required mechanical ventilation to maintain adequate pulmonary gas exchange. While this intervention may be necessary, an unintended consequence is often the rapid development of respiratory muscle weakness. The diaphragm becomes atrophied and suffers contractile dysfunction. This weakness provides a huge obstacle when trying to wean a patient off the ventilator. Training for cardiovascular endurance leads to several positive adaptive changes in the diaphragm. These changes greatly decrease the challenges of weaning from mechanical ventilation.

While you’re taking that stroll by the beach, take the opportunity to bask in the sun for a little vitamin D.

A recent study published in the journal Nutrients reviewed the “roles of vitamin D in reducing the risk of respiratory tract infections, knowledge about the epidemiology of influenza and COVID-19, and how vitamin D supplementation might be a useful measure to reduce risk.” It stated that vitamin D supplementation may reduce the risk of influenza and COVID-19, but further study must be done to determine the appropriate dose. The authors further stated the “micronutrients with the strongest evidence for immune support are vitamins C and D and zinc.” So, you might as well direct your stroll on over to Pure Juice’s new location on 95th Street and Second Avenue and grab a nutrient-packed smoothie. The Super C smoothie is delicious. Grab some coffee while you’re there too. I don’t know about the anti-viral effects, it’s just good coffee. Also, new to Avalon is City Hydration, which can send vitamin C direct to the bloodstream with its IV therapy. I don’t know much about it, but I plan on finding out. You should, too. Give ’em a call.

If you need more accountability than just me telling you to go for a walk, there are plenty of exercise options at Seven Mile Beach indoors and outdoors, depending on your comfort level. So, whether it’s your physical recuperation, your dietary needs, or your mental well-being, Stone Harbor may be the place to get you back to your former healthy happy self. Get outside, eat some healthy food, and get back to enjoying the beach. “Stone Harbor – Everything you need to increase your immune function to help mitigate potential effects of a respiratory viral infection.” That focus group is fired.