a Exercise and Health Research Group, Department of Sport Science, School of Science and Technology , Nottingham Trent University , Nottingham , UK.
b British Athletics, English Institute of Sport, National Performance Institute, Loughborough University , Loughborough , UK.
Eur J Sport Sci. 2019 Feb;19(1):49-61. doi: 10.1080/17461391.2018.1490458. Epub 2018 Jul 5.
Evidence suggests that periods of heavy intense training can result in impaired immune cell function, and whether this leaves elite athletes at greater risk of infections and upper respiratory symptoms (URS) is still debated. There is some evidence that episodes of URS do cluster around important periods of competition and intense periods of training. Since reducing URS, primarily from an infectious origin, may have implications for performance, a large amount of research has focused on nutritional strategies to improve immune function at rest and in response to exercise. Although there is some convincing evidence that meeting requirements of high intakes in carbohydrate and protein and avoiding deficiencies in nutrients such as vitamin D and antioxidants is integral for optimal immune health, well-powered randomised controlled trials reporting improvements in URS beyond such intakes are lacking. Consequently, there is a need to first understand whether the nutritional practices adopted by elite athletes increases their risk of URS. Second, promising evidence in support of efficacy and mechanisms of immune-enhancing nutritional supplements (probiotics, bovine colostrum) on URS needs to be followed up with more randomised controlled trials in elite athletes with sufficient participant numbers and rigorous procedures with clinically relevant outcome measures of immunity.
有证据表明，高强度密集训练期会导致免疫细胞功能受损，而这种情况是否会使精英运动员面临更大的感染和上呼吸道症状 (URS) 风险仍存在争议。有一些证据表明，URS 发作确实会围绕着重要的比赛和高强度训练期聚集。由于减少 URS（主要是由感染引起的）可能会对表现产生影响，因此大量研究集中在营养策略上，以在休息和运动时改善免疫功能。尽管有一些令人信服的证据表明，满足高碳水化合物和蛋白质的摄入要求并避免维生素 D 和抗氧化剂等营养素的缺乏对于最佳免疫健康至关重要，但缺乏报告摄入此类营养素以外的 URS 改善的有力随机对照试验。因此，首先需要了解精英运动员采用的营养实践是否会增加他们患 URS 的风险。其次，需要对免疫增强型营养补充剂（益生菌、牛初乳）的有效性和机制进行更多的随机对照试验，这些补充剂在有足够数量参与者和严格程序的情况下，使用与临床相关的免疫结果进行测量。
