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05.10.2024

Strength training + tempeh = better virus protection

After a strength training workout, you are more susceptible to viruses. You can mitigate this with protein-rich foods, stress reduction techniques and supplementation, but completely eliminating the immunological dip does not seem possible. Another option might be to add the fermented food tempeh to your diet, an Indonesian human study suggests. This combination even seems to increase your resistance to viruses.

Study
Albert Ananta, a biotechnologist from Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia, divided 19 male and sedentary students into two groups. One group completed endurance training on two separate occasions, and the other a strength training.

The endurance training involved the students running three times for 10 minutes at an intensity of 60-70 percent of their maximum heart rate.

The strength training consisted of four basic exercises - bench press, dumbbell row, dumbbell squat overhead press - with 60 percent of the hold that allowed for just 1 rep. The subjects performed two sets of 10 reps of each exercise, with one minute of rest between sets.

During a two-week period prior to the training, the students in one group consumed 200 grams of tofu daily. During a two-week period prior to the training, the students in the other group consumed 200 grams of tempeh daily.

Before the supplementation period began, before the training and after the training, the researchers measured the concentration of IgA antibodies in the students' saliva. You can see a schematic representation of an IgA antibody above.

IgA antibodies are mainly found in mucous membranes. In the airways and intestines, they are part of the body's first line of defense against bacteria and viruses - including the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. [Front Immunol. 2020 Nov 30:11:611337.]

The figure below clarifies the experimental design. Click on it for a larger version.

Tempeh & tofu
Tempeh and tofu are both soy products. A prominent difference between the two products is that while tofu is essentially curdled soy milk, tempeh is fermented by the benign fungus Rhizopus oligosporus.

The tempeh that ends up on your plate no longer contains living fungi - but it does contain molecules that Rhizopus oligosporus has produced.

Results
The consumption of tofu and tempeh had no effect on the concentration of IgA, not even in combination with endurance training. The combination of strength training and tofu did not change the concentration of IgA either.

The combination of tempeh and strength training did have an effect. This combination significantly increased the concentration of IgA in the saliva.

Conclusion
The Indonesian study suggests that strength training combined with the consumption of a fungus-fermented product may protect the body from viruses and other pathogens.

What would you expect from the combination of strength training and edible mushrooms? Or the combination with mushroom extracts?

Source:
Rep Biochem Mol Biol. 2023 Jan;11(4):720-9.

More:
Training hard without compromising your immune system? Just double your protein intake... 11.04.2020
Quercetin protects athletes from colds and flu 08.04.2020
Less fatigue, a better immune system yet training hard - thanks to beta-glucans 03.03.2020
Stronger immune system, fewer colds with active lifestyle 09.10.2017
Strength athletes can boost immune system with cystine and theanine 06.08.2010

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