Chronic Inflammation as an Immunological Abnormality and Effectiveness of Exercise

Abstract

Reduced levels of physical activity in people’s daily lives cause the development of metabolic syndromes or age-related disorders. Chronic inflammation is now understood to be an underlying pathological condition in which inflammatory cells such as neutrophils and monocyte/macrophages infiltrate into fat and other tissues and accumulate when people become obese due to overeating and/or physical inactivity. Pro-inflammatory mediators such as cytokines that are secreted in excess from inflammatory cells will not only lead to the development of arteriosclerosis when they chronically affect blood vessels but also bring tissue degeneration and/or dysfunction to various organs. Chronic inflammation is also involved in sarcopenia that brings hypofunction in the elderly, dementia, osteoporosis, or cancer and negatively affects many chronic diseases and people’s healthy life expectancy. In this paper, outlines of such studies are introduced in terms of homeostatic inflammation, which occurs chronically due to the innate immune system and its abnormalities, while focusing on the efficacy of exercise from aspects of immunology and oxidative stress. The preventative effects of functional food ingredients in combination with exercise are also introduced and described. The challenges and future directions in understanding the role of exercise in the control of chronic inflammation are discussed.

Effect of Acacia Polyphenol Supplementation on Exercise-Induced Oxidative Stress in Mice Liver and Skeletal Muscle

“…In agreement with Davies et al, we also observed that liver and skeletal muscle oxidative stress and a plasma marker of liver damage increased after exercise. It is well known that antioxidant capacity (enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant activity) is increased by acute or chronic exercise [3,8,[21][22][23]. For instance, SOD is known as the first line of defense of the antioxidant enzyme system; thus, we measured SOD activity in both liver and skeletal muscle.…”

“…Regular physical exercise or physical activity has many health benefits such as reducing the risks of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes [1][2][3]. However, acute vigorous exercise induces muscle and tissue injuries which relate to free radical and oxidative stress production [3,4]. The term oxidative stress describes a condition in which the cellular production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) exceeds the capacity of the endogenous antioxidant defense system.…”

“…ROS react with cellular components including DNA, lipids, and proteins and can lead to cellular damage [5]. For regular cellular function, it is necessary to keep homeostatic conditions in the redox (oxidation-reduction) system [3,6]. Exhaustive exercise-induced tissue injury or inflammation can be called short-term oxidative stress, but insufficient antioxidant response may not be able to reverse the toxic effect of excessively produced free radicals [7].…”

Vida Fisicamente Ativa como Medida de Enfrentamento ao COVID-19

“…9 Neste sentido, a prática de exercício físico como medida benéfica para a melhora da imunidade é fortemente evidenciada na literatura. [10][11][12] O Colégio Americano de Medicina do Esporte divulgou recentemente um guia em que sugere que a atividade física de intensidade moderada deva ser mantida no período de quarentena em função do SARS-CoV-2, salientando a importância para a saúde de cada minuto fisicamente ativo. 13 Vale lembrar que as recomendações da OMS para indivíduos saudáveis e assintomáticos são de, no mínimo, 150 minutos de atividade física por semana para adultos e 300 minutos de atividade física por semana para crianças e adolescentes.…”

Effects of an 8-Week Protein Supplementation Regimen with Hyperimmunized Cow Milk on Exercise-Induced Organ Damage and Inflammation in Male Runners: A Randomized, Placebo Controlled, Cross-Over Study

“…Prolonged strenuous exercise may induce unfavorable biological changes and symptoms, including inflammatory responses, such as leukocyte infiltration [1][2][3]; gastrointestinal (GI) incidents, such as diarrhea, nausea, and gastric pain [4][5][6]; delayed-onset muscle soreness; muscle and internal organ injury; and immune suppression [7][8][9][10][11].…”