Improve immunity and coexist with viruses. Exercise helps regulate immunity! Chang Gung Yongqing Cup Road Race starts on October 30

The COVID-19 epidemic continues to spread. Coexisting with the virus has become a global trend in response to the epidemic. How to enhance self-immunity has become an important issue. Doctors call for action, saying that muscles are important immune regulatory organs in the human body, and proper exercise can effectively enhance immunity and reduce the occurrence of diseases. They encourage the entire population to establish regular and moderate exercise habits and implement a new life of epidemic prevention.

Chang Gung Memorial Hospital will host the "2022 Chang Gung Yongqing Cup Road Run" on October 30 this year, and it will start on the same day in Taipei, Chiayi, and Kaohsiung. (Photo provided by Chang Gung Memorial Hospital)

In the face of the epidemic, because the Chinese people cooperated with the vaccination, the severe illness rate was not high, indicating that the era of coexistence with the virus has arrived. Countries have also begun to gradually return to normal life, and exercise is a good way to enhance immunity. Therefore, the Chang Gung Yongqing Cup Road Race, which is entering its 12th year, will be held as usual this year. The spokesperson for this event is Chen Jie, who is known as the "Prince of Hurdles". He is also a national athlete who has been cared for by the Chang Gung Sports Medicine Team for many years. He will serve as the guest gunner at the Taipei venue of the road race.

Chen Jie said that running is one of the most common sports in China. Only with proper training can one improve athletic performance while avoiding sports injuries. However, everyone's physical condition is different, so one must exercise within one's ability. After developing regular exercise habits, it is the correct approach to gradually increase the intensity of exercise. He also thanked Chang Gung Memorial Hospital for inviting him to serve as the spokesperson for this year's Chang Gung Yongqing Cup Road Race and to accompany the public in exercising and fitness.

Muscles are the body's immune regulatory organs and can resist inflammation.

Dr. Huang-Yu Yang, a nephrologist at Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and a PhD from the Institute of Immunology at Johns Hopkins University, believes that it is very important to enhance immunity when living with viruses. He pointed out that in addition to the generally recognized functions of movement and activity, muscles are also the body's immune regulating organs. Muscles release cytokines, which promote the differentiation of type II alternatively activated macrophages to achieve anti-inflammatory function; they can also promote T cell survival, increase the number and toxicity of natural killer cells, and achieve the effect of immune regulation.

Proper exercise can effectively enhance immunity

Dr. Yang Huangyu said that studies have shown that proper exercise can effectively enhance immunity, but excessive exercise will also lead to increased oxidative stress and muscle inflammation, increasing the risk of infection and having the opposite effect. Therefore, everyone should assess their own condition and adjust the amount of exercise that is most suitable for them. But what is the appropriate amount of exercise? In medicine, the maximum heart rate is estimated by each person's oxygen consumption per minute. The normal maximum heart rate is about (220-age)/minute. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends exercising for 30 minutes each time, 5 days a week, at 70% of the target maximum heart rate, while maintaining proper rest, to effectively enhance immunity.

He emphasized that regular and moderate exercise has many benefits. In addition to increasing resistance to acute respiratory infections, improving obesity, type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome, reducing the occurrence of ischemic thrombosis and vascular disease, delaying immune aging, and helping to control kidney disease-related health problems such as diabetes, hypertension, depression and cardiovascular disease, it can also increase resistance to COVID-19, reduce the risk of severe illness, and promote recovery from long-term COVID-19.

"2022 Chang Gung Yongqing Cup Run" will start on 10/30

Chang Gung Memorial Hospital will host the "2022 Chang Gung Yongqing Cup Road Run" on October 30 this year, and it will start on the same day in Taipei, Chiayi, and Kaohsiung. The Taipei venue was held in the square in front of the Presidential Palace and was divided into a 3km leisure group and a 10.5km competition group. The top 10 male and female athletes each received a total prize of NT$220,000. The Chiayi venue and the Kaohsiung venue will be jointly held with the National Palace Museum Southern Branch and Chengcing Lake Baseball Stadium respectively.

Chang Gung Memorial Hospital estimates that approximately 34,000 people will participate in the race this year. Many doctors, nurses, medical examiners, pharmacists, etc. in the hospital have also signed up and will take time out of their busy schedules to participate. Chang Gung's charity mascot "Awa" will be on site to interact with the public and take photos. Co-organizers will also set up many charity booths to provide a variety of health promotion and cancer screening activities to enhance the health knowledge of road runners.