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Vitamin C and exercise-induced immunodepression

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 61, pages 1241–1242 (2007)Cite this article

Moreira et al. (2007) systematically reviewed the role of nutrition on exercise-induced immunodepression. However, their paper has several shortcomings.

Moreira refers to Nieman's ‘J’-curve hypothesis, which proposes that moderate exercise improves the immune system and reduces the risk of upper respiratory tract infections (URI), whereas excessive physical stress impairs the immune system and increases URI risk (Nieman, 1994). In a large cohort, we found that the risk of the common cold and pneumonia was not reduced with moderate physical activity, refuting the universal validity of the ‘J’-model (Hemilä et al., 2003, 2006).

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  1. Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    H Hemilä

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  1. H Hemilä
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Correspondence to H Hemilä.

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Hemilä, H. Vitamin C and exercise-induced immunodepression. Eur J Clin Nutr 61, 1241–1242 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602751

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