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The Covid-19 pandemic has increased interest in supplements that can boost the immune system, but the reality is that maintaining a good lifestyle and eating habits should be paramount. Our body’s defenses depend on different organs, some of which we don’t even suspect, as is the case with bones. Inside we find the ‘red marrow’, which makes 100% of both white blood cells and platelets. Y exercise that benefits those bones stimulates and also strengthens the immune function in them
Bone marrow is a ‘busy’ place, researchers explain Mehmet Saçma and Hartmut Geiger from the Institute of Molecular Medicine at the University of Ulm, Germany, in an article for the journal NatureStem cells, called mesenchymal or stromal cells, co-exist along with progenitor cells, including those of the immune system. How the two families interact is still a mystery to science, they write, but at least “part of the puzzle” has been solved in a mouse test. The key would be in motion, which ‘stimulates communication between stromal cells and progenitor cells’
“Thinking about it when you run puts a load on the bones of your legs,” explains Sean Morrison, director of the Children’s Research Institute at the University of Texas (USA) and one of the authors. “We know that when someone tends to run, these load-bearing bones get thicker and stronger. This is because the same bones kept the soft marrow inside them isolated from these mechanical forces during the study. We found that a some of that power is transferred to the interior
This transfer, as they have been able to determine, is part of the process by which the body makes new bone cells that serve to strengthen the bone that is subjected to exercise. The body uses a type of blood cell to transfer these movement-induced mechanical forces to the progenitor cells that live in the marrow, as they cluster precisely around the blood vessels. The exercise-induced signal causes cells to divide to create more material for bone
Therefore weight-bearing exercises – a set of routines that combine aerobic and strength training– would be best for several reasons. Not only are they recommended for weight maintenance and maintenance of cardiovascular and bone health at any age, but they would also make it possible to take advantage of this new mechanism that has been identified to boost immune system activity . “These cells also secrete factors that help make new lymphocytes, “Morrison explains.” Lymphocytes are T and B type cells that are part of the immune response to infections. “
These lymphocytes are the common protagonists of the information about the pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, as they are responsible for “remembering” previous infections and ensuring that the developed immunity is permanent. “What we found is that we could boost the mice’s immune system by getting them to exercise, since in this specialized environment around the blood vessels, lymphocytes were formed in addition to the expected bone cells “, the researcher continues
In the oldest mice, who were at least 18 months old, less and slower formation of bone cells and the immune system was observed, something that also happens in humans as they age. But if they got the chance by practicing an exercise based on their age, i.e. a wheel (“Mice love to run on the wheel!” confirms Morrison), the rate of cellular reproduction increased
According to the specialist, it is a situation similar to that of non-gravity astronauts, who have to train for at least two hours a day to avoid losing bone mass. “My prediction is that this benefit would extend into old age,” says Morrison. Therefore, the recommendation is to Adapt loading exercises to one’s abilities: from intense training to moderate runs, and if there is no other option, to walking. The most important thing, he says, is to keep cell production active through movement.