Exercise during the cold and flu season

Exercise during the cold and flu season can strengthen the immune system, provided you do not overdo it, asserts Michael Flynn, professor of health and kinesiology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind. "Exercising during the cold and flu season will help people stay in shape, and most likely fight off colds of reduce the number of days a person is ill.

The cold season should not be an excuse for the average person to refrain from exercising." However, "there is still a lot to learn about how exercise affects the immune system. Strenuous or prolonged exercise seems to suppress [it], leaving athletes more susceptible to illness for one to six hours following a hard workout--the so-called open window."

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