fifty shades of gre??????????? en ;)

rob39

Hi all
Started back on the road bike just after xmas (getting fat) got the usual post xmas sniffle which cleared up then developed a niggle in the throat a couple of weeks later which has developed into a cracking upper respiratory tract infection with plenty of muliti coloured green phlegm which when hacked up tries to crawl out of the sink and beat you up. Anyhow would taking a vit c supplement with zinc help during such illnesses? And taking a regular dose of vit c daily help the immune system fight off future viral infection as I seem to suffer these symtoms annually now. When would you advise getting back on the bike?

inseine

I had a cold for nearly a month but made the mistake of doing a very easy 40 min ride after a couple of weeks which I felt put me back. The received wisdom is to not excercise as long as the cold is below the neck, but I'd give it at least a couple of days of feeling fine before getting back on the bike. It's not worth rushing back IMO. I made sure I didn't over eat and I've now done 7 solid days back on the bike and feel great after the rest!

ShutUpLegs

If you are on medication then do nothing, if the doctor refuses to give you anything try a big dose of MTFU

Cleat Eastwood

rob39 wrote:

Hi all
Started back on the road bike just after xmas (getting fat) got the usual post xmas sniffle which cleared up then developed a niggle in the throat a couple of weeks later which has developed into a cracking upper respiratory tract infection with plenty of muliti coloured green phlegm which when hacked up tries to crawl out of the sink and beat you up. Anyhow would taking a vit c supplement with zinc help during such illnesses? And taking a regular dose of vit c daily help the immune system fight off future viral infection as I seem to suffer these symtoms annually now. When would you advise getting back on the bike?

zinc has been great for me for overcoming sniffles etc- not had one cold all year (last year) - try and give it 3-4 weeks, if you feel it easing up just do a gentle spin. One thing I found was that the first casualty of a lay off wasnt the legs but the breathing,

MartinB2444

Getting colds has very little to do with the state of your immune system. If your body receives a dose of cold virus that it hasn't encountered before you will get a cold. I've never seen any high quality evidence that shows that zinc, vitamin C or anything else "boosts" your immune system.

lef

MartinB2444 wrote:

Getting colds has very little to do with the state of your immune system. If your body receives a dose of cold virus that it hasn't encountered before you will get a cold. I've never seen any high quality evidence that shows that zinc, vitamin C or anything else "boosts" your immune system.

As you refer to high quality evidence do you have any evidence to support your first sentence or is this just your view?

Froomes Edgar

lef wrote:

MartinB2444 wrote:

Getting colds has very little to do with the state of your immune system. If your body receives a dose of cold virus that it hasn't encountered before you will get a cold. I've never seen any high quality evidence that shows that zinc, vitamin C or anything else "boosts" your immune system.

As you refer to high quality evidence do you have any evidence to support your first sentence or is this just your view?

MartinB2444

Sorry, having read back my previous comment I see it is pompous and irritating :oops:

However...

This is a good site for info re the common cold http://www.commoncold.org/index.htm It gives good references to evidence published in quality peer reviewed journals

e.g. Gwaltney, J.M.Jr., J. Hendley, G. Simon, and W.S.J. Jordan. 1967. Rhinovirus infections in an industrial population. II. Characteristics of illness and antibody response. JAMA. 202:494-500

Have a look at the myths section