Extreme exercise can cause blood poisoning: Study
Postmedia Network
First posted: Tuesday, June 16, 2015 01:32 PM EDT | Updated: Tuesday, June 16, 2015 01:47 PM EDT
You can, in fact, have too much of a good thing.
New research says "extreme exercise" can cause blood poisoning. Researchers at Monash University in Australia studied people who participate in extreme endurance events, such as 24-hour ultra-marathons.
They found that this kind of workout causes intestinal bacteria to leak into the bloodstream.
"Nearly all of the participants in our study had blood markers identical to patients admitted to hospital with sepsis. That's because the bacterial endotoxins that leach into the blood as a result of extreme exercise trigger the body's immune cells into action," lead researcher Dr. Ricardo Costa said in a press release.
Costa defines extreme exercise as anything that lasts more than four hours, or events that entail multiple days of endurance activities.
"Exercising in this way is no longer unusual — waiting lists for marathons, Ironman triathlon events and ultra-marathons are the norm and they're growing in popularity," he said.
"It's crucial that anyone who signs up to an event, gets a health check first and builds a slow and steady training program, rather than jumping straight into a marathon, for example, with only a month's training."
Extreme exercise can cause blood poisoning: Study | HEALTH | Health & Fitness |
based on how heavy people are becoming, over exercise is becoming less and less of a problem.
Postmedia Network
First posted: Tuesday, June 16, 2015 01:32 PM EDT | Updated: Tuesday, June 16, 2015 01:47 PM EDT
You can, in fact, have too much of a good thing.
New research says "extreme exercise" can cause blood poisoning. Researchers at Monash University in Australia studied people who participate in extreme endurance events, such as 24-hour ultra-marathons.
They found that this kind of workout causes intestinal bacteria to leak into the bloodstream.
"Nearly all of the participants in our study had blood markers identical to patients admitted to hospital with sepsis. That's because the bacterial endotoxins that leach into the blood as a result of extreme exercise trigger the body's immune cells into action," lead researcher Dr. Ricardo Costa said in a press release.
Costa defines extreme exercise as anything that lasts more than four hours, or events that entail multiple days of endurance activities.
"Exercising in this way is no longer unusual — waiting lists for marathons, Ironman triathlon events and ultra-marathons are the norm and they're growing in popularity," he said.
"It's crucial that anyone who signs up to an event, gets a health check first and builds a slow and steady training program, rather than jumping straight into a marathon, for example, with only a month's training."
Extreme exercise can cause blood poisoning: Study | HEALTH | Health & Fitness |
based on how heavy people are becoming, over exercise is becoming less and less of a problem.