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Study Finds Having More Muscle Strengthens The Immune System

*Grabs dumbbells* - by Lucy Bode
  • 16 Jun 2020
Study Finds Having More Muscle Strengthens The Immune System
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List of things you probably tried in an effort to ward off coronavirus: drinking your weight in orange juice, prioritising sleep, stocking up on hand sanitiser and avoiding all human contact. But what if we told you the key to kicking contagion was simply investing in a quality weights rack?

You see, a new study published in Science Advances has found a link between muscle mass and a strengthened immune system, meaning the bigger you are the better equipped your body is to fight off infection.

Researchers infected mice with a virus called lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (aka LCMV), which caused their muscles to release an increased amount of a signalling protein called interleukin-15 (IL-15). This was found to support the presence of muscle-infiltrating lymphocytes (MILs), which are essentially immune cells that contain high levels of T-cell factor known for its ability to identify and kill viruses and harmful bacteria.

RELATED: 5 Early Warning Signs You're Not Building Muscle, And What To Do About It

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“If the T-cells, which actively fight the infection, lose their full functionality through continuous stimulation, the precursor cells can migrate from the muscles and develop into functional T-cells,” Jingxia Wu, the study’s author explained in a statement. “This enables the immune system to fight the virus continuously over a long period.”

To take things further, the researchers repeated the experiment using mice that had been genetically modified to develop more muscle. Once infected with LCMV, the rodents released even more IL-15, and in turn, exhibited a stronger anti-viral response (read: more T-cell activity.) Put simply, the musclier mice were better at overcoming the infection.

To be clear, these findings don’t necessarily mean that burly humans have more immunity than people who have little to no muscle. It does, however, suggest a need for more research into the connection between our body composition and the immune system.

RELATED: 7 Reasons Why You’ve Stopped Gaining Strength And Muscle

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Lucy Bode
Lucy Bode
Lucy is WH’s Digital Editor, Features Writer, social media guru and resident woo. A long black lover and foodie at heart, she considers peanut butter an hourly staple and believes chardonnay is the superior drop. When she's not at the beach, barre or yoga studio you'll find her coming up with new and improved ways to kill her unkillable houseplants

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