The Defence System of Muscle Growth
When you think of building muscle, you probably picture lifting heavy weights, getting stronger, or improving your physique. But what if your muscles are actually a hidden command centre for your immune system?
Muscle tissue does a lot more than just power your movements. It plays a massive role in regulating your body's natural defences, keeping you healthy whether you are 18 or 80. A fascinating study explored the complex "crosstalk" (as they call it) between our skeletal muscles and our immune system, proving that staying active is one of the best ways to fight off illness. This week, I want to dig into the findings a little more because we all know creatine can help support muscle growth and strengthening, but there must be deeper reasons why we ought to care about that other than reasons of appearance. Let’s take a look.
Without getting too technical, the study highlights that active muscles produce a vital amino acid called glutamine. Think of glutamine as the premium fuel that your immune cells (like white blood cells) need to divide, function, and fight off infections rapidly. Basically, they’re super important to keep us protected as we go about our daily lives and come in contact with a potential cold, flu, or sickness on the metro or in an elevator where someone just sneezed.
When your muscles contract during exercise, they release special proteins called "myokines" (I remember Felipe spoke about myokines quite a lot during our December webinar) into your bloodstream. One of the most important myokines is Interleukin-6 (IL-6). While inflammation is usually bad, the IL-6 released by exercising muscle actually acts as a powerful anti-inflammatory signal, helping to regulate and calm your immune system.
This is why sometimes a gentle walk or stretching session can actually help us feel better if we are fighting off the sniffles.
Besides that, when you exercise, you create tiny, temporary micro-tears in your muscle fibres. This is not a bad thing, so don’t worry, it actually triggers a protective defence system. Your immune system then responds to this exercise stress by sending in specialised cells called macrophages. First, these cells act as a cleanup crew (a pro-inflammatory state called M1). Then, they pretty magically (because the body is miraculous, let’s be honest!) shift into a regenerative, healing state (called M2) that repairs the muscle, making it larger and more resilient to future stress. Every time you exercise, you are essentially giving your immune system a practice run to keep it sharp!
So practically, there must be some things we can all do, no matter our age, that can help promote this cellular process and relationship between our muscles and our immune systems. Here are 3 things that come to mind for me:
You do not need to be a bodybuilder to see these benefits. Simple strength training, brisk walking, or mobility exercises work wonders for any age group.
Exercise is just one piece of the puzzle. To keep your immune system functioning at its best, pair your movement with 7-9 hours of sleep, nutrient-dense whole foods, and plenty of hydration.
And I’m sorry to remind you, but, yes, too much screen time, excess sugar, and highly processed foods can cause chronic inflammation that weakens your immune defences, cancelling out your hard work.
While the messaging around the benefits of creatine for muscle health might be feeling a little old to some of us now, it’s important to understand why that even matters in the first place. I love talking about the up-and-coming promises of creatine just as much as the next person, but it’s an absolute hero in the area for solid reasons. When we have a stronger understanding and connection to why our muscles matter so much to us, it’s easier to stay committed to supplementing with creatine daily.
Your muscles are your lifelong bodyguards, really, when you think about it and by staying active and challenging your muscles appropriately for your age and fitness level, you are not just building strength, you are supporting the maintenance of a fortified immune system ready to keep you healthy year-round.
We all rise together,
Rachael Jennings | Co-Founder + CBO, Jenerise
Reference
Rogeri P, et al. Crosstalk Between Skeletal Muscle and Immune System: Which Roles Do IL-6 and Glutamine Play? Frontiers in Physiology, 2020.
