14 DAY TRIAL // For those of you in desperate need of a good excuse not to hit the gym today or any other day of the rest of the week - might as well make it the rest of the year while you're at it - here's an interesting piece of news: exercising for too long and too hard can cause blood poisoning.
No, really, we're not making stuff up. It says so in a report inked by scientists at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, and published in the International Journal of Sports Medicine earlier this month.
Wait, what?
In their study, the Monash University researchers explain that, when exercising long and hard, people risk having bacteria that are naturally occurring in their guts work their way into their bloodstream.
Once there, these out-of-place bacteria are bound to be attacked by the body's immune cells, the result being what medical experts call a systemic inflammatory response.
“Exercise over a prolonged period of time causes the gut wall to change, allowing the naturally present bacteria, known as endotoxins, in the gut to leak into the bloodstream,” the specialists warn.
Having bacteria enter the bloodstream, a condition known as blood poisoning or septicemia, comes with symptoms such as high fever, chills, increased heart rate, rapid breathing and paleness.
In extreme cases, blood poisoning can result in confusion, septic shock, respiratory distress syndrome. If not diagnosed and treated promptly, blood poisoning can even prove fatal.
Don't cancel your gym membership just yet
According to the Monash University team, it's only people who take part in extreme endurance events like 24-hour marathons or marathons lasting several consecutive days that risk having their gut bacteria leak into their blood stream.
Besides, evidence indicates that, the more time a person spends training and preparing their body for such competitions, the less likely they are to have any trouble.
Plainly put, people who are fit, healthy and who stick to a steady training program have no reason to worry that an extreme endurance event might give them blood poisoning and kill them, seeing how their body can handle the stress.
“The body has the ability to adapt and put a brake on negative immune responses triggered by extreme endurance events,” said study leader Ricardo Costa, as cited by Science Daily.
Folks who are not in shape and who aren't all that used to exercising, however, shouldn't sign up for marathons. As specialist Ricardo Costa put it, “If you haven't done the training and you're unfit - these are the people who can get into trouble.”