Sport has multiple benefits for the body, and in some cases can even help reduce the risk of aggressive and metastatic cancers. In any case, this is what the conclusions of a study carried out by Israeli researchers reveal.
The practice of regular physical activity proves to be an effective weapon once morest the development of many chronic diseases. According to Professor Levy and Doctor Gepner, lead authors of a new study from Tel Aviv University published in the journal Cancer Researchphysical exercise might even reduce the risk of spreading certain types of cancer. Biochemists have observed for twenty years more than 2,700 Israeli men and women aged 25 to 64. Note that not all had cancer at the start of the study.
An exercise-induced metabolic shield
To carry out their experiments, the researchers analyzed data from 14 male and female runners between the ages of 25 and 45. Through questionnaires, they collected data on their breathing, metabolic measurements and blood samples before and following exercising on a treadmill. At the same time, the scientific team prescribed an eight-week exercise program to a first group of mice, and injected the second with melanoma cells to assess the relationship between the spread of cancer and sport. Verdict? Participants presented a “significantly reduced likelihood of highly metastatic cancer“, as for the mice that received the injection of cancerous cells, they were more “protected once morest metastases in distant organs“, suggest their conclusions. But how to explain it?
Less sugar to feed cancer
When you exercise, your body blocks the progression of cancer and metastases (a tumor that has spread to another part of the body, editor’s note), by generating a high demand for nutrients in the internal organs. By extension, fewer nutrients are available to feed tumor cells. “The study reveals that through exercise, especially intense exercise, healthy cells demand more glucose… which will impact cancer cells, which receive less. As a result, the growth of cancer, especially cells that form metastases, is significantly hampered or prevented.“, concludes Dr. McClain. Aerobics, often called endurance or cardio exercise, for example, might reduce the risk of metastatic cancer by 72%. Current recommendations are 150 minutes of moderate exercise, such as brisk walking, or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise, such as jogging, each week, plus two or more days of muscle-strengthening activities, depending on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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