Five Ways Exercise Helps You Prevent Cancer
You’ve heard it a million times: exercise is good for you. You know that it can improve your quality of living, your appearance, and even your mood. And you certainly already know that a healthy lifestyle with frequent exercising will help you fight illnesses and enrich your body with prevention for cancer. But do you know how?
Exercise Changes Everything: Out With The Bad, In With The Good
When you exercise properly (i.e., in a way that trains your muscles,) your body increases the things that fight cancer while ridding itself of things that promote cancer. Here’s what the research suggests:
1. OUT with high insulin levels
Did you know that proper exercise reduces the levels of insulin in your body? This is a very good thing, because studies suggests that insulin causes cells to divide and grow more quickly, leading to cancer. Insulin causes many cells in your body to take in glucose (a simple sugar) from your blood. But frequent exercise creates toned muscles that burn sugar and discourage the growth of cancer cells.
2. OUT with excess hormones
Proper exercise rebalances hormones in your body and reduces the levels of circulating estrogen and testosterone. Yes, both of these hormones are necessary, but high levels of them have been linked to many types of cancer.
3. OUT with excess body fat
It probably comes as no surprise to you that proper exercise helps you burn off excess body fat while preventing weight gain. But what many people don’t realize is that being overweight also increases your risk of getting many types of cancer, while decreasing the chances of surviving many cancers.
4. IN with T cells
Proper exercise triggers hormones that keep your body’s T-cells. These important little immune-system warriors help fight off cancer and infection. So the more you have of them, the better! It’s also important to note that if you already have cancer, strength-training exercises will help you repair and rebuild your immune system after it has been damaged by cancer treatment.
5. IN with raising your heart rate
When you exercise with the right level of intensity (degree of effort,) your heart rate rises. Raising your heart rate speeds the circulation of anti-bodies, as well as those all-important T cells that hunt for any traces of cancer in your system. So, as you exercise, just visualize a microscopic seek-and-destroy mission happening inside your body!
Raising your heart rate through exercise is important even for those who already have cancer. Exercising raises your white blood-cell count anywhere from 50 to 300 percent! This increase can trigger a much-needed repair and healing mechanism that helps restore your immune system after it has been damaged by chemotherapy.
Your Health Is In Your Hands
Now that you know a few reasons why exercise helps your body fight cancer, it’s time to take action. Get out there! Raise your heart rate. Tone your muscles. Lose that excess weight. Even if you have never truly exercised a day in your life, it’s never too late to start.
If you already have cancer, it’s time to help your immune system heal itself. If your goal is to prevent cancer, the sooner you start exercising, the better. No matter who you are, the choice is yours, and the time is now.