Why do you exercise?
Chances are it’s for one or all of these reasons:
- It helps you stay thinner.
- You feel better after you do it.
- It helps prevent heart disease and diabetes.
- It helps you sleep better.
- You enjoy doing the activity.
A new study shows that working out has another, perhaps unexpected benefit. It lowers the risk for seven types of cancers.
The research was a collaboration between the National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society, and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Investigators analyzed nine studies that involved 750,000 subjects.[1]
Depending on whether the exercise was moderate or vigorous, they found that risk was cut…
- 8-14% for colon cancer.
- 6-10% for breast cancer.
- 10-18% for endometrial cancer.
- 11-17% for kidney cancer.
- 14-19% for myeloma.
- 18-27% for liver cancer.
- 11-18% for non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Dr. Charles Matthews was the lead researcher. He said that the harder you exercise, the more you reduce your cancer risk.
Scientists aren’t entirely sure how physical activity fights cancer. But they have some clues.
Dr. Alpa Patel is the American Cancer Society’s senior scientific director of epidemiology research. She said exercise has important beneficial effects on inflammation, the immune system, insulin, and hormone regulation.
“These factors could affect different types of cancer,” said Dr. Patel.
She said that even “a small amount of activity can be very beneficial to your cancer risk.”[2]
The Best Kind of Exercise
You should do some sort of physical activity every day, even if it’s just a walk. But the study found that a more strenuous workout is better. The good news is that is doesn’t have to take long.
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a great way to do a vigorous workout in less than 20 minutes a day.
HIIT works better than steady-state cardio like jogging or biking to improve heart strength, circulation, lung capacity, and overall fitness. And it takes just a fraction of the time.
HIIT is adaptable to many activities. You can run, cycle, swim, do calisthenics, or use a rowing, stair climber, or elliptical machine.
Warm up for three to five minutes doing your chosen form of exercise slowly.
Then do the exercise at the highest intensity you can for the next minute.
Slow down for a minute or two to catch your breath. Then go hard again for another minute.
Repeat this process five to seven times. Afterward, do the activity slowly for at least two minutes to cool down.
The idea is to push your body for a brief burst, and then allow it to recover.
There are plenty of good reasons to exercise. Avoiding cancer may be the most important one.
Editor’s Note: If you’re worried about cancer, you need to read our monthly journal, Independent Healing. It’s your best source for unbiased, evidence-based medical advice. Discover The Cancer Kill Code. It’s a secret natural trigger that detonates cancer’s self-destruct button.
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[1]https://ascopubs.org/doi/10.1200/JCO.19.02407
[2]https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-12-links-physical-cancers.html