The Benefits of Exercise on Cancer Prevention by Leroy Templeton

Exercise and fitness bring with them a number of benefits. Be it physical or mental health, the health benefits from getting regular exercise are numerous.  On top of many of the well known benefits we are also coming to find that fitness and exercise may help fight and prevent certain forms of cancer.

From a scientific standpoint, this new discovery makes sense. As recent studies have shown, the impact that exercise has on several chemicals also works to limit the growth and development of cancerous cells. Regulation of insulin and prostaglandins along with bile acid limits the number of cancerous cells that are developed do to imbalances of these chemicals. This inherently leads to a less likely chance for the development of gastric cancer, papillary mesothelioma and even pancreatic cancer. Muscle atrophy, another side effect of lack of working out, promotes these chemical imbalances. By working out you can help keep these levels at a healthy equilibrium, thus, limiting your chance for cancer.

Respiratory health is another big issue that can be helped by getting exercise through physical activities. As you workout you take in higher amounts of clean air through the lungs. As the lung works like a sponge; the high amounts of clean air help to rinse away some of the carcinogens found in more toxic air much like fresh water cleans away grime when you run a sponge under a faucet. This, cleaner, lung can not only function better, but it is also at a lower risk for many respiratory cancers, such as lung cancer and pleural Mesothelioma.

Exercise can also help those who already have cancer. As a study by the Canada Research Chair in Physical Activity recently found out that breast cancer patients were shown to experience improvement in strength, muscle function and even a higher success rate for chemotherapy when engaging in regular light to moderate workouts.

Clearly there is a benefit to exercise. It can make you feel better, look better and live longer. As more and more information starts to come in, we are finding that the number of benefits of staying in shape is growing by the moment.