According to the National Cancer Institute, one of the best ways to prevent cancer is through regular physical activity. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) goes on even further to state that individuals who are diagnosed with cancer and exercise throughout their treatment and beyond also increase their survival chances significantly. Additionally, exercise can be one of the more effective methods to prevent recurrence of cancer.
Get Up and Move
Exercise provides numerous benefits. The most obvious is that physical activity helps you maintain healthy weight levels. However, getting at least 30 minutes of physical activity daily reduces your risk for developing type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. It also helps maintain your healthy emotional well being and strengthens muscles and bones.
Studies have also repeatedly indicated that exercise can lower your risk for developing prostate, breast and colon cancer. Other types of cancer that are positively affected by exercise are uterine cancer, lung and liver cancer.
Researchers believe that one of the primary ways that exercise has positive benefits in terms of cancer is because it increases metabolism and hormone levels. For example, exercise helps your body regulate insulin production more effectively, reducing the likelihood of developing diabetes. Additionally, exercise boosts immune system function and antioxidant utilization.
Health Benefits with a Cancer Diagnosis
Traditionally, doctors recommended that patients relax and stay at home being inactive when they were diagnosed with cancer. However, research over the past decade has changed perceptions about the importance of exercise for cancer patients.
Daily physical activity helps fight many of the side effects of treatment and symptoms that are common with cancer. Since regular movement increases metabolic levels, many patients see an improvement in fatigue levels. Additionally, even exercise such as moderate walking, yoga and stretching help improve balance and muscle strength.
Weight loss also improves outcomes for many cancer patients. Weight loss and physical activity can improve cardiovascular health, blood sugar levels and lung capacity.
For individuals who continue exercising even after their cancer has gone into remission, survival rates increase substantially. According to the National Cancer Institute, exercise contributes to long term survival substantially when compared to individuals who are sedentary.
The best approach is to develop the habit of getting regular exercise early in life. It is never too late to get up off the sofa and start moving. Even if you do develop cancer, as research suggests, you can improve your energy levels and continue fighting the diagnosis more successfully if you exercise daily.
Are you concerned about getting cancer? What do you do to decrease your risks for developing it?
– The Alternative Daily
