Aerobic exercise may reduce the risk of metastatic cancer by 73 percent – and this magnitude of effect may be unique to high-intensity activity.
Intense aerobic exercise reduces the risk of metastatic cancer by as much as 73 percent, a recent study has found. It does this by reducing the glucose consumption of the body’s internal organs, effectively diverting energy away from the tumor.
Researchers quantified the proteins present in the internal organs of mice and the plasma of humans and found that exercise alters multiple aspects of metabolism, including glucose uptake, mitochondrial activity, and carbohydrate utilization.
Then they analyzed data from a long-term study of more than 2,700 adults living in Israel. They found that high-intensity exercise reduced the risk of developing highly metastatic cancer by 73 percent. They observed similar findings in an animal model of melanoma: animals that exercised before they developed cancer were less likely to experience cancer metastasis.
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Evidence suggests that exercise exerts antitumor effects by increasing the body’s insulin sensitivity, reducing sex-steroid hormone levels, and dampening the immune response (and the accompanying inflammation). It also promotes the release of signaling molecules in skeletal muscle, called myokines, which inhibit tumor growth.
This study demonstrates that exercise markedly reduces cancer risk in humans. Following a time-restricted eating pattern may reduce cancer risk, too. Learn more in this episode featuring Dr. Ruth Patterson.