The exercise combo that slays 6 types of cancer risks

There’s no question that physical activity has a huge impact on our health.

From keeping our hearts healthy and cholesterol in check to controlling blood sugar, staying active makes it more likely we’ll live better, healthier and longer.

And possibly best of all, exercise has been shown to have powerful cancer-fighting properties.

However, while the recommendation has been to get up and get moving to keep cancer at bay, the question has still been which type of exercise delivers the biggest benefits.

Well, that question has been answered thanks to researchers at the Federal University of São Paulo’s Medical School.

It takes two to fight cancer

The researchers conducted an in-depth analysis of 12 separate scientific studies involving close to 1.3 million people who were followed from six to 25 years.

No small feat!

According to the team, up until now, most studies on cancer prevention have focused on aerobic exercise. On the other hand, research on muscle strengthening and resistance training has usually been done in the context of health problems like high blood pressure or heart disease.

But guess what…

They say that their research determined that when it comes to cancer, it takes two kinds.

Their results clearly showed that to grab the most cancer protection, you should do both types of exercise — aerobics and strength training.

And here’s why…

They found that muscle-building exercises alone, such as squats, rowing, planks and weight training can lower your risk of death from cancer by 14 percent. That’s impressive enough, but if you combine strengthening exercise with aerobic activities, like walking, running, swimming, and cycling — your cancer protection doubles!

Yup, aerobics plus strengthening can help slashes the risk of cancer death by 28 percent.

Exercise combo slays 6 types of cancer

Cancers the researchers say physical activity can help ward off include:

• Breast
• Endometrial
• Stomach
• Throat
• Kidney
• Bladder

And they say that muscle strengthening can lower the risk of developing kidney cancer by 26 percent.

Unfortunately, the research didn’t show a statistically significant link between those same muscle strengthening exercises and a reduced risk of cancers of the colon, prostate, lung, pancreas, bladder, esophagus or rectum.

And other types of cancer including melanoma, multiple myeloma, lymphoma, leukemia, and ones in the GI tract didn’t seem to respond either. Although the scientists say it might simply be that not enough studies have been done with exercise and these cancer types to get a good baseline.

This means that exercise could still be effective against these cancers. We just don’t know for sure yet.

It’s time to get moving

So should you get more exercise?

Definitely!

In fact, even if you are already living with cancer, research has shown the value of staying active even during treatment.

And if you’re having a hard time getting started, there’s a new trend which I absolutely love: exercise snacking.

It makes fitting exercise into your day easier and helps get you motivated to do more.

Sources:

Combination of muscle strengthening and aerobic exercises can reduce cancer mortality — Agencia FAPESP