Hidden benefits of EXERCISE
From a rush of feel-good endorphins, to stronger muscles and helping to keep weight under control, exercise has many benefits. But did you know it can also lower inflammation?
research shows that physical activity can dampen down the chronic inflammation that is associated with a host of conditions, from heart disease and type 2 diabetes to dementia and cancer. What’s more, it needn’t be too taxing — even going for walks can help.
‘You don’t need to push yourself like an olympic athlete for exercise to be beneficial — enjoyment is key,’ says Lettie Bishop, a professor of exercise immunology at Loughborough University.
As it happens, inflammation starts off as a good thing, playing a vital role in the healing of wounds and tissue damage and in fighting off infections.
Fuelled by compounds called proinflammatory cytokines ( proteins released by the immune system when we have an injury or infection), this acute inflammation should only last a few days, before being switched off.
But if it lingers, perhaps due to factors such as obesity, stress or, as we’ve been highlighting this week, poor food choices — it can damage healthy tissue, and so raise the risk of disease.
HOW TO KEEP A LID ON INFLAMMATION
HoWever, research suggests this constant inflammation can be switched off or reduced by exercise and that’s good because it stops long-term damage to tissue, says Professor Bishop.
A 2014 study by Professor Bishop and the University of Leicester found that going for a brisk 30-minute walk five days a week led to a drop in chronic inflammation after six months.
The research, published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, involved patients with kidney disease, but other studies show that regular exercise can help those who don’t have long-term illnesses but still have higher levels of inflammation.
exercise can also help keep a lid on the increase in chronic inflammation that occurs naturally as we get older, raising our risk of ill-health.
LITTLE AND OFTEN WORKS WONDERS
IN oNe of the first studies to show this, researchers from University College London analysed data from a long-running study of British civil servants.
Tests on blood samples taken from more than 4,000 people in their 40s, 50s and 60s, and again ten years later, showed that levels of IL-6, a pro-inflammatory cytokine, and C-reactive protein, a compound that is a marker of inflammation, rose over time.
Levels were, however, lower in those who reported doing at least two-and-a-half hours of moderate to vigorous exercise a week at the start of the study, and were still doing so a decade later.
Importantly, the finding couldn’t be explained by the exercisers simply being younger or being in better health overall. Writing in the journal Circulation in 2012, study author mark Hamer, a professor of sport and exercise medicine, said: ‘Physical activity may be important in preventing the pro-inflammatory state seen with ageing.’
Indeed, everything from tai chi to weight training has been shown to cut levels of inflammatory markers. To see benefits, exercise should ideally be at least moderate in intensity, says Professor Bishop — meaning you will be out of breath but still able to have a conversation.
So, how does exercise help? exercise lowers levels of chronic inflammation in several different ways, explains Professor Bishop.
First of all, fat cells pump out IL-6, one of the drivers of chronic inflammation, and so if you lose weight, levels of IL-6 fall.
exercise also affects the balance of cytokines in the body, cutting production of pro-inflammatory IL-6 and increasing IL-10 and other cytokines that help dampen down inflammation.
Another effect is to make the cells that line the walls of our blood vessels less sticky. Known as the ‘Teflon effect’, it’s harder for fatty deposits to stick to them, forming clots that can cause heart attacks and strokes.
Finally, high-intensity exercise leads to a short, sharp spike in
IL-6 levels — an otherwise unwelcome result it might seem.
The body, however, in a bid to curb IL-6, then releases longerlasting anti- inflammatory cytokines and, repeated over time, this also helps lower levels of chronic inflammation.
DO SOMETHING YOU ENJOY
WITH research, however, showing it takes around three months of regular physical activity to lower inflammation and also that any gains are lost on stopping, Professor Bishop says the most important thing is to choose a type — and level — of exercise that you will stick to.
‘The “best” kind of exercise is the one that you want to do,’ she says. ‘It could be walking the dog, playing a sport, swimming, running, cycling, high-intensity interval training [HIIT, where short bursts of hard exercise are interspersed with rest], or weight training,’ she adds.
‘It’s only effective if you do it, so enjoy it too.’ NOTE: Always consult your GP before starting a new diet or exercise regimen, particularly if you are taking any prescribed medication.