Longevity Bloomington Newsletter # 17 - The Impact of Exercise on Cancer
Plus the best diet for weight loss and a new Longevity Bloomington class!
Research Roundup - The Impact of Exercise on Cancer
The impact of exercise on reducing cancer risk
Most people are aware of the beneficial effect of exercise on lowering your risk of heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure. What is less known is the impact of exercise on reducing your risk of cancer.
A 2016 study reviewed the current evidence and found that being physically active is associated with a lower risk of thirteen types of cancer! Exercise had the largest effect on reducing risk of esophageal, liver, lung and kidney cancer.
The American Cancer Society recommends that adults engage in 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week, or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity and muscle-strengthening activity at least two days each week.
The impact of exercise on cancer survival and recurrence
How does exercise affect survival and recurrence rates if you have been diagnosed with cancer? A 2005 study found that when compared to the least active individuals, participants that exercised at least 180 minutes per week were 50% more likely to survive breast cancer and had a 24% reduction in recurrence!
A 2006 study found that compared to inactive individuals, highly active individuals with stage 3 colon cancer were 49% more likely to survive and had a 40% reduction in recurrence!
Lastly, a 2017 review found that increased levels of physical activity following a cancer diagnosis improved survival for individuals with breast cancer (30-40%) and colorectal cancer (30-44%).
From the paper:
“Engaging in exercise following the diagnosis of cancer was observed to have a protective effect against cancer-specific mortality, cancer recurrence, and all-cause mortality. Based on the 11 meta-analyses that have evaluated these outcomes to date, the magnitude of effect was observed to be considerable. Specifically, superior levels of exercise following a cancer diagnosis were associated with a 28%–44% reduced risk of cancer-specific mortality, a 21%–35% lower risk of cancer recurrence, and a 25%–48% decreased risk of all-cause mortality”
What are the mechanisms by which exercise impacts cancer?
The exact mechanisms by which exercise alters cancer risk are not fully understood at this time. It is likely that exercise affects cancer via multiple pathways.
A fascinating study in 2022 highlighted one of these potential pathways. This study looked specifically at how exercise changes the metabolic environment of the tumor. Just like any other cell, cancer cells need nutrients such as glucose and amino acids to grow. It appears that exercise can induce a high nutrient demand in internal organs and thus reduce nutrient availability for tumor cells.
From the study:
“exercise induces the metabolic reprogramming of internal organs that increases nutrient demand and protects against metastatic colonization by limiting nutrient availability to the tumor, generating an exercise-induced metabolic shield”
Essentially, it appears your body’s tissues and the tumor compete for resources to survive. Exercise causes your body’s tissues to take up more nutrients, which lessens the amount of nutrients available to the tumor.
Again, from the authors:
“Our analysis revealed that exercise tends to lower the risk of developing cancer in both men and women, with a greater association with highly metastatic cancers (SEER 7; Fig. 2E). Specifically, high intensity exercise significantly reduced the incidence of highly metastatic cancers (73% risk reduction compared with the inactive group). This implies that high-intensity exercise may prevent cancer dissemination to distant sites. Our epidemiologic study illustrates the unique and significant interaction between exercise intensity and metastatic cancer development in humans.”
It appears that exercise can be a valuable adjunct to the many established treatments that have already been shown to be effective against cancer such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Consult with your physician to determine how you might benefit from exercise.
New Longevity Bloomington Functional Fitness Class
We are excited to announce we will be adding a new Longevity Bloomington functional fitness class! The class will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 2:30 PM at Full House Fitness beginning on 5/2/23. Our functional fitness class focuses on improving balance, agility, strength and endurance. Please contact us at ben@longevitybtown.com if you are interested in joining! If you know of any friends or family that might benefit from the class, please share this with them!
What is the Best Diet for Weight Loss?
The research is clear: there is no “best diet” for weight loss. The single most important factor in determining whether or not a diet will result in weight loss is an energy deficit. You need to burn more calories than you take in to lose weight. Period.
Deficits of 500–750 calories per day have been used for weight loss and are recommended by many obesity societies and guidelines.
What about the differences between low-fat and low-carb diets? The 2018 DIETFITS study randomly assigned 609 individuals to either a healthy low-fat diet or a healthy low-carb diet for one year. What did they find? Both groups lost weight but there were no significant differences in weight loss between the two groups.
The best diet for weight loss is a diet that results in a caloric deficit that you can stick with over the long-term.
Yoga Pose of the Month
Tadasana or Mountain Pose
Tadasana, or Mountain Pose, is one of the foundational poses of yoga. In fact, it might be considered the single most important yoga pose, because we reach for elements of Tadasana in almost all other yoga poses. More importantly, over time practicing Tadasana can transform your posture even when you aren’t doing yoga.
To begin, stand at a slight angle from a full-length mirror so that you can see your side body in the mirror. Notice your posture and how your body feels as you stand.
Now, working from the ground up:
· Move the feet so they are parallel to one another—unless that hurts your knees
· Balance your weight between the front and back of the feet
· Take a very slight bend in your knees, so the knees are not locked
· Activate your thigh muscles (quadriceps), drawing the kneecaps upward
· Stack your hips over the heels
· Draw your navel in and up, engaging the abdominals
· Align your shoulders over your hips
· Allow your arms to hang by your sides and rotate your arms so that your palms face forward
· Reach the crown of your head toward the ceiling
· Breathe
Now, notice your posture. Tadasana moves the body into its natural, proper alignment. Your spine is long. Your weight is balanced. You are a mountain: strong and rooted. Even though Tadasana looks like you are just standing there, it is an active full-body pose.
Finally, notice how Tadasana feels. If your posture is less than ideal, you may find that Tadasana feels foreign, even uncomfortable. I had my husband try it, and his response was, “It feels awful!” If this is your response, it might be a good indication that your body could benefit from practicing Tadasana.
With consistent practice, Tadasana will come to feel normal and natural. Your posture will improve. You will be building better balance. Legs and abs will strengthen. You may find that it is easier to take a full, deep breath. And your posture will convey to the world—and to yourself-- that you are grounded, centered, and strong.
Intrigued? Try Steady and Strong, Longevity Bloomington’s yoga class. Classes meet Monday and Wednesday, 2:00-3:00. Your 10 class pass is also good for yoga classes.
--Patricia, Longevity Bloomington Yoga Instructor
Longevity Bloomington Members in Action
Here is a video of our 11:30 functional fitness class putting in some great work during the conditioning portion of the class!
New Longevity Bloomington Members
We have added six new members this month:
Terri
Tina
Louise
Carole
John
Cindy
Welcome to the Longevity family. It has been great having you!
Links We’re Liking
Links from around the web with valuable information to live a healthy, happy life:
Physician Petter Attia (author of Outlive) was on the podcast People I Mostly Admire with economist Steve Levitt to discuss how to add ten healthy years to your life.
Jonathon Sullivan MD, PhD (author of The Barbell Prescription) regularly provides valuable health and fitness information for adults 50+ via his Greysteel YouTube channel. In this episode, he discusses 10 myths that keep you from getting fit after 50.
Longevity Bloomington Social Media
Why do we deadlift at Longevity Bloomington? Anytime we bend over to pick something up, we are deadlifting. We might as well get good at it. Being good at the deadlift will help you with all kinds of everyday activities including gardening, grocery shopping and even picking up that heavy Amazon box on the front porch!
Benefits of deadlifting:
1. Stronger back
2. Stronger legs
3. Stronger core
4. Stronger grip
5. Teaches you how to pick things up correctly
"The deadlift is nothing more than the biomechanically sound approach by which we pick things up off the ground” - Rippetoe
Please welcome Dee to the 100 class club! Dee has been incredibly consistent with her commitment to her fitness. She joined Longevity Bloomington in April of 2022 and has attended 93% of classes in that time (she has only missed 7)! Way to go Dee!