Tag Archives: Exercise Tips

Alternative Cancer Treatment

Could Exercise Be the ‘Magic Pill’ that Wards Off Cancer?

Senior Minority Man Working Out Set On A White Background
Could exercise fight cancer?

Exercise could be the “magic pill” we’ve all been looking for that not only thwarts the growing incidence of chronic diseases but wards off cancer. Vital to good health, physical activity offers the mind and body a panacea of healthy benefits. Exercise promotes a healthy immune system, enhances positive mind-body connection, reduces stress and aids in weight control. Regular physical activity has also been strongly linked to both cancer prevention and reduced cancer recurrence among cancer survivors.

The importance of exercise in preventing obesity appears to be the key to its importance in preventing disease and maintaining a healthy body. As CBS News recently reported in a 2-part series on the connections between cancer and exercise, decreasing your obesity risk can reduce your risk of developing a life-threatening cancer.

Not only have the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention linked obesity, which affects more than a third of U.S. adults, to increased incidence of chronic disease, including heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, Type 2 diabetes and cancer; but the National Cancer Institute  has linked obesity to increased risk of specific cancers, including cancers of the esophagus, endometrium, pancreas, colon, rectum, kidney, thyroid, gall bladder and post-menopausal breast cancer.

Why does obesity have such a profound affect on our health? Obesity appears to cause significant disruption to the body’s normal metabolic functions, even interfering with basic cell processes. We’ll discuss that next time.

Issels Integrative Oncology uses beneficial immunotherapy to restore healthy, natural metabolic and cell function. To find out more about integrative immunotherapy, subscribe to our new email newsletter.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research

Link between Cancer and Fitness Affects Men

Staying Fit
Staying Fit

Men have another reason to hit the treadmill. A new study has found an intriguing link between physical fitness and cancer risk in middle-aged men. Scheduled for presentation at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in early June, the study tracked the relationship between physical fitness and the development of the prostate, colorectal and lung cancer (the 3 most common male cancers) in a group of 7,000 healthy, 45-year-old men over a period of 20 years.

At age 65, men who had remained physically fit over the intervening 20 years were less likely to develop cancer. Additionally, among those study participants that did develop cancer, men who were physically fit experienced more positive outcomes.

In an interview with PBS NewsHour, the study’s lead researcher, Dr. Susan Lakoski of the University of Vermont College of Medicine noted:

“This is the first study that really addresses the issue of fitness being a prognostic marker of cancer risk in men, and then a marker of prognosis after a cancer diagnosis. . . . People who had lower fitness, or went less time on the treadmill, were more at risk for developing cancer later in life.”

Asked why fitness has such a noticeable impact on cancer, Dr. Lakoski equated fitness with the body’s ability to maximize efficient oxygen delivery to the organs. As she pointed out, oxygen delivery “is very important in modulating different pathways involved in inflammation, hormone levels, immune surveillance, [and] oxidative damage. All of these things play into reducing cancer risk.”

These findings add further support to the value of taking a holistic approach to cancer treatment.