More reasons to move!
A few weeks ago we blogged about why movement is important for you and your gut and in the 2 proceeding weeks, 2 separate findings from research have been released that add to the growing reasons as why exercise and movement is so important. We thoughts we’d take a quick look at both to discover what they both had to say.
Candidates were selected to take part in a clinical trial at Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital, which used exercise to better cope with cancer treatment. There is mounting evidence that exercise helps fight cancer whilst having treatment and post treatment. Orthopaedic surgeon Jonathan Herald says he sees how much quicker patients recover with structured exercise rehabilitation. "Exercise is emerging as one of the most powerful weapons in the disease-fighting arsenal to combat diseases like cancer," Dr Herald said.
A recent paper, which looked specifically at breast cancer patients found that women who engaged in regular exercise before their cancer diagnosis, and after treatment, were more than 40 per cent less likely to have their cancer come back or to die from the disease, than breast cancer patients who were inactive. Leading cancer groups want exercise embedded as part of recovery.
The Clinical Oncology Society of Australia recommends 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise, such as walking, jogging, cycling or swimming, each week as part of standard cancer care treatment. It also recommends two to three resistance exercise sessions each week.
Meanwhile in the USA, Harvard researchers had been looking into the benefits of movement everyday for people who have sedentary jobs and the health implications of sitting for long periods. They have discovered that the more you sit, the more your large muscles are not using glucose, the body’s main energy source. Uninterrupted sitting can cause blood sugar levels to rise, triggering the release of insulin, the hormone that regulates blood sugar levels. With this type of inactivity, over time, the body can build up insulin resistance, which can lead to a build up of plaque inside your arteries and can increase the risk of heart disease.
Many studies have been undertaken about the risks associated with sedentary lifestyle and the results point to a greater risk of developing high blood pressure, type 2 Diabetes, heart disease and also greater risk of anxiety and depression. One study that looked at 2600 people aged above 60, who sat for up to 3 hours a day, pointed to a 33% decrease in the likelihood of dying from cardiovascular disease than those who sat for up to 7 hours a day. In another study women who reduced their sedentary time by just 1 hour a day lowered their risk of heart disease by 26%. Participants did not undertake all their movement at once, but rather got up more regularly, taking breaks from sitting for a couple of minutes at a time, but this made a huge difference.
If you have a desk job, or sit for long periods over the course of the day, the take home is get up, and move. Even smaller amounts of movement can make a big difference. For those receiving cancer treatment it can be very difficult to get out and exercise, but research is telling us that this could become part of treatment protocols in the future.
Movement is part of our lives at Gut Happy and we know the importance of it on our overall health and well-being. Let’s create a movement to move more and become, not only Gut Happy, but healthier with every minute of movement.
The Gut Happy Girls
xxx