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Photo by Ayo Ogunseinde on Unsplash Making a trip to the gym a daily routine can be tough enough for almost anyone. Sometimes you are too tired to go after work or have no motivation to wake up early on a Saturday morning to work …
Photo by Icons8 Team on Unsplash In a recent study, scientists found that “night owls” may face increased health risks as compared to early risers, including a higher risk of diabetes and reduced muscle mass – regardless of other lifestyle choices. The study, published in …
In a new study, researchers found that aerobic exercise may be a key factor to fighting malignant tumors. The results of the study confirmed that the oxygen supply provided by exercise can slow the growth of cancerous tumors, as well as make them more responsive to chemotherapy. Although chemotherapy is currently the most popular method of treating cancer, it has its flaws. The percentage of people who recover thanks to chemotherapy is also worryingly low, but this new research might help to boost these statistics. These findings offer a new clue towards finding an ultimate cure for cancer.
When a cancerous tumor forms, it tends to create its own “ecosystem” in the body. As it grows larger, it sends out signals – much like our vital organs do – that create new blood vessels and supply the tumor with extra oxygen. As we know, oxygen is crucial for healthy cells and organs in normal tissue, and it spurs the growth of unhealthy tissue as well. This allows the tumor to continue growing.
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However, in some tumors, the signals get mixed up and the blood vessels fail to supply the tumor with oxygen. The tumor continues to exist in the body, though, in what doctors refer to as a “hypoxic” state. It seems this would be a positive condition, since it is essentially “starved” of oxygen – but a tumor in the hypoxic state also makes it much more resistant to cancer treatments.
“It’s a bad sign from a clinical perspective when a tumor is hypoxic,” said Mark W. Dewhirst, the Gustavo S. Montana Professor of Radiation Oncology at Duke University School of Medicine and senior author of the new study. For years, he and his colleagues have been looking for ways to increase oxygen flow to tumors. They’ve tried various approaches with different substances that support oxygen and blood flow, but the results haven’t been successful. Eventually, the hypoxic state returns and the tumor remains.
For this study, Dr. Dewhirst and colleagues from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City switched gears. The team started to consider aerobic exercise, which is known to increase the flow of oxygen-rich blood to tissues. They performed the study on mice, by first implanting breast cancer cells and then splitting the mice into two groups, one that remained sedentary and one that practiced aerobic movement by running on a wheel.
In both groups, the tumors took hold and grew, but the growth was significantly slower in the active group. Further testing showed that the blood vessels feeding the tumors in these animals were healthier than in the sedentary mice. As a result, the active group’s tumors were less hypoxic. These results suggest that exercise had made the breast cancer tumors in the mice more responsive to the chemotherapy. By making the tumors less hypoxic, exercise also had made those tumors easier to kill.
More research is needed to find if this result is a major key to fighting cancerous tumors. Dr. Dewhirst has started follow-up mouse experiments using a different type of breast cancer cell that grows more slowly than the cells used in this study and is a better estimation of human breast cancer. He also hopes to study other types of cancerous tumors in future studies.
Source: New York Times: How Exercise May Aid Cancer Treatment
It’s about that time! After a full week of sticking to your resolution, you might realize that you’re not sticking to your healthy eating plan all that well. January is the month where people put in a good effort towards their resolution – but slow …
Photo by Dan Gold on Unsplash By early next year, more than 20 chain restaurants will be required to post calorie counts on their menus. Although the goal is to let consumers know exactly how much food they consume in the hopes that customers will …
It’s a debate that has been going on for years – do you eat before you hit the gym or just wait until after to fuel up? Both choices have their strong points and downfalls. If you eat too much before you get on the treadmill, you’ll be queasy and uncomfortable. If you don’t eat at all, you risk muscle cramps, weakness and even dizzy spells. So what’s the best option?
Should you work out when you’re sick?
If you do choose to fuel up pre-workout, it should be with a protein shake, an energy bar, a handful of nuts or a piece of fruit. Remember: pre-workout snacks definitely should not make you feel stuffed. Without food to fuel your workout, muscle tissue is instead converted into glucose to provide the energy you need, making your workout less effective. It’s important to know that your body uses glucose (sugar) for immediate yet longer-lasting energy.
The type of workout, as well as the duration and intensity, will determine your energy needs. The closer you eat to your workout, the smaller the portion should be. You don’t want your body to be expending any extra energy on digestion when you need it to perform. Any type of high-intensity cardio such as running, jogging, spinning or boxing would require a good snack to sustain you. If you’re opting for a lower-intensity activity, a 200-calorie snack won’t be necessary.
Keep up your energy with these simple tricks!
For workouts that last an hour or less, smaller snacks like Greek yogurt or low-fat chocolate milk are good options. And, if you do happen to find yourself heading out the door as your stomach starts to rumble, you can’t go wrong with a small piece of fruit, like an easy-to-digest banana.
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/15/health/eat-before-workout/index.html?hpt=he_c2