The single exercise that kills cancer cells, scientists reveal

Below is a reprint of a published article about how working out can ward off cancer. Read on:

It's the most tried and true health advice: regular exercise is key to warding off obesity, aging and chronic diseases. Mountains of research also shows working out just a few days a week could slash the risk of dying from cancer.However, a new study has pinpointed a specific workout routine shown to slow the growth of cancer cells, even after just one session. 

Researchers in Australia recruited women who had survived breast cancer and had them undergo a single bout of either resistance training, such as weightlifting, or high-intensity interval training (HIIT), which involves short, intense bursts of exercise followed by short breaks. 

They found that immediately after one 45-minute resistance training or HIIT routine, participants showed up to 47 percent higher myokines in their blood. 

Myokines are proteins released by skeletal muscle cells during exercise that help muscles communicate with the rest of the body. They have also been shown to regulate metabolism and suppress molecules that cause inflammation, a key driver in cancer cell formation.  

The team estimated that the increased myokines produced may slow cancer growth by 20 to 30 percent.  

Francesco Bettariga, lead study researcher and PhD student at Edith Cowan University in Australia, told the Daily Mail: 'By demonstrating anti-cancer effects at the cellular level, our results provide a potential explanation for why exercise reduces the risk of cancer progression, recurrence, and mortality. 'While our study has limitations and further in vivo work is needed, these findings highlight how exercise could contribute to improved survival outcomes in people with cancer.'The study, published earlier this summer in the journal Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, looked at 32 patients who had been treated for breast cancer, ranging from stage one to stage three, at least four months beforehand. The largest cancer stage group was stage two (41 percent). 

The average participant age was 59 with a body mass index (BMI) of 28, which is considered overweight but not obese. Participants in the resistance training group completed eight repetitions of five sets of exercises for major muscle groups. These included chest press, seated row, shoulder press, lateral pulldown, leg press, leg extension, leg curl and lunges. Participants in this group got one to two minutes between sets to rest. In the HIIT group, participants performed seven 30-second bouts of high-intensity exercise on at least three of the following exercise machines: stationary bike, treadmill, rower and cross-trainer. They had three-minute rest periods between sets. Bettariga told this website: 'We selected two distinct exercise modalities—resistance and aerobic training—because they provide different physiological benefits: resistance training improves muscle strength, while aerobic training enhances cardiorespiratory fitness in order to determine which exercise could drive greater cancer-suppressive effects. 

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