Exercising your way out of cancer risk

Recently, the number of hours spent on sitting is more than the hours spent on any physical work, this seems normal but this is alarming since it may result in serious health problems.

If you are a busy bee with piles of workloads on your tabletop and have no time to do some stretching, then the more reason that you need to get off the chair and let your blood flow.

Exercising is a lot more than keeping your midsection flat or toning your muscles. The word is about being able to work on your routine and go around without having to deal without that mini- heart attack that most of us feel while climbing up three floors using the stairs.
At a bigger picture, regular exercise is a healthy dose towards keeping yourself away from the risk of dreaded diseases, including some types of cancer.

Here are some health benefits of regular exercise:

▪️ Achieve the right weight. Coupled with balanced diet, regular exercising helps in controlling your weight and preventing obesity. The calories you burn during the exercise balance the amount you take during meals and snacks.
▪️ Work with a sharp mind. Regular exercise is not only for the body but also for your mind. It will help you keep your thinking, learning, and judgment skills sharp as you age as it improves the structure and function of your brain by stimulating your body to release proteins and other chemicals during the exercise.
▪️ Improve mental health. Exercises let your body feel relaxed and improve your mood.  This helps you deal with stress and reduce risks of depression.
▪️ Keep risks of heart diseases away. Exercising helps your circulatory system as it improves the flow of blood in your body. It increases the flow of blood which in turn  raises the oxygen levels of your body. Exercising also helps you combat high cholesterol level, coronary artery disease and risks of cardiac arrest. Threats of high blood pressure may also be reduced through exercising.
▪️ Combat the risk of some types of cancer. A regular exercise can be your shield against the risk of some types of cancer, including colon, breast, uterine and colon cancer.
But while you consider the benefits of doing some exercise now, you may later think of the  horror that having to go to the gym will bring to your busy schedule. No worries, here are a few simple exercises you can include in your home and office workout routine:
▪️ Hamstring curl. This may be convenient if you spend most of your time sitting in front of your desk. You would need to sit on your office chair, rest your feet on a stable surface, such as your desk. Draw the chair towards your heels, push back and repeat.
▪️ Sliding split squat. Stand with your one foot placed on your office chair behind you for support. Stand as upright as possible and slide the chair backwards, bending your front leg. Return to standing and repeat.
▪️ Triceps press. You may choose a ream of paper for weights. Hold it behind your head with both of your elbows bent back at each side of your head. Straighten your arm up above your head and repeat.
▪️ Wall squat. Lay your back flat against the wall as you squat with your legs forming a right angle.
▪️ Wall press. Standing about half a meter from the wall, place your palms against the walls with your arms parallel to each other and on the level of your shoulder. Bend your elbows, push away and repeat.

Other simple stretching exercises you can do are:

▪️ Knee lifting
▪️ Desk push up
▪️ Jump squats
▪️ Side lunge
▪️ Walking for at least 10 minutes

While these exercises can obviously burn some calories, these can also be your guard against the risks of cancer including colon, breast, uterine and lung cancers. Here's how:

1. Exercise decreases your body fat percentage and helps maintain a healthy weigh. Body fat cells store high levels of estrogen, the hormone that is one of the strongest risk factors of breast cancer.
2. Aside from the estrogen stored in the body fat cells, physical activities are also seen to modify a woman's menstrual cycle thus, reducing the production of estrogen.
3. Exercise is also considered as a means to make it easier to quit smoking by reducing your cravings and withdrawal symptoms.
4. Exercise can help waste pass through the colon more quickly, reducing contact with cancer-causing agents.
5. Bodies that are more active produce less insulin and insulin-like growth factors that is a factor in speedy tumour growth.

Regular exercise can also strengthen your immune system which creates better chances of identifying and fighting cancer cells.

In fact, new treatment that augments the capability of the immune system is gaining popularity: immunotherapy. Immunotherapy is a form of cancer treatment that strengthens the immune system in order to fight cancer cells. Instead of relying on drugs to fight cancer cells directly, immunotherapy aims to harness the immune system to enable it to battle abnormal cells. Immune checkpoint inhibitors, a type of immunotherapy treatment, have been shown to boost the overall survival of cancer patients.

An advocacy in the Philippines dubbed as “Hope from Within” is also promoting survivorship from
cancer through early detection. By knowing the real status of one’s health, a patient will know what steps to take next and what are the proper options that can save his life. Knowing what options are available for each type of cancer draws the line between the path to giving up your life and towards living a new life.



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