By Dr. David Samadi
If you need another reason to get off the couch, here it is: exercise isn't just for heart health or achieving a healthy body weight. From lifting weights to running hills, physical activity is good for you and can also help reduce inflammation.
Defining inflammation.
Any time your body suffers an injury of some kind, whether it's an infection, a toxin, or a physical injury, the body's natural response is to protect itself from harm. As a result, it's common to experience symptoms that may include swelling, muscle stiffness, fatigue, or pain. Your body reacts to these foreign invaders by creating inflammation, which isn't always a bad thing, depending on the type and how long the inflammation lasts in the body.
That's why there are two types of inflammation: acute and chronic. Acute inflammation occurs during events like banging your knee or cutting a finger. Your immune system reacts by flooding these areas with white blood cells that surround and protect the affected area, creating visible redness and swelling. The process works similarly if you have an infection like the flu or pneumonia. In these situations, inflammation is essential. Without it, injuries would get worse, and simple infections could be deadly.
The second type of inflammation is chronic inflammation. This type is a long-term, systemic problem that can lead to major health problems if left unresolved. Chronic inflammation is often the result of age-related diseases brought on by lifestyle choices such as poor diet, smoking, poor sleep, and lack of exercise.
Signs of chronic inflammation may include muscle and joint pain, eczema, psoriasis, hives, constant fatigue, excessive mucus production, digestive problems, and dry eyes.
Chronic inflammation can also have other serious consequences. It has been implicated as a contributor to conditions such as heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, and even erectile dysfunction (ED).
How exercise fights inflammation.
It turns out that exercise does a lot of good for the body, and not just for muscles or weight loss, as just a few minutes of exercise acts as an anti-inflammatory. This finding comes from a study in Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. For example, a 20-minute session
Moderate exercise, such as brisk walking, can stimulate the immune system, producing an anti-inflammatory cellular response.
One way is through changes in the brain and sympathetic nervous system. The brain and sympathetic nervous system are a pathway for faster heart rate and increased blood pressure during exercise, helping the body do its job. At the same time, hormones such as epinephrine and norepinephrine are released into the bloodstream, which activate adrenergic receptors on immune cells.
This activation process during exercise produces immune responses, including the production of many cytokines or proteins, one of which is TNF, a key regulator of local and systemic inflammation that also helps enhance the immune response.
The study found that doing moderate exercise for just 20 minutes resulted in a five percent decrease in the stimulated immune cells that produce TNF.
Men, who often suffer from chronic inflammation such as heart disease, diabetes, and ED, should utilize this information by taking time to engage in moderate physical activity for at least 20 minutes on most, if not all, days of the week. Examples of moderate exercise include brisk walking, hiking, playing doubles tennis, bicycling at 10-12 mph on flat or hilly terrain, mowing the lawn with a push mower, doing water aerobics, or dancing.
Even better, men who do not currently have chronic inflammation can significantly maintain good health by adopting a daily routine of 20 minutes of moderate exercise.
Any man who already has chronic health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes or cancer is advised to always consult with his doctor first about the best treatment plan for him.
Dr. David Samadi is the Director of Men’s Health and Urologic Oncology at St. Francis Hospital on Long Island. He is a renowned and successful board-certified robotic-surgical urologic oncologist in New York City, regarded as one of the leading prostate surgeons in the US, with extensive experience in prostate cancer treatment and robotic-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy. Dr. Samadi is a medical contributor for NewsMax TV and is also the author of The Ultimate MANual, Dr. Samadi’s guide to men’s health and wellness, available online at both Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Please visit Dr. Samadi’s websites at robotic oncology and prostate cancer 911.