Can regular exercise reduce your risk of developing prostate cancer? What benefit does regular exercise offer for your overall health?
The Known Benefits of Regular Exercise
Regular exercise has been shown to help prevent a number of dangerous medical conditions. The risks of developing high blood pressure, high cholesterol, a number of vascular diseases, and several different heart conditions are all significantly reduced by regular exercise done in conjunction with a healthy diet.
Exercise improves your body’s ability to fight off infections, improves the function of your digestive system, and augments your circulation.
Regular exercise can help you maintain a healthy weight and build lean muscle while reducing your body's fat content.
Regular exercise has also been shown to improve concentration and sleep patterns.
Basically, your body is designed to exercise regularly and will function better in nearly every way with regular physical activity.
Does Regular Exercise Offer Any Cancer-Related Benefits?
While it’s not quite as clear as to whether regular exercise can lower your risk of developing cancer, it is clear that exercise has important benefits with regard to cancer.
There is some evidence that regular exercise may lower the risk of developing certain cancers. Exercise improves immune function, which may work to contain or eliminate cancer cells from the body.
Obesity has been linked to the development of several types of cancer. Regular exercise can help to maintain a healthy weight and minimize any negative effects on cancer risk that excess weight may have.
Men who exercise and remain generally healthy can tolerate a greater range of treatment options. Some men are not healthy enough to undergo surgery, thus limiting their treatment options. Furthermore, men who exercise have less severe fatigue and other side effects from the most common prostate cancer treatments (such as radiation therapy).
The Bottom Line
Regular exercise can significantly improve your overall health.
The benefits in terms of cancer prevention may not be absolutely clear-cut at this time, but regular exercise has innumerable benefits for anyone who has been diagnosed with cancer or is coping with the side effects of treatment.
Sources:
Kasper DL, Braunwald E, Hauser S, et al.. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine 16th Edition. 2004.
Kumar V, Fausto N, Abbas A. Robbins Pathologic Basis of Disease. 7th Edition. 2004.
