Exercise Essentials

Exercise is one of the most important actions you can take to help prevent many types of cancer.

And let’s face it; prevention of cancer in the first place is a much better option physically, emotionally, and financially than treating cancer.  And if you’ve beaten cancer before, making sure it never returns has to be a top priority.

The link between cancer and exercise is not “junk” science. A sedentary lifestyle increases your cancer risk, leads to obesity, and is a primary risk factor in many other life-threatening diseases.

 If you want to stay healthy, eating a clean diet and exercising regularly are essential. Over the past few years, the role of food in cancer prevention is becoming better known (thankfully) and more accepted by the general population.  There are foods that induce total body inflammation and even encourage the growth of cancer cells (such as sugar).  Other foods actively fight cancer cells, kill them, and keep them from ever taking a firm hold in your body.  Making changes to how and what you eat is a crucial step in cancer prevention and overall health.

To gain the full benefits of the right diet and lifestyle choices, you need to include something our ancestors had in abundance and that our modern world lacks.

Using Aerobic Exercise as a Cancer Fighting Tool

Remember, the term aerobic means “with oxygen.” During an aerobic workout, the cardiovascular system, which includes the heart, lungs and blood vessels, responds to physical activity by increasing the oxygen that is available to the body’s working muscles.Running, biking, swimming, hiking, jumping rope, rebounding, and walking are all activities that keep your body fit and improve your entire immune system. Aerobic exercise provides many incredible benefits that you are going to love!

• Helps control body weight
• Builds lean muscle mass (for better fat burning)
• Increases lung efficiency and oxygen flow
• Strengthens your heart and blood flow
• Boosts energy
• Benefits mood and self-confidence
• Reduces stress
• Improves sleep quality
• Keeps your mind sharp

The key to exercise is the “aerobic” part, i.e., the part that deals with oxygen. Oxygen nourishes cells, creates energy, combats fatigue, breaks down waste products and toxins, provides energy needed to metabolize carbohydrates, regulates body pH balance, strengthens immune system defense, and fights off invading hostile organisms.

You don’t have to be a “gym rat” to get the benefits of aerobic exercise to prevent cancer.  You don’t have to be sore all the time (and shouldn’t be) or exhausted.  Exercise should make you feel happy – not miserable.  There are many ways you can get more exercise in your everyday life.

5 Ways to Get Exercise without the Gym

1. Take the stairs whenever possible instead of the elevator or escalator
2. Park further from stores and the entrance of your job to get more steps
3. Walk or bike to do errands or commuting to work
4. Stretch fully every morning and before you go to bed
5. Take a walk with your friends or pets – or alone to give you time to think

Exercise relaxes the body, improves your metabolism, and helps make your lymph system more efficient.  Your lymph system is responsible for getting rid of the waste products in your body – basic detoxification – and a poorly functioning lymphatic system is unable to flush cancer-causing toxins out of your body before they damage your cells.

Speaking of the lymphatic system, rebounding on a mini-trampoline directly strengthens the immune system, increases lymph flow, and oxygenates the blood.  Unlike jogging on hard surfaces which puts extreme stress on certain joints such as the ankles and knees eventually damaging them, rebounding affects every joint and cell in the body equally. Plus, there are no cars, dogs, and bad weather to worry about.

When you take up exercise, make sure you drink plenty of water and schedule a solid eight hours of sleep every night so your cells can recover and repair.  With regular physical activity, your body will function better and you will feel energized and positive.

Even if you’ve been inactive for years, you can still make exercise a regular part of your daily life.  If you have health problems, talk to your doctor before starting an exercise program so you know guidelines for your personal situation.