huffingtonpost - 1 month ago

!function(n){if(!window.cnx){window.cnx={},window.cnx.cmd=[];var t=n.createElement( iframe );t.display= none ,t.onload=function(){var n=t.contentWindow.document,c=n.createElement( script );c.src= //cd.connatix.com/connatix.player.js ,c.setAttribute( async , 1 ),c.setAttribute( type , text/javascript ),n.body.appendChild(c)},n.head.appendChild(t)}}(document);(new Image()).src = https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=8b034f64-513c-4987-b16f-42d6008f7feb ;cnx.cmd.push(function(){cnx({ playerId : 8b034f64-513c-4987-b16f-42d6008f7feb , mediaId : 90521d68-f474-4846-8888-bd8bf445faf3 }).render( 690ca4c5e4b0f73c45ecb996 );});Exercise is great for our health ― it “can reduce your risk of major illnesses, such as coronary heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and cancer, and lower your risk of early death by up to 30%,” the NHS says.It’s even been linked to a lower likelihood of depression, dementia, and arthritis.And now, new research suggests that it might not just bulk up your biceps ― regular movement can “train” your immune system, too.According to the paper, published in the journal Scientific Reports, “Ageing is associated with immune dysfunction, but long-term endurance training may confer protective effects on immune cell function.” Why might exercise “train” our immune system? This (admittedly small) study focused on nine participants with an average age of 64. They looked at their natural killer (NK) cells, a type of white blood cell which can spot and get rid of diseased cells. These can sometimes include cancerous cells. The scientists split the participants into two groups (those who exercised regularly and those who did not) and then compared their blood NK cell count.“In a previous study, we found that obesity and a sedentary lifestyle can trigger a process of premature ageing of defence cells,” lead author Dr Luciele Minuzzi said. “This made us want to investigate the other side of the story, that is, whether an older adult who has been practising endurance exercises for more than 20 years may have a better-prepared immune system. And that’s indeed what we found.“In these individuals, NK cells functioned better in the face of an inflammatory challenge, in addition to using energy more efficiently. Therefore, it’s as if exercise also trains the immune system.” Another study the researcher was involved with called exercise a “safe intervention to reduce immunosenescence,” or “the progressive dysfunction of the immune system that occurs with ageing and results in greater susceptibility to infections, autoimmune diseases, and cancer”.Inflammation was better-controlled in those who exercised more In this study, it seemed that older people who exercised more had built up a better response to inflammation over time. “When we compared the cells of trained older adults with those of non-athletes of the same age, we found that those with a history of endurance exercise had fewer inflammatory markers and more anti-inflammatory markers,” project coordinator Professor Fábio Lira said.Dr Minuzzi added, “the NK cells of the trained older adults were able to maintain their immune function, while the cells of the untrained individuals showed cellular exhaustion or failure in the inflammatory response.“This means that long-term endurance training is associated with protective ‘immunometabolic’ adaptations in NK cells in older adults. In other words, the cells become more mature and effective, less senescent, and metabolically better prepared to respond to inflammatory or pharmacological stressors.” Related...I Tried The 6-6-6 Walking Challenge, And It Got Me Out Of An Exercise Rut4 Hip Exercises A Surgeon Recommends For Knee PainThe Best Exercise To Stay Flexible, By Age

Latest News

Hashtags:   

Exercise

 | 

Train

 | 

Immune

 | 

System

 | 

Against

 | 

Premature

 | 

Ageing

 | 

Sources