Fight inflammation with exercise, who's afraid!

Various types of exercise, from running to lifting weights, are very good for your body. It is now widely recognized that there is another benefit of exercising, which is that it can help your body fight inflammation.

Inflammation or inflammation is the body's protective response to get rid of various dangers. So, basically this reaction is important for maintaining a healthy body. However, inflammation that is chronic (ongoing) can be one of the causes of several diseases. Starting from diabetes, joint pain, to heart disease. Therefore, inflammation must also be fought, one of which is through exercise.

However, shouldn't people who have an inflammatory disease reduce their exercise and stay sedentary first? Which one is true? Here comes the exact answer from the experts.

How does exercise fight inflammation?

When you start exercising and moving your body, muscle cells will release a small amount of a protein called interleukin-6 (IL-6). This IL-6 protein appears to play an important role in fighting inflammation.

IL-6 has several anti-inflammatory benefits, including that it can reduce levels of a protein called TNF-α which plays a role in triggering inflammation in the body and inhibits the effect of IL-1β protein which can trigger inflammation in the pancreas. Inflammation in the pancreas can interfere with insulin production so that blood sugar levels can spike, especially in people with diabetes.

What kind of exercise should you take and how long it takes for your body to fight inflammation?

The biggest factor in determining how much muscle to secrete IL-6 is the length of time you exercise. The longer the duration of your exercise, the more IL-6 will be released by the muscles.

For example, after you exercise for 30 minutes, your IL-6 level can increase fivefold. Now, if you have just run a marathon, your IL-6 level can increase even up to 100 times.

How much effect does IL-6 have on inflammation?

A study published in 2003 studied the role of IL-6 in fighting inflammation. The researchers injected E. Coli bacteria molecules into the study participants. The goal is to activate the inflammatory response in their body.

Researchers found that when they injected the bacterial molecule, there was an increase in the TNF-α protein that triggered inflammation by two to three times. However, if the participants exercised during the previous 3 hours, they did not experience the increase in TNF-α protein as if they did not exercise.

Another study that examined more than four thousand middle-aged men and women, stated that regular exercise for 20 minutes per day or 2.5 hours per week can reduce inflammation in the body by 12 percent.

Study participants who just started exercising in the middle of the study also had a significant anti-inflammatory effect, meaning it was never too late to benefit from exercise.

What must we do to have this effect?

Some of these studies show that exercise can activate the anti-inflammatory effects of IL-6 protein, so that it can have beneficial effects both in the short and long term if you exercise regularly. Physical activity can be a good strategy to increase metabolism and produce effective natural anti-inflammatory agents.

To get anti-inflammatory effects on the body, try to exercise for at least 30 minutes every day. You can try exercising from walking, running, swimming, yoga, nge-gym, and cycling.

Meanwhile, if you are experiencing inflammation due to certain diseases such as asthma or rheumatism, first consult with your doctor what kind of exercise is safe and recommended for you. Having certain illnesses doesn't mean you shouldn't exercise.