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Exercise increases the body’s own ‘cannabis’ which reduces chronic inflammation, says new study
Exercise is known to decrease chronic inflammation, which in turn causes many diseases including cancer, arthritis, and heart disease, but little is known as to how it reduces inflammation. A group of scientists, led by Professor Ana Valdes from the School of Medicine at the University, tested 78 people with arthritis. Thirty-eight of them carried out 15 minutes of muscle-strengthening exercises every day for six weeks, and 40 did nothing.
At the end of the study, participants who did the exercise intervention had not only reduced their pain, but they also had more microbes in their guts of the kind that produce anti-inflammatory substances, lower levels of cytokines, and higher levels of endocannabinoids.
“As interest in cannabidiol oil and other supplements increases, it is important to know that simple lifestyle interventions like exercise can modulate endocannabinoids.
Exercise will increase the physique’s personal cannabis-like substances, which in flip helps cut back irritation and will doubtlessly assist deal with sure circumstances reminiscent of arthritis, most cancers and coronary heart illness.
In a brand new examination, printed in Intestine Microbes, consultants from the College of Nottingham discovered that exercise intervention in folks with arthritis, didn’t simply cut back their ache, however it additionally lowered the degrees of inflammatory substances (referred to as cytokines). It additionally elevated ranges of cannabis-like substances produced by their very own bodies, referred to as endocannabinoids. Apparently, the way in which you train resulted in these modifications was by altering the intestine microbes.
A bunch of scientists, led by Professor Ana Valdes from the Faculty of Drugs on the College, examined 78 folks with arthritis. Thirty-eight of them carried out quarter-hour of muscle strengthening workouts each day for six weeks, and 40 did nothing.
On the finish of the examination, contributors who did the train intervention had not solely decreased their ache, however additionally they had extra microbes of their guts of the type that produce anti-inflammatory substances, decreased ranges of cytokines and better ranges of endocannabinoids.
The rise in endocannabinoids was strongly linked to modifications within the intestine microbes and anti inflammatory substances produced by gut microbes referred to as SCFAS. In actual fact, no less than one third of the anti-inflammatory results of the intestine microbiome was as a result of enhancement in endocannabinoids.
Physician Amrita Vijay, a Analysis Fellow within the Faculty of Drugs and first creator of the paper, mentioned: “Our examination clearly reveals that training will increase the physique’s personal cannabis-type substances. Which can have a positive impact on many conditions.
“As curiosity in cannabidiol oil and different dietary supplements will increase, it is very important to know that straightforward way of life interventions like exercise can modulate endocannabinoids.”
Turns out that “runner’s high” is healthy
Exercise is known to decrease chronic inflammation, which in turn causes many diseases including cancer, arthritis and heart disease, but little is known as to how it reduces inflammation.
A group of scientists, led by Professor Ana Valdes from the School of Medicine at the University, tested 78 people with arthritis. Thirty-eight of them carried out 15 minutes of muscle strengthening exercises every day for six weeks, and 40 did nothing.
At the end of the study, participants who did the exercise intervention had not only reduced their pain, but they also had more microbes in their guts of the kind that produce anti-inflammatory substances, lower levels of cytokines and higher levels of endocannabinoids.
The increase in endocannabinoids was strongly linked to changes in the gut microbes and anti-inflammatory substances produced by gut microbes called SCFAS. In fact, at least one third of the anti-inflammatory effects of the gut microbiome was due to the increase in endocannabinoids.
Dr Amrita Vijay, a Research Fellow in the School of Medicine and first author of the paper, “Our study clearly shows that exercise increases the body’s own cannabis-type substances. “As interest in cannabidiol oil and other supplements increases, it is important to know that simple lifestyle interventions like exercise can modulate endocannabinoids.”
Endocannabinoids and the Anti-inflammatory Power of Exercise
Working out increases self-produced cannabinoids and reduces inflammation.
Chronic Inflammation (Latin, inflamati
In the absence of inflammation, wounds and infections would never heal and progressive destruction of the tissue would compromise the survival of the organism. However, an inflammation that runs unchecked can also lead to a host of diseases, such as hay fever, atherosclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis. It is for that reason that inflammation is normally closely regulated by the body.
Inflammation can be classified as either acute or chronic. Acute inflammation is the initial response of the body to harmful stimuli and is achieved by the increased movement of plasma and leukocytes from the blood into the injured tissues. A cascade of biochemical events propagates and matures the inflammatory response, involving the local vascular system, the immune system, and various cells within the injured tissue. Prolonged inflammation, known as chronic inflammation, leads to a progressive shift in the type of cells which are present at the site of inflammation and is characterised by simultaneous destruction and healing of the tissue from the inflammatory process.
Chronic inflammation news and latest updates (medicalxpress.com)
- Chronic inflammation can cause physical disease. Inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6 and TNF-α may also affect our mental health.
- Physical activity decreases TNF-α and IL-6. Exercise has an anti-inflammatory effect and may help treat inflammation-related maladies.
- 15 minutes of strength training per day increases endocannabinoids and reduces inflammatory cytokines.
Beyond getting a runner’s high and kickstarting your body’s self-production of cannabinoids via aerobic exercise, weight lifting and strength-training exercises also increase endocannabinoids. Not only do these self-produced “bliss molecules” make us feel good, but they also reduce inflammation.
New research from the University of Nottingham pinpoints how 15 minutes of strength training (six days a week) can trigger a chain reaction that increases endocannabinoids, alters the gut microbiome, and reduces inflammatory cytokines. These findings (Vijay et al., 2021) were published on November 17 in the peer-reviewed journal Gut Microbes.
Exercise Increases Endocannabinoids and Reduces Inflammation
“In the current study we explore the functional interactions between the endocannabinoid system and the gut microbiome in modulating inflammatory markers,” the authors explain. “So far, no previous study examined the potential link between the endocannabinoid system, exercise, and the gut microbiome.”
For this first-of-its-kind research led by Ana Valdes of Nottingham’s School of Medicine, the researchers recruited 78 patients with painful osteoarthritis. Study participants were randomly divided into two groups. One cohort (n = 38) participated in a six-week exercise intervention that involved 15-minutes of strength training per day. The control group (n = 40) didn’t exercise.
After six weeks, people in the muscle-strengthening group had higher levels of an endocannabinoid called anandamide (AEA) along with anti-inflammatory changes in their gut microbiome composition (SCFAs) indexed by decreases in the proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-ɑ, IL-6). Notably, these changes did not occur in the “non-exercise” control group.
“Our data show that the anti-inflammatory effects of SCFAs are partly mediated by the endocannabinoid system suggesting that there may be other pathways involved in the modulation of the immune system via the gut microbiome,” the authors explain.
According to first author Amrita Vijay, the study shows that exercise increases the body’s cannabis-type substances, which has a positive impact. Indeed, simple lifestyle interventions like exercise can modulate endocannabinoids.
Understanding how our gut microbiome communicates with our immune system
References: Amrita Vijay, Afroditi Kouraki, Sameer Gohir, James Turnbull, Anthony Kelly, Vicky Chapman, David A. Barrett, William J. Bulsiewicz & Ana M. Valdes. “The anti-inflammatory effect of bacterial short chain fatty acids is partially mediated by endocannabinoids” Gut Microbes (First published online: November 17, 2021) DOI: 10.1080/19490976.2021.
17 November 2021, Gut Microbes. DOI: 10.1080/19490976.2021.1997559