According to a new study, exercise raises the body's natural cannabis-like chemicals, which helps lower inflammation and might potentially help treat ailments including arthritis, cancer, and heart disease.
People with arthritis who exercised reduced their pain and their levels of inflammatory proteins known as cytokines, according to a study headed by scientists from the University of Nottingham. It also raised amounts of endocannabinoids, which are cannabis-like chemicals generated by the body. Exercise, interestingly enough, caused these alterations by modifying intestinal microorganisms.
A team of experts led by Professor Ana Valdes of the University's School of Medicine assessed 78 persons with arthritis for the study, which was published in the journal Gut Microbes. For six weeks, 38 of them conducted 15 minutes of muscle-strengthening exercises each day, while the other 40 did nothing.
Participants who did the exercise intervention had not only less pain, but also more microorganisms in their stomachs that create anti-inflammatory compounds, lower levels of cytokines, and higher amounts of endocannabinoids at the end of the trial. Changes in gut microorganisms and anti-inflammatory chemicals produced by gut microbes termed SCFAS were strongly associated to an increase in endocannabinoids.
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