Doing physical exercise on a regular basis causes the body to generate endocannabinoids, natural substances similar to cannabis that help the body reduce inflammation, so it could be a great ally when it comes to treating some pathologies such as rheumatoid arthritis, cancer or heart disease.
This has been the main finding of a study carried out by researchers at the University of Nottingham (United Kingdom), after analyzing 78 people with arthritis, of whom 38 did 15 minutes of physical exercise focused on muscle strengthening every day for a six week period.
The results of this study, which have been published in the journal Gut Microbes, showed that participants who exercised regularly reduced their pain and levels of inflammatory substances called cytokines, and also increased the amounts of endocannabinoids.
Exercise: positive changes in the gut microbiome
All this translated into a series of changes in the intestinal microbes of the intestinal microbiome, where those that had anti-inflammatory effects in the organism increased, those that reduced cytokines and those that increased the levels of endocannabinoids.
This increase in endocannabinoids was closely related to alterations in the gut microbiome and in anti-inflammatory substances produced by gut microbes called SCFAS. They found that at least a third of the anti-inflammatory effects of the gut microbiome were due to increased endocannabinoids.
People with arthritis who exercised had reduced pain, inflammatory substances, and increased levels of endocannabinoids
Dr. Amrita Vijay, lead author of the research, explained that “our study clearly shows that exercise increases the body’s own cannabis-like substances. Which can have a positive impact on many conditions. As interest in cannabidiol oil and other supplements grows, it is important to know that simple lifestyle interventions such as exercise can modulate endocannabinoids.”
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