Exercise Can Prevent Brain Damage

By Author: David Juan
Total Articles: 90
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In another in a stream of health breakthroughs regarding
the effects of Alzheimer's disease, a study has found that
exercise could shield your brain even more dramatically
than we thought.

While it's been widely reported that exercise could protect against dementia, we now know that regular exercise could help prevent brain damage itself, the kind linked to diseases such as Alzheimer's.

Exercise, an integral part of one's natural health, allows the
brain to rapidly produce chemicals that prevent
inflammation.

This alone can lead to a new therapy for
early prevention of brain damage.

On the flip side, it will help anyone protect themselves.

Older studies show that exercise after brain injury can help
with repair.

This new study shows that exercise before such
damage will change your brain in a way where neurons
gain greater protection from severe assaults.

It used mice and an experimental model where they were exposed to a
chemical that destroys the ...
... hippocampus, an area of the
brain that controls learning and memory.
Mice that were exercised regularly before exposure produced an immune
messenger called "interleukin-6" in the brain.

This dampens the harmful inflammatory response to this damage, and
prevents the loss of function that is usually observed.

Prescription drugs have not been so successful in lowering
inflammation and addressing cognitive decline in older
adults, as well as those with dementia. So this shows how
simple exercise may be used in place of drugs to change
the course of even severe degenerative problems such as
Alzheimer's.

It also suggests that exercise could offer
protection against environmental toxins.

The study on the role of exercise as a therapeutic
intervention will undoubtedly get a workout in the years to
come.

The biggest challenge moving forward is to get
everyone moving, making exercise a fundamental part of
one's life.

Doing so means attempting to get at least 30
minutes a day of moderate exercise.

If you have weight issues or health conditions that may make exercise
difficult, be sure to speak to your physician about creating a
manageable and safe plan for exercise.

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