Latest Research into Molecular Effects of Exercise

at 5:12 AM

What does exercise do to your body?  It seems that science and medicine and common sense have answered this question.  Everyday, we are increasingly bombarded with new information as to why exercise is good for the body.  But precise mechanisms of how exercise affects the body are complicated and poorly understood.  But a new study that gauged the metabolic effects of exercise may significantly advance our understanding of what is really going on in our bodies as we are in motion.

The new study was published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.  Researchers from Harvard and other institutions used mass spectrometers to measure specific molecules produced in the body while individuals were exercising.  These molecules are metabolites involved in chemical reactions in the body.  Remember that metabolism is basically a collection of reactions in the body that keep us alive.  What the researchers wanted to know was how metabolism changes during exercise.

To answer this question, scientists had two groups of individuals; a fit group which had just finished the Boston Marathon and another group which had been referred for exercise testing because of shortness of breath or potential heart problems.  The latter group was relatively unfit.  They drew blood from both groups.  Each group was told to exercise for 10 minutes on the treadmill, or stationary bike, then their blood was drawn again.  After only 10 minutes the fit individuals showed enormous changes in the metabolites in their blood stream, as did the unfit group but to a lesser extent.  Certain metabolites associated with  fat burning were especially elevated after the 10 minutes of exercise.  These results suggest that exercise not only has cumulative effects that we have known about but acute effects.  The results also showed that the more fit, the more metabolic evidence of fat burning.

The researchers then took a number of these metabolites that had been elevated during exercise and injected them into mouse cells grown in the laboratory.  Almost immediately the combination of metabolites that were added to cells, cause an increase in the expression of genes involved in regulation of cholesterol and blood-sugar.  These results are so fascinating, because they show that exercise can have a direct effect on genes involved in regulation of blood sugar and fatty acids.  The levels of blood sugar and fatty acids, as you know, play a huge role in risks of heart attack, diabetes and other conditions.

Here is an interesting and subtle conclusion: the more fit your are, the more your exercise is benefiting your body!