Exercise can protect you against a host of illnesses, ranging from heart attacks to dementia to diabetes to infection. But exactly how it does so has been something of a mystery. However, new research may have uncovered some clues.
A group of scientists were testing a theory that exercise promotes autophagy -- the process by which surplus, worn-out or malformed cellular components are broken down and recycled by your body. They put two groups of mice on a treadmill. One group increased their number of autophagosomes (structures that form around components marked for recycling) after exercise. The other group of mice had been genetically modified so that their bodies were unable to respond to exercise in this way. That second group demonstrated less endurance and less ability to take up sugar from their bloodstreams -- and also were found, long-term, to gain none of the normal protective benefits provided by exercise against diabetes.
The Economist reports:
“[The researchers] reckon their results suggest that manipulating autophagy may offer a new approach to treating diabetes. And their research is also suggestive in other ways. Autophagy is a hot topic in medicine, as biologists have come to realise that it helps protect the body from all kinds of ailments ... Most intriguingly of all, it seems that it can slow the process of ageing.”