Did you know that 1 in 2 Americans will get cancer in their lifetime? Yikes! If that doesn’t scare you, I don’t know what will. I’m only 40 and I hate to say that in 4 decades I have lost more than 11 friends, family and people near and dear to me to this disease. Used to be cancer was a disease of aging, now it’s happening to our children. There are so many modifiable risk factors when it comes to this disease! Don’t be part of the 50%, a few simple tricks can keep you from pushing daisies and beat the odds.
Now if you’ve read my blog, you know I’m pretty crunchy. So of course, eat clean, organic whole foods. Get your vitamins and minerals and take care of your body. We need to get your odds down, so if you can do just this one, you’ll drop your risk significantly. Read on.
Martin Gibala is a Canadian Physiologist that really pushed the HIIT movement forward. He is also a professor and author, contributing to several exercise studies and published literature regarding the health benefits of short bursts of exercise. There are several studies out on a lifestyle modification known as VIPLAs, Vigorous Intermittent Lifestyle Physical Activity. I like to call these exercise snax. Basically, this is unstructured exercise bursts throughout the day. Unbeknownst to me, I’ve been doing this very thing. Kids do this too, regularly! Race you to the truck! Sound familiar?! We live in a two-story house, every time I have to go up, I sprint two stairs at a time. Not for nothin’, just for fun. Yes, I’m a big kid. Apparently, this is reducing my cancer risk by 40%. Who knew!
Seriously, that simple. Move your body. Multiple studies show that short bursts of exercise that raise your heart rate for 3-9 minutes per day will reduce not just cancer risk but all-cause mortality! That’s a big win. It looks like this-a one-minute bout 3-4 times a day will reduce your risk by 49%! Most adults, 40-65 do not take part in regular exercise. One of the biggest biomarkers for longevity is your cardio-respiratory fitness level. The reason I love this is because it’s so easy to incorporate. You don’t need a membership, you don’t have to carve out an hour or two, no cute outfit needed, just jump up wherever you are and go! I have toddlers, so they love this. Have fun with it. Play with the dog, have a jump squat competition with a coworker out of the blue! There is no right or wrong way to do this, get creative and live a little longer.
As always here are a few studies to back my advice. Keep it Haute.
Promoting vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity (vilpa) in middle-aged adults: an evaluation of the movsnax mobile app | BMC Public Health | Full Texthttps://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-024-19549-9