Yet another reason to go to Fike

A new study suggests that exercise helps intracellular housecleaning


article from: http://mobile.nytimes.com/article?a=905664&f=25
image from: google images

Scientists from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas experimented with two groups of mice to study a process called autophagy. During this process, cells clean away the broken and worn out cells, bacteria, viruses, and other debris. This trash is then taken to the lysosome, which breaks it down and burns it to create energy. If the body does not perform autophagy successfully, cells could become overcome by trash. These cells could then malfunction or die, perhaps leading to diabetes, muscular dystrophy, Alzheimer’s, or cancer. Autophagy can also affect aging when the process slows. This system begins when the cells are starved and begin to consume broken and dead cells to generate energy and revive the hungry cells. When people exercise, they put physiological stress on the cell, jump starting the autophagy. In order to find and test this information, researchers treated mice so their cells glowed when undergoing this process and then had the mice run. After thirty minutes, the mice showed signs of accelerated autophagy. These mice were tested against another group that could not increase their autophagy during exercise. When both ran, the second group grew tired quickly because their muscles couldn’t get sugar from their blood. When both groups were given a diet that created a mice version of diabetes, the control group of mice was able to renew their health through exercise. The test group remained unhealthy and diabetic, even after running. The researchers discovered that exercise increases autophagy, which is accompanied by several health benefits. This study helps us understand at least one reason why exercise is healthy for our bodies.

Society stresses the importance of exercise to stay thin and healthy. However, we are rarely told how exercise helps our bodies. This study answers some of the questions we might ask about exercise and its relationship to health. According to the article, this information could also answer why some individuals do not respond as well to exercise as others. Some people may have slow or faulty autophagy systems which could affect their reaction to exercise. The study could also help in the development of drugs or exercise programs that could allow everyone the opportunity to benefit fully from exercise.

I am constantly being told to exercise more, from my parents, brothers, commercials, billboards, etc. However, this article has convinced me of the importance of exercise, much more effectively than any of them. I had never heard of autophagy before (which isn’t exactly surprising since I’m not a huge fan of biology) and was surprised by the number of problems that could arise when it did not work properly. I believe that everyone should have some knowledge of this process and the specific benefits that come from exercise. After reading about this study, I feel motivated to get off the couch and go down to Fike for some Zumba.