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"“We were actually surprised that reduced inflammation was the biggest explainer, the biggest contributor to the benefit of activity,” says Mora, “because we ha

"“We were actually surprised that reduced inflammation was the biggest explainer, the biggest contributor to the benefit of activity,” says Mora, “because we hadn’t hypothesized that. We knew that regular exercise does reduce inflammation over the long term, but we also knew that acute exercise transiently increases inflammatory biomarkers during and immediately after exertion.” About a third of the benefit of regular exercise, they found, is attributable to reduced inflammation."

NoPicklez 3y ago
From my understanding of exercise and inflammation, is that inflammation is the bodies stress & repair mechanism kicking in as a result of muscular damage etc from exercise. The acute inflammation following exercise is the body signalling to repair itself, hopefully resulting in adaptations that make the muscles and surrounding tissue stronger. Following that your body in theory is better equipped to cope with future exercise/movement stresses, therefore attributable to reduced inflammation long term. This is why there is somewhat of a debate in the exercise community around the true benefit of ice baths, hot/cold plunges, compression leggings etc. Whilst they feel good, these work to try to reduce inflammation, which is not necessarily what we want after exercise. There is a time and a place for reducing inflammation.
- BLKNSLVR 3y ago
  In my thesis-length comment above (below) I said that inflammation is a symptom and not a cause. Some causes are 'good', ie. exercise, and some causes are bad, ie. allergies. I treat the pain / inflammation from 'good' causes as a well-earned reward (if God exists, this is one of its greatest practical jokes). Treating inflammation from 'bad' causes (outside of genetic disposition) is probably a bad thing in that it's treating symptoms, not trying to find the cause, and in fact actively supressing the ability find the cause. Edit: added 'Treating' in front of the last sentence so it makes sense.
  - NoPicklez 3y ago
    Yep, I agree, inflammation is a symptom not a cause. (I also commented on your comment). My comment just above doesn't describe it as a cause, but a symptom, in this case muscular damage from exercise. In your case, it was due to S1 L5 discs pulling on each other during exercise, which is different. But nonetheless, inflammation brought upon as a symptom of something else. Which goes for almost everything else in the body when inflammation arises.
  - hhjinks 3y ago
    >Treating inflammation from 'bad' causes (outside of genetic disposition) is probably a bad I'm pretty sure most asthmatics would disagree.
    - lazide 3y ago
      Albuterol doesn’t treat inflammation directly, but is absolutely critical for emergency management. And control meds for children seem to (oddly) have zero actual benefit in controlled studies almost every time. But do seem to work. Which is pretty odd, no? There is a lot we don’t know about asthma. Exercise and stress reduction do seem to help, but also not in obvious ways.
      - hhjinks 3y ago
        Well, asthma is multifaceted. You can have an obstruction caused by muscles contracting, or by mucus from inflammation. In either case, dilating the muscles, which is what albuterol does, can give you better air flow, lessening your perceptible symptoms. You'd still want a corticosteorid-based medicide to treat the inflammation if you have that kind of asthma, though, as the chronic inflammation can worsen your illness over time, hence my original comment.
        thaumasiotes 3y ago
        > dilating the muscles, which is what albuterol does Dilating the muscles? Dilation would normally be something that happens to holes (meaning they get larger); muscles can only tense and relax.
- WalterBright 3y ago
  Since our bodies evolved to produce inflammation, it must have some positive effects. Chronic inflammation, however, can very well be deleterious.
  - ImHereToVote 3y ago
    It protects the organism from infection long enough for it to reproduce. Probably why inflammation increases progressively with age. It isn't for longevity.
    - WalterBright 3y ago
      We're programmed to die anyway because it's good for the next generation. Dying makes room for the next generation, and kills off the parasites accumulated in our bodies that have adapted too well to living off of us. The reason humans live to be grandparents is the grandparents' role is to take care of the grandkids while the parents work.
- hinkley 3y ago
  I think it's quite likely that, like the circadian rhythm, your body needs a steady drumbeat of inputs to regulate itself and without them disregulation can set in and spiral.
- agumonkey 3y ago
  I'm trying to find an "elastic theory of inflammation" .. i don't know how this is called in medicine, basically what's the threshold of your body in its current state between appropriate amount of stress (hence the elastic term, your body can absorb said stress and go back to optimal function) and damaging levels of stress. For instance in a video someone talked about how 15 min of low effort legwork (gentle biking for instance) would be perfect to stimulate cartilage cell growth. This is also in the same landscape as hormesis (controverial or not).
  - NoPicklez 3y ago
    I think we'd need to be clearer on the parameters and definitions of what damaging levels of stress are. You might be able to measure stressors applied to the body and then body the bodies inflammation markers (new field). 15 minutes of low effort legwork might stimulate cartilage cell growth. But what's to say that an hour or so of low effort legwork (biking) isn't beneficial to the bodies endurance systems. Both of which the body would recover from and go back to optimal function. Even hard workouts have their place in developing a healthy body, of which your body returns to optimal function through the bodies recovery processes.
    - agumonkey 3y ago
      Sure but it's important to be able to map it based on your body current capabilities. Of course I'm biased, I'm asking because my body now can only operate in a narrow range of effort, and I cannot risk overburdening it or I pay a hefty price. So knowing what's the optimal kind and amount would help me stabilize or even recover.
dukeofdoom 3y ago
I'm just thinking that some of the longest living people are monks. They don't really exercise that much.
- Libcat99 3y ago
  A lot of the longest living people (and maybe more telling, communities with the longest living members) are not very gym focused at all. If you walk everywhere every day, do most of your daily chores by hand, and don't sit in an office all day, you are likely getting plenty of exercise even if you never touch a set of weights or treadmill.
  - unnamed76ri 3y ago
    You’re also very unlikely to be eating a lot of ultra-processed foods and you’ll be getting a lot more natural sunlight than most.
    - agos 3y ago
      I'm not an expert on monk lifestyle but I'm pretty confident they lead a less stressful life than most here
  - WalterSear 3y ago
    They also, by definition, came of age when we knew much less about longevity. They may not necessary be living the most longevity promoting lifestyle - just one that's markedly better than the average.
  - dukeofdoom 3y ago
    I would agree with that. Maybe walking is key. After visiting Paris, and seeing lots fit people despite a diet of croissants, baguette, butter and cheese. But they also walk so much...
- thsksbd 3y ago
  They're also the diametric opposite of idle. I know a guy who almost became a zen monk. By march he writes the allotted number of scientific papers for the year (he works for a govt lab). He's the editor of the top journal in his field. Meanwhile, he's self taught himself philosophy and teaches it (pro bono?) at a University you've heard of. He also reads >150 books / year
Aurornis 3y ago
Inflammatory signaling isn’t all “bad”, just like how oxidative stress and cortisol aren’t unilaterally bad. A lot of people have a really broken, superficial understanding of these topics and assume that all these processes and chemicals in our body are bad and must be reduced as much as possible, but they play important roles in the body. Many people are surprised to learn that taking a lot of antioxidants before working out actually reduces the effectiveness of exercise. Influencers have peddled this idea that oxidation is bad and antioxidants are good for so long that people think it’s a number they just need to push downward as much as possible with as many supplements as they can take.

NoPicklez 3y ago

From my understanding of exercise and inflammation, is that inflammation is the bodies stress & repair mechanism kicking in as a result of muscular damage etc from exercise. The acute inflammation following exercise is the body signalling to repair itself, hopefully resulting in adaptations that make the muscles and surrounding tissue stronger. Following that your body in theory is better equipped to cope with future exercise/movement stresses, therefore attributable to reduced inflammation long term. This is why there is somewhat of a debate in the exercise community around the true benefit of ice baths, hot/cold plunges, compression leggings etc. Whilst they feel good, these work to try to reduce inflammation, which is not necessarily what we want after exercise. There is a time and a place for reducing inflammation.

BLKNSLVR 3y ago
In my thesis-length comment above (below) I said that inflammation is a symptom and not a cause. Some causes are 'good', ie. exercise, and some causes are bad, ie. allergies. I treat the pain / inflammation from 'good' causes as a well-earned reward (if God exists, this is one of its greatest practical jokes). Treating inflammation from 'bad' causes (outside of genetic disposition) is probably a bad thing in that it's treating symptoms, not trying to find the cause, and in fact actively supressing the ability find the cause. Edit: added 'Treating' in front of the last sentence so it makes sense.
- NoPicklez 3y ago
  Yep, I agree, inflammation is a symptom not a cause. (I also commented on your comment). My comment just above doesn't describe it as a cause, but a symptom, in this case muscular damage from exercise. In your case, it was due to S1 L5 discs pulling on each other during exercise, which is different. But nonetheless, inflammation brought upon as a symptom of something else. Which goes for almost everything else in the body when inflammation arises.
- hhjinks 3y ago
  >Treating inflammation from 'bad' causes (outside of genetic disposition) is probably a bad I'm pretty sure most asthmatics would disagree.
  - lazide 3y ago
    Albuterol doesn’t treat inflammation directly, but is absolutely critical for emergency management. And control meds for children seem to (oddly) have zero actual benefit in controlled studies almost every time. But do seem to work. Which is pretty odd, no? There is a lot we don’t know about asthma. Exercise and stress reduction do seem to help, but also not in obvious ways.
    - hhjinks 3y ago
      Well, asthma is multifaceted. You can have an obstruction caused by muscles contracting, or by mucus from inflammation. In either case, dilating the muscles, which is what albuterol does, can give you better air flow, lessening your perceptible symptoms. You'd still want a corticosteorid-based medicide to treat the inflammation if you have that kind of asthma, though, as the chronic inflammation can worsen your illness over time, hence my original comment.
      - thaumasiotes 3y ago
        > dilating the muscles, which is what albuterol does Dilating the muscles? Dilation would normally be something that happens to holes (meaning they get larger); muscles can only tense and relax.
WalterBright 3y ago
Since our bodies evolved to produce inflammation, it must have some positive effects. Chronic inflammation, however, can very well be deleterious.
- ImHereToVote 3y ago
  It protects the organism from infection long enough for it to reproduce. Probably why inflammation increases progressively with age. It isn't for longevity.
  - WalterBright 3y ago
    We're programmed to die anyway because it's good for the next generation. Dying makes room for the next generation, and kills off the parasites accumulated in our bodies that have adapted too well to living off of us. The reason humans live to be grandparents is the grandparents' role is to take care of the grandkids while the parents work.
hinkley 3y ago
I think it's quite likely that, like the circadian rhythm, your body needs a steady drumbeat of inputs to regulate itself and without them disregulation can set in and spiral.
agumonkey 3y ago
I'm trying to find an "elastic theory of inflammation" .. i don't know how this is called in medicine, basically what's the threshold of your body in its current state between appropriate amount of stress (hence the elastic term, your body can absorb said stress and go back to optimal function) and damaging levels of stress. For instance in a video someone talked about how 15 min of low effort legwork (gentle biking for instance) would be perfect to stimulate cartilage cell growth. This is also in the same landscape as hormesis (controverial or not).
- NoPicklez 3y ago
  I think we'd need to be clearer on the parameters and definitions of what damaging levels of stress are. You might be able to measure stressors applied to the body and then body the bodies inflammation markers (new field). 15 minutes of low effort legwork might stimulate cartilage cell growth. But what's to say that an hour or so of low effort legwork (biking) isn't beneficial to the bodies endurance systems. Both of which the body would recover from and go back to optimal function. Even hard workouts have their place in developing a healthy body, of which your body returns to optimal function through the bodies recovery processes.
  - agumonkey 3y ago
    Sure but it's important to be able to map it based on your body current capabilities. Of course I'm biased, I'm asking because my body now can only operate in a narrow range of effort, and I cannot risk overburdening it or I pay a hefty price. So knowing what's the optimal kind and amount would help me stabilize or even recover.

dukeofdoom 3y ago

I'm just thinking that some of the longest living people are monks. They don't really exercise that much.

Libcat99 3y ago
A lot of the longest living people (and maybe more telling, communities with the longest living members) are not very gym focused at all. If you walk everywhere every day, do most of your daily chores by hand, and don't sit in an office all day, you are likely getting plenty of exercise even if you never touch a set of weights or treadmill.
- unnamed76ri 3y ago
  You’re also very unlikely to be eating a lot of ultra-processed foods and you’ll be getting a lot more natural sunlight than most.
  - agos 3y ago
    I'm not an expert on monk lifestyle but I'm pretty confident they lead a less stressful life than most here
- WalterSear 3y ago
  They also, by definition, came of age when we knew much less about longevity. They may not necessary be living the most longevity promoting lifestyle - just one that's markedly better than the average.
- dukeofdoom 3y ago
  I would agree with that. Maybe walking is key. After visiting Paris, and seeing lots fit people despite a diet of croissants, baguette, butter and cheese. But they also walk so much...
thsksbd 3y ago
They're also the diametric opposite of idle. I know a guy who almost became a zen monk. By march he writes the allotted number of scientific papers for the year (he works for a govt lab). He's the editor of the top journal in his field. Meanwhile, he's self taught himself philosophy and teaches it (pro bono?) at a University you've heard of. He also reads >150 books / year

Aurornis 3y ago

Inflammatory signaling isn’t all “bad”, just like how oxidative stress and cortisol aren’t unilaterally bad. A lot of people have a really broken, superficial understanding of these topics and assume that all these processes and chemicals in our body are bad and must be reduced as much as possible, but they play important roles in the body. Many people are surprised to learn that taking a lot of antioxidants before working out actually reduces the effectiveness of exercise. Influencers have peddled this idea that oxidation is bad and antioxidants are good for so long that people think it’s a number they just need to push downward as much as possible with as many supplements as they can take.