New research has revealed that walking can reduce the risk of cancer in women. “We think these results are very encouraging,” said Alpa V. Patel, a senior epidemiologist with the American Cancer Society and senior author of the study. “Walking is an easy, inexpensive type of exercise. Almost everyone can do it.”
According to studies conducted amongst women, those who walked an average of 7 hours per week lowered their risk of cancer. Researchers couldn’t ascertain exactly how much exercise is required to reduce your chances to zero, but “those few women who were the most active, sweating vigorously for up to 10 hours each week, realized an even greater benefit, with 25 percent less risk of developing breast cancer than those women who exercised the least.”
Engaging in exercise lowers the levels of estrogen which could cause cancer. Dr. Patel explained how it works by saying, “exercise, by altering the ratio of estrogen metabolites and also reducing total body fat, may change the internal makeup of a woman’s body and make it harder for breast cancer to take hold.”
However, it was noted that postmenopausal women do not produce estrogen in lower doses drawing from their fat cells rather than their ovaries.
