2020 : Just 12 minutes of intense exercise are enough to change the biomarkers in your blood
Short periods of exercise have a bigger impact on our bodies than you might think: recent studies show that as little as 12 minutes of intense activity is enough to dramatically change the biomarkers of metabolic health in people’s blood.
Researchers analyzed the responses of 411 middle-aged men and women to 12 minutes of “vigorous” exercise and found that exercise had an effect on over 80% of the metabolic products circulating in the participants’ blood.
These metabolites can serve as indicators of cardiometabolic, cardiovascular, and long-term health, suggesting that even a short amount of activity is enough to support some of the body’s most important biological processes.
“Much is known about the effects of exercise on the body’s cardiovascular and inflammatory systems. However, our study provides a comprehensive look at the metabolic effects of exercise by linking specific metabolic pathways to response variables. Exercise and long-term health outcomes,” said Gregory Lewis, a heart failure and heart transplant specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).
“What caught our eye was the effect of brief exercise on the levels of circulating metabolites that control vital body functions such as insulin resistance, oxidative stress, vascular reactivity and inflammation, and longevity.
An example cited by researchers is the metabolite glutamate. It’s linked to heart disease, diabetes, and shorter lifespan, and has been reduced by an average of 29%.
The metabolite DMGV (dimethylguanidine valeric acid), which is associated with an increased risk of diabetes and liver disease, has now decreased by 18%.
The researchers reported some differences by the gender and body mass index of the participants: there was evidence that obesity, for example, might limit some of the benefits of high-intensity exercise.
The researchers monitored and measured a total of 588 metabolites. Later, the same techniques that were used here could be used to get a more general picture of a person’s health from the metabolites circulating in the blood.
“Curiously, our study found that different metabolites follow different physiological responses to physical activity and, therefore, can provide unique signatures in the bloodstream that show whether a person is physically fit, just like current blood tests determine function. The kidneys and the liver. Says MGH cardiologist Matthew Nayor.
The data for the new analysis comes from the Framingham Heart Study, a long-term research project that now involves three generations of people. Using records from the 1948 study, researchers can see how metabolic signatures affect long-term health.
Today there is a growing body of research showing that just a little exercise can make a huge difference: even if you only move an hour a week, your body can feel the benefits.
Being active and staying active can help you fight cancer, improve your memory, and lose weight. Through this and other similar studies, we begin to understand how exercise helps the body in the smallest of spaces.
“We are beginning to better understand the molecular basis of the effects of movement in the body, and we are using this knowledge to understand the metabolic architecture in relation to movement response patterns,” says HGM cardiologist Ravi Shah.
“This approach has the potential to appeal to people with high blood pressure or many other metabolic risk factors in response to physical activity and put them on a healthier path from the start.
The research was published in Circulation.
