Question: Can doing sport prevent cancer?

Natasha Myhill answered on 15 Nov 2017:

Yes, it can! It is to do with hormone levels in the blood mainly. Hormones are tiny chemical messengers that travels around the body and tell different cells to respond in a certain way. Particularly in women, there are a few cancers that are linked with increased levels of the hormone oestrogen – breast, ovarian and womb cancers for example. When women exercise, it lowers the level of this hormone in the blood. Another hormone that is lowered during exercise is insulin, which has also been linked with cancers. Exercise can also help prevent bowel cancer as food moved through the digestive tract faster when we exercise, and reduces inflammation, which basically means our bowels are kept healthier.