Here's what's going on in exercise and fitness research:
- The quick'n'dirty: Caffeine reduces post-workout pain.
Are you drinking coffee as you read this? Or maybe some English Breakfast tea (my fave)? Well, if you are recovering from a workout, chances are, the caffeine is actually reducing your post-exercise pain. More on the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism study here. Note: they did this study with 25 year old in-shape males, so more research is needed to see to whom else these conclusions apply.
- The quick'n'dirty: Intense exercise is being studied as a means reduce the risk of breast cancer in women with a family history or the genetic mutation that causes breast cancer.
Using the hypothesis that low estrogen both reduces the risk of breast cancer and is the cause of amenorrhea (cessation of menstruation) in female athletes, researchers are studying how sufficiently intense exercise may prevent breast cancer in women with the genetic mutation BRCA or a family history of the cancer. The hope is that exercise therapy may be an alternative to the invasive yet effective surgeries that are now used.
- The quick'n'dirty: Exercise may reduce the frequency of migraines.
Researchers have found that migraine sufferers who previously were non-exercisers experienced fewer migraines in conjunction with a prescribed cycling program. The key factor seems to be an increase in oxygen uptake, a measure of cardiovascular endurance.
