. . . garbage removal may be one of exercise’s primary benefits

Each one of our cells is busily engaged in self-renewal. As new parts are built, debris from worn-out parts must be disposed of.  While toxins are continually pushed out through the cell’s membrane, larger trash is handled by a process called “autophagy” or “self-eating.” Through autophagy, shreds of used material, inactivated microbe invaders and other waste is broken down and burned by the cell as energy.

This tidy cleaning process appears to become less robust with age, and faulty autophagy may contribute to many chronic degenerative diseases and to aging itself. In animal models, healthy autophagy has been shown to protect against cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, infections, inflammatory disease, aging and insulin resistance.

A mouse study from the University of Texas has shown yet another benefit of exercise: it accelerates autophagy. Further, this accelerated autophagy was able to reverse experimentally produced diabetes in the mice. The diabetes had been produced by a poor diet which was continued throughout the experiment, meaning that exercise was, at least in this case, able to counteract even the effects of a bad diet.

We already know that exercise is critical for another body housecleaner, the lymph system. Although you don’t hear much about the lymph system, it is critical to immunity and to our ability to detoxify. Lymph vessels are similar to blood vessels and run parallel to arteries and veins. The lymph system is the body’s drainage system, carrying waste out of our tissues. But while blood is pumped through vessels by the heart, the lymph system depends on muscle movement to encourage flow. This means if we don’t move, our lymph doesn’t move either, and our drain pipes get clogged.

Although any kind of vigorous exercise can accelerate autophagy, bouncing on a rebounder is the best exercise you can do for your lymph system. A hydraulic pressure is created by going from a state of weightlessness at the top of the bounce to landing at twice the force of gravity at the bottom. This acts as a strong pump for the lymph system. Rebounding also moves and stretches every single cell, squeezing waste products out and drawing nutrition in. 

Toxicity is one of the two causes of all disease. Getting regular exercise is one important way to detoxify, and it is essential to living a healthy life.