{"id":1459,"date":"2021-06-01T22:58:12","date_gmt":"2021-06-01T12:58:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onthecoastpublications.com.au\/onthecoastover55\/?p=1459"},"modified":"2023-09-04T23:08:22","modified_gmt":"2023-09-04T13:08:22","slug":"unlocking-the-power-of-good-gut-health-and-exercise-in-cancer-recovery-insights-from-experts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onthecoastpublications.com.au\/onthecoastover55\/unlocking-the-power-of-good-gut-health-and-exercise-in-cancer-recovery-insights-from-experts\/","title":{"rendered":"Unlocking the Power of Good Gut Health and Exercise in Cancer Recovery: Insights from Experts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Cancer Rehabilitation Specialist and Occupational Therapist, Kate Perkins, recently spoke with Drs Cecelia Kitic (PhD Exercise Immunology & Accredited Exercise Physiologist) and Sue Read (Dietician & Microbiologist) of The IVF Project, about how good gut health and exercise can contribute to overall cancer recovery. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here we share with you the highlights from their discussion to help you or someone you love make a full and fast recovery following cancer treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is good gut health?<\/strong>
Microbiota is the community of bugs that live in our gut. This community are like the soldiers of good gut health. They help us combat any nasties that try to invade our system, forming a barrier effect. Healthy and balanced gut microbiota is key to ensuring proper digestive functioning and overall wellbeing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The breakdown of this community is known as dysbiosis <\/em>and refers to when the bugs can\u2019t do their job properly, which can often be seen in patients undergoing cancer treatment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These bugs will also impact how responsive you are to chemotherapy, which is another reason why maintaining good gut healthy is especially important for cancer patients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does cancer treatment affect gut health?<\/strong>
Different types of cancer treatment can affect your good gut health community of microbiota. Treatment leading to dysbiosis means your community can have a low diversity, so it can\u2019t do the jobs it wants to anymore, and that leads to issues including problems with digestion, bowel issues and can also affect our taste buds, emotional state and other functions in the body. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stress can also be a key trigger for the gut. If your gut bugs feel stress, they will stop working and that can disrupt the entire functioning of our bodies. High inflammation in the gut can cause toxins to travel into the bloodstream and affect your lymphatic system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following cancer treatment, it\u2019s so important to regain and restore a good gut function, and having good gut health before starting cancer treatment can definitely help you bounce back more quickly and get your system functioning again more smoothly, once treatment has finished. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is exercise important? <\/strong>
Exercise is essential to the whole picture of a healthy gut. Exercise is the most potent anti-inflammatory we can give our bodies, so keeping fit, active and strong goes hand in hand with establishing good gut health and keeping your entire system functioning effectively. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exercise and the types of food you eat influence every flow-on process in the body, including how you store fat, and also impacts your metabolism. This all contributes to your gut health, your ability to bounce back following cancer treatment and your overall wellbeing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Achieving good gut health <\/strong>
Here we have detailed many ways to achieve optimal gut health to give yourself the best fighting chance of recovery following cancer treatment. In summary, we recommend:<\/p>\n\n\n\n