Exercise increases the body's cannabis-like substances, which can help reduce chronic inflammation, English study shows

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Exercise can reduce chronic inflammation by increasing the body's own cannabis-like substances, which have the potential to treat conditions ranging from arthritis to cancer to heart disease.

In a study published in Gut Microbes, researchers from the University of Nottingham in England split 78 people with arthritis into two groups. One group performed muscle-strengthening exercises for 15 minutes every day for six weeks, and the other group did nothing. At the end of the study, the participants in the exercise group not only reduced their pain and the amount of inflammatory substances but also increased the amount of cannabis-like substances. Exercise caused these improvements by altering the participants' gut bacteria.

Doctor Amrita Vijay, the first author of the paper, said, “Our study clearly shows that exercise increases the body’s own cannabis-type substances, which can have a positive impact on many conditions."