Exercise Increases Body's 'Cannabis-Like' Substances, Reduces Inflammation: Study

Exercise helps reduce pain and inflammation while increasing the body's "cannabis-like" substances, a new study has found. This could have positive impacts on various conditions.

Exercise has been known to decrease chronic inflammation that can cause conditions such as arthritis and cancer, the University of Nottingham noted in a news release.

"Specifically, exercise has been shown in both animal model and human studies to increase the relative abundance of butyrate-producing microbes and thereby increase the production of butyrate, a short chain fatty acid with systemic anti-inflammatory benefits," the researchers of a new study, published in the journal Gut Microbiomes, said.

However, "little" has been known about how exactly it reduces inflammation, the university noted.

The researchers conducted their study with the help of 78 individuals with arthritis. Among the participants, 38 did 15 minutes of muscle-strengthening exercise intervention every day over the course of six weeks while the rest did not.

They found that those who did the exercise intervention had reduced pain and lower levels of inflammatory substances (cytokines). They also had more gut microbes that produce anti-inflammatory substances, as well as higher levels of endocannabinoids, which are molecules similar to the cannabinoids found in cannabis but instead are produced by the body.

"The increase in endocannabinoids was strongly linked to changes in the gut microbes and anti-inflammatory substances produced by gut microbes called SCFAs," the University of Nottingham explained. "In fact, at least one-third of the anti-inflammatory effects of the gut microbiome was due to the increase in endocannabinoids."

The results suggest that the anti-inflammatory effects of SCFAs are "partly mediated" by the endocannabinoid system, the researchers noted. Overall, it appears that the exercise intervention ushered in these changes by affecting the gut microbiome, the university noted, adding that this could potentially help treat conditions such as arthritis and heart disease.

"Our study clearly shows that exercise increases the body's own cannabis-type substances. Which can have a positive impact on many conditions," Dr. Amrita Vijay, the study's first author, said in the news release. "As interest in cannabidiol oil and other supplements increases, it is important to know that simple lifestyle interventions like exercise can modulate endocannabinoids."