If you’re hitting the bottle on the reg, you need to also hit the gym.
Besides the obvious of workouts being good for you, you might also cancel out the increased risk of cancer that regular alcohol consumption brings.
According to a new study from the United Kingdom
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, regular physical activity nearly canceled out the increased risk of developing cancer that corresponds to drinking. Researchers on the study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, discuss possible mechanisms for how exercise counteracts the increased cancer risk, from increased inflammation to decreased immune function, both of which can be a result of drinking and have been linked to cancer.Participants in the study were divided into six groups based on their exercise habits and alcohol intake. Researchers found that in the inactive group, the more they drank, the more likely they were to die during a 10-year period. Throw in a little exercise and the chance of dying decreased, but still correlated to how many brewskis they were pounding regularly.
When looking specifically at cancer, however, getting off their butts a bit each week just about canceled out the risk of death entirely.
Now, if you’re getting blackout drunk any chance you get, you’d fall in the “harmful” group, where no amount of exercise can decrease the risk of death. Might be time to lock up the liquor cabinet and throw away the key.