Doing This Type Of Exercise Could Prevent You From Getting Cancer

Have you spent the past month sitting on your ass with a box of Cheez-Its and too many episodes of "Friends"?

For the love of God, get up!

According to new research published in the journal Cell Metabolism, running can do wonders for cancer treatment and prevention.

For the study, researchers had one group of mice run on a wheel for four weeks, while the others were sedentary for those same four weeks. All the mice had tumors.

At the end of the four weeks, the running mice saw a 60 percent reduction in tumor size. Researchers believe this is related to natural killer (NK) cells, which significantly increased in the tumors of the mice that ran all month.

In other words, the adrenaline rush we get from running can get those cancer-killing cells moving.

This isn't just if you have cancer, either. Researchers also found regular running prevented healthy mice from developing tumors.

Mice are not people, so more research needs to be conducted before I add this to my official list of reasons running is awesome, but it's certainly encouraging news.

In the meantime, there are tons of other reasons to run. Running busts stress, helps you sleep better, improves your immune system and increases energy levels, to name a few benefits.

So, if running "isn't really your thing," you might want to reconsider. Sure, it might suck at first, but it's really, really good for you.

Citations: Running May Shrink Tumors and Prevent Cancer (Teen Vogue)