red blood cells only live about 120 days<\/a>. Daily life damages them over time, and they are then removed by the spleen and liver. \u201cThat is normal aging at the cellular level,\u201d says Dr. Talreja.<\/p>\nIn the runners\u2019 cases, racing accelerated that life cycle, only temporarily. And researchers didn\u2019t follow up to examine whether or not the isolated events caused long-term damage. Plus: \u201cBone marrow constantly produces new red blood cells,\u201d explains Dr. Talreja. \u201cHealthy athletes typically replace these cells quickly, and there is no evidence that this process causes systemic aging of the person.\u201d<\/p>\n
Theoretically, if the runners engaged in intense marathons too often, there may be more risk of long-term damage because the blood markers were similar to those seen in severe infections and systemic inflammatory states, says Dr. McCarthy. But more research is needed, and scientists have yet to prove this. Red blood cells that don\u2019t work well over time may lead to stress on the vascular system, negatively impact blood flow, and lead to to low-grade inflammation, which impact aging and cardiovascular disease.<\/p>\n
Why cardio remains good for health and longevity<\/p>\n
\u201cRegular running and higher cardiorespiratory fitness are associated with lower all\u2011cause and cardiovascular mortality,\u201d explains Dr. McCarthy. Moderate to moderately high volumes lead to the most benefits, and the risk from very extreme amounts, if present at all, is small, she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cCardiorespiratory fitness is one of the strongest predictors of survival we have. Modest, consistent cardio\u2014such as brisk walking, moderate intensity running, or cycling\u2014delivers most of the longevity benefit,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
The bottom line<\/p>\n
\u201cExtreme, single bout, ultra-endurance running acutely pushes red blood cells and the immune and metabolic systems into a state that looks like accelerated red blood cell aging with significant oxidative and inflammatory stress,\u201d says Dr. McCarthy. For most healthy, well-prepared athletes, this likely shows a short-term stress, followed by making it up (with nourishment and hydration).<\/p>\n
Hefty data shows that moderate-to-high levels of aerobic fitness have a strong association with longer life expectancy, adds Dr. Talreja. Even endurance athletes who race often generally show positive cardiovascular patterns compared with people who lead more sedentary lifestyles.<\/p>\n
Experts advise exercising caution in high-stress and high-impact physical activity. But more research is needed before making any definitive decisions. As always, consult your physician before changing up your routine.
<\/strong><\/p>\nRelated Stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"3 min read Scientists link high-intensity, long-distance cardio (like marathon running) to red blood cell damage in a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":801717,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4322],"tags":[218314,218315,14774,232363,1331,1630,3989,105,1381,232364,232362,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-801716","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-collection-health-news","9":"tag-collection-health-studies","10":"tag-content-type-news-explainer","11":"tag-contentid-314bf4a8-16a0-4790-9673-07f336dbf3b7","12":"tag-displaytype-standard-article","13":"tag-fitness","14":"tag-hasproduct-true","15":"tag-health","16":"tag-locale-us","17":"tag-read_time-4","18":"tag-shorttitle-scientists-say-this-cardio-damages-red-blood-cells","19":"tag-uk","20":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116166600379124204","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/801716","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=801716"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/801716\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/801717"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=801716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=801716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=801716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Estimated](\"https:\/\/www.prevention.com\/_assets\/design-tokens\/fre\/static\/icons\/clock-regular.4ddebeb.svg\")
3 min read![\"Caret](\"https:\/\/www.prevention.com\/_assets\/design-tokens\/fre\/static\/icons\/caret-right-regular.a6ec664.svg\"){kind=icon}
<\/p>\n