“If there were a drug that could do for human health everything that exercise can, it would likely be the most valuable pharmaceutical ever developed.” Mandy Oaklander, “The New Science of Exercise,” Time, September 12, 2016.
Combat the Dangerous Effects of Stress
People who are stressed have higher risk factors for heart disease and stroke like high cholesterol and hypertension. However, researchers in Sweden have found that people with high work stress who regularly exercise greatly reduce their risk factors for these diseases. The people were asked about stress in general, and not just work stress, so the study also suggests that exercise combats the overall effects of stress. “How Exercise Makes Your Job Less Stressful,” time.com, November 3, 2016.
Prevent and Treat Diabetes
Physical activity reduces the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, as well as helping to manage the disease for those who already have it. One study found that those who achieved 150 minutes per week of moderate physical activity had a 26 percent reduced risk for developing Type 2 diabetes A second study found that moderate exercise performed within 5 to 10 minutes after a meal significantly lowered blood glucose levels. “The importance of the amount of physical activity on the risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes,” sciencedaily.com, October 21, 2016.
Decrease Your Risk of Premature Death
Our bodies are made to move, but in today’s high-tech society, we have become accustomed to slouching over our computers. New research reveals that remaining in this position for a long time increases the risk of decreased lung capacity, decreased inhalation, heart disease, obesity, diabetes, cancer, and early death. In fact, those who sit for more than 6 hours per day have a 17–34 percent higher risk of premature death than those who only sit for 3 hours per day. The best solution for those who have desk jobs is to increase the amount of breaks you take, set up your desk so you can sit straighter, and overall, just try to move as much as possible throughout your day. “The Silicon Valley Addiction: Is Sitting the New Smoking?” www.huffingtonpost.com, October 24, 2016.
Safeguard Your Child’s Health
How early in life can the effects of a lack of exercise be seen? According to a study from Finland, children as young as 6–8 years of age were already showing links between arterial stiffness and low levels of physical activity. Children with high levels of physical fitness had better arterial dilation capacity during physical exercise than their peers. Those who had both weak physical fitness and a high body fat percentage or low levels of physical activity had the stiffest arteries. As vascular diseases and type-2 diabetes increase around the globe, helping your child become more active greatly reduces the risk for childhood obesity and for poor health later in life.
Here’s one way to encourage your children to be more active—surround them with active friends! Children with active friends are almost twice as likely to be in the most physically active category themselves. Having active friends has been found to be a stronger influence than the encouragement or involvement of parents. “Sedentary lifestyle and overweight weaken arterial health already in childhood,” University of Eastern Finland, www.uef.fi, September 11, 2015. “Friends may make the difference in keeping children active,” American Heart Association, March 3, 2015.
Find the Fountain of Youth
Exercise it the closest thing to the Fountain of Youth. Telomeres, those “guardians” of our chromosomes that prevent deterioration of our DNA, shorten as we age, leaving the chromosomes open to the deterioration. Exercise, in short, greatly slows this process, and thus slows aging! If that wasn’t enough, aerobic exercise also revs up blood flow to the skin, delivering oxygen and nutrients that improve skin health and tone and speeds wound healing. “7 surprising benefits of exercise,” time.com, September 1, 2016.
Grow New Brain Cells, Enhance the Old
Exercise stimulates the growth of new brain cells in the hippocampus—the region of the brain responsible for memory and mood, writes neurogenesis researcher Wendy Suzuki, in her 2016 book, Healthy Brain, Happy Life. It also promotes gliogenesis—the production of support cells that connect neural cells in the prefrontal cortex, allowing them to work more efficiently. This is the region of the brain responsible for decision-making, attention, and personality.
According to Suzuki, you get the maximum effect from exercise first thing in the morning: “When do you want those growth factors in your brain working? You want them working when you get to work… I was able to get much longer bouts of effective writing done on mornings when I worked out,” Suzuki says. “I pooped out much earlier on mornings I didn’t exercise.” Research also shows that those who are more sedentary, even if they are occasionally active, have lower structural integrity in the hippocampus. A consistent exercise program with variety is the key.
“More people die for want of exercise than through overfatigue; very many more rust out than wear out. Those who accustom themselves to proper exercise in the open air, will generally have a good and vigorous circulation. We are more dependent upon the air we breathe than upon the food we eat. Men and women, young and old, who desire health, and who would enjoy active life should remember that they cannot have these without a good circulation. Whatever their business and inclinations, they should make up their minds to exercise in the open air as much as they can. They should feel it a religious duty to overcome the conditions of health which have kept them confined indoors, deprived of exercise in the open air.” Counsels on Health, page 173.
Nature Knows Best!!
Excerpted with permission from Do You Need a Health Revolution, Last Generation Vol. 27 No 4. Call 540-672-5671 in the US to order your own copy of this 32-page special issue on health and Wellness. In Australia, call 03 5963 7000.