When I was growing up, I remember coming home from school and running outdoors to play basketball with the guys…home work was for later. I did well in school, and I believe that regular physical activity actually facilitated my schoolwork. It turns out that my love for exercise was the best thing that I could do as a young developing teen. Among the benefits of physical activity is the facilitation of healthy brain development. But that’s only one of more than 40 good reasons to exercise that we desperately need to pay attention to in America.
Consider this: the number one complaint in the doctor’s office in America is: “doctor I’m so tired”! Why are Americans so tired most of the time? The answer lies in the design of our personal energy production systems. In the muscle cells we have energy producing cells called mitochondria. They take glucose (blood sugar) and in the presence of oxygen, produce the “energy currency” of the body: ATP. That’s what we run on…the brain heart, the muscles all require ATP for energy.
When we are physically inactive, the body compensates in a process called homeostasis that actually reduces the number of mitochondria. Why? Because you don’t need them! However if you do start walking, the body responds by putting significantly more mitochondria to work. What that means is that you have a much larger capacity for energy production, and the tiredness goes away!
Another important effect of exercise on the body is in terms of the immune response. Physical activity tends to produce a higher body temperature. In response to the increase in temperature, the immune system produces more white blood cells. The rise in body temperature is like a natural fever, and the white cells not only increase in number but become more efficient at destroying disease-producing bacteria and viruses. As long as the diet is low in refined carbohydrates (sugar, sweet drinks), the immune system remains strong and vibrant, and protects you from all kinds of diseases, including cancer.
Another important effect of exercise is that it strengthens the heart muscle. Each time the heart beats, it puts out a certain amount of blood called the stroke volume. If you are physically inactive, the stroke volume is lower. On a brisk walking program, your heart muscle will gradually strengthen, and the result will be a larger stroke volume with each beat. This new heart efficiency results in the lowering of the number of heart beats, since it takes less beats to pump the same volume of blood as before! Most people with a relatively inefficient heart, can see fairly dramatic results in only ten weeks!
To illustrate, let’s say that when you start a regular brisk walking program, your under-exercised resting heart beats at the rate of 80 beats per minute. After 8-10 weeks you take your resting pulse again, and notice that your resting heart rate is now 60 beats per minute. That’s not a lot is it? A difference of 20 beats per minute….or is it? It turns out that this reduction of the heart’s work load is a HUGE benefit! If you calculate the number of heartbeats that you save per day (20X60X24), you have just reduced the workload of the heart by over 28,000 beats per day!!
For diabetics, exercise (brisk walking 30 minutes twice a day) has a profound effect on insulin resistance, the root cause of type II diabetes. In fact, the effects of physical activity on insulin resistance are so profound that if you are diabetic and on medications, YOU MUST CONSULT WITH YOUR DOCTOR before beginning an exercise program. The reason? A brisk 30 minute walk can cause your blood sugar to drop several points, and in combination with medications can cause you blood sugar to drop too low! Your doctor will probably lower your meds, once you begin to exercise 30 minutes twice a day.
Exercise also reduces tension and stress, increases your HDL (good) cholesterol, and promotes collateral circulation to protect you from a fatal heart attack. And we have not even gotten started yet on the rest of the many additional benefits of physical activity. Click on the link below to sign up for the video presentation!
But here’s the best part: exercise is actually good for your BRAIN! It is a simple yet remarkably potent way to lower your levels of inflammatory cytokines, which will help protect your brain function. And exercise actually causes your brain to grow in size. In one study, adults aged 60 to 80 who walked for 30 to 45 minutes, three days per week for one year, showed a two percent increase in the volume of their hippocampus—a brain region associated with memory. Exercise actually increases a key brain element called BDNF-brain-derived neurotropic factor. Exercise encourages your brain to work at optimum capacity by causing your nerve cells to multiply, strengthening their interconnections, and protecting them from damage. BDNF, activates brain stem cells to convert into new neurons. BDNF also triggers numerous other chemicals that promote neural health. Further, exercise provides protective effects to your brain through:
- The production of nerve-protecting compounds
- Greater blood flow to your brain
- Improved development and survival of neurons
- Decreased risk of heart and blood vessel diseases
So what are you waiting for? Get started today, and receive the ENORMOUS benefits that accrue from regular physical activity! Here is a link to a graphic which explains the dangerous effects of prolonged sitting…it’s “the new smoking”, in terms of high risk behaviors: Don’t Just Sit There-2014
