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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – September is Healthy Aging ® Month so let’s exercise for our health regardless of our age (We’re all aging regardless of our age!). Healthy aging is a national health initiative developed to help us think more positively about growing older (See link below for the founders of this initiative). I’ve always maintained that exercise is a natural medicine vital to our health and well being, and every day we do hear about the health benefits to engaging in a regular exercise program. Being active is in our genes, which goes back to prehistoric man who hunted for his food (he definitely didn’t use a remote control or a phone for food delivery!). So, this week let’s take a brief look at some of these benefits because there are many; in fact exercise affects every body system.
Exercise will
Increase our everyday quality of life by increasing our muscular strength, and muscular endurance. Some forms of exercise will increase our bone density and all of these will lessen our chance of injury. As we strengthen our musculoskeletal system, we will function better in our daily lives, have more energy and look better to boot.
Strengthen our cardiovascular system including our heart (our heart is a muscle). It will help to maintain the elasticity of our blood vessels, help to lower our blood pressure, lower our heart rate, raise our HDL levels (that’s the good cholesterol found in our blood), increase our circulation and delivery of oxygen to our body and brain (this enhances our musculoskeletal system’s daily functioning, not to mention lowering our cardiovascular disease risk).
Improve our digestion, elimination, and improve our body’s usage of body fat stores as a source of fuel for energy (isn’t this an important one?).
Aid our weight management efforts for the long haul (isn’t it important to keep the pounds off after we lose them?). Aerobic exercise helps to burn body fat during exercise and strength training helps to raise metabolic rate by increasing lean tissue (muscle !).
Lower our risk of diabetes and help us to utilize all those sugars we eat (the ones we’re trying to avoid?). It will also strengthen our immune system by increasing the production of immune cells. Studies have indicated that after a 40 minute bout of exercise, both cardio and/or strength training, there is an increase of circulating immune cells.
Help to improve our mental and emotional processes. When we naturally increase our circulation, energy levels, daily functioning, and overall health, we improve our ability to think. We provide ourselves with a healthy stress coping tool. We can improve our sleep and naturally improve our mood too. Exercise has been shown to be as effective as some medications to relieve mild depression; it’s free and as long as we exercise safely, it’s without negative side effects. Lastly according to some sources, for every hour we exercise, there is a two hour increase added to our life (one reason is that a stronger heart doesn’t work as hard and doesn’t have to produce as many heart beats over a lifetime!). Isn’t this a great example of anti-aging too?
A regular exercise program can help us to prevent disease but it can also give us a head start as we fight disease if we need to, by our having a healthier and stronger body state as a baseline.
So how can we go wrong starting and maintaining a regular exercise program as part of taking care of our health?
Follow me Junefit every Sunday on Twitter for a new tool taken my book featuring “A Salad a Day” (www.amazon.com/Its-Not-Diet-Creative-Eating/dp/1432743597/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259605985&sr=1-1) and find me on Facebook! Need help with your fitness regime? Contact me for a personalized fitness and/or weight loss program. All sessions via skype, and email support.
Here’s to Exercise, and Our Health at all Ages!
Junefit is included in Google’s top ranked women’s health resources http://directory.google.com/Top/Health/Women’s_Health/Resources/
June is Lifestyle Editor at www.healthnewsdigest.com/
June is on the women’s health advisory council for www.healthywomen.org
Want to recommend my weekly tips to friends, relatives and anyone interested in improving their health & fitness, e mail me at [email protected] Changing your e- mail address? Please simply reply to this email with your old address and new address.
copyright 2011, junefit. All rights reserved.
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