Exercising your options

What if I told you that there was something that could improve cardiovascular health, lower blood pressure, protect against cancer, lift depression, reduce excess insulin, ease arthritis and build bone? Oh, did I mention that it can also help you lose weight? And, unlike most things in life anymore, this one is free! Maybe you’ve figured out by now that I’m talking about exercise. --------------------------------- The evidence is in --------------------------------- We all know that exercise is good medicine. But that doesn’t mean we follow this wise old adage. So, I thought I’d share some of the new research which provides even more evidence that regular exercise can significantly improve your health. One study, conducted by the University of South Carolina, Columbia, found that people who routinely exercise catch 25 percent fewer colds. Another study found that middle-aged men who get more than three hours of exercise a week can cut their risk of developing Syndrome X (also known as insulin resistance); the metabolic syndrome that often precedes Type II diabetes and heart disease, by half. If you already suffer from Syndrome X, researchers from Duke University Medical Center have found that exercising and losing weight can significantly lower your blood pressure and reduce the overproduction of insulin. In their study, the researchers randomized 53 overweight and middle-aged men and women with Syndrome X into three groups – exercise, exercise plus weight loss, and usual lifestyle. The exercise participants exercised three to four times a week for 26 weeks, while the combination group added a weight loss component whose goal was to lose one to two pounds per week by gradually lowering calorie and fat intake. The researchers measured blood pressure, glucose, insulin and lipid levels before, and six months after, the interventions. The Duke team found that overweight patients with Syndrome X who exercised and lost weight experienced a reduction of 47 percent in the overproduction of insulin, a condition known as hyperinsulinemia. Patients who only exercised saw a 27 percent reduction. When it comes to heart health, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have discovered that exercise helps reduce inflammation inside the blood vessels. Of the nearly 14,000 adults participating in the study, those who exercised the most had the lowest blood concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP), a compound used to measure inflammation in the body. But the folks at the CDC aren’t the only ones making the connection between exercise and CRP. A similar study by the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute for Medicine and Engineering found that regular exercise acts like a drug on your blood vessels. Here’s how it works: when you exercise you force blood through your blood vessels. This elevated blood flow stresses the walls of the vessels as it passes over them, reducing inflammation in a way similar to high doses of steroids. Exercise can also help reduce the risk of cancer, specifically breast cancer. According to findings from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, brisk walking for just an hour or two weekly can help older women reduce their risk of breast cancer by nearly 20 percent, even if they’ve used HRT for years. The researchers analyzed data on 74,171 women ages 50 to 79 who participated in the US government's Women's Health Initiative study from 1993 to 1998. Women who said they engaged in about 1.25 to 2.50 hours of moderate exercise weekly had an 18 percent lower risk of breast cancer than inactive women. This study adds to the growing body of evidence that says exercise need not be super strenuous to produce substantial health benefits, even if begun relatively late in life. Not sold yet? Well, here’s the clincher – exercise can improve your sex life! Unfortunately, as we age, the levels of our sex hormones decline. But exercise can increase circulating sex hormones as well as the highly touted anti-aging growth hormone. One study reported that blood levels of estrogen, testosterone and growth hormone were significantly higher in women aged 19-69 years old after 40 minutes of either endurance or resistance exercise versus a control group who performed no exercise. Other research on the hormonal response to exercise in men, while less conclusive for testosterone levels, showed increases in growth hormone after resistance exercise. And all three hormones contribute to libido and optimal sexual function. Adopting a regular exercise routine not only supports a healthy sex life, you’ll look and feel sexier than you have in years! --------------------------------- Confessions of a couch potato --------------------------------- One of the reasons most people shy away from exercise is because they remember the old “no pain, no gain” motto of the 1980s. But that advice is about as outdated as discos. The new word on exercise is that less is more. In other words, moderation can pay off with big benefits. Here’s the proof: according to a new study supported by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, women trying to lose weight can benefit as much from a moderate physical activity as from an intense workout. The exercise dose and intensity trial involved 201 overweight but otherwise healthy women ages 21-45. All of the participants received reduced calorie meals in addition to being randomly assigned to one of four physical activity regimens, which varied by intensity and duration. The regimens consisted of either a moderate- or vigorous-intensity physical activity (brisk walking) performed for either a shorter (2½ to 3½ hours per week) or longer (3½ to 5 hours per week) duration. Women in all four groups lost a significant amount of weight – about 13 to 20 pounds – and maintained their weight loss for a year. They also improved their cardio respiratory fitness. But the best news is that the women in the moderate groups lost just as much weight as those participating in the more strenuous workout routines. One last thing . . . To encourage sedentary people to become just a little more active, the medical community has, over the past decade, gradually lowered the recommendations for minimum exercise from 30 minutes a day to 20 minutes three times a week. The trouble is, those recommendations have not at all kept pace with the obesity epidemic and its associated diseases. Being sedentary is bad in itself, but failing to get enough exercise to maintain your weight makes matters far, far worse. And over time, both conditions set you up for diseases that can kill you. The greatest health benefits from exercise come with low-to-moderate levels of exertion. And, despite the claims of some fitness fanatics, the health benefits of exercise don’t increase dramatically as you ratchet up the workouts. In fact, some of the healthiest, longest-living individuals follow relatively low-intensity regimes like Qigong, yoga and walking, which rarely cause them to break a sweat. Regardless of your goals, all the research agrees on one point: True health and fitness of any kind depends on your willingness to embrace some kind of exercise for the long haul. That’s because you’ll derive far more benefit from a lifetime of moderate walking than a week of grueling training if you hate it, burn out and quit. The upshot is this: If you are near your ideal weight and just want to keep your ticker in decent shape, 30 minutes a day will probably work for you. If you are overweight and can’t face the idea of a full 60 minutes, start with 30 and work your way up. If your weight poses a threat to your health, do everything you can to get in that 60 minutes however you can, knowing the payoffs will be worth it. The good news: it’s not necessary to complete the recommended time in one session; you can break it up into several mini-bouts of exercise throughout the day. This just in . . . If you’re the type that turns your nose up at the thought of green drinks, you might want to reconsider. According to research recently published in the journal Diabetes and Metabolism, people who regularly consume powdered organic barley grass juice supplements could be providing a boost to their cardiovascular system. In the study, 36 Type II diabetics were randomly assigned to receive daily supplements of barley grass, a combination of vitamin C and E, or a combination of barley grass and vitamins C and E for four weeks. At the end of the study, the researchers found that supplementing with barley grass reduced the levels of total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol, in addition to protecting LDL-vitamin E content and inhibiting LDL oxidation. Now that’s pretty impressive. But when barley grass was combined with vitamins C and E, the researchers noted that it created a cholesterol-fighting antioxidant cocktail more powerful than either the barley grass or the vitamins taken alone. They concluded that supplementing with barley grass in combination with antioxidant vitamins can reduce some of the major risk factors for atherosclerosis. This particular study used diabetics as their test subjects. But barley grass can offer the same benefits to non-diabetics too. So the next time you belly up to the juice bar – think green. Or better yet, pick up a jar of powdered barley grass. If you don’t like the taste, try mixing it with apple juice. Bottoms up! Yours in health and happiness, Bonnie Jenkins Advanced Natural Medicine Bulletin References: “Clinical research shows barley grass supplements can boost cardiovascular health.” PR Newswire. 14 May 2003. “Exercise, weight loss reduces excess insulin, lowers blood pressure in Syndrome X.” Ascribe Newswire. 8 Sept. 2003. Jakicic J, et al. “Effect of Exercise Duration and Intensity on Weight Loss in Overweight, Sedentary Women.” Journal of the American Medical Association. 2003;290:1323-1330. McTiernan A, et al. “Recreational Physical Activity and the Risk of Breast Cancer in Postmenopausal Women.” Journal of the American Medical Association. 2003;290:1331-1336.