Exercise for Healthy Living
Exercise is like an essential nutrient; without it, our body malfunctions. Our biological ancestors were very active, engaging in hours of vigorous physical activity every day. They walked or ran everywhere they went, and they needed to work hard, physically to meet their basic needs.
Unlike our hunter-gatherer ancestors, most of us now engage in little physical activity. The Industrial Revolution changed human existence. Machines and technology perform work formerly done by hand. We no longer hunt or farm, our work is done sitting at a desk or standing behind a counter, and we meet our daily needs with a Quick Trip on every corner. We read books, play video games, and watch movies ans television. We seldom walk or run; instead, we use automobiles, trains, taxis, and buses.
Exercise for Healthy Living
Sixty percent of our adult population is sedentary, and one out of four people engages in absolutely no exercise whatsoever. Lack of activity contributes to our epidemic of physical problems such as low back pain and spine problems, fatigue, arthritis, osteoporosis, obesity and a host of chronic diseases. Exercise is good because it promotes the health of cells. Exercise prevent the two causes of disease; Deficiency and Toxicity by promoting efficient nutrient delivery to the cells and stimulating the lymphatic system, vital for removing toxins from cells.
Exercise for healthy living is great for body and mind; it slows the effects of aging, reduces pain and helps to improve mood, clarity, balance, and coordination. The body has almost seven hundred different muscles; without physical activity, these muscles quickly waste away and lose their strength. When certain muscles are weak, others will compensate to do the work, which can cause painful physical damage to the body with long-term wear and tear. A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1996 found that physically inactive people are up to twice as likely to die prematurely as those who are physically fit.
Lack of exercise actually may be a greater health risk than smoking. People who exercise regularly and also smoke typically live longer and healthier lives than people who do not smoke but also do not exercise. Consider what happens to bedridden people-bodies that do not move or exercise at all. Their cells become increasingly more deficient and toxic. Unused muscles lose 10 to 15 percent of their strength per week and half their strength in just three to five weeks. Meanwhile, the bones and joints become weak, brittle and susceptible to fracture or breakage. Exercise is important to brain function, and helps to engage and clear the mind.
- Releases brain chemicals that alleviate feelings of anxiety, depression and mental stress.
- Enhances the immune system (by increasing natural killer-cell activity) and improves the body’s ability to fight infections.
- Slows the onset of aging effects, such as slowed nerve impulses and bone demoralization.
- Reduces the risk of developing Type II diabetes by about 25 percent and decreases insulin resistance.
- Helps lower blood pressure. Regular exercise can lower blood pressure by ten points or more.
- Helps prevent cardiovascular disease by blocking the buildup of plaque in the arteries.
- Dissolves blood clots and reduces the risk of stroke.
- Reduces cancer risk; just four hours of exercise per week lowers a woman’s risk of breast cancer by almost 60 percent.
- Tones and conditions the entire body and helps prevent obesity. Set your goals today and start to MOVE!