It’s time to take a look at some healthy facts that you might not already know. If you’re living a sedentary lifestyle or eating unhealthy foods, these may be facts that will save your life. If you’re already on the road to fitness, you’ll probably find some of these interesting or inspiring and help you stay firmly on the path to good health.
Did you know that for every minute you participate in moderate exercise, you gain seven minutes of life. Your life is not just longer, it’s healthier too.
That fact came from a study called,”Leisure Time Physical Activity of Moderate to Vigorous Intensity and Mortality: A Large Pooled Cohort Analysis,” published November 6, 2012. People who participated in brisk walking gained 1.8 years, while those who had more than the recommended 150 minutes of activity gained a healthy 3.4 to 4.5 years. Those who were active and of normal weight gained 7.1 years.
According to the CDC, regular exercise is one of the most important things you can do for your health.
Not only does exercising help reduce the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, some cancers and even osteoporosis, it can help control those conditions if you already have them. It helps lower blood pressure, makes your muscles more sensitive to insulin so you absorb more glucose from the blood and strengthens the heart muscle so it pumps more efficiently. Because your heart pumps more efficiently, all cells in your body reap benefits from the oxygen laden blood that flows to them. It also boosts your immune system, which can help fight both serious and minor diseases.
Obesity has now taken over as the primary cause of preventable deaths.
While smoking will still shorten your life, there’s another, more serious condition that will cause illness and death, obesity. More than one third of our nation is classified as obese and the additional medical cost of that obesity in 2008 was $147 billion dollars in the US. Even without obesity, diet and lack of exercise alone accounted for 18 percent of preventable deaths, a number that was up from 14 percent 20 years previously. The good news is that you’re never too old to start making lifestyle changes by adding regular exercise and a healthier diet.
Several studies show that weight bearing exercises and strength training can be more effective to build bone density and slow bone loss than most medications.
Exercise is a stress buster. It burns off the hormones created by stress that can play havoc with our bodies. Since these hormones prepare the body for flight or fight, a good workout makes sense to eliminate them.
Regular exercise can improve how well you think. It not only helps you sleep better and clears away the cobwebs caused by stress, it also helps build new brain cells and connections.
Exercise and a healthy diet can slow aging and even improve your sex life!
As you become fitter, you’ll also start to see your self-confidence rise. You’ll have plenty of confidence to break down other barriers and never feel stuck again.