In the best of times, we are a sedentary nation. Around 76 per cent of you don’t meet the minimum (that’s minimum) recommendations for aerobic and strength-building activities, which are at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity and moderate- to high-intensity muscle-strengthening activity at least two days a week. And now that you’re staying home for work and not going out for entertainment or dining, there’s even less notion of motion.
That’s a health crisis of its own, on top of the pandemic. So we thought we’d give you some incentive to get creative. Here’s three ways:
— Start doing some of the many online aerobic and strength-building workouts that are available for free (check sharecare.com and YouTube).
— Begin using household objects (that can of tomatoes or those stretchy bands you have in the closet) for muscle-building exercises.
— Adopt a stretching routine to stay limber and pain-free. Check out Easy Stretching Routine with Denise Austin at sharecare.com.
There’s been a rush of new studies that confirm just how important it is to keep challenging your body by moving your muscles and activating your lungs — let’s hope one of them will get you up off the couch.
1. REGULAR EXERCISE BOOSTS YOUR IMMUNITY.
An international group of researchers published a study in Exercise Immunology Review that confirms regular exercise (even vigorous routines) increases the immune system’s ability to identify and fight off pathogens and slows down age-related changes that happen to the immune system, reducing the risk of infections. Sounds like just what the doctor ordered!
2. EXERCISE HAS FAR-REACHING EFFECTS ON METABOLISM.
A unique study published in Cardiovascular Research has found that exercise’s impact on your metabolism is far greater than previously known. For the record, your metabolism is how the body converts food into energy and eliminates waste and metabolites — substances made or used when the body breaks down food.
The researchers measured around 200 metabolites in the blood of 52 soldiers before and after an 80-day aerobic and strength exercise program. They found dramatic changes in many metabolites and that showed that trained, energyefficient muscles use far more fuel, such as fat, than scientists knew. The researchers also saw how exercise positively influences gut-derived factors that affect blood clotting and increase blood flow — and also influence how proteins are broken down. The one exception was folks who had a low fibre, sugary diet — they produced a metabolite that actually blocks the benefits of exercise!
Bottom line: If you want all the life-extending and life-enhancing benefits of exercise, ditch all sugar-added drinks and focus on a fibre-rich, plant-centred diet.
3. EXERCISE PROTECTS YOUR HEART FROM DIABETESRELATED FAILURE AND LOWCAL DIET HELPS REVERSE DIABETES.
According to a study out of the U.K. published in Diabetes Care, heart failure is one of the most common complications of Type 2 diabetes, and younger adults with Type 2 diabetes already have changes in their heart structure and function that pose a risk of developing heart failure. Twelve weeks of supervised aerobic training significantly improved participants’ heart function compared with the control group, and increased their exercise capacity. And among a group that had a low-cal diet (around 810 calories daily) and no exercise — there was no improvement in heart function, but 83 per cent of those folks saw a reversal of their Type 2 diabetes! Now that makes exercise and diet changes a great combo!
So our recommendation is to embrace the healthy benefits of exercise any way you can, and take a look at your daily meal plan. You may be relying on canned and packaged foods, but that doesn’t mean they have to be ultraprocessed. Dried and canned beans, brown rice, quinoa, all kinds of frozen veggies and fruits, canned sockeye salmon and tuna, whole-wheat pasta, frozen plain chicken tenders — all can provide you with the energy and nutrition you need to work out regularly and help you dodge diabetes too.
Mehmet Oz, M.D. is host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” and Mike Roizen, M.D. is Chief Wellness Officer and Chair of Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic. To live your healthiest, tune into “The Dr. Oz Show” or visit www.sharecare.com. (c)2020 Michael Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet Oz, M.D. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.