HEART SAVING TIPS: EXERCISE IS VITAL
We all know that exercise is good for us, but you may not know just how much it can save your life. If someone could bottle the positive effects exercise has on our bodies and sell it as a drug, they would make a fortune because we’d all be taking it! Interestingly enough there was a weight loss supplement on the American market called “Exercise in a Bottle”; the US Federal Trade Commission has permanently banned the manufacturer of this supplement from marketing products for weight loss because of false and unsubstantiated claims made about this supplement. There’s nothing like the real thing!
Exercise has the following benefits for your heart:
• It makes your heart muscle stronger, so that it can pump more blood with less effort.
It helps you maintain a healthy weight by speeding up your metabolism and increasing your muscle mass.
• Reduces your chance of having high blood pressure.
• Strengthens your immune system and improves your ability to fight off infections.
• Exercise reduces LDL “bad” cholesterol and triglycerides, and is one of the few ways you can increase your HDL “good” cholesterol.
• It improves glucose tolerance, thus reduces your chance of developing Syndrome X and diabetes.
• Exercise helps you cope with stress and reduces anxiety and depression. It reduces tension, anger and fatigue, and helps to lift your spirits.
• Exercise improves your self esteem and makes you more motivated to eat well and look after yourself well.
• It causes your artery walls to release nitric oxide, which dilates your blood vessels, improving blood flow; reducing inflammation of the artery walls and reducing the tendency of blood clots to form in the arteries.
• Exercise makes you smarter! Yes it’s true; studies have shown that exercise helps thinking and decision making abilities, and speeds up brain activity.
• It helps you to live longer.
Clearly exercise is one of the easiest, least expensive things you can do to reduce your risk of heart disease. An ideal amount of exercise would be 30 to 60 minutes most days of the week. If you can’t fit it all in one go, you can split this into two or three sessions. For example, two fifteen minute walks would be just as good. If you don’t have time for formal exercise, you can still stay active by gardening, doing vigorous housework, walking to the shops instead of driving, taking the stairs instead of the lift, going out dancing, or having energetic sex. Find some way to be more active; it will be well worth it.
If you have diagnosed heart disease it is vital that you check with your doctor before starting an exercise program.
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