Bonus Point: Staying off sugar can boost your immune system. Why? “Because sugar suppresses the immune system, it can decrease the ‘effectiveness’ of a neutrophil that can kill a bacteria by about 90%” Dr Neil Nedley on Corona Virus Prevention. (Neutrophils are white blood cells that play some very important roles in our innate immune system. They circulate around our body in the bloodstream, and when they sense signals that an infection is present, they are the first cells to migrate to the site of the infection to begin killing the invading microbes).
In this article, we will focus on the important need for exercise – as part of your Corona Virus Prevention (CVP) Strategy.
Be physically active as part of everyday life – walk more and sit less
One of our Proactive Lifestyle Recommendations is to be physically active as part of everyday life – walk more and sit less. There is strong evidence that physical activity boosts your Immune system and protects against cancers of the colon, breast and endometrium … and that it helps prevent excess weight gain. Sedentary lifestyles and lack of physical activity are globally widespread. Aerobic physical activity protects against weight gain, overweight and obesity. There is also strong evidence that screen time, which is a marker of sedentary living, is a cause of weight gain in children and adults. We know that “greater body fatness” is a cause of many cancers, therefore, physical activity may indirectly reduce risk of obesity-related cancers. While being active has been linked to a wide range of health benefits, insufficient physical activity levels have been associated with a number of health problems. These include obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke, poor bone health and depression.
The World Health Organisation advises adults to be active daily and do at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity or at least 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity a week. We consider this the minimum amount necessary.
Beat Chronic Constipation
Chronic Constipation is a disease that stores toxic waste. What is transit time? Physical activity stimulates digestion and reduces the colon transit time. This means that food moves more quickly through the digestive system. As a result, this reduces the time that potential carcinogens in the colon are in contact with the lining of the bowel. Thereby suppressing the opportunity for cancer development in the bowel.
Reduce Screen – Time Watching television or screens, including at work, and using electronic devices, such as playing games consoles, are forms of sedentary behaviour. In most parts of the world, levels of physical activity are insufficient for optimal health. Both adults and children should minimise the amount of time they are sedentary. One thing is certain, and doctors throughout the whole world agree with this: regular physical exercise provides benefits that no medication can offer. After all, we were created for an active life.
Physical Exercise Increases your Capacity for Learning
In his book, Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, a professor and psychiatrist from Harvard, John Ratey, affirms that toxic levels of stress wear out the connections between billions of neurons, and chronic depression contracts certain areas of the brain. On the other hand, physical exercise liberates a flow of neuro-chemicals and growth factors that can reverse this process, helping to support the cerebral infrastructure. This even contributes to the capacity for learning.
More Benefits of Physical Exercise
There are many other advantages to the practice of physical exercise:
It helps to strengthen the heart and increases lung capacity, which helps with the efficient completion of common daily tasks.
Physical exercise helps to prevent osteoporosis, because it helps the bones to retain a greater quantity of calcium.
Aerobic exercise (running, biking, swimming, and walking at a fast pace) fights stress and depression. In addition to other benefits, it reverses the situation of acquired metabolic diseases (diabetes, cancer, and heart disease).
Exercise helps to control blood pressure.
Regular physical exercise has been demonstrated to be capable of reducing high levels of cholesterol and saturated fat in the bloodstream. Besides this, it increases the production of good cholesterol, which protects the arteries.
Physical exercise helps one to maintain health, especially if exercise is accompanied by natural food. Additionally, the thyroid is stimulated to remain functioning several hours after physical effort, accelerating general metabolism. This helps to control weight.
Feel Good with Exercise
Physical exercise liberates endorphins and causes a sense of well-being, it keeps depression under control. On a long-term basis, it reduces the resting heart rate and consequently results in less effort from the heart to pump blood. It facilitates the action of insulin and peripheral circulation, treating Type 2 diabetes. It improves self-image. It reduces the rate of triglycerides and it favors better sleep. In fact, the list of benefits is even longer than that.
So, move!
Your body, your brain, your emotions and Immune system will thank you.
NEXT: STRESS AND YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM
