4 Age Related Health Conditions That May Be Prevented With Exercise
The 4 age related conditions we’re going to shed light on are arthritis, cancer, heart disease, and mental health conditions, all of which will only benefit from a diverse routine exercise program with cardiovascular exercise, strength training, and stretching.
Arthritis
This disease is progressive and chronic and often shows face the older we get. Perhaps as a teenager, you over-trained in a particular sport; causes tremendous joint, muscles ligament, and bone stress; then as you got older you decided to not exercise at all, losing muscle and bone strength, decreasing mobility, motility, and stability. Now you have a perfect environment for inflammation and stiffness of the joints to flare up and limit your ability to function without pain.
Arthritis afflicts thousands of older people and it is the leading cause of disability. Prevention is everything; avoid overuse, commit to regular exercise and workout regularly.
Keeping your weight in check also helps deter this annoying and often painful disease. Take action to also include lots of stretching because this is going to help you increase the elasticity and flexion of your ligaments and ultimately leave your body loose and more able.
Cancer
Research shows exercise is one of the more important actions you can take to guard against a diverse range of cancers. Fact is, up to 33% of cancer-related deaths are because of a lazy lifestyle and obesity, including colon and breast cancer.
The Huffington Post reports women that exercise regularly can lower their risk of breast cancer by up to 40%! The trigger is the high level of estrogen in the blood. Women that exercise have lower levels of estrogen. That’s a pretty good reason to commit to regular exercise in your day.
Heart Disease
Your heart is a muscle and when it stays in shape, it is able to effectively pump blood through the body with less effort than if you were a certified couch potato. Exercise ensures your blood vessels and arteries stay flexible, which means you have great blood flow, and maintain low levels of blood pressure and a healthy cholesterol level.
The American Heart Association says just 30 minutes a day will help reduce your risk considerably for cardiovascular disease.
Of course, it’s always wise to check with your healthcare provider before you start a new exercise regimen, just in case you have a pre-existing underlying condition and need to modify your routine.
Mental Health Conditions
The American Psychological Association reports psychologist rarely include regular exercise in their treatment programs for mental health conditions, but that’s changing. Experts admit the exercise-mental health connection is pretty much impossible to ignore.
Natural endorphins from rigorous exercise boost your mood, help control or level that natural fight-or-flight response, and buffer the brain. Experts believe exercise helps with chronic depression by boosting serotonin levels, and by promoting the growth of neurons.
Exercise may actually help biologically strengthen the brain and make it more resilient from slipping into bouts of anxiety and depression.
Bottom Line
Bottom line is, prevention is everything, and we can’t turn back time.
Keep in mind that you don’t have to run marathons or train for 5 hours a day, in fact, even 20 minutes of regular rigorous activity, like walking, cycling, or aerobics 5 days a week can go a long way to improving your overall physical and mental health and preventing chronic illness in your older years.
It’s vitally important that you make the time to fit regular exercise into your day so you can live your live in an optimal fashion for a long, long time. By the way, it is never too late to start exercise, no matter your age!