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Diet Is Not Enough

Categories: Diet and Nutrition
Sources: How And When To Be Your Own Doctor

Those isolated, long-lived peoples discovered by Weston A. Price had

to do hard physical labor to eat, had to walk briskly up and down

steep terrain to get anywhere. But today, few North Americans output

very much physical energy in process of daily life or work. Not only

cars, but all of our modern conveniences make it possible to live

without ever breaking into a sweat. We pay for this ease; it costs

us a significant
degree of health.



Exercise has many benefits when combined with excellent nutrition.

It creates an overall feeling of well-being that can not be created

by diet alone. Exercising temporarily makes the heart beat faster,

increasing blood circulation throughout the body right out to the

tips of your fingers and toes. This short-term elevated flow of

blood flow brings increased supplies of oxygen and nutrients to all

parts of the body, facilitating healing and repair. Without revving

up your engine every day many of the body's systems never get the

sludge burned out of them and never perform optimally.



Exercise also changes the metabolic rate so your body burns more

calories--not only while you are exercising, but also for a 24 hour

period following exercise. This maintains a healthful body weight

into old age, or helps to lose weight. Most people find that

exercise in moderation does not increase appetite, so that it is

possible to consistently burn more calories in a day, and gradually

reduce weight if that is desirable. It is necessary to burn 3,500

calories to lose a pound of weight. Most forms of exercise allow you

to burn 300 to 600 calories per hour at a moderate pace which would

be achieved by doubling the resting pulse. Without even considering

the weight-loss benefit of achieving a raised metabolism, an hour of

daily exercise continued for a week or two dependent upon the type

of exercise and pace should lead to one pound of weight loss if the

caloric intake is held constant.



The flip side of having a higher metabolism is rarely appreciated

but is extremely important. Recall the basic equation of health:

Health = Nutrition / Calories. Exercise permits a person to eat

somewhat more while not gaining weight. If the food is nutrient

rich, the body has a chance to extract more vitamins, more minerals,

more amino acids. The person who remains slender by rigidly reducing

their food intake to near starvation levels may lack vital,

health-building nutrition.



And only exercise moves lymphatic fluid. The blood is pumped through

the body by the heart, but the lymphatic system, lacking a heart,

requires muscular contractions to move from the extremities of the

body to the central cavity. The lymphatic system picks up cellular

waste products and conducts these toxins to disposal. Frequently,

people with rheumatic aches and pains or other generalized muscular

discomforts physicians like to give Latin diagnostic names to can

give up taking pain pills if they will but begin exercising

regularly. Only when they begin moving their lymph can they begin to

detoxify properly.



There is another benefit from exercise which is not to be ignored,

and that is that it gives the person a chemical sense of well being.

It actually will help to emotionally boost up people who are

chronically depressed and make them smile. After a good workout,

especially one done outside, everything seems brighter, more

positive; whatever was bothering you somehow just doesn't seem like

that big of a deal now. I am not making pro-exercise propaganda.

This is not a figment of the imagination. An exercising body really

does make antidepressant neurochemicals called endorphins, but only

after about 45 minutes to an hour of aerobic workout.



Endorphins are powerful, with painkilling and euphoric effects equal

to or greater than heroin, but without any undesirable side effects.

If chemists could learn to cheaply synthesize endorphins I'm sure

that millions of people would want to become addicted to them.

Because I make such a point of getting in my workout every day, my

husband has accused me of being an endorphin junkie, and he is

right! I admit it, I'm really hooked on the feeling of well being I

consistently get from any sustained exercise. I defend my addiction

staunchly because it is the healthiest addiction I know of.



I have also been accused of carrying exercise to extremes, and I

admit to that also. For a few years I trained for Ironman

triathlons. I now think doing ironman distances is immoderate and

except for a few remarkable individuals with "iron" constitutions,

training that hard can only lead to a form of exhaustion that is not

health promoting. I have become much more sensible in my "old" age,

and in recent years have limited my participation to the Olympic

distance triathlons. I was on the Canadian team at the World

Championship in 1992, and intend to do it again in 1995. I do not

find the Olympic distance exhausting, in fact I think it is great

fun and truly exhilarating. I get to see all these wonderful age

group competitors from all over the world who look and feel

fantastic. It does my soul good to see a group of people aging so

gracefully, not buying into the popular notion that old age is

inevitably disabling, depressing, and ugly. Sport brings a degree of

balance to my life after spending so much time in the presence of

the sick. I plan to maintain my athletic activities into old age,

barring accident or other unforeseen obstacles to fitness.



To maintain basic fitness it does not matter so much what form of

exercise is chosen, as long as it is not damaging to the skeletal

system or connective tissues. Many people are unable to run due to

foot, knee, hip, or back problems, but almost everyone can walk.

Walking outside is better than inside on a treadmill, and walking

hills is better than walking on flat ground. Exercise machines such

as stationary bikes, cross country ski machines, and stair steppers

work well for a lot of people who live in the city, especially in

the winter, or for those who hate exercise. Whatever you choose to

do, it is important to at least double the resting pulse for 30

minutes no less than four days a week. This is the absolute minimum

required to maintain the health and function of the

cardiovascular-pulmonary system. If your resting pulse is 70, you

must walk, jog, ski, bike, swim or what have you, fast enough to

keep the pulse at 140 beats per minute for at least 30 minutes.



I have a strong preference to exercising outside in isolated places

where there is only me and the forest, or only me and the river.

Running along logging roads in the hilly back country, or swimming

in the green unpolluted water of a forest river is a spiritual

experience for me. It is a time to meditate, to commune with nature,

and to clear my mind and create new solutions. The repetitive action

of running or walking or swimming, along with the regular deep

breathing in clean air, with no distractions except what nature

provides is truly health promoting. Sharing these activities with

friends or family can also be great fun and some of the best in

social interactions. It is one of my favorite ways of visiting with

people. I don't expect other people to be as enthusiastic about

exercise as I am, but I do hope that everyone will make an effort to

be minimally fit as an ongoing part of their health program into old

age.



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