Abby's

Volume 3 Issue 3

Issue link: https://cp.revolio.com/i/510259

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 36 of 57

Abby's Magazine - May/June 2015 | Page 37 Yet, despite having this knowledge, most Americans are STILL not following the advice. A study by the American Diabetes Association revealed that American's greatest fear is actually developing a chronic illness. This was more feared than going into debt, getting a divorce or losing a job – yet 67 percent of those polled also acknowledged that they followed a poor diet and 83 percent recognized being overweight or obese, both of which can directly lead to chronic disease. Only about 26 percent of U.S. adults are eating three or more servings of vegetables a day, which means the majority are eating hardly any. And research shows that most people are not exercising even at minimum recommend levels. What this says is that the knowledge is basically there, but it has not yet permeated deep enough to prompt changes in a lot of people. Unfortunately, many wait until they're sick to start cleaning up their lifestyle, and for some this may be a little too late. Diet and Exercise Together Really is Key Eating healthy is extremely important. I can't say enough about it in terms of its ability to support your optimal health on just about every level, and I encourage virtually everyone to eat according to your blood type to ensure your body is getting the right fuel it needs. But even people with the healthiest of diets in the world still need to exercise to reach the highest levels of health, and this is one area where Jack also focused. There's an overwhelming amount of evidence confirming that physical exercise is the key for disease reduction, optimal mental, emotional and physical health and longevity. After reviewing 40 papers published between 2006 and 2010, researchers found that exercise reduces the risk of about two dozen health conditions, ranging from cancer and heart disease to type 2 diabetes, stroke, dementia and depression. Exercise also slows down the rate of aging itself, providing perhaps the closest example of a real life fountain of youth as we will ever find. This is in part due to exercise's effect on telomeres. Telomeres are strands of DNA at the ends of your chromosomes that protect them from damage. The progressive and gradual erosion of telomeres leads to aging on a cellular level – think of them as a kind of biological clock. As telomeres shorten more, cell death occurs. These cell deaths are associated with serious disease and premature aging. The leading anti-aging research is on how to prevent telomere shortening and develop therapies to lengthen telomeres, as many experts believe that lengthening telomeres could actually turn the biological clock backward. Well, exercise has been associated with preventing telomere shortening, so it is clearly a very powerful anti-aging strategy.

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of Abby's - Volume 3 Issue 3