Keeping our bodies fit as we age is something just about all of us wish for, but the percentage of people who actually accomplish it as they get into their 70's and 80's is quite small. Life expectancy in countries such as Japan, Switzerland, Spain, Sweden and Israel is markedly higher than in countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, and health care and diet certainly play a part. But those countries where people live longer also have a culture of being physically active, be it simply getting out and walking.
We have all known people who have been in top physical shape, but when they become elderly have an accident causing them to be bed-ridden for a while. After a period of activity they never are able to recover physically. We might attribute it to the natural aging process, but fairly recent testing has shown there is a lot more going on.
Tests on astronauts when in a gravity-free environment are quite revealing. It has been established that there is close to a ten times acceleration in the aging process as opposed to living in Earth's gravity. This is measured in bone and muscle loss.
Obviously these astronauts are in peak physical condition, and diet should not factor in. The only difference is lack of physical activity on a moment-to-moment basis, and without this resistance to gravity that we normally endure we begin to physically deteriorate.
This relates to people who are bed-ridden, and can further be implied to those who sit in a chair in front of a computer for hours at a time. What all this means is our lifestyle determines how quickly our bodies will age. And understanding that gravity plays a key role in our physiological functioning and therefore in how we age, making simple adjustments in our movements throughout the day will have a major impact.
The function of lipoprotein lipase in our system is to facilitate fat to move from the bloodstream into our cells. This fat uptake means our cells will be consuming this fat. Lipoprotein lipase it has been found is dramatically reduced during activity and just by standing from a seated position will increase from this activity. In other words, a lot of calories aren't burned in the process of standing, but you are helping your body burn fat for fuel.
An exercise routine is important, and everyone should make them part of their lifestyle. But these non-exercise activities are also important for burning fat and keeping us young. To make the point further, it was found that standing up from a sitting position had more of an effect on cardiovascular and metabolic changes than walking on a treadmill for 15 minutes. Also, the stimulus of standing from a sitting position must be spread through the course of a day. Said another way, it is more effective to space out regular standing and sitting throughout the day rather than doing all of them at once, then plop down for the rest of the day.
There are many things we can do to help us become healthier and to age better, and diet is certainly a big part of it. Seniors are now getting more into yoga and other exercises such as Pilates to keep young. Rich Carroll is a writer and avid health advocate now living in Chicago.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rich_Carroll
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7832894
No comments:
Post a Comment