The best all-natural way to lift your mood, increase muscle and protect your brain and heart is exercise. Cardiovascular exercise and strength training are the two most important forms of exercise.
Benefits of Cardiovascular or aerobic exercise include:
- Reduce the risk of heart disease
- Reverse damage to the heart due to aging
- Improve cognitive function and reduce the risk of dementia
- Protect your immune system
- Reverse the visual signs of aging by improving the look and feel of your skin
Benefits of strength training
- Protect against bone loss
- Preserve and increase muscle tone
- Reduce body fat
- Improve metabolism and blood sugar regulation
- Help you look and feel younger
As we age, it is common to reduce the amount of exercise we do and become less active, however, this can lead to a number of negative effects including:
- Decreased muscle mass
- Reduced cardiovascular fitness and stiffening of the muscles in the heart
- Increased cognitive dysfunction and dementia
- Decreased immune function
- Weight gain
- Fatigue
The experts at the Anti-Aging and Wellness Clinic can help you develop a customized health plan that will put you back on the road to physical fitness. It is not necessary, nor is it recommended, you spend hours at the gym, but it is important to maintain a healthy exercise regimen as you age. It doesn’t take a lot of time, money, expensive equipment or space to incorporate fitness into your life.
Cardiovascular exercise reduces the risk of heart disease and symptoms associated with heart disease
Several studies have been published recently showing a strong correlation between cardiovascular (aerobic) exercise and decreased risk of cardiovascular disease. A study published in April, 2018 showed previously sedentary patients engaged in higher intensity cardiovascular exercise over 2 years, had a significantly greater improvement in oxygen uptake and a decrease in cardiac stiffness when compared to the group that performed only yoga and balance exercises.1
A second study published in September, 2018 prospectively evaluated the activity levels and incidence of heart failure in more than 130,000 women between the ages of 50 and 79. Across all groups, higher levels of physical activity including walking, which was the most common form of exercise, were associated with a significant reduction in the risk of heart failure.
Cardiovascular exercise reduces the risk of cognitive impairment including dementia
In the journal Neurology in March, 2018 researchers published the results of a study designed to evaluate if cardiovascular fitness in midlife is associated with a decreased risk of dementia. Almost 1,500 women between the ages of 38 and 60 were followed for 44 years. The results showed women with a high level of cardiovascular fitness during the midlife years had a decreased risk of dementia. Women who showed a high level of cardiovascular fitness in middle age were approximately 88% less likely to develop dementia than women who were only moderately fit.
A small study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease in 2017 showed 12 weeks of moderate aerobic exercise enhanced neural connectivity in adults between the ages of 60 and 88. Researchers found stronger neuro-connectivity in the region of the brain that has been previously linked to memory loss.
As you age it is critical to maintain a healthy exercise program for both your mental and physical health, but due to hormone imbalances, dietary choices, environmental factors and natural aging, you may not have the energy or desire to exercise. The professionals at the Anti-Aging and Wellness Clinic can help you develop a customized treatment plan that will help you look and feel younger.
Our comprehensive Age Management program includes:
- Bio-identical hormone therapy
- Nutrition
- Exercise
- Stress Reduction
- Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy
- Chelation Therapy
- Facial Rejuvenation
- Food Intolerance Testing
At the Anti-Aging and Wellness Clinic, our focus is your health and vitality. We will create a customized health program based on specialized testing, individual risk assessment and your personal health history. We can help you optimize your health by decreasing your body fat, increasing your muscle mass and muscle tone, improving your insulin and hormone levels naturally, increasing your energy levels and improving your mental acuity. Contact us today!
References:
- Erin J. Howden PhD., et al., Reversing the Cardiac Effects of Sedentary Aging in Middle Age—A Randomized Controlled Trial Implications For Heart Failure Prevention. Circulation. 2018;137:1549–1560. DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.117.030617
- Michael J. LaMonte, et al., Physical Activity and Incidence of Heart Failure in Postmenopausal Women. JACC: Heart Failure, Sept. 2018 DOI:1016/j.jchf.2018.06.020.
- Helena Horder, et al., Midlife cardiovascular fitness and dementia: A 44-year longitudinal population study in women. Neurology. March 14, 2018.
- Chirles TJ, et al., Exercise Training and Functional Connectivity Changes in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Healthy Elders. J Alzheimers Dis. 2017;57(3):845-856.
