It's Good For Your Heart
"Even a moderate amount of exercise helps your heart," says Dr William Kraus, associate professor of medicine at Duke University Medical Centre, USA, in an article published in The New England Journal of Medicine. "Some exercise is better than none and more is better than less."

Exercise reduces LDL cholesterol, the kind that clogs arteries. It also reduces your blood pressure, relieving stress on your heart, it improves your insulin sensitivity, improves the the heart muscle function and blood flow and it diminishes the chances of developing blood clots. These findings have been corroborated by a host of studies over the years.

Exercise Promotes Weight Loss
Research has shown that to have an effect on weight loss you need to exercise for 30 minutes a day. You can also do an hour of intensive exercise every second day if this fits into your schedule more easily. Be consistent and be regular. Do those one hour exercise sessions three to four times every week, not just one week a month, and you will achieve the result you desire - to lose weight and keep it off, says Dr Ingrid van Heerden, registered dietician.

Exercise Prevents Osteoporosis
Exercise, together with a healthy calcium intake, builds strong bones. Weight-bearing exercises, like running, walking and weight-lifting, help lower your odds of getting osteoporosis as you grow older, according to experts. You should start when you're young, but it's never too late to pick up the habit. Even a brisk walk can help, says doctors of units for metabolic diseases.

Exercise Lowers High Blood Pressure
Exercise is good for your blood pressure - no matter your age, weight, race or gender. And it really doesn't matter whether you get exercise from a brisk walk, a fast run or few laps in the pool; the results are equally as good. The studies on which these findings were based used "aerobic" exercise - activities that increase heart rate and improve the body's ability to use oxygen. Most of the studies involved participating in one or more aerobic activity for 20 - 30 minutes per session, several times a week.

On average, exercise helped study participants reduce systolic (top number) pressure by nearly 4 mm Hg, and diastolic (bottom number) pressure by slightly more than 2.5 mm Hg. But experts caution that those with extremely high blood pressure should not to rely on exercise alone in controlling hypertension.

Exercise Prevents Colds
One doesn't automatically associate regular exercise with a reduction in the number of colds people get. But researchers from the University of Carolina have found that people who exercised regularly were 23%less likely to get colds than those who exercised less. And if those who exercised got colds, the symptoms disappeared more quickly than in the study participants who did little exercise.

Health experts believe that exercise spikes the immune system for a few hours each day, helping to ward off colds. Thirty minutes of brisk walking is enough to make you reap the benefits of exercise.

Exercise Reduces The Severity Of Asthma
Many people who suffer from asthma-induced exercise, understandably try and avoid exercise. But sports medicine specialists say it's possible for asthmatics to continue exercising if they use preventive medications wisely and avoid certain triggers that exacerbate attacks. Exercise-induced asthma can be made worse by cold, dry air or air containing, and high levels of pollen or pollutants. The extra effort made to stay fit pays off in fewer or milder asthma attacks overall and a need for less medication.

Experts recommend swimming as one of the best exercises for people who have asthma.

Exercise Reduces Diabetic Complications
Lifestyle factors have a huge impact on certain conditions - and diabetes is one of them. Exercise can help to reduce your insulin requirements, lower your cholesterol levels and high blood pressure, and in the long term can reduce the development of heart disease or stroke. This is important because diabetics have a higher risk of developing heart and circulatory problems. Exercise can also promote weight loss, improve circulation and reduce stress levels (raising your glucose level).

Exercise Plays A Role In Preventing Cancer
At least 35% of all cancer deaths may be related to overweight and lack of activity, a recent study from a Seattle Cancer Research Centre has found. Exercise is believed to speed the passage of food through the colon, thereby reducing the amount of time that any toxins are in contact with the body. Overweight people also tend to have more insulin, which promotes the growth of tumours. For women, exercise reduces the level of oestrogen, a hormone linked to breast cancer.

Exercise Is Great For Your Sex Life
The medical research points towards it: the fitter you are, the better your sex life is. The reason seems to be two-fold: psychologically you feel better about yourself and more inclined towards sex and physically, being fit improves libido, blood circulation and sexual functioning.
It has been said before that the brain may be the most important sexual organ. This is because stressed, anxious and depressed people are usually unable to enjoy a healthy sex life. Additionally, people with a bad body image do not feel good about their bodies and often avoid sex or are unable to truly enjoy it.

According to the American Council on Exercise (ACE), being physically active can be "a natural Viagra boost". "Men and women who exercise regularly are going to have increased levels of desire. They're going to have enhanced confidence, enhanced ability to achieve orgasm and greater sexual satisfaction," says Cedric Bryant, the council's chief exercise physiologist.

Exercise combats impotence
If you stop and think about it, it makes sense - increased circulation as a result of exercise, should result in lower levels of impotence, as getting an erection is dependent on the efficiency of blood circulating to the penis.

"Losing weight, stopping smoking, doing more exercise are associated with better sexual health," says Dr Andrew McCullough, director of Male Sexual Health, Fertility and Microsurgery at New York University Medical Center in New York City. "We talk so much about treating, treating, treating. Here we're beginning to see an increasing body of evidence that we can modify the appearance of this by changing lifestyle."

Exercise Helps To Manage Arthritis
Regular, intensive exercise for patients with rheumatoid arthritis builds muscle strength and aerobic capacity, improves the ability to do daily tasks and fosters a sense of emotional well-being.

That's the conclusion of a new study by Dutch researchers who tracked 300 people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) for two years. About half the patients participated in a one-hour exercise regimen twice weekly; the rest received traditional treatment, including physical therapy, if prescribed by their physicians.

The findings, appearing in the latest issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism, suggest high-intensity exercise programmes can benefit many RA patients, says researcher Dr Thea Vlieland of Leiden University Medical Centre.

The positive effects on muscle strength and aerobic capacity could be translated into an improvement in the activities of daily living, and this is what really makes a difference in your life, Vlieland says.

 

 

Exercise increases the producton of seretonin - a neurotransmitter that plays an important role in how we feel. Those suffering from low seretonin production including those diagnosed with seasonal affected disorder (SAD) can influence how they feel by increasing seretonin through exercise. Nutrition and in particular increasing the availabilty of vitamin D also play a major role.