If you read nothing else this year, read ‘The Exercise Cure’ in the September 12 to 19th edition of Time! It is very interesting. We know exercise is important for your health. We know too that people who exercise have less heart disease. However, the benefits are more than that. What intrigued me the most was this mouse study, yes mice! Dr. Mark Tarnopolsky, in 2011, split this genetically compromised mice that aged early into two groups. One group did their normal mouse stuff and the other group did normal mouse stuff AND exercised three times a week on a little mouse sized treadmill over 5 months. The sedentary group lost their fur and turned gray, muscles shriveled, hearts weakened, skin thinned and hearing worsened. They were about to die. The exercise group were almost indistinguishable from healthy mice. It seemed that exercise reversed the premature aging!
We need to get 150 minutes of exercise a week that gets your heart going with twice weekly muscle strengthening. All sorts of exercise counts. So find your favorite and go for it! Teach our kids the importance of exercise early- but call it playing!
