ABUNDANT LIFE @ AC

From Time magazine:

Doctors, researchers, scientists—even ancient philosophers—have long claimed exercise works like a miracle drug. Now they have proof.

In studies where blood is drawn immediately after people exercised, researchers have found that many positive changes occur throughout the body during and right after a workout. “Going for a run is going to improve your skin health, your eye health, your gonadal health,” he says. “It’s unbelievable.” If there were a drug that could do for human health everything that exercise can, it would likely be the most valuable pharmaceutical ever developed. View full article »

Not exactly rocket science, but interesting: A lifetime of good habits and a healthy attitude toward aging can improve your quality of life when you age:

Healthy old people are much more likely to have a lower resting metabolic rate, Ferrucci says, which means that their bodies are still working efficiently. “They have energy left for other activities,” he says. “It allows them to do many, many things during daily life.”

The lucky ones also tend to have fasting glucose numbers more typical of people in their 20s. Obesity and lack of exercise increase the risk of insulin resistance, so keeping weight under control and staying active from early adulthood can help there, Ferrucci says.

Here’s the story from NPR:

On the website Canadian Running:

Does 60 seconds of sprints beat 50 minutes of moderate exercise?

One Canadian-led study finds that 10 minutes of exercise including just 60 seconds of sprints beats 50 minutes of moderate continuous exercise for health and fitness gains.

Update: Just received an e-mail from an author of this post: 35 amazing health benefits of running (+10 tips for beginners). It is over 7,000 words and packed with practical tips and advice.

Have you ever wondered what happens to your body after you drink a can of your favorite fizzy drink?

A new infographic has revealed the reaction you go through for an hour after consuming, from the first sip, right through to 60 minutes after finishing.

See it here: nzherald.co.nz

From Men’s Journal:

Ever wonder what would happen if you stopped working out? A new study on identical twins published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise explores exactly that, and the results are dramatic. …

Quitting your fitness routine can trigger body and brain changes that mess with your cardio fitness and strength and set you up for chronic conditions such as diabetes, says Jordan Metzl, M.D., sports medicine physician and author of The Exercise Cure. (Metzl was not part of the study.) And considering that the less active twins in the study had only recently become couch potatoes, these changes can sneak up on you a lot sooner than you’d think. “Muscles begin to atrophy after just a few days of being sedentary,” says Metzl. “Organ damage and changes in overall functioning will follow.”

Read the whole article here.

The exercise that predicts your death: Struggling with “sitting-rising test” means you’re 5 times more likely to die early.

• Physicians in Brazil developed the test to measure flexibility quickly
• No equipment is needed to sit and stand without any support
• People can score a maximum of 10 points, with 1 point deducted for putting a hand or leg for stability, and half a point docked for wobbling
• Patients who scored fewer than eight points, were twice as likely to die within the next six years, compared with people with more perfect scores
• Study claims that musculoskeletal fitness, as assessed by the simple test, can be used to predict death in 51–80-year-olds

Read the full article, along with a video demonstration, here.