The saying, “Age is just a number” is usually said to comfort and reassure someone who reaches an upper milestone birthday and is feeling old!

But recent studies have shown that there’s a lot of truth to that statement.

Especially when you’re talking about someone who engages in regular exercise!

Although it’s a dreaded word for many people, you can’t deny that regular exercise provides some pretty impressive health benefits, the most obvious being weight loss. 

Plus exercise helps reduce stress, improves your mood, paves the way for better sleep, reduces pain, eliminates toxins and keeps your energy level high too.

But now it is becoming obvious that exercise also affects your LIFESPAN!

Here’s the story:

The connection between moving and living!

The more time you spend on your derriere being sedentary, the shorter your life expectancy—primarily due to the negative effects on your cardiovascular system and your metabolism from a lack of activity.

As a matter of fact, one study in particular showed that people who sat the most were TWICE as likely to have heart disease or diabetes than those who sat the least.

Even the World Health Organization (WHO) cites inactivity as a cause of over 3 million deaths each year.

In addition, another study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology showed that the participants’ estimated ages based on their exercise stress test results (i.e.: their “physiological age”) was a more accurate predictor of death risk than their chronological ages.

So, for example, that could mean a fit 70 year-old might have the death risk of, say, a 50 year-old!

But it goes the other way as well.  An unfit 50 year-old could have the death risk of a 70+ year-old.

Helpful exercise tips

At this point you may be thinking, “OK that all sounds great, but where do I begin?”

Well, for starters, what matters is that you do something.  ANY activity is better than none at all.  Just be sure to get your doctor’s OK first, especially if you haven’t exercised in a while or ever.

In addition, here are my Top 10 Tips for Exercise Success:

1- Pick an activity you like or at least will tolerate.  You’ll be far more likely to stick with exercise if you don’t loathe what you’re doing.

2- Get an exercise buddy.  You’re far less likely to skip a workout if someone is counting on you to show up, plus you can have fun and the time will fly.

Here is a picture of me with my exercise buddies—better known as my “brothers” in the martial arts.  I couldn’t imagine my workouts without them. 

3- Track your progress and celebrate your victories along the way.  It’s much easier to stay motivated when you look back and see how far you’ve come. 

4- Place motivating quotes around your workout area.  We have a treadmill in my office and there are signs all over the wall that say things like, “When you feel like quitting, remember why you started,” “Making excuses burns zero calories per hour,” and my personal favorite, “Behind every fit woman is the butt she got moving to get her there.”

5- Make your goals challenging but realistic.  For example, if you started out running two miles, don’t expect to suddenly run a half-marathon.  Graduate to a 5K, then maybe five miles, and eventually work your way up with more reasonable goals in between. 

6- Make the time.  Remember that we have the time for whatever we make the time for.  Make the time for exercise. 

7- Join a class.  Classes can be a lot of fun and when you’re having fun, you’ll find yourself looking forward to your workouts instead of dreading them.

8- Listen to upbeat, motivating music. Create a high-energy playlist of your favorite music. I just must caution you against using earbuds if you run or walk outside as you might not be able to hear cars, people or danger approaching.

9- Watch TV.  If you love TV, then put a set in your workout area and watch your favorite shows or a movie while you exercise. 

10- Forgive yourself.  If you slack off for a period of time, don’t beat yourself up about it.  Forgive yourself, get back into your exercise routine and vow to do better next time.

Not so fast!

Hopefully I’ve enlightened you about a very significant benefit of regular exercise—having a pulse!—and given you some solid strategies for success.

Good. 

But I know what you’re thinking.

Hmmm…if I get regular exercise, maybe that means I can slack with my diet.

Not so fast.

NO amount of exercise can undo the harmful effects of a diet high in refined carbs, processed food, fast food and soda.

I don’t care what you do—you can run a marathon every week, but if you’re not nourishing your body with wholesome real foods, it’s not a matter of if but merely when will you suffer the consequences.

Here are some examples of what lacking nutrients can do to you:

Heart disease is directly connected to deficiencies in zinc, magnesium, vitamins B6, B12, D, C and E, and folic acid.

Depression can be triggered by low levels of vitamins B3, B6 and B12 as well as vitamin D.

Autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis, lupus, Crohn’s disease, psoriasis and Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism are linked to vitamin D deficiency.

Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia are associated with inadequate levels of vitamin B12, magnesium and vitamin D.

Cancer can result from numerous deficiencies including vitamins A, D, E and K, folic acid, selenium and zinc.

Type 2 diabetes is commonly seen with deficiencies in biotin, chromium, vanadium, magnesium and vitamin C.

Now, if your diet is dicey to begin with, it’s time to do something about that.

Even small steps in the right direction can make a big difference! 

I tell my clients to start by making just one healthy change or substitution each day.  That could be things like:

• Swapping out a soda for water
• Cooking a meal at home instead of ordering pizza
• Opting for a side salad or vegetables with your dinner in a restaurant instead of French fries
• Offering a crudité platter and/or shrimp with cocktail sauce instead of chips as party appetizers
• Choosing scrambled eggs, yogurt or oatmeal instead of a donut or bagel for breakfast

 

As you’re making strides toward healthier choices, you can ensure your nutritional bases are covered with Super Core multi-vitamin and mineral formula. 

Not only will Super Core help ensure your body has health-supporting levels of all of the essential nutrients, but its natural antioxidants will help fight any disease-causing free radicals you may be dealing with, and its anti-inflammatories will help curb inflammation—which is a major factor behind chronic diseases including cancer and heart disease!

Support your gut too!

Health begins in your gut—it’s responsible for absorbing crucial nutrients, eliminating wastes and housing most of your immune system!

So it’s essential that you support strong gut health—it can literally save your life.

In addition to having a healthy diet (and avoiding junk food as much as possible), a full-spectrum, multi-strain probiotic formula like Super Shield can help keep your gut microbiome in a healthier balance.

Super Shield’s effective blend of 13 strains of well-studied probiotic bacteria can help support and repopulate your body’s own helpful microbes, so they are better able to carry out their very important functions and keep you healthy (and alive)!

To your health and long life,

Sherry Brescia