Your Physical Health and Exercise

EXERCISE -vs- CANCER: Did you know that new studies have come out indicating that CANCER can not live in an oxygenated body? That's right just having more oxygen in your bloodstream could help you to never get cancer. In fact scientists had discovered this fact and a Nobel Prize was issue for the information. Dr. Otto Warburg discovered the root cause of cancer in 1923 and won the Nobel Prize in 1931 for the discovery. Here are a couple of his comments. "All normal cells have an absolute requirement for oxygen, but cancer cells can live without oxygen - a rule without exception" "Deprive a cell 35% of its oxygen for 48 hours and it may become cancerous." Exercise is one of the best ways I know to get that extra oxygen. Besides, as we age we lose approximately 8% of our lean muscle mass every year. Yikes..... Yes and over time you will end up looking like those little old ladies that could blow over with a little gust of wind. Exercise can help you rebuild some of that lost muscle. I hear the groans right now. How to do that is to include cardio vascular exercise (good for strengthening your heart muscle as well as your circulation and strengthen your bones). Doing strength building exercises like lifting small weights will help increase your naturally shrinking muscles. Stretching is the third component that is critical to staying healthy. As we age our muscles and tendons get shorter and dry out. Doing yoga or even stretching exercises will help you to stay limber and strong. All muscle can only shorten 2/3rds of its total length. So the longer your muscle is, the stronger your muscle is. This is very important for those 40 and over. Like massage, meditation and sex, exercise activates the parasympathetic system to help you relax and provides the body with much needed oxygen and "feel good" chemicals that reduce stress. It will also make you stretch the rib cage muscles to allow you to breathe much deeper than you usually do. That deep breathing relaxes your muscles and organs to bring much needed oxygen into your cells. Even walking can increase your oxygen intake and relax you. There are so many ways to get physical. Always pick one or more ways that interest you. It can be walking, sports, yoga, or exercise machines and dumb bells. Start at home with a video tape if need be. Our lives have become more sedentary with the invention of technology and now we must move our body on purpose. If you haven't been active for a while it is best to start out gently and slowly build up to longer times and heavier weights. As always having a physical before you start any new regime is always wise.