Many of us were anxious to see a revised food pyramid devised to improve on the 1992 food pyramid designed by the US Department of Agriculture. To my disappointment, the 2005 pyramid, MyPyramid, brings no new nutritional recommendations to health. On the other hand, I was pleasantly surprised to find physical activity added to it.
The inclusion of exercise emphasizes its significance in supporting a balanced nutrition. Both diet and exercise work hand in hand to give the desired results in maintaining health, keeping disease at bay, controlling weight, and providing physical and mental energy and wellness.
We all remember the poor idea of exercise we had as children. We dragged our feet to the gym early in the morning, trudged down the road during daily walks, or slogged during a physical training session. Many of us exercise to burn excess calories, oblivious of the fact that there is much more to exercising than shedding extra weight (even though I hate to disappoint you, burning calories is the least of its benefits). It takes much more to burn a few fries, a can of coke, a bar of chocolate or a milkshake. Hence, you should abandon the notion of 30-minute jogging in order to splurge on a hamburger, French fries and a big coke. You will be gaining weight faster than you burn calories. To maintain weight or lose some, you need to exercise regularly, while making major changes in your eating habits.
The advantages of regular activity are much more than burning calories. Physical training can help balance unrestrained appetites and cravings that lead to weight gain, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disorders and other diseases. Long-term exercises decrease the body’s resistance to insulin, reducing incidents of diabetes and dependence on diabetic medication. Excess insulin circulating in the blood inhibits weight loss, while exercising makes fat cells more receptive to insulin and improves the body’s ability to control blood sugar, while balancing other hormone levels.
By making the body more sensitive to the appetite-suppressing hormone leptin, routine exercise reduces the urge for overindulgence and tames bingeing bouts. After a good workout, the muscles and body are so exhausted that you cannot think of eating or do not have the energy to prepare food. You and your muscles just feel the need to recover. It acts like a natural appetite-suppressant that brings a lot of good, too.
Daily activity also offers such benefits as controlling mood swings, improving mental disposition, lifting low spirits, and reducing stress. The endorphin, our natural morphine, released after aerobic exercises like brisk walking, cycling, running, jogging and swimming can raise the morale, stabilize mood, decrease anxiety, enhance motivation, relieve body aches and joint pains, and best of all invigorate the body. Such physical activities also intensify bone mass and build muscles. Intense muscle building increases muscle bulk, which, in turn, accelerates the metabolic rate and improves the use of body oxygen.
Exercise and activity enhance sleep dramatically, while a sedentary lifestyle leads to restless sleep. Tired muscles induce a good night’s sleep, which, in turn, allows muscles to recover, cells to repair, and you to restore vigor. Plenty of activity and regular exercise help readjust your sleep cycle and improve the quality of sleep, which helps you wake up more refreshed, energized and motivated the next day. Regular exercise, balanced nutrition and sound sleep are all powerful tools that keep us young and fit.
Another important aspect of aerobic exercises, which is generally overlooked, is deep breathing. Deep oxygen-intake during workouts enhances the blood flow in the body. Oxygen-rich blood nourishes the cells, the brain and heart muscles. Inhaling enough oxygen stimulates the digestive system and elimination process, enhances blood circulation, gives vitality, increases the stamina, raises the metabolic and heart rate and releases endorphins, reducing mental and physical stress and bringing on feelings of well-being and pleasure.
To achieve the benefits of exercising without harming yourself, it is important to take it easy at first, gradually building your stamina, especially if you are inactive, overweight, or over 40. Should you have a health problem, consult your doctor. You may need to take a stress test and check bone density and joints. Remember sudden heavy exercising can do you more harm than good. Start with a 20-minute gentle walk until you build it to a 30-minute brisk walk to increase your heart rate and get your heart pumping and your blood circulating.
Regular activity and optimum nutrition work simultaneously to maintain physical, mental and emotional health and keep the body disease-free as well as fight the battle of the bulge. I endorse MyPyramid for the inclusion of regular exercise.
(Mariam Alireza is a holistic science specialist. Send comments to [email protected].)
