Tag Archives: Physical Activity

Walking Matters

By Hui Xie-Zukauskas

People Walking_SmSometimes, ordinary acts can be the solutions to challenging and complex problems.

A professor, a man in his late 60s, walked down the farmers’ market every day, whether on freezing winter days or hot, humid summer ones. He would stop at a few booths and buy some vegetables, fruits, nuts, or meat. He would also pass by other sellers, smiling and greeting them as friendly acquaintances. This was a daily stop for the elderly man on his way from work to home (an extra 20–30-minutes added to his 20-minute walk each way). He stayed with this routine for decades and in doing so, outlived many of his colleagues and friends. He lived into his 80s even though he had a family history of cancer and had poor health during his youth and middle age.

A tiny lady walked around local department stores virtually every day after she finished her accounting job that demanded sitting for long hours. Sometimes she bought clothing or necessities for her children, whereas at other times she was just window shopping or walking along. Her relatives were always puzzled about what attracted her to those stores where they had the same merchandise almost every day. They didn’t realize that her “go shopping” was simply her daily “relaxation activity routine.” A result of her spending decades in that home-workplace-department store route was that the lady has lived well up into her 90s.

I witnessed these real-life anecdotes because this man and woman are my parents.

These stories reflect at least one simple thread – Walking matters. Daily walking can bring substantial health benefits!

Cancer touches each of us so much, so deep, and there is no cure for it currently despite medical and technological advances, as is the case for some other debilitating chronic diseases.

Of course, the best cure would be prevention! As everybody knows, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”  Of various risk factors, physical inactivity is a major one. However, it is increasingly common in our modern life. As the saying goes, “sitting is the new smoking.”

To prevent cancer, heart disease and improve one’s overall health, the American Heart Association recommends that all adults to get at least 150 minutes exercise per week with moderate intensity. The American Cancer Society has also advised on being physically active: particularly, adults should get 150-300 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75-150 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity each week (or a combination of these).

I’ve seen that a majority of people don’t meet these guidelines based on my experience in public health. I also understand how difficult it is for many busy folks to fulfill this goal due to the demands of their work and family life. Accordingly, for years, I’ve shared some practical ways for daily exercises.

Today, I would make it even simpler—if time is a problem—by suggesting to start small in terms of walking and its feasibility. If it’s really challenging for you to exercise 30 minutes a day and 5 days a week, how about walking ~20 minutes a day and 7 days a week? Or alternatively, any combination that may fit your schedule? Cumulativeness counts too and is better than nothing. You may divide 30 minutes into a 10- or 15-minute walk first thing in the morning, and 10 minutes of walking-oriented activities during the day (for examples, running up stairs, parking farther away from a destination, or walking to a local store). Then ideally, add 5-10 minutes more of activity (say dancing, jumping, gardening, or playing with the kids).

There is no need to reiterate the well-documented, numerous health benefits of walking at this time. While I’m stressing not to underestimate the power of walking, it’s important to engage in various physical activities, along with a balanced diet, weight control, adequate sleep, and living a healthy lifestyle for your overall well-being.

Doing nothing is like waiting for a miracle that much likely won’t happen soon. So, simply getting up from your chair to get moving is your best regime and the first step in disease prevention.

Happy walking!

 

Cheering You on to Immune-beneficial Exercises

By Hui Xie-Zukauskas

Exercise n Immune_Trainer.aeWe are at the beginning of March. If you made a New Year’s resolution about health and have made some progress, cheers! If you don’t have a resolution or it fell off the wagon by the end of February, it’s time to get back on track. I’m here to help you by breaking down how a few types of exercise may boost your immune function.

Note that we are not talking about strenuous physical exercise (e.g., an Ironman race) performed by well-trained athletes. We will examine doable exercises for ordinary folks like you and me. The key is that you need to choose types of exercise that are appropriate for your particular situation.

Let’s start with moderate regular exercises.

This can be walking 20-30 minutes a day, yoga or pilates, stretching, dancing, and even badminton—physical activities that can be easily incorporated into your daily life. Moderate, regular physical exercise is considered to be associated with many health benefits, including lowered blood pressure, reduced weight gain, improved glucose tolerance, better sleep, and increased immunity to fight infection.

A few studies by the Kagawa group showed that walking at a forest park increased human “natural killer” cell activity and the level of anti-cancer proteins, with the effect lasting at least seven days. Because “natural killer” cells are a part of the immune response to cancer, the research provided an intriguing perspective despite the small samplings of human subjects in the studies.

Resistance exercise (weight training)

Resistance training ranges from push-ups and squats to weight lifting and weight machines in order to build strength. Maximal resistance exercise increases the acute immune response, which is measured by changes in circulating levels of leukocytes and inflammatory molecules (i.e. cytokines).

To avoid impairing the immune system, allow your body and your immune system the time to recover. For instance, give your muscles 48-72 hours to rest between resistance trainings.

Endurance exercise (aerobic, cardio training)
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Aerobic exercise can stimulate the immune system. At the cellular level, research reveals that acute aerobic exercise greatly enhances a cellular signaling protein (G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2) that is involved in the regulation of hypertension and heart failure. The protein also regulates an inflammatory response, measured by activities of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (e.g. lymphocytes, a critical component of immune system), which was also stimulated by the aerobic exercise.

In a human study, eight weeks of endurance exercise also changed the blood levels of some inflammatory cytokines in a beneficial way in an elderly population and people with certain inflammatory diseases. In contrast, poor exercise capacity in patients even without heart failure is independently associated with markers of chronic inflammation, which may lead to infections following surgery.

Overall, how exercises improve immune function can be explained in the following ways: 1) Exercise may facilitate to flush bacteria out of the lungs and airways, which may help prevent upper respiratory tract infection (e.g. cold). 2) Exercise may make disease-fighting antibodies and immune system cells circulate faster so that they could detect illnesses earlier. And 3) Exercise may reduce the release of stress-related hormones, by which the power of immunity is enhanced and the chance of illness, lowered.

Study note:

The issue of exercise and its benefits in regard to alteration of the immune system is a complex one and a matter of delicate balance. It depends on whether the population is healthy or diseased, and even within unhealthy groups, the effect on cancer patients may differ from that on diabetic individuals. It also depends on types and workloads of exercise, parameters measured (e.g., hormonal, chemical factors, or proteins), transient versus sustained change, age groups studied, size of sampling, time-bound periods, and other factors.

To sum up –

Despite the fact that too much exercise can have a contrary effect and reduce immunity, exercises in various proper forms at all ages are AAA (triple A) – Actionable, Advantageous, and Awesome!! Therefore, keep doing exercise or getting more physically active one day at a time, and you’ll reap the benefits toward transforming your health and life.

 

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