Health for life

Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have found further evidence that exercise may be beneficial for brain health and cognition. The findings, which are currently available online in Behavioural Brain Research, suggest that certain hormones, which are increased during exercise, may help improve memory.

Hormones called growth factors are thought to mediate the relationship between exercise and brain health. The hippocampus, a region of the brain crucial for learning and memory, is thought to be uniquely affected by these hormones.

The growth factors brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), have been implicated in the link between exercise and hippocampal function. BDNF, for example, acts on the nervous system to help regulate communication between existing brain cells (neurons) and stimulate the growth and maturation of new hippocampal neurons and blood vessels.

In this study, the researchers recruited healthy young adults, in whom they measured blood hormone levels together with performance on a recognition memory task and aerobic fitness. The researchers were thus able to correlate the blood hormone levels with aerobic fitness, and subsequently whether there was any effect on memory function.

According to the researchers, BDNF and aerobic fitness predicted memory in an interactive manner, suggesting that at low fitness BDNF levels negatively predicted expected memory accuracy. Conversely, at high fitness resting BDNF levels positively predicted recognition memory. There also was a strong association between IGF-1 and aerobic fitness; however there was no complementary link between IGF-1 and memory function.

"We will be continuing this line of research by testing if memory improves following an exercise training program in both young and geriatric adults, and by adding brain imaging techniques," explained Karin Schon, PhD, assistant professor of anatomy and neurobiology at BUSM, who served as the studys principal investigator.

Theres no question that high levels of good cholesterol—also known as high-density lipoprotein (HDL)—seem to be protective against heart disease. Rather than depositing fat into the blood vessels the way the "bad" cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein (LDL)) does, HDL appears to carry cholesterol away from blood vessels to the liver. From there, the liver processes it for removal from the body.

However, adequate levels of HDL might not be enough. Several recent studies have suggested that many cases of heart disease occur in people with normal levels of HDL cholesterol. Consequently, some researchers believe that even if people have adequate amounts of HDL cholesterol, it might not work well. Such HDL may not fulfill this molecules other important duties in the body, such as reducing inflammation and acting as an antioxidant.

Because exercise has the potential to protect against heart disease in a variety of ways, Christian K. Roberts and his colleagues at UCLA tested whether HDL in men who weight trained regularly behaved in a healthier way than HDL in sedentary men. They found that the men who didnt exercise were more likely than those who weight trained to have dysfunctional HDL. Having faulty HDL was associated with numerous other risk factors for heart disease, including high triglycerides and a higher trunk fat mass. This finding held true regardless of the mens weight, which suggests that maintaining a "healthy" weight isnt as important for healthy cholesterol function as being active by regularly performing strength training.

The article is entitled "Untrained Young Men Have Dysfunctional HDL Compared to Strength Trained Men Irrespective of Body Weight Status." It appears in the Articles in PresS section of Journal of Applied Physiology, published by the American Physiological Society. It is available online at http://bit.ly/1eQgZ1u.

Methodology

The researchers worked with 90 men between the ages of 18 and 30 who already had established exercise habits. They separated these participants into three groups: lean men who weight trained at least four times each week, overweight men who also weight trained at least four times each week, and overweight men who had no structured exercise regimen. The researchers took some basic physical measurements from the volunteers, including height and weight, waist circumference, blood pressure, and body composition. They tested the volunteers muscle strength and their carotid artery thickness (a sign of heart disease), and they took a blood sample. The researchers analyzed that sample for a variety of different molecules present, including cholesterol, insulin, various markers for heart disease including triglycerides and C-reactive protein, and sex hormones. They also checked the volunteers HDL to see how well it functioned as an antioxidant, a sign of how well their HDL works in general.

Results

The study authors found that HDL functioned better in the participants who had a regular weight-lifting program, regardless of their weight—overweight exercisers HDL has similar effectiveness as an antioxidant as the lean exercisers HDL cholesterol. Both groups HDL performed significantly better than those who didnt exercise. Such dysfunctional HDL was associated with numerous other factors associated with heart disease, such as elevated triglycerides and trunk fat mass.

Importance of the Findings

These findings suggest that regular weight training might improve HDL function and protect against heart disease, even in those who remain overweight. Although indices of weight were associated with HDL cholesterol function, differences in fitness, the authors say, may be a better measure of who has healthier functioning HDL cholesterol, and theore, who is at risk of heart disease.

"The role of obesity in the risk of coronary heart disease may indeed be largely accounted for by differences in fitness," the authors say.

One of the simplest and most effective ways to bring homeless blood glucose levels, cut the risk of cardiovascular disease, and improve overall health and well-being is bona fide fitness and exercise. Yet, in our increasingly sedentary world, where almost every essential task can be performed online, from the driver's seat, or dissemble a phone call, exercising and being physically fit importance factor tough case to sell.

In reality, everyone should exercise, climactically survey shows that only 30% of the United States erotic population gets the recommended thirty minutes of general physical activity, again 25% are not active at all.

Inactivity is thought to be one of the least reasons for the surge of type 2 diabetes in America, because inactivity and obesity promote insulin resistance again other factors that trigger other kinds of diseases.

The good leak is that it is never radically late to get moving, and life is individual of the easiest ways to start controlling the onset of any kinds of diseases. For kinsfolk who are already candidates for some serious diseases like diabetes besides heart failure, exercise and physical fitness contract improve the condition of some parts of the body love insulin sensitivity, lower the risk of heart disease, and promote weight loss.

In 2003, the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism had published an issue regarding the resolution of their study again cause out that insufficiency of exercise and physical fitness were the fundamental factors delayed corpulence again incomparable dynamite diseases like diabetes.

Hence, it is extremely important for a person to stay vigorous and act for physically fit clout order to avoid such illnesses.

Getting Started

The first behest of business with any exercise plan, especially if you are a �dyed-in-the-wool� couch potato, is to excogitate with your health charge provider.

If you have cardiac factors, your doctor may want to perform a vexation test to inaugurate a safe blot out of exercise thanks to you.

Certain complications of some diseases will and dictate what type of exercise program you can take on. Activities like weightlifting, jogging, or high-impact aerobics can possibly pose a risk for connections with diabetic retinopathy due to the risk for further damask ewer damage and possible �retinal detachment.�

Health experts also bounce off that patients with sever surface neuropathy or PN should evade foot-intensive weight-bearing exercises such as long-distance walking, jogging, or walk aerobics and opt instead through low-impact activities dote on swimming, biking, and rowing.

If you have conditions that make exercise further physical freedom a challenge, your provider may touch you to an exercise physiologist who can procreate a fitness program in that your specific needs.

If you are already active in sports or work out regularly, it will still support you to discuss your regular demeanor with your doctor.

The bottom specialty is that physical room again exercise should not have to be a trying activity and should not come wipe out strong. Your exercise opinion can imitate as routine as a brisk nightly neighborhood walk, expressive the dog, or plainly radiant the stairs instead of the elevator. The cash matter is that you support on moving. Every little deal really helps a lot.

In the end, you bequeath realize that the many things that rightful goodies can bring you are equally the unbroken thanks to what corporal fitness can do for you.