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Issue 2 - December 11, 2008
In This Issue:
- Get Stronger and Live Longer
- Lack of Sleep Causes Inflammation
- Fit Tips
Get Stronger and Live Longer
Aerobic exercise is the type of exercise that is often associated with helping you live longer because it
strengthens your cardiovascular system, protects your heart and blood vessels from disease, and reduces your
risk of heart attack. But it looks like strength training can also help you live longer.
A 19 year study of 8,762 men age 20 to 80 conducted at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden found that men
with the highest levels of strength were less likely to die each year from heart disease, cancer, or any other
cause.
The men received medical exams and physical fitness tests during the 1980s, and their status was reevaluated
nearly 20 years later. The men with greater strength reduced their risk of death from heart attack by 50%,
from cancer by 32%, and from all causes by 32% compared to the weakest one-third of the men.
Based on the results of this study, strength training is just as important as aerobic exercise in helping
you live a long and healthy life. So if your current fitness program only consists of aerobic exercise, you
should also start hitting the weights.
Visit the How to Build Lean Muscle page to learn about a great
program for building muscle and increasing strength.
Lack of Sleep Causes Inflammation
Scientists have long known that sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea, narcolepsy and chronic insomnia,
can lead to serious health problems, but a recent study indicates that otherwise healthy people who don't
get enough sleep may also be adversely affecting their health.
A UCLA research team discovered that even a modest loss of sleep for a single night increases levels of
substances in the blood that indicate a heightened state of inflammation in the body. Inflammation is the
body's natural response to injury or infection, however, chronic inflammation is now being linked to several
health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and rheumatoid arthritis.
The head of the research team stated: "America's sleep habits are simply not healthy. Our findings suggest
even modest sleep loss may play a role in common disorders that affect sweeping segments of the population."
The amount of necessary sleep varies from person to person, but experts say that most people need between
seven and nine hours.
Fit Tips
- Having too much abdominal fat is bad for the brain. Researchers at Kaiser-Permanente discovered that
people with a sagittal abdominal diameter of 9.8 inches (about a 40 inch waist) were twice as likely to
suffer from dementia as people with smaller midsections.
- According to the Archives of Internal Medecine, you'll lower your risk of dying from heart disease by
37% if you take regular naps.
- Studies have shown that you can lower your risk of type 2 diabetes by almost 20% by losing only 5% to 10%
of excess body weight.
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