Dark chocolate, pecans, blueberries, strawberries, artichokes, goji berries, raspberries, kale, red cabbage, beans, beetroot, spinach, ginger, turmeric, garlic, rosemary, parsley, sage, okra – are foods very rich in antioxidants and molecules bioactives that support and complement the body’s own molecules and mechanisms to protect itself from harmful agents. But what if you don’t like any of the above? Or are you allergic to strawberries and nuts? Or do you suffer from irritable bowel syndrome and can’t eat beans and artichokes? Or does eating okra, goji and kale involve too much financial effort? On the other hand, no other action of ours can replace movement.
In any of these situations, you can opt for other foods – also of plant origin – that will provide you with the phytonutrients your body needs to stay healthy and strong. A diet rich in antioxidants can help neutralize free radicals, significantly lowering the risk of developing chronic disease: heart disease, type II diabetes, cancer, and more.
But if the antioxidants in goji can also be provided by cranberries, blackberries or raspberries, things are different when it comes to exercise. No other action of ours can replace movement. If physical activity can sometimes replace even a less balanced and adequate diet, the reverse is not true. The World Health Organization defines as physical activity any movement made by skeletal muscles that requires energy consumption: from simply moving from one place to another to extreme and endurance sports.
For the average person, the most accessible ways to move are walking, cycling, recreational sports, playing. They are activities characterized by different degrees of intensity, but which can be done by anyone. The benefits of an active life are enormous. If with regard to nutrition and food scientists express themselves in terms of “may have certain benefits”, with regard to movement and regular physical activity they have no reservations: movement could not have benefits depending on age, sex and other variables, but movement has benefits regardless of all of this.
From a statistical point of view, 7 out of 10 chronic conditions are favorably influenced by movement. However, nearly 80% of adults do not move enough to effectively oxygenate tissues and develop age-specific muscle strength. Lack of exercise is one of the first risk factors for non-communicable diseases. People who do not exercise regularly have up to a 30% higher risk of death than active people. In 2018, the US Department of Health published a physical activity guideline based on the idea that regular exercise is one of the most important things people can do to improve their health and well-being.
Indeed, the reduction of the level of physical activity to sedentarism is largely due to modernity: cars, household appliances, robots and technology ensure the accomplishment of tasks that we used to have to do with physical effort. Currently, more than a third of Europeans do not have an optimal minimum level of exercise to ensure good health. This optimal minimum means 150 minutes of walking per week, and the benefits of complying with this minimum consist in regulating blood pressure and improving the lipid profile, i.e. lowering the level of LDL-cholesterol and triglycerides, respectively increasing the level of HDL-cholesterol. Moreover, studies show that 150 minutes per week of moderate but regular physical activity lowers the risk of type II diabetes and regulates blood sugar.
Beyond the cardiovascular benefits, exercise is essential for bone health and mental well-being. Thus, the less we move, the greater the risk of osteopenia, osteoporosis and fractures, as well as depression and anxiety.
Children and young people should get at least one hour of exercise every day, exercise consisting of moderate and even intense physical activities: cycling, dancing, doubles tennis, nature walks, mowing the lawn, running, football. A study conducted by researchers from three major universities in the world concludes that lack of exercise during childhood significantly influences cholesterol levels in adulthood, contributing to the development of heart problems and even premature death. However, the same study also shows that engaging in light physical activities (long walks, household activities) reverses these effects.
We humans are genetically programmed to move a lot. The need for exercise is a genetic predisposition. Our metabolism is created in such a way as to provide us with the energy necessary to carry out this function that puts us in interaction with everything that surrounds us – the function of movement. Because we have given up moving regularly, our bodies suffer, suffering that translates primarily into weight gain and chronic diseases.
2024-02-11 16:57:49
#Diet #rich #antioxidants #physical #exercise
