Fitness Trends for 2023

So here it is the 2023 ACSM annual forecast, 4,500 health and fitness pros predict what you’ll see in fitness next year

In its 17th year, this annual international survey found that technology continues to impact the fitness industry, so it’s not surprising that the more than 4,500 health and fitness pros surveyed identified wearables as the #1 trend for 2023. Several emerging trends that will influence the industry in the coming year.

1. Wearable Technology. Think fitness trackers, smart watches, heart rate monitors, and GPS tracking devices, including tech that can monitor heart rate, calories, sitting time, sleep and more.

2. Strength Training - Utilising different strength training aids and equipment to build strength and longevity.

3. Body Weight Training - Techniques that focus on body weight as the primary resistance such as lunges, squats, push ups, chin ups etc

4. Fitness Programs - For Older Adults. Programming focused on the aging population and its unique needs.

5. Functional Training - Training to improve balance, coordination, functional strength and endurance to improve activities of daily living.

6. Outdoor Activities - Pursuits and organized events hiking led by health and fitness professionals. Activities can be short events, day-long events, or planned multi day excursions.

7. High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). These exercise programs typically involve repeated bouts of high-intensity exercise such as weight training, running, cycling or even walking combined with periods of rest.

8. Exercise for Weight Loss. This trend incorporates weight loss programs like nutrition and cooking classes with an exercise routine.

9. Employing Certified Fitness Professionals. Hiring certified health and fitness professionals who have completed educational programs and fully accredited health/fitness certifications.

10. Personal Training. Personal training includes goal setting, fitness assessment and exercise programming with a trainer in one-on-one settings.

Have you overindulged over Christmas and New Year?

Have you overindulged over Christmas and New Year?

Are you tired and sluggish? Are you struggling with your digestive health?  Are you extra sensitive to perfumes, smells and bright lights? Do you have skin problems? Are you finding it hard to lose body fat?

If the answer is YES to any of these questions, this could be a sign that your liver is overloaded and you need to detoxify.

The liver is a detoxifying organ and has over 500 functions in the body. Consequently, your liver is constantly ridding your body of waste, metabolizing hormones and assisting in digestion

The liver is impacted by everything you come in contact with. It works extremely hard to detoxify chemicals and carcinogens naturally.

Toxins can be found in the food we eat, our environment, household cleaning products, carpet and furniture. Our bodies are in a constant state of toxic overload which means you really need to detoxify every day.

Detoxification of the liver is about resting, cleaning, and nourishing the body from the inside out. By eliminating toxins and nourishing your body, detoxification can help protect you from disease, kickstart digestion, improve energy levels, shed unwanted kilos and renew your ability to maintain optimal health.

There are numerous ways to gently and safely detoxify our bodies: 

1.    Eating more herbs such as dandelion root.

2.    Drinking adequate amounts of filtered water daily.

3.    Consuming more supplements such as magnesium, milk thistle and turmeric

4.    Eating clean organic whole foods are all things we can incorporate into our daily lives.

To make the detoxification process easier avoid tea, coffee, alcohol, sugar of all kinds, gluten and processed foods

 The liver is your main detoxifying centre, it is important to eat foods that optimize the health of the liver and supply you with many of the vitamins and minerals.

Citrus Fruits

Lemons, limes and grapefruits are all natural sources of Vitamin C and contain many potent antioxidants. Citrus fruits have the ability to boost the production of liver detoxification enzymes.

Broccoli

Broccoli is a food that contains sulfur compounds that help to support the detoxification process and the health of the liver.  This fibrous vegetable can help flush out toxins from your gut and they contain compounds that help support the liver in metabolizing hormones.

Green Leafy Vegetables

These leafy greens such as spinach, rocket, cabbage, lettuce contain numerous cleansing compounds that neutralize heavy metals, which can slow down the liver’s ability to detoxify. Plus, they help to stimulate bile flow.

Christmas according to Simon

Christmas according to Simon......

Tighten your belt 2 days before Christmas

THEN celebrate for a couple of days- that's just a couple of days.

THEN tighten your belt again.

Christmas and New year should not be turned into a two week celebration.

Not good for the waistline or your health.

Christmas/ New Year eating tips:

Chew your food slowly until it's liquefied.. yes into liquid. You will get fuller soon and you will absorb more nutrients. That's good for your waistline.

Be mindful when eating- give your food your full attention and taste your food.

Take your time eating. Put your knife and fork down between mouthfuls of food

Drink 2 large glasses of water 15 minutes before a meal         .

Take digestive enzymes during or after a meal. Everybody over 35 should be a digestive enzyme(s). Digestive enzymes help you break down your food and absorb it a little better.

https://bioptimizers.com/shop/products/masszymes

Try and move after a meal even if it's just standing for a period of time will help your digestion

Exercise your brain

Exercise for your Brain!

The brain is the control center of the body, so we need it to stay healthy. It's an organ that is quite complicated and science still doesn’t fully understand everything about it. The brain has a say in everything our body does, so it’s important to do what we can to keep it healthy.

Our brains are an organ made up of tissues and cells like every other organ in our bodies. With any organ, aging takes its toll and leads to a decline in performance. As we age, not being as quick to learn new things and struggling with memory are just two things that can be associated with decline in our brains

As we age, the part of the brain involved in learning and memory, the hippocampus,shrinks in size. The hippocampus is a structure in the temporal lobe. Damage to the temporal lobe can lead to difficulties with understanding what is being said, struggling to retain information, difficulties in paying attention and sometimes emotionally inappropriate behavior.

The good news is that physical exercise is good for our brains and regular physical activity helps boost cognitive health!

Studies in the Preventive medicine journal 2020 have shown that there are links between physical inactivity and cognitive decline which can include things like developing Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.

There is also evidence that physical exercise can help with the chemical side of our brains too. Physical exercise aids in the brain’s production of growth factors, which help with the health of brain cells and also lead to the formation of new blood vessels. Exercise benefits us in terms of our cognitive health by reducing anxiety and stress, improving our emotional well-being and improving our sleep.

The best way to boost your cognitive health is to stay active. Studies have shown that people who get up early and stay active throughout the day are mentally healthier as they get older.

A simple way to boost cognitive health is aerobic exercise(s) such as walking, cycling, swimming and jogging. Such exercises are beneficial because they help lower blood pressure and improve your lung function. Even moderate aerobic exercise is enough to increase your heart rate which means more blood gets to your brain. Aim for 30 minutes of aerobic exercise 3-4 times per week

Something to consider when choosing a physical activity for your brain is picking one that involves coordination, balance and agility. An example might be jumping or skipping rope which helps with fitness and coordination.

Weight training or body weight exercises improve strength, balance and agility and are also very important to boost cognitive health. You can get significant benefits with 15-20 minutes 3 times per week

Being consistent is the key. Something is better than nothing!

Food for your Brain

Food for your Brain

Our brain health is incredibly important. Eating the right foods for brain health can help our mood, concentration, memory and even prevent some diseases.

4 best Brain Foods

Fatty Fish

Fatty Fish includes salmon, trout and sardines, which are all rich sources of omega-3 fatty acids

About 60% of your brain is made of fat half of which is made of omega 3 fatty acids

Your brain uses omega-3s to build brain and nerve cells. These fats are essential for learning and memory

Blueberries

Blueberries provide numerous health benefits including some that are specifically for your brain.

Blueberries and other deeply coloured berries deliver anthocyanins, a group of plant compounds with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects.

Antioxidants act against both oxidative stress and inflammation, conditions that may contribute to brain aging and neurodegenerative diseases.

Some of the antioxidants in blueberries have been found to accumulate in the brain and help improve communication between brain cells.

Broccoli

Broccoli contains a number of compounds that have powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, including vitamin K.

Studies in older adults have linked a higher vitamin K intake to better memory

Nuts

Research has shown that eating nuts can improve markers of heart health, and having a healthy heart is linked to having a healthy brain.

A 2014 review showed that nuts can improve cognition and even help prevent neurodegenerative diseases.

 A large study found that women who ate nuts regularly over the course of several years had a sharper memory, compared to those who didn't eat nuts.

Several nutrients in nuts, such as healthy fats, antioxidants and vitamin E, may explain their brain-health benefits.

Supplementing with Ethical Nutrients High Strength Omega 3 Fish oil (120 caps) could help you improve your brain health and function

High Strength Omega-3 is a supplement for cardiovascular health and cognitive function, it works to:

• Provide high-strength anti-inflammatory relief
• Support a healthy heart and cardiovascular system
• Assist healthy cognitive function and eye health
• Support optimal nervous system function
• Maintain balance of healthy blood lipids

Endura Hydration Formula

Endura Hydration Formula

With weather warming up it is even more important to stay hydrated. Endura has a blend of carbohydrates, electrolytes and magnesium which is as pure as the driven snow to keep you hydrated without losing important electrolytes.

Electrolytes help your body regulate chemical reactions, maintain the balance between fluids inside and outside your cells.

Endura Hydration Formula is for anyone taking long hikes, bike rides, any sports where you are losing a lot of fluids- cricket, football, tennis, basketball.

I recommend you take one measuring scoop and add it to water each day to maintain electrolyte balance.

Don't miss out on this awesome product Endura Hydration Formula just $44.50 at Jack & Hill Fitness Studio.

Trends in Fitness in 2022

The American College of Sports Medicine successfully surveyed 478 Fitness Australia registered exercise professionals and business members, to gain their insights into what’s popular in Australia in 2022.

Small Group Personal Training

An economical way to add an extra workout(s) to your existing training program. You benefit from smaller numbers than you’d find in a typical group fitness or bootcamp training session which means you can still get plenty of personal attention and care. There is the added benefit of working out with friends, or meeting new ones! How good is that!

Wearable Technology

Wearable technologies such as smartwatches, rings and fitness bands  are getting more sophisticated. Watches and rings can provide us not only data about our workout, our sleep, movement, heart rate, readiness to train and oxygen saturation levels.  The Oura ring is something I wear to track this important information. www.oura.com

Research by Deloitte Australia shows that the biggest growth area for wearable technology is within our population of older Australians. It is hypothesised that due to the pandemic it prompted older generations to try technologies that might once have seemed out of reach.

Bodyweight Training

The advantages of bodyweight training are great and a lot of people don't realise it is a form of weight or resistance training – if you’ve got a body, you’ve got a gym! As long as you can find yourself a reasonable amount of clear space to lay down you do bodyweight exercises. Examples of bodyweight exercises: push ups, squats, lunges and the plank

The body weight training trend was brought about through the lockdowns of the pandemic where equipment was scarce. Bodyweight training is accessible to almost anyone who wants to improve their health and fitness, including older people or those with disabilities. I can put together an awesome online program for you to follow, based on your individual needs or goals. 

Mega Magnesium Night Formula

Calm the mind & relax the body in preparation for sleep

Trouble relaxing after a busy day?

When your mind is racing and your body is tense it can be hard to unwind at the end of the day.

Ethical Nutrients Mega Magnesium Night has been meticulously crafted to calm the mind and relax your muscles to prepare you for a good night's sleep.

Formulated with high strength, easily absorbed magnesium with passionflower. This unique formula supports healthy sleeping patterns, so you can wake up refreshed and ready to tackle your day head-on.

Available in a great tasting mango passion powder that you can drink hot or cold before bed.

Make Mega Magnesium Night part of your nightly wind-down routine.

Get you Mega Magnesium Night at Jack & Hill $44.50

Super nutrient Chlorella

Super nutrient Chlorella

Chlorella is a single-celled, freshwater alga, native to Taiwan and Japan. It is naturally rich in proteins, vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber. Chlorella is super nutrient: containing 50-60% amino acid content, ideal nutrient for vegetarians, and has the most easily absorbed and utilized form of B12, B6, minerals, chlorophyll, beta carotene.

Here are 5 key benefits of taking chlorella

Helps Get Rid of Toxins

Keeps Your Immune System Strong

Boosts Your Brain Power

Eases Digestion Issues

Promotes a Healthy Liver

3 Food to detoxify your liver

3 foods to help you detoxify your liver.

Are you tired all the time? Are you struggling with your digestive health?  Are you extra sensitive to perfumes, smells and bright lights? Do you have skin problems? Are you finding it hard to lose body fat? If the answer is YES to any of these questions, this could be a sign that your liver is overloaded and you need to detoxify.

The liver is a detoxifying organ and has over 500 functions in the body. Consequently, your liver is constantly ridding your body of waste, metabolizing hormones, and assisting in digestion

The liver is impacted by everything you come in contact with. It works extremely hard to detoxify chemicals and carcinogens naturally.

Toxins can be found in the food we eat, our environment, household cleaning products, carpet and furniture. Our bodies are in a constant state of toxic overload which means you really need to detoxify every day.

Detoxification of the liver is about resting, cleaning, and nourishing the body from the inside out. By eliminating toxins and nourishing your body, detoxification can help protect you from disease, kickstart digestion, improve energy levels, shed unwanted kilos and renew your ability to maintain optimal health.

There are numerous ways to gently and safely detoxify our bodies.  Eating more herbs, drinking adequate amounts of filtered water daily, consuming more supplements such as magnesium, milk thistle, eating clean organic whole foods are all things we can incorporate into our daily lives.

To make the detoxification process easier avoid tea, coffee, alcohol, sugar, gluten and processed foods

The liver is your main detoxifying centre, it is important to eat foods that optimize the health of the liver and supply you with many of the vitamins and minerals.

Citrus Fruits

Lemons, limes and grapefruits are all natural sources of Vitamin C and contain many potent antioxidants. Citrus fruits have the ability to boost the production of liver detoxification enzymes.

Broccoli

Broccoli is a food that contains sulfur compounds that help to support the detoxification process and the health of the liver.  This fibrous vegetable can help flush out toxins from your gut and they contain compounds that help support the liver in metabolizing hormones.

Green Leafy Vegetables

These leafy greens such as spinach, rocket, cabbage, lettuce contain numerous cleansing compounds that neutralize heavy metals, which can slow down the liver’s ability to detoxify. Plus, they help to stimulate bile flow.

Sleep Meditation

Sleep Meditation for a better nights sleep.

Falling asleep and staying asleep is most frustrating and not ideal for our health. No matter what you do you can't fall asleep. Your mind keeps racing thinking about the next day ahead making it even harder to fall asleep.

SLEEP MEDITATION could be the answer to getting a better night's sleep.

Sleep Meditation can help prepare your body and mind for a restful night. It can help you relax, forgetting the worries and stressors of the day and allowing your mind to just let go.

Nothing beats a good night's sleep!

Read here to learn about sleep:

https://www.dailymotivation.site/how-to-do-a-sleep-meditation-to-fall-asleep-easier-faster-better/

Immune Boosting Vitamin C

Immune Boosting Vitamin C

Foods high in Vitamin C are Kale, parsley, kiwi fruit, broccoli, lemons, strawberries, oranges- buy organic

Vitamin C is vital for your immune system, connective tissue and heart and blood vessel health, among many other important roles.

Supplementing Vitamin C boosts the immune system to help fight off and reduce the severity of nasty colds and flus.

 It also reduces the severity of allergies, assists in wound healing, reduces muscle soreness,

 promotes healthy bones, teeth, skin  and is a powerful antioxidant.

Get Vitamin Extra C 100g Powder or 60 tablets here at Jack & Hill Studio for $29.95.

Calorie restriction extends health in humans

Decades of research has shown that limits on calorie intake by flies, worms, and mice can enhance life span in laboratory conditions. A study by Yale university confirms the health benefits of moderate calorie restrictions in humans -- and identifies a key protein that could be harnessed to extend health in humans.

The study that shows a simple reduction in calories, and no specific diet, has a remarkable effect in terms of biology and shifting the immune-metabolic state in a direction that's protective of human health.

Checkout the full article: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220210154204.htm

Hydration

Water is vital for life. It is a natural resource that is required by every person to help satisfy our health requirements such as our body composition, mental focus, sleep and recovery.

Water makes up about 75% of your body and 85% of brain tissue so it makes good sense to stay hydrated with good quality drinking water. Every enzyme action and chemical reaction in your body is reliant upon water. Water also plays a key role to maintain a stable environment inside and around our cells allowing us to acquire sufficient nutrition and aiding elimination of waste in our cells.

Water regulates internal body temperature and through the process of sweat production and evaporation, the body can avoid overheating. The blood on the skin surface is cooled and it carries this cooling effect to the body’s interior. Water also lubricates joints and cushions vital organs.

Water helps energize your muscles. Cells that don't maintain their balance of fluids and electrolytes shrivel, which can result in muscle fatigue. When muscle cells don't have adequate water, they don't work as well and performance can suffer.

Your brain is sensitive to water loss and the brain shows signs of malfunction with as little as 1% loss of water. Having a dry mouth is one of the key signs of dehydration. When you are dehydrated your body is already under stress.

To maintain optimal body weight, performance and energy levels you must drink 1litre of water for every 30 kilograms of your body weight each day. If you weigh 60kg then drinking 2 litres of water per day is ideal.

Water should be filtered by either using a house filtration system or by merely buying a jug with a water filter. Brita (www.brita.com.au) offer a number of easy options for filtering water. Filtering your water will minimize heavy metals, chlorine and other waterborne toxins. I am sure you will find the taste much better.

Water should ideally have  hardness factor of 170mg/l or greater and a Total Dissolved Solids of 300. A very simple way of improving the hardness of your water within an acceptable range is to add a pinch of unprocessed sea salt or a bit of clay to your water.  A pinch of unprocessed sea salt added to each litre of water also provides electrolytes and balances water levels inside and outside the cells.

What Is the Role of Physical Activity in Promoting Longevity?

What Is the Role of Physical Activity in Promoting Longevity?

A study by Lieberman et al. incorporate what’s now known about the difference between “healthspan” (i.e., years of healthy life) and “lifespan” (i.e., years of life, healthy or not) to suggest that, more than burning calories, “the stresses of Physical Activity stimulate investments in health-span preserving somatic repair and maintenance processes that are activated less in the absence of Physical Activity.”

To understand this, think now about the kinds of damage you may do to your body when you exercise. You might get some muscular aches and pains, you feel physically a bit tired, you have to breathe heavier, temporarily you raise your heart rate and blood pressure.

This kind of “damage,” according to the 2021 study by Lieberman et al, actually helps contribute to physical activity effect on your health span and lifespan. Your body has to do something to repair the damage, which can include restocking your depleted energy, producing antioxidants, clearing away harmful waste products of metabolism, reducing inflammation, and getting your nervous system to turn down some of that autonomic (e.g., breathing rate control) activation. The other changes in your body that occur after you exercise directly promote the growth of muscle tissue and bone strength.

When people aren’t active, their bodies don’t engage in those health span-promoting repair and maintenance activities and they suffer changes such as loss of muscle mass. Older individuals then become weaker and less able to perform the kinds of exercise that would keep those muscles stressed and toned. Once people begin to engage in physical activity, there’s substantial evidence to show that many previously lost functions can be regained.

In the perfect world you want allocate some piece of your day to devote to even the minimum of 10 to 20 minutes of some form of organized exercise. However if you’re truly doing plenty of walking, running, and lifting weight (including those children), you’re still better off than if you were a completely sedentary couch potato. If you are busy and aren’t we all, then here are some more incidental physical activities to incorporate into your day:

Walk to get your groceries

Take the stairs if you can

Park the car further away from work and walk

Take the train and get off a station early and walk to your destination

Park in the furthest carpark at a shopping centre park.

Get a standing desk- standing more is good physical activity because when you are standing you are burning more calories

Clean the house

Wash the car

Play with your kids- kick or throw a ball to them.

If you are struggling with getting enough physical activity into your day and need support with a personalised exercise program please don’t hesitate to call me on 0411553804 or hello@jackandhill.com.au

Get More Omega 3 in your diet

Humans evolved on a diet that had an Omega 3 to Omega 6 ratio of 1:1. Sadly, nowadays we tend to opt for convenience foods so often that we end up consuming far more Omega 6 than Omega 3.

Excessive amounts of Omega 6, as well as high Omega 6 to Omega 3 ratio, are known to be linked to many diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.

In order to balance the Omega 3 to Omega 6 ratio, we need to focus on reducing Omega 6 rich foods, but most importantly introducing more Omega 3 rich foods to our meals.

Here is a nice list of some foods rich in Omega 3

Why I keep banging on about proper breathing

Why I keep banging on about proper breathing

In my experience a large percentage of the population are mouth breathers. There are a number of factors that can potentially cause this: food allergies, chronic mental and emotional stress, caffeine and alcohol just to name a few.

Practicing breathing through your nose is one of the easiest and most beneficial things you can do for the overall health of your body and for your longevity.

Why mouth breathing is not such a good things for someone's health

Breathing should be ideally passive and with little effort. We should not hear or notice someone breathing. Breathing heavily causes blood vessels to constrict. This is one reason why mouth breathers are tired a lot of the time.

There is less delivery of Oxygen in mouth breathing

Carbon Dioxide is key for how Oxygen gets released from red blood cells into our tissues and our organs. When you breathe heavily you lose CO2, which results in O2 sticking to thehemoglobin and not getting released. Basically the heavier you are breathing the less Oxygen is getting released.

With this heavy breathing also comes a vasoconstrictive effect and up to a 50% restriction of our blood flow up to our brain.- not ideal.

Your nose is the only organ that prepares you to breathe properly. When we breathe through our mouths it can lead to chronic hyperventilation, reduced blood circulation, lowering of Carbon Dioxide levels, and vasoconstriction of our airways! Chronic mouth breathing will have potentially detrimental effects on overall health such as sleep apnea,high blood pressure, heart disease, asthma and allergies.

Nasal breathing produces nitric oxide. Enzymes have been found in the nose and in the paranasal sinuses that produce Nitric Oxide. Nitric Oxide levels in the sinuses are even much higher than what is produced in the nose. These findings show that the main site for Nitric Oxide production is the paranasal sinuses. (Lundberg et al 1995).

What are the benefits of producing Nitric Oxide:

Defends the immune system: destruction of viruses and parasitic organisms  Studies indicate that Nitric Oxide may also help to reduce respiratory tract infection by inactivating viruses and inhibiting their replication in epithelial cells.(Martel. et al 2020)

Promotes a healthy digestive tract by regulating the secretion of digestive hormones and enzymes

As a vasodilator it decreases blood pressure and improves blood flow to the organs

Anti-inflammatory action in the arteries
Improved energy with better oxygen delivery

Enhances memory and learning.

Prevents blood clotting and obstructions in the arteries

Sit or stand with good posture try 3-4 sets of 12 nasal breathes each day for better health and vitality

Take more steps and live longer

Taking more steps per day, either all at once or in shorter spurts, may help you live longer, according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Heart Association's Epidemiology, Prevention, Lifestyle & Cardiometabolic Health Conference 2021.

Regular walking is one of the safest and easiest ways you can do for your health. Increasing your physical activity from as little as 10 minutes a day to the Australian Government's recommended 30 to 45 minutes a day, five or more days of the week can help reduce your risk of heart disease and heart attacks.

A longitudinal study from 2011-2015, 16,732 women wore a waist step counter that measured their daily steps and walking patterns for four to seven days. The women were all over age 60 and were participants in the Women's Health Study, a large, national study of heart disease, cancer and other long-term disease prevention.

The researchers divided the total number of steps for each study participant into two groups: Group 1 was 10 minutes or longer bouts of walking with few interruptions; and Group 2 was short spurts of walking during regular daily activities such as housework, taking the stairs, or walking to or from a car. In follow-up, they tracked deaths from any cause for an average of six years, through December 31, 2019.

Researchers found:

• Overall, 804 deaths occurred during the entire study period of 2011-2019.

• Study participants who took more steps in short spurts lived longer, regardless of how many steps they had in longer, uninterrupted bouts. The benefits levelled off at about 4,500 steps per day in short spurts.

• Compared to no daily steps, each initial increase of 1,000 steps per day was associated with a 28% decrease in death during the follow-up period.

• A 32% decrease in death was noted in participants who took more than 2,000 steps daily in uninterrupted bouts.

A prior analysis of the same women reported that those who took 4,500 steps per day had a significantly lower risk of death compared to the least active women.

What are you waiting for, get out there and start stepping!

The Benefits of Exercise

1. Exercise helps your brain

Exercise is linked to less depression, better memory and quicker learning. Studies also suggest that exercise is, as of now, the best way to prevent or delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

Exercise improves blood flow to the brain, feeding the growth of new blood vessels and even new brain cells, thanks to the protein BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor). BDNF triggers the growth of new neurons and helps repair and protect brain cells from degeneration. It may also help people focus better on tasks, according to recent research.

2. Exercise makes you happier

Countless studies show that many types of exercise, from walking to cycling, and strength training make people feel better and can even relieve symptoms of depression. Exercise triggers the release of chemicals in the brain—serotonin, norepinephrine, endorphins, dopamine—that dull pain, lighten mood and relieve stress. The psychological benefits are outstanding!

3. It slows the aging process

Exercise has been shown to lengthen lifespan by as much as five years. A study in the Journal Sciences Advances suggests that moderate-intensity exercise may slow down the aging of cells. As humans get older and their cells divide over and over again, their telomeres—the protective caps on the end of chromosomes—get shorter. To see how exercise affects telomeres, researchers took a muscle biopsy and blood samples from 10 healthy people before and after a 45-minute ride on a stationary bicycle. They found that exercise increased levels of a molecule that protects telomeres, ultimately slowing how quickly they shorten over time. Exercise, then, appears to slow aging at the cellular level.

4. Your skin will look better.

Aerobic exercise revs up blood flow to the skin, delivering oxygen and nutrients that improve skin health and even help wounds heal faster. If people get injured, they should get moving as quickly as possible so there’s good blood flow to the skin which accelerates the healing of the injury.  Train long enough, and you’ll add more blood vessels and tiny capillaries to the skin too.

5. Less is more with amazing benefits

Emerging research suggests that it doesn’t take much movement to get the benefits. A  10-minute workout could be, compared to the typical 50-minute, could be just as effective. A recent three month study consisted of three exhausting 20-second intervals of all-out, hard-as-you-can exercise, followed by brief recoveries of 3 minutes each. The short workout  was compared against the standard one (50 minutes) to see which was better. Amazingly the workouts resulted in identical improvements in heart function and blood-sugar control, even though one workout was five times longer than the other.

6. Reduce Fat cells

The body uses both carbohydrates and fats as energy sources. After consistent aerobic exercise training, the body gets better at burning fat, which requires a lot of oxygen to convert it into energy. One of the benefits of exercise training is that our cardiovascular system gets stronger and better at delivering oxygen, so we are able to metabolize more fat as an energy source.

Boost your immune health with Vitamin D

Boost your immune health with Vitamin D

According to the American Clinical Journal of Nutrition Vitamin D deficiency is a global health problem. Over a billion people worldwide are vitamin D deficient or insufficient. Vitamin D3 supports both bone and immune health. The body of research on the benefits of Vitamin D is rapidly increasing. Many studies suggest that vitamin D may decrease risk for many diseases and conditions including certain types of cancer, multiple sclerosis, hypertension, inflammation, diabetes and more. Some studies also suggest the D3 is important in foetal development, weight loss, colon health and longevity. While scientists refer to vitamin D as a vitamin, it is actually a steroid hormone obtained from sun exposure, food sources, and supplementation. Common types of vitamin D are vitamin D2 and D3. Compared to D2, vitamin D3 is 87 percent more effective, and is the preferred form for addressing insufficient levels of vitamin D. Ample sunlight exposure(without burning your skin) is your main source of vitamin D, as the sun provides beneficial UVB wavelengths that are needed to optimize your levels. It is very, very important to have your blood levels of vitamin D tested before and during supplementation. Ideal therapeutic levels of vitamin D you’ll want to reach and maintain are 50-70nl/mg There is a risk of overdosing on a vitamin D supplement that doesn’t exist with natural sun exposure, as your body simply stops producing vitamin D to prevent this. You need to consciously keep your vitamin D levels within the healthy range through regular vitamin D blood tests, and have your dosage adjusted accordingly. As a guideline Adults should take 35UI per kilo of body weight. The response to vitamin D is dependent on body weight. People that weigh more will need more vitamin D dosage than people who weigh less. There is no way to know if the above recommendations are correct for you personally, as they are only guidelines. The only way to know is to test your blood. You might need four to five times the amount recommended above. Give your immune system a boost with Vitamin D3! amount recommended above. Give your immune system a boost with Vitamin D3!