Stay Healthy With Exercise
Michael Stefano

As a society, weve been more than convinced of the need for daily exercise. From the gimmicky hype of the television info-mercial, to the sound advice of the family physician, weve been bombarded with the reasons why we need to workout.

The medical community has coined the phrase, The Deadly Quartet, to describe four risk factors that plague Americans in disproportionate numbers:

The Deadly Quartet

Obesity

High blood pressure

High blood cholesterol, and triglyceride levels

Reduced sensitivity to insulin

Despite all this information thats been made available, overweight and out of shape Americans still huff and puff their way through their day. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that obesity alone results in over 300,000 preventable deaths in the United States every year.

More than 60 percent of all Americans are classified as overweight or obese, while at any given time 30 to 40 percent of all Americans are trying to get in shape. An even higher percentage of cardiovascular disease is related to obesity, and being overweight nearly doubles your chance of developing high blood pressure.

But hears the good news, an article published in the March 2001 issue of The Annals of Internal Medicine has revealed that thirty minutes of daily exercise can extend human life.

This elaborate study took place from 1984 to 1989 in Finland using 1300 middle-aged men. Upon follow-up in 1997, researchers recorded 124 total deaths from both cardio and non-cardiovascular causes. After making adjustments for other risk factors (such as age and smoking), low fitness levels were associated with an almost three times higher mortality rate.

Scientists have proven that twenty to thirty minutes of moderate physical activity per day, forestalls the onset of the deadly quartet, and thereby prevents chronic disease, while extending human life.

Following a sensible exercise program will bring about significant change in the bodys chemistry, and its ability to perform work efficiently. This training effect lowers blood pressure, cholesterol and triglyceride levels, as well as increases insulin sensitivity, and thereby forestalling the onset of type II diabetes.

But besides these all-important health benefits, the right kind of exercise also burns fat, and sculpts our bodies into lean, high performance machines. Following a properly orchestrated workout program will not only add years to your life, it will add quality years that are reminiscent of youth, where youll look forward to the dawning of each fun-filled day.

About the Author

Michael Stefano is a 20-year veteran of FDNY, as well as author of The Firefighter’s Workout Book and creator of The Firefighter’s Workout Video.

His workout routines and articles have been featured on such internet giants as America Online, Yahoo! and eDiets.com.

Currently Michael is editor in chief at http://www.firefightersworkout.com, where you can get more information about his book and other services, as well as sign up for his FREE Train For Life Newsletter.

Tags: America Online, Annals Of Internal Medicine, Author, Cardiovascular Causes, Cardiovascular Disease, Center For Disease Control, Center For Disease Control And Prevention, chronic disease, Currently Michael, Deadly Quartet, Disease Control And Prevention, Disproportionate Numbers, eDiets.com, Editor-In-Chief, Exercise Program, Family Physician, Finland, Fitness Levels, High Blood Cholesterol, high blood pressure;, II diabetes, internet giants, Michael Stefano, Moderate Physical Activity, Mortality Rate, obesity;, Preventable Deaths, Rate Scientists, Risk Factors, Sound Advice, Television Info, The Annals of Internal Medicine, Triglyceride Levels, United States;, Yahoo —

Why are most people in the Western World Unhealthy?
Warren Matthews

I’m going to attempt to shed some shed some light as to why the majority of the population is overweight and in less than optimum health. I won’t bore you with a whole lot of facts as you have probably heard most of them before, particularly those relating to obesity.

Observe the Evidence:

I am sure that you have observed the evidence of the extent of general poor health yourself…first hand. If
you haven’t already done so, next time you are in a shopping mall sit down for 10 minutes and consciously observe the outward health of the people passing by you.

Look at whether they are overweight, observe their skin for clarity and firmness, take note of the way they
move…are their movements effortless and appear to have energy to spare, or are they sluggish as if they are
carrying a burden? Also look at their eyes… are they bright, clear and alert?

I think that you know what the results of a personal survey such as this will reveal! It will show that the MAJORITY of the people that pass by you will either be overweight or have other outward signs of less than optimal health.

I am not being judgmental of these people because many of them are in this condition primarily as a result of
being fed misinformation through the media by either misguided authorities or commercial interests. Before
I expand on this I should mention that a certain number of these people are nevertheless 100% to blame for
their condition.

They know they are doing harmful things to their body and health.

But, what about the rest of the unhealthy group who are in this condition primarily due to being fed a constant stream of misinformation!

These can be placed into just a few general categories:

1. Psychological.

There is a constant barrage of ‘pill’ advertising which we are subjected to every day. Consider the influence
that this has on the general population. If you were to believe the advertismentss and ignore the side effect warnings it would be quite easy to get the impression that there is a ‘Magic pill’ solution for most ailments.

Added to this are the constant news releases that talk about new medical discoveries such as being able to
grow replacement organs when your own wear out, and don’t forget about the ‘promising’ research for other
new ‘miracle’ drugs just over the horizon.

All these influences combined with a ‘busy’ society looking for a quick and easy ‘fix’, it is no wonder that so many people are quite ‘slack’ when it comes to taking care of their
bodies…particularly on the inside.

2. Dietary Advice.

The food pyramid that is recommended people adhere to, haslargely been discredited scientifically but continues to be pushed. Also, an obsession has developed in which people
are constantly advised to reduce their fat intake.

The ‘official’ line is that saturated animal fats are bad for you and you should avoid butter etc, etc… People believe that if you eat saturated fat you will become fat, or if you eat foods containing cholesterol such as eggs you will raise your cholesterol levels, and so on.

The reality is quite different but I do not have the space to examine this further right now. But just as a quick
illustration take cholesterol. 80% of your blood cholesterol is manufactured by your liver. In other words only 20% is from dietary sources. So, if you reduced your intake of cholesterol by 25% it would only impact on your overall cholesterol by 5%.

By people accepting the ‘official’ no fat line they turn to alternatives such as margarine and other vegetable
oil substitutes. What they are not aware of is that most of these substitutes, which are derived from vegetable oils, are in fact hydrogenated because otherwise they would be liquid at room temperature.

This involves treating the oils and the resulting substance is much, much more harmful than butter could ever be. A
future article will discuss the subject of oils and fats.

The official dietary guidelines virtually ignore the incredibly harmful impact of processed foods and sugar on
the human body. They also ignore the fact that the normal western diet is seriously lacking in essential nutrients, which translate to imbalances and poor health.

3. Mystery.

We all know that the human body is an amazingly complex ‘vehicle’. No one fully understands all the interactions
that are taking place within it every second throughout your lifetime.

This includes the medical profession along with the pharmaceutical industry, evidenced by the ongoing removal
from the market of drugs which have been approved and considered to be safe and afterwards found not to be.

Nonetheless, many people place far too much reliance on the medical profession. Apart from using the medical profession for important tests to find out the internal health of your body so you can make corrections in your lifestyle habits if required, you should never have to visit a physician.

Now, I understand and appreciate that this is not the case for the vast majority of people. I just want to
make the point that other than routine check ups if you need to visit the Doctor it means you have damaged your
body in some way and are seeking a repair.

Your body is not like a car when it comes to repair issues. When you try to repair your body through the use of
pharmaceutical drugs you run a serious risk of starting a cascade effect which will bring on other health problems
in the short or longer term.

In Summary

If you want to live a life of vibrant health and energy take a close look at your attitude to health and consider
honestly if you are working towards removing as much as possible the mystery of how your body works. Realize that there is no quick and easy medical ‘fix’ for most ailments as a single ailment is often merely one small symptom of other underlying problems that cannot be effectively dealt with in isolation…in the long term.

Try to eliminate as much as possible, your intake of manufactured and processed foods and avoid drinking sodas, and tap water. If you are overweight be particularly vigilant about avoiding sugars in any form…they are much more damaging to your weight objectives than fat.

In good health,

Warren Matthews
Editor In Chief
XTEND-YOUR-LIFE

XTEND-YOUR-LIFE presents you with timely health information to
show you how to take better care of yourself…and your loved ones.
A FREE subscription is available by signing up at …

http://healthybody.xtend-life.com

About the Author

Warren Matthews is the Editor-In-Chief
of Xtend-Your-Life, a FREE Newsletter
designed to help you tak control of
your health. Available at…
http://HealthyBody.Xtend-Life.com

Tags: Advertising, Author, Authorities, Barrage, Clarity, Commercial Interests, Editor-In-Chief, energy;, Extent, Firmness, food pyramid;, Magic, Misinformation, obesity;, official, oil substitutes, Optimal Health, Optimum Health, Personal Survey, Pharmaceutical Drugs, pharmaceutical industry, physician, Poor Health, Population, Shed Some Light, Shopping Mall, Signs, US Federal Reserve, Warren Matthews, Western People, Whole Lot —