Benefits of Exercise are Real

DEAR JIM: I have read your columns for many years and always find them very educational and entertaining. However, I sometimes have difficulty believing that exercise can really help people that much. I see my friends and relatives growing older every day and suffering from declining health, and exercise is the last thing on their minds. I know that you really believe in the whole exercise thing, but surely it can’t be as good you as you say it is for you. DOUBTING DEBBIE FROM DUBUQUE

DEAR DOUBTING DEBBIE: Yes, I really do believe in the whole “exercise thing,” and yes, it CAN be as good as I say it is for you. If you have read my columns for as long as you say you have, you will know that I have frequently emphasized that exercise is not a cure-all for everything that besets us, but it can help to prevent certain conditions from developing and greatly improve our quality of life. But why take my word for it?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), regular physical activity can improve health and reduce the risk of premature death in the following ways:

- Reduces the risk of developing coronary heart disease (CHD) and the risk of dying from CHD.
- Reduces the risk of stroke.
- Lowers both total blood cholesterol and triglycerides and increases high-density lipoproteins (HDL or the “good” cholesterol).
- Lowers the risk of developing high blood pressure.
- Helps reduce blood pressure in people who already have it.
- Lowers the risk of developing non-insulin-dependent (Type 2) diabetes mettitus.
- Reduces the risk of developing colon cancer.
- Helps people achieve and maintain a healthy body weight.
- Reduces feelings of depression.
- Helps build and maintain healthy bones, muscles, and joints.
- Helps older adults become stronger and better able to move about without falling or becoming excessively fatigued.

Even as we grow older and, perhaps, even frail and incapacitated, the important thing is to “keep moving” – the expression so famously identified with fitness guru Jack LaLanne, now 94 and still going strong. Age and disabilities may limit the amount and scope of our physical activity, but there are very few of us who can’t do “something” physical to make our lives better.

For more information about the importance of exercise in our lives, refer to www.cdc.gov.

Jim Evans is a 41-year veteran of the health and fitness industry and internationally recognized fitness consultant. Send your questions about health and fitness to pacsd@aol.com.

Buy a Cat for Christmas - Reduce Your Risk of Heart Attack

SENIOR HEALTH & FITNESS
Buy a Cat for Christmas - Reduce Your Risk of Heart Attack
By: Jim Evans

DEAR JIM: My wife – 69 – has a calico cat, and she insists that this cat makes her feel better. She has even dressed it up for Christmas this year with a ribbon around its neck and jingle bells. Personally, I’m not a cat lover, and I tolerate this particular cat only because it seems to make my wife happy, but how can “a cat” make anyone feel better? I always thought dogs made people feel better, but cats??? SKEPTIC IN SKOKIE

DEAR SKEPTIC: Your wife probably has no idea WHY her cat makes her feel better but, believe it or not, recent research shows that cats may actually lower the risk of heart attacks and strokes by relieving the stress and anxiety typically linked to coronary disease and heart attacks.

Researchers for the Minnesota Stroke Institute in Minneapolis found that “people who do not own cats have a 40% higher risk of dying from a myocardial infarction than people who do keep cats as pets,” according to Adnan Qureshi, M.D. “We did not find a significant difference between people who owned dogs or other pets” (“ASA: Cats May Protect Owners Against Cardiovascular Death,” by Ed Susman, MedPage Today, February 21, 2008).

“Cats are, by and large, easier to care for and more manageable, especially among older persons,” said Qureshi. “Cats also tend to help build a person’s self-esteem, which could be diminished by risk factors for heart attacks such as obesity, mobility, or injury. We know that cats are helpful in rehabilitation from injuries and illnesses such as stroke.”

Results should still considered preliminary, but if the findings can be substantiated, cat ownership might be considered as a cost-effective intervention in reducing heart attacks and possibly other forms of cardiovascular disease such as stroke for high-risk individuals according to Qureshi.

Sounds like you might want to jump on the kitty bandwagon and make friends with your wife’s cat or buy one for yourself to reduce your stress level. Your local pet shelter probably has a nice selection to choose from in time for Christmas – even for a crusty old cat hater like you. Chill out and appreciate that your wife might be right on this one.

Jim Evans is a 41-year veteran of the health and fitness industry and internationally recognized fitness consultant. Send your questions about health and fitness to pacsd@aol.com