2 Critical Myth Busters for Great Health .
Over the years a realization has dawned that good health is a prerequisite for all the other good things one aspires in life. Almost all of us are aware of this, but the most important tool to achieve it is dormant in us. My interaction with peers revealed that many of them do not even know what they don't know. Many have wrong and half-knowledge of how the human body functions. They confuse fitness with good health. They do way too many things to achieve good health which remains elusive. Time to debunk some very potent myths floating all around viz:
FITNESS IS NOT HEALTH
Most confuse fitness with good health. To illustrate, let's assume over many years Mr. X, 40 yrs. old is a regular jogger/ walker for 4 to 5 km and drinks/ eats all kinds of healthy stuff to optimize his health. He also does some light stretching exercises intermittently. Also wants to keep the body weight in check or maybe shed a few pounds. Apparently, he looks fit and young. And he boasts of his regimen in his social circle and gives occasional sermons on how to achieve good health. But is he himself healthy. He does not really know. He hasn't lost a pound of weight yet. Why? Because he is aging, his body is losing its muscle mass. Oblivious to this fact, he is atrophying his muscle mass by his nonintensive exercises on daily basis. A pound of resting muscle mass ( the most metabolic active body tissue) consumes 50 calories a day. If he loses 10 pounds of muscle mass over a year or two, he will be requiring 500 fewer calories a day. It comes to whopping 180000 calories a year. While he continues to eat the same amount of food, he adds fat to his body leading to mild obesity. He is now in danger of developing Diabetes, Coronary heart disease sarcopenia, high BP, and even arthritis. He is perplexed. This is a very common occurrence in the modern lifestyle and such diseases are becoming endemic. So he may seem fit but is not healthy.
Such a situation can be overcome by Intensive Muscle Training and staying away from processed foods in toto. Muscles are energy guzzlers and along with bones form the basic structure of the human body.As Most of us don't do intensive physical work, the body sheds the long twitch muscle fiber lying redundant over years. The loss of muscle mass sets in. If unchecked, continues unabated. Food abundance and gluttony, on the other hand, leads to regular consumption of calories resulting in a body imbalance. Needless to say, why so many people look so older than their actual age. So staying young is a matter of pure willpower and awareness. BODY SCIENCE BY DR. DOUG MCFUFF can be a ready reckoner for the enthusiast.
YOU ARE NEVER TOO OLD TO LIFT WEIGHTS
Most middle-aged people think they are too old to lift weights. This is a big myth. Muscles have memory. If you have to train, start under a credible supervisor and start small. Scale up the weights as you move on. This will surprise you as move on. You can regain your lost muscles and reclaim the elixir of youth.
would love to hear from you, if you find it interesting.
as always, many thanks for reading my piece
PHOTO CREDIT: DAN EDGE ON UNSPLASH
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