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You are here: Home / Style / 5 hidden benefits of exercise

Style

5 hidden benefits of exercise

Today we have guest poster Dr. Eudene Harry. I’m hoping that this will keep some of us (or at least ME) sparked enough to not pack on the pounds after yesterday’s meal. With Chanukah latkes right around the corner, not to mention Christmas dinner with friends and an indulgent New Year’s celebration, we’re all trying to enjoy without doing damage…

With more than a third of Americans classified as obese, everyone from first lady Michelle Obama to TV news anchor Katie Couric is advocating exercise to maintain a healthy weight.  

That’s great, says Dr. Eudene Harry, author of “Live Younger in 8 Simple Steps,” but the benefits of exercise go far beyond fitting into those skinny jeans.

For one, it will give you younger looking, more blemish-free skin.

“The increase in circulation and perspiration that occurs with exercise delivers more nutrients to your skin while allowing impurities and waste to be removed,” says Harry, who combines years of emergency-room experience with holistic medicine in her private practice. “The result? A healthier complexion!”

She adds four more hidden benefits of a good workout:

• Natural “feel-good” chemicals: Exercise releases endorphins, the brain chemicals that boost your mood and make you feel happy, as well as relieve stress, and enhance your self-esteem and self-confidence. Exercise has also been shown to increase neurotransmitters, such as serotonin and dopamine, which gives us a natural high and allows us to sleep better.

• Constipation prevention: Exercise increases the contractions of the wall of the intestine, helping to move things along through the intestinal tract more easily, and decreasing the time it takes to pass through the large intestine. But wait an hour or two after eating before exerting yourself: Exercising too soon after a meal can divert blood flow away from the gut and toward the muscles, weakening peristaltic contractions (and slowing down the digestion process). 

• Prevents brittle bones: Walking, jogging, dancing, weight training and yoga are all weight-bearing exercises that help strengthen bones. Swimming and bicycling are exercises that are considered non-weight bearing. During weight-bearing exercises, bones adapt to the impact of the weight and the pull of muscles by building more bone cells, increasing strength and density and decreasing the risk of fractures, osteopenia and osteoporosis.

• Enhanced immunity: Physical exertion increases the rate at which antibodies flow through the blood stream, resulting in better immunity against sickness. The increased temperature generated during moderate exercise makes it difficult for certain infectious organisms to survive.

Don’t overdo your exercise, or you won’t see all of these benefits, Harry says.

“Check with a physician who can advise you on the right activities and intensity level for your individual needs,” she says.

“For all the benefits of exercise, there are down sides if you go at it too vigorously for your physical condition. For instance, you can actually increase stress hormones, which can make you more vulnerable to illness, rather than building your immunity.”

Dr. Eudene Harry holds a bachelor’s in biology from New York University and completed both her medical degree and residency training at Thomas Jefferson University. Currently the medical director for the integrative and holistic Oasis Wellness and Rejuvenation Center, she has practiced medicine for nearly 20 years, is board certified in both emergency and holistic medicine, and for more than a decade practiced emergency medicine as an attending physician in Level II trauma centers. In 2005 she opened Oasis for Optimal Health, a private practice focused on integrative, holistic wellness and empowering and educating the patient.

Photo credit: Helga Weber / Foter / CC BY-ND


14 Comments

About Zipporah Sandler

Zipporah Sandler AKA Zippy is a lifestyle and travel specialist who after living everywhere from Providence to Paris found herself suddenly residing in South Florida (something she swore she’d never do).

Whether it be San Pellegrino water or Louis Roderer Cristal, Zippy suggests that you keep your life sparkling and your glass full.

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Comments

  1. Sheri says

    November 23, 2012 at 11:07 am

    You are so right. I really need to get my butt moving.

  2. Maryann says

    November 23, 2012 at 6:49 pm

    I love doing Ripped in 30 by Jillian Michaels – I’m still not ripped but I’m doing a lot better than I was a yr ago.

  3. Billie says

    November 23, 2012 at 7:32 pm

    Great advantages. I was reminded of Legally Blonde. “Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people don’t kill their husbands, they just don’t.”

  4. A Time Out for Mommy- Elaina says

    November 23, 2012 at 8:49 pm

    I just started exercising and I feel so much better than I did months before that!

  5. Michelle C. Wyatt says

    November 23, 2012 at 10:11 pm

    Exercise ♥

  6. Leilani says

    November 23, 2012 at 11:55 pm

    One of my resolutions for the New Year is to be more active.

  7. Ty @ Mama of 3 Munchkins says

    November 24, 2012 at 12:55 am

    I’m definitely trying to become more active as I’ve been slacking hard this year.

  8. Jennifer The Quirky Momma says

    November 24, 2012 at 5:32 pm

    My friend and I walk in the evenings when the weather permits. It really makesa difference.

  9. Marcie W. says

    November 24, 2012 at 6:02 pm

    I love exercising! It’s become so much more than a physical thing for me.

  10. Kathleen says

    November 24, 2012 at 6:40 pm

    Exercise definitely has made me feel a lot better lately and there is no doubt that it has many benefits.

  11. Crystal @ Simply Being Mommy says

    November 24, 2012 at 7:50 pm

    I’d love to have blemish free skin. Maybe I should exercise more.

  12. Colleen says

    November 25, 2012 at 11:43 am

    My skin always looks better when I eat healthy and exercise.

  13. Courtney says

    November 25, 2012 at 7:59 pm

    I always feel great and even more energized than prior to working out 🙂

  14. Lolo says

    November 26, 2012 at 4:16 am

    I love how great I feel after exercising!

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