9 Ways Exercise Will Boost Your Life

Making exercise apart of your lifestyle will increase your quality and quantity of life. Exercise has been proven over and over again to affect the body and boost your life in the nine ways stated below.

Why You Should Exercise:

1. It strengthens the cardiovascular system
The strength of your heart and lungs will benefit wherever your vascular network goes…which is everywhere (including the brain).

2. It regulates fuel
As you age, the insulin levels start to drop and glucose has a harder time getting into your cells (which puts you at higher risk for diabetes). Exercise will regulate these two hormones and help glucose (the fuel of the body) to get into your cells.

3. It reduces obesity
Body fat not only brings chaos to the body, but it also encourages destruction in the brain. Exercise fights obesity by burning calories and decreasing appetite.

4. It elevates your stress threshold
Your body can learn to deal with high levels of stress through exercise. This will help your body to slow the aging process.

5. It lifts your mood
Studies have shown how keeping a good mood can lower our chances for dementia and depression. Lifting your mood will keep you connected with life by being involved and making friends.

6. It boosts the immune system
Your immune system will naturally start to decline as you age. Exercise will enhance your immune system’s ability to fight foreign invaders (cancer and disease) and heal damaged tissue.

7. It fortifies your bones
Osteoporosis is a serious disease and can be avoided through weight bearing exercise. It is important to have strong bones so you can continue to exercise as you age.

8. It boosts motivation
Exercise will challenge your body and brain. Challenges boost our motivation, which keeps us from falling into a sedentary lifestyle.

9. It fosters neuroplasticity
You can decrease your risk for neurodegenerative diseases by exercising. Exercise will strengthen the connections between your brain cells. Your brain will improve its ability to remember, to learn, to process more complex thoughts, and to handle any damage that comes.


Exercise will boost Quality and Quantity of life. However, it is not exercise alone, it is exercise, diet, and staying mentally active combined. It’s hard to ignore the advice when we have learned so much about the ‘why’ and ‘how’ to improve our quality and quantity of life.

Stay active and treat your body well.

* The information for this post can be found in the book Spark by John J. Ratey, M.D.

FUN FACT FRIDAY

The strongest muscle in the human body (proportionate to size) is the tongue.

If you think about it, you are always using your tongue to eat, to swallow, to talk, etc. That little muscle has definitely got some strength.

A Substitute For Ice Cream

Ice cream is a great treat in the summer heat, but some people prefer not to eat it either because of its nutritional status or its side effects on the body.

Recently, I came across an ‘ice cream’ that is completely dairy free and sweetened with Agave (a low-glycemic sweetener, which is easier to digest than sugar). This ice cream is actually made with coconut milk.

I was so interested in this ‘anti-ice cream’ that I had to try it. I bought the coconut sandwich bars that are each 100 calories. When I tasted it, I couldn’t believe how delicious it was. My husband and I both loved them. They don’t taste exactly like ice cream, but they give a whole new taste to ice cream.
What a perfect ice cream substitute for people who are lactose-intolerant, vegan, or just aren’t big ice cream fans.

This dairy free company is called Turtle Mountain. They make other frozen treats with coconut milk besides the sandwich bars. Be sure to give this treat a try and check out their website (by clicking on ‘Turtle Mountain’) to find stores near you that carry their products.

An Exercise You Will Love – 'Turkish Get Up'

When you learn a new exercise, it can rejuvenate your exercise passion. This exercise, the ‘Turkish Get Up’, is a functional and practical exercise.

The exercise consists of using a weight (a dumbbell) and holding it straight toward the ceiling as you get up and lie back down. Sounds simple…but this one exercise will work and strengthen your whole body.

It’s probably best to start with a weight of 10 to 15lbs. When doing the Turkish Get Up, make sure to fix your eyes upon the dumbbell the entire time. Also, make sure to do the exercise with both the right and left arm.

It is important to perform this exercise correctly. View this video to see the Turkish Get Up step by step. Once you get the hang of this exercise you will love it.

5 Ways To Stay Flu Free

Flu season is rapidly approaching, and now is the time to start taking action to reduce your risk of catching the flu.

The flu is a serious virus that causes serious complications in the body. Below are 5 key tips that will help you stay flu free during the coming season.

1. Always wash your hands – especially after the bathroom, before you eat, and after you cough or blow your nose.

Rub soap between your hands for a good 20 seconds (a good way to know if you have washed your hands long enough is to sing the ABC’s) and rinse your hands in warm water.

2. Cough into a tissue or cough into your elbow instead of your hands. Cover both your nose and mouth when you cough.

3. Don’t rub your eyes, nose, or mouth – this is how germs spread the fastest.

4. Avoid contact with others who are sick with the flu (because it is very contagious).

5. Get vaccinated. Contact your doctor to get a flu shot. The vaccination is usually available around September.

The symptoms for the flu are:
- runny or stuffy nose
- coughing
- sore throat
- body aches and tiredness
- fever (over 100F/38C)
- headache
- vomiting and diarrhea

Having these symptoms doesn’t automatically mean you have the flu. Other illnesses can have the same symptoms… like the common cold.

If you develop these flu-like symptoms, visit your doctor especially if you are at high risk for flu complications (people older than 65, young children, pregnant women, and people with chronic medical conditions).

Fun Fact Friday

Why should you smile today?


Because it takes 17 muscles to smile and 43 muscles to frown.

So you might as well smile…unless you want a face workout.

Why Do Yoga?

Contrary to what people think, yoga goes way beyond just simply stretching. Yoga benefits both the physical and psychological sides of a person.

Your overall wellbeing, from the outside to the core, will be affected when you do yoga. It targets all aspects of health: body, mind, breath, and awareness.

Body: Among many other things, yoga will help increase your balance, strength, and flexibility.

Mind: Yoga’s main focus is to teach you how to attain a calm mind or a mind at peace. Yoga will help relieve your mind of confusion and distress.

Breath: Yoga will help your breathing to become more efficient (by engaging your whole abdomen and diaphragm to breath), which will increase your lung capacity and reduce anxiety.

Awareness: Yoga will help with awareness by connecting the mind and body, making you aware of both. When mind and body start working together, the abilities of both will increase.

“Words fail to convey the total value of yoga. It has to be experienced.” – Prashant S. Lyengar
Yoga benefits people of all ages, personalities, and conditions; so go out and give yoga a try. Try different types of yoga: power yoga, aquatic (water) yoga, vinyasa yoga, etc. “Shop around” and find what type of teacher and form of yoga you enjoy most.

*If you don’t want to go to a class try a video or do some simple yoga poses at home.