HITS and MYTHS
Information is one of the most valued commodities today. As the Global Village shrinks, the internet, social media, and continually improving technologies combine to offer anyone mountains of information, a Babel of conflicting claims, threatening to bury the enquiring mind under the crushing weight of information-overload. There’s too much information. Our real need is to distinguish, to select, to choose relevant information that will contribute to good health, fitness and wellness. Scientifically scrutinised propositions and theories, properly tested by using empirical, measureable data, collected from experiments to prove hypotheses, is what we should rely on, to reinforce the choices we make. Hearsay is rubbish, no matter how many may subscribe to a new fad. Everyone and his mates have ideas about diet, exercise routines and life-habits. Beware of the gym Ignoranus, that person who is both stupid and an asshole! Instead, what we all could use is some authority which will sensibly validate at least some of the weird notions drifting through the web. I’m not laying claim to that role, but, by scrutinising some of the mass of material in circulation, doggedly relying on enough rigorous scientific publications, to see if they support claims, I’m going to list some of the facts that seem to me to be legitimate, and thus provide advice worth following, in that quest for ultimate wellness:
Evidence reveals that regular aerobic and muscle-resistance exercise increases your stamina, develops and strengthens your muscles and improves flexibility, increasing the range of joint movement. Exercise also increases bone-density; it helps to prevent the conditions that lead to coronary diseases. It will aid in controlling hypertension and helps lower blood pressure, while assisting to resist mature-onset non-insulin dependent diabetes. Exercise facilitates the management of weight gain, reducing obesity and unnecessary body fat; it will ameliorate the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis; it mitigates anxiety and depression, to help cope with stress; it will reinforce a sense of self-esteem and confidence, which grow from a perception of an improved body-image. It is never too late to begin exercising. The health benefits apply to all ages.
Current research confirms all the following:
Exercise substantially reduces the risk of developing 13 different varieties of cancer (not melanoma, as more exercisers tend to be outdoors, exposed to the sun). Strength training helps older adults live longer. No pain, no gain? NO! Discomfort, YES, Pain, NO. Pain is a sign of potential damage to muscle, joint or connective tissue. Discomfort shows you have gone positively beyond the comfort zone, to stimulate growth. The more you move, the longer you last. Walking isn’t good exercise? No. This warrants repeating. Walking is the cheapest, most effective activity that can engage people of all ages. It improves cardiovascular fitness, helps control cholesterol levels and blood pressure, helps fight obesity, diabetes, and protects against depression and dementia. It can be done any time, it doesn’t stress joints; it burns calories and can get you outdoors into fresh air and sunlight. Heavy is not better. Full movements across joints, with lighter weights, stimulate fuller muscle growth. Muscle ache after strenuous exercise is not caused by lactic acid retention in muscles. It’s caused by microscopic tears in the muscle, causing inflammation and soreness. Muscle repair follows this necessary breakdown, leading to stronger and bigger muscle. You have to be religious and flexible to do Yoga? NO. Yoga is a form of exercise for everyone, and you don’t have to be flexible to participate. You do it to become stronger and more flexible.
Research also supports the findings that:
Low dosage daily aspirin reduces cancer deaths and improves survival in significant numbers. The Mediterranean diet is linked to lower risk of heart attacks and strokes in heart patients. Fasting does not ‘cleanse’ the systems. Kidneys and livers cleanse the systems, with the help of fibre-rich foods. Carbs don’t make you fat. Refined carbs make you fat. Whatever the Banting brigade may bay, 45%-65% of our diet should come from complex carbohydrates sources. Sweet potatoes are not necessarily better than white potatoes. Both contain good nutrients, plus vitamins. The orange, sweet variety have more Vit C, but the white contains more potassium and magnesium; both are similar in fibre and Vit B6. Healthy food is not expensive. Medical bills are expensive. Fat-free and sugar-free doesn’t mean that foods are calorie-free. Yes. You should cut down radically on sugar-sweetened drinks. On all sugar intake. Coffee neither increases nor decreases the risk of life-style diseases, such as obesity and diabetes. Yes. You do need exposure to the South African sun if you want your vitamin D levels to be functional. Yes. The average male’s penis is twice the length of his thumb. Yes. Potassium is the best mineral to keep your blood pressure under control (4700 milligrams daily). No. Taking a HGH supplement can’t reverse the effects of ageing. No. Men don’t go through menopause, like women. They age and testosterone levels drop slowly, and there may be weight gain, loss of energy and less interest shown in sex.
And, while you’re busy checking your thumbs, remember the great Mohamed Ali’s words, “If they can make penicillin out of mouldy bread, they sure can make something of you!”