It’s common for your doctor to tell you that you should get more exercise when you go in for your regular physical, but do you know just why exercise is so important? Yes, it keeps your body at a healthy weight, keeps your blood pressure down, and it makes you feel better mentally, but exercise does a lot more than this, especially when it comes to preventing things like dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. When we exercise, one of the waste products of the glucose metabolism that occurs is called lactate. This is typically seen as a bad thing by athletes as it is the cause of that heavy, drained feeling that you get in your limbs after a tough workout or a long run. But lactate is a good thing when it comes to our mental health. Research shows that lactate protects neurons (brain cells) from further injury after someone has experienced a traumatic event, such as a stroke.
Researchers have suspected that this was the case for a long time, but never had concrete evidence until recently. A study was done on mice where glutamate toxins were introduced to the brain. 65 percent of cells died when this was done, but when lactate was introduced, the number dropped down to 32 percent–more than half the number. This study could be a huge breakthrough when it comes to understanding neuroprotection, and because our bodies produce lactate naturally when we exercise, it is a very easy one to replicate in humans. If you hadn’t been convinced that even light exercise can be beneficial, here is one more convincing piece of evidence that you should get started.
The elderly are far more likely to suffer a stroke, cardiovascular disease, or suffer from dementia than younger people are, simply because they’ve had longer lives and have become more susceptible to these things over time. If exercise is already a part of your lifestyle, the odds of one of these things happening to you is far less, but many senior citizens do not exercise. The good news is that it is never too late to reap the benefits of starting. Lactate can be produced almost immediately by the body, and having it present in higher quantities starts protecting cells at a minimal level shortly after. This might not prevent health problems in everybody, but there’s a strong likelihood that it can protect many people. In some cases, it can keep us or our elderly loved ones away from the need for senior cares such as assisted living, nursing homes, or in-home care. This is a good thing when it comes to quality of life and independence, and it will save money and stress over the long run, too.
Always check with your doctor before you begin exercising. They will recommend safe ways to help you get started and guide you as you start living a healthier life. This is smart to do even if you are in otherwise good health just because you do not want to accidentally do something that hurts your health, when the whole point of exercise for some is to live a better life.
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