Do you want to stay young or look and feel younger? The key to longevity is movement! Movement is important, your life depends on it, according to an article written by Dr. Joel Fuhrman MD. The reason for exercise goes beyond expending a few calories. Unless of course, you are a professional athlete. Research evidence has emerged in the past few years and it shows that in addition to reducing the risk of chronic disease, moderate to vigorous exercise may also slow the aging process at the DNA level.
What are the latest research findings? One area of this research centers on telomeres. Telomeres are the tips or caps at the ends of our chromosomes and are sequences of non-coding DNA. The telomeres communicate with the mitochondria to reproduce cells. If the cell does not reproduce exactly it begins to chip away and real aging occurs.
The key to staying young is not your brain, your heart, your lungs is it you muscles! Why? Your muscles hold over 90% of the body's mitochondria. Mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cells. They help turn the energy we take from food into energy that the cell can use. Mitochondria also keeps us looking and feeling young—and muscle cells contain more mitochondria than any other part of our body. If we can keep our mitochondrian fires burning, our muscles—not to mention our bones ..slowing down the aging process can keep our bodies young, attractive, strong and healthy.
Telomeres and Mitochondria play a critical role in human health.
Shorter telomeres are linked to hypertension cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance, type two diabetes, osteoporosis, oxidative stress, and obesity. Lower levels of physical activity contribute to these conditions, and maintenance of telomere length and mitochondria health may be one link between exercise, disease prevention and longevity.
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