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Aerobic Fitness Could Delay Aging By Up To 12 Years

Contrary to what Jane Fonda may have us believe, aerobic exercise is not defined as “that which requires a tight leotard and leg warmers. “Aerobic” is all about oxygen, and aerobic exercise is the kind that requires oxygen for energy. The sad thing about getting old is that our aerobic power starts to fall steadily once we hit middle aged. This latest study shows that regular aerobic exercise can slow the decline, and sometimes even reverse it. It just goes to show that you’re never too old to jazzercise!

Read Maintaining Aerobic Fitness Could Delay Biological Aging By Up To 12 Years

Washing Fruit and Veg Won’t Necessarily Make Them Clean

The American Chemical Society showed that water and disinfectants are no match for some bacteria that make their way into the leaves of lettuce, spinach, and other innocent fruit and vegetables. The FDA suggests irradiation. Great. Yet another synthetic process to add to the synthetic fertilisers they spray on our genetically modified food. Would you like E. Coli with that?

Read Dr. Mom Was Right — And Wrong — About Washing Fruits And Vegetables

Smile and Say Moo: Farm Animals a Key to Mental Health?

Norway’s mountainous geography may not be conducive for farmland, but that doesn’t mean farm animals don’t have their place among the downtrodden and weary. Researchers at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences asked 90 patients with various mental disorders to complete quality of life questionaires before and after a 12-week period spent on the farm. The results showed that animal-assisted-therapy with farm animals has positive effects on self-efficacy, the ability to cope, and general quality of life. “During the six months follow-up period self-efficacy was significantly better in the treatment group, but not in the control group,” the researchers say.

Read Mental Health Cultivated On The Farm

As mentioned, I have a mild cold. I’m supposed to go to my swim lesson tonight, and I really don’t want to skip it because I already missed last week. Seeking answers, I typed my query on the Goog. Here’s what exercise physiologist Elizabeth Quinn reckons:

The average adult has two to three upper respiratory infections each year. Many athletes wonder if they should continue their training routine when sick. While research is limited, most experts recommend that if your symptoms are above the neck and you have no fever, exercise is probably safe. Intensive exercise should be postponed until a few days after the symptoms have gone away. However, if there are symptoms or signs of the flu, such as fever, extreme tiredness, muscle aches, swollen lymph glands, then at least two weeks should probably be allowed before you resume intensive training.

A small study conducted by Thomas G. Weidner at Ball State University backs up her claim. Researchers infected a group of volunteers with a rhinovirus and divided them into two groups: exercising and non-exercising. The exercising group trained at 70% of their measured heart rate for 40 minutes a day.

At the conclusion of the study, analysis of exercise training data, physical activity profiles, symptom severity scores and actual mucous weight measurement showed no statistically significant difference between the exercising and non-exercising groups.

The authors reiterated a useful model for exercising during a cold. If symptoms such as a runny nose, sneezing or a scratchy throat exist (so-called “above-the-neck” symptoms), it is probably safe for an individual to exercise at a lower intensity. If these symptoms recede in the first few minutes of exercise, intensity may be increased accordingly. Exercise is not, however, recommended for individuals experiencing “below-the-neck” symptoms of a cold, such as fever, sore muscles or joints, vomiting or diarrhea, or a productive cough.

I’ll see if I can back up Thomas and Elizabeth’s claims after my swim tonight. I’ve exercised on a cold in the past but this always seemed to make it worse, but it’s quite likely I pushed myself too hard. In fact, I took two very leisurely turns around Clissold Park this morning and it felt terrific; it cleared up my nose and, well, I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day.

My swim is from 7:30-8:15. I am going to have a light meal at 5ish, and then something small after my swim, following which I am going to crawl into bed and try to sleep for a very long time.

Link to Should I exercise with a cold? at About.com
Link to Can you still exercise even with a runny nose? at BlueSuitMom.com