Exercise The single most preventive “medicine” you could take.
Dean Ornish conducted the Lifestyles Heart Trial in the late 1980s successfully demonstrating that a program of very low fat diet, exercise and meditation could actually cause plaques in coronary arteries to shrink. Although it’s tempting to think that the low fat diet did the work of shrinking the plaques, one cannot make that assumption from the study.
Exercise and meditation have both been demonstrated to reduce the body’s production of stress hormones known as gluco-corticoids (cortisol for short). These hormones can raise blood sugars, shut down fat metabolism in the abdominal fat, and promote obesity.
Although beyond the scope of this website, it is important to add whatever exercise is feasible to your daily life. Brisk walking immediately after a meal reduces the absorption of calories. More vigorous exercise has HUGE benefits to body including dramatically reducing the risk of heart disease, cancer, and dementia.
But a controversy rages as to how much running is good for you? Is there a limit after which you gain no more benefits to health:
Run for your life! At a comfortable pace, and not too far…
Here is a link to Dr. James O’keefe’s discussion of endurance exercise. “The fitness patterns for conferring longevity and robust lifelong cardiovascular health are distinctly different from the patterns that develop peak performance and marathon/superhuman endurance. Extreme endurance training and racing can take a toll on your long-term cardiovascular health. For the daily workout, it may be best to have more fun endure less suffering in order to attain ideal heart health.” The peak benefit from exercise occurs running 2 or 3 times a week for 2 to 3 miles in combination with one or two sessions of weight lifting type exercise. Walking, gardening, are great and not limited.
American Heart Association recommendations:
For Overall Cardiovascular Health:
- At least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity at least 5 days per week for a total of 150OR
- At least 25 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity at least 3 days per week for a total of 75 minutes; or a combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity aerobic activityAND
- Moderate- to high-intensity muscle-strengthening activity at least 2 days per week for additional health benefits.
From a strong marathon supporter:
According to marathon runner and preventive cardiologist, Paul Thompson (chief of cardiology at Hartford Hospital) “Exercise is the fountain of youth, or at least as close as we’re going to come to it. Of all the things you can do to keep yourself young, exercise is probably the best option. Listen, I’m not saying it’s a panacea. I’m not going to make any crazy claims. I’m a doctor. I’m a card-carrying member of the American College of Cardiology. But what else is going to help you maintain your heart and lung health, get stronger, stay flexible, and stay in shape to enjoy all your favorite activities? I’m no expert when it comes to telomere research, but the animal studies all show that exercise helps you keep your telomeres longer for longer. And longer telomeres are a sign of youth.” (quote from Runner’s World 1/18/11)
The Five Tibetan Rites are a daily meditative exercise with excellent combination of physical exercise and meditative practice:
Meditation
Meditation has been practiced for thousands of years. The first physician to publish a trial supporting the beneficial effects of meditation was Herbert Benson, MD. He published a small book called the Relaxation Response. This technique remains in use today and is championed by the folks at the Bensen-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. There are many forms of “meditation” including seated (Zen) meditation, walking meditation, TM (Transcendental Meditation) and prayer. Martial arts such as Tai Chi and many forms of yoga combine to focus on movement and balance with a clearing of the mind. Classes, videos, and certain therapists can teach you simple techniques to become comfortable with meditation.
Smartphone apps which guide you through simple meditations are available in the app stores:
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Stress Free with Deepak Chopra by bLife, Inc.
- Stress Free with Andrew Johnson
- The Mindfulness App by MindApps
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Yoga Studio by Modern Lotus (physical meditation for many)
Find a discussion of mindfulness apps here
Numerous YouTube videos will assist you in guided meditations.
Here is compilation of many online resources for meditation and mindfulness.
Here are some examples of professional therapists who have created these videos (free):
Guided Meditation for Detachment From Over-Thinking (Anxiety / OCD / Depression) by Michael Sealey is a nice general meditation for helping let go of obsessive thoughts. He has a number of these on YouTube.
Michael Achey, MD 