Andrea Bocelli’s Con Te Partiro fills the room. The clock rings 5:00 am - time to get up and
hit the gym before heading to the office.
My fiancé and I have a morning ritual that can still be a struggle to initiate,
especially when the frigid cold of winter penetrates the house. Coming up with new ideas to keep myself
interested in my workouts is challenging but I know, in the end, I am
exercising to maintain my health. In
fact, I have become so in tune with exercise that I am officially one of those
active people who try to take the stairs or walk further than needed more often
than not. I even stand at my desk most
days with my head popping up over the cubicle walls, enduring the quizzical and judgmental looks from people walking by.
It’s not just my morning hard core workouts that will keep me healthy;
moving as often as possible throughout each and every day is where the true
health benefits shine.
We are a sedentary society. We get into our cars (or, if we
are more economical, catch the nearest bus), find the closest parking spot (or
bus stop), walk to our desk, and plunk ourselves down for 8+ hours. We rarely get out of our seats, except to
grab endless cups of coffee and attend to the inevitable bladder issues that
arise from such quantities of fluid. Now
we hear that this sedentary lifestyle is leading to an increase in heart
disease, Type 2 diabetes, cancer and dementia.
Monthly reminders to walk more and sit less creep into magazines and
online health forums. Companies promote
walking challenges, reminding staff to hit 10,000 steps each day in an effort
to reduce sick days and promote overall wellness in the office.
Sitting is apparently killing us yet most people continue to
avoid walking. Where is the
disconnect? You would think being told
your chances of major illnesses are huge the more you avoid standing and
moving, but this scare tactic is still not working. There has to be a reason people continue to
ignore the now-familiar advice to accomplish their daily 10,000 steps. While they have good intentions, the doctors
and health advocates who preach that moving more will save our health simply
miss some vital information that really helps people understand the ‘why’
behind these endorsements.
Why should moving more help reduce our risk of major
disease? Well, the reason for moving
more boils down to toxic build up and how our bodies cleanse themselves. The body systems that aid in elimination and
detoxification – namely, the liver, the circulatory system, and the lymphatic
system – rely heavily on exercise and skeletal movement to move debris, toxins
and other nasty particles out of the body.
The lymphatic system (also known as our immune system) destroys and
flushes out the bacteria, viruses, toxins and various chemicals to which our
bodies are exposed. Lymphatic fluid can only circulate by skeletal movement so
the less the body moves the more toxins sit stagnant. Think of the lymphatic
system as the garbage collector; if the system is functioning, garbage in will
be processed and removed, but if the process stops, garbage just keeps piling
on until it overflows, taking out the poor workers who just can’t keep up with
its removal!
A toxic body is a sick body.
Toxins are in the air we breathe, the foods we eat, the cosmetics we
apply, and the water we drink. Toxins do
not play nicely with our delicate genetic makeup and our organs can only handle
so many toxins before they begin to fail.
And fail they do. It is not a
surprise that diseases in sedentary people are on the rise because not only
does this type of lifestyle impede detoxification, many of these people feel
they are too busy to take the time to find healthy meal options, choosing
instead more convenient, processed foods.
Our bodies are in a constant battle to fight against the toxins they
naturally produce, like free radicals in energy production, and against the
toxins we willingly, and abundantly, expose ourselves to each day.
We also put a huge load on our livers, the body’s major
detoxification organ, and it is in the liver where ingested and inhaled toxins
first come for neutralization and removal.
An overburdened liver causes weak immunity (inflammation - the
beginnings of disease) and blood sugar imbalances (Type 2 diabetes); any free
radicals the liver cannot neutralize will enter the bloodstream and cause
damage to other cells, tissues and organs (dementia, cancers). Free radical damage affects the arteries and leads
to atherosclerosis, a condition where arteries become constricted with excess
cells, cholesterol and debris, reducing blood flow to critical organs, such as
the heart and brain. The more toxins are
circulated in the body, the more impeded the immune system’s ability to remove
debris, mutated cells and other bad guys.
The more frequently you move the more enhanced your skeletal
muscles’ assistance in circulating disease-fighting lymphatic fluid. Increasing the flow of lymphatic fluid helps
move the toxins it carries towards the elimination organs. Lack of exercise also slows down your
cardiovascular system and its circulatory process, which is vital to the elimination
of built-up cholesterol that can cause heart disease. Weight gained from sitting too much and not
moving enough can also mess up your body’s hormonal system, leading to heart
disease and Type 2 diabetes.
