People like you always tell us to exercise as it can help us live a healthier and longer life. Is being fit really important or is it ego? What if I just eat well?
“People like you” is the most hostile way to start a sentence. “Othering” is common in SA today, as it is around the world. My goodness, we’ve just been thrust into the identity politics of exercise.
Well, in that case I must say you are impressively woke in your understanding about diet being entwined with health. If you changed nothing and genuinely “fixed” your diet, as in a real lifestyle change, you’d probably become healthier than you’ve ever been. But that means actually walking the talk, and not talking for attention while stashing Krispy Kreme doughnuts in the back of the fridge.
Exercise and health — one could argue the link is obvious yet people ignore it. By way of analogy: Johannesburg is falling apart and those in charge are ignoring the evidence that they will be voted out for good. That link is in plain sight, yet ignored. Last night, driving along Beyers Naudé, I found myself trying to avoid drunk pedestrians I could barely see because no street lights were working. The traffic lights at the highway never work.
Stopping at a red light is voluntary in a lawless society, but with all the traffic lights out of order it becomes a game of Gauteng Roulette. Terrifying.
Trips and breaks result in power cuts all the time and water emerging from the tap every morning is a moment to thank God for small mercies. I ride a bike — try it. If you make it out unscathed, just enjoy the rich aroma of raw sewage while cruising on the N1 early on a Sunday morning.
The rot is obvious. Yet, while those who run the city and the province enjoy their Game of Thrones cosplay, they tend to forget what happened in the elections in May. The three parties that were hammered the worst in the last elections are dominating the headlines in the province once more. Voters don’t forget. Denial or no denial.
Perhaps, like career politicians, you need more evidence. Other than telling you about reduced blood pressure, a lowered risk of heart disease and all the “typical” things “people like us” tell you about exercise, let’s uncover some deeper evidence about exercise’s effects on a molecular level so that even in your righteousness it will be hard to ignore.
The findings of a study on rats by a team of scientists from across the US and published in Nature in May found that physical activity — exercise — causes many, not just one, changes in all 19 of the organs they studied in the rodents.
In an article published in Medical Press by the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, the authors write: “In all, the teams performed nearly 10,000 assays to make about 15-million measurements on blood and solid tissues. They found that exercise impacted thousands of molecules, with the most extreme changes in the adrenal gland, which produces hormones that regulate many important processes such as immunity, metabolism and blood pressure.”
They noted that female immune signalling molecules related to immune response showed positive changes within one to two weeks of training, whereas male rats needed four to eight weeks.
Commenting on a host of molecular adaptations, the authors write: “These changes could help the liver become less fatty and less prone to disease with exercise, and could give researchers a target for future treatments of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Even though the liver is not directly involved in exercise, it still undergoes changes that could improve health.”
There were just too many findings to cover here. They’ve published them all in an open-resource repository for other scientists, if you’re interested. No, “people like me” are not rats, but it would be exceedingly naive to ignore that findings in these little mammals have shaped our understanding of medicine and our bodies. It’s important.
Do yourself a favour. Believe the evidence. Being fit, as you call it, has dozens of benefits, while exercise changes our bodies at a cellular level. Add a healthy eating plan and you’ll stack the odds in your favour. I’d take that gamble.
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