I came across yet another study done on exercise that I wanted to share (am I overdoing this whole exercise study thing here? Please let me know. But I do find these studies endlessly fascinating)

We all know that physical activity is beneficial in countless ways, but even so, Dr. Mark Tarnopolsky, a professor of pediatrics at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, was startled to discover that exercise kept a strain of mice from becoming gray prematurely.

But shiny fur was the least of its benefits. Indeed, in heartening new research published recently in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, exercise reduced or eliminated almost every detrimental effect of aging in mice that had been genetically programmed to grow old at an accelerated pace.

In the experiment, Dr. Tarnopolsky and his colleagues used lab rodents that carry a genetic mutation affecting how well their bodies repair malfunctioning mitochondria, which are tiny organelles within cells. Mitochondria combine oxygen and nutrients to create fuel for the cells. ( Just to let you know, mitochondria are microscopic power generators. I learn from these studies too)

Mitochrondria have their own DNA, distinct from the cell’s own genetic material, and they multiply on their own. But in the process, mitochondria can accumulate small genetic mutations, which under normal circumstances are corrected by specialized repair systems within the cell. Over time, as we age, the number of mutations begins to outstrip the system’s ability to make repairs, and mitochondria start malfunctioning and dying.

Many scientists consider the loss of healthy mitochondria to be an important underlying cause of aging in mammals. As resident mitochondria falter, the cells they fuel wither or die. Muscles shrink, brain volume drops, hair falls out or loses its pigmentation, and soon enough we are, in appearance and beneath the surface, old.

The mice that Dr. Tarnopolsky and his colleagues used lacked the primary mitochondrial repair mechanism, so they developed malfunctioning mitochondria early in their lives, as early as 3 months of age, the human equivalent of age 20. By the time they reached 8 months, or their early 60s in human terms, the animals were extremely frail and decrepit, with spindly muscles, shrunken brains, enlarged hearts, shriveled gonads and patchy, graying fur. Listless, they barely moved around their cages. All were dead before reaching a year of age.

Except the mice that exercised.

Half of the mice were allowed to run on a wheel for 45 minutes three times a week, beginning at 3 months. These rodent runners were required to maintain a fairly brisk pace, Dr. Tarnopolsky said: “It was about like a person running a 50 or 55 minute 10K.” (A 10K race is 6.2 miles.) The mice continued this regimen for five months.

At 8 months, when their sedentary lab mates were bald, frail and dying, the running rats remained youthful. They had full pelts of dark fur, no salt-and-pepper shadings. They also had maintained almost all of their muscle mass and brain volume. Their gonads were normal, as were their hearts. They could balance on narrow rods, the showoffs.

But perhaps most remarkable, although they still harbored the mutation that should have affected mitochondrial repair, they had more mitochondria over all and far fewer with mutations than the sedentary mice had. At 1 year, none of the exercising mice had died of natural causes. (Some were sacrificed to compare their cellular health to that of the unexercised mice, all of whom were, by that age, dead.)

The researchers were surprised by the magnitude of the impact that exercise had on the animals’ aging process, Dr. Tarnopolsky said. He and his colleagues had expected to find that exercise would affect mitochondrial health in muscles, including the heart, since past research had shown a connection. They had not expected that it would affect every tissue and bodily system studied.

Other studies, including a number from Dr. Tarnopolsky’s own lab,  have also found that exercise affects the course of aging, but none has shown such a comprehensive effect. And precisely how exercise alters the aging process remains unknown. In this experiment, running resulted in an upsurge in the rodents’ production of a protein known as PGC-1alpha, which regulates genes involved in metabolism and energy creation, including mitochondrial function.

Exercise also sparked the repair of malfunctioning mitochondria through a mechanism outside the known repair pathway; in these mutant mice, that pathway didn’t exist, but their mitochondria were nonetheless being repaired.

Dr. Tarnopolsky is currently overseeing a number of experiments that he expects will help to elucidate the specific physiological mechanisms. But for now, he said, the lesson of his experiment and dozens like it is unambiguous. “Exercise alters the course of aging,” he said.

Although in this experiment, the activity was aerobic and strenuous, Dr. Tarnopolsky is not convinced that either is absolutely necessary for benefits. Studies of older humans have shown that weightlifting can improve mitochondrial health, he said, as can moderate endurance exercise. Although there is probably a threshold amount of exercise that is necessary to affect physiological aging, Dr. Tarnopolsky said, “anything is better than nothing.” If you haven’t been active in the past, he continued, start walking five minutes a day, then begin to increase your activity level.

The potential benefits have attractions even for the young. While Dr. Tarnopolsky, a lifelong athlete, noted with satisfaction that active, aged mice kept their hair, his younger graduate students were far more interested in the animals’ robust gonads. Their testicles and ovaries hadn’t shrunk, unlike those of sedentary elderly mice.

Dr. Tarnopolsky’s students were impressed. “I think they all exercise now,” he said.

After reading a study like this, I always think if they could put exercise in a pill form and sell it, the pill would cost a fortune, due to the benefits it offers. But exercise does not cost anything except our time and energy. Not a bad deal!

By Cheryl Roby
There are days that lack oomph! Let’s face it, the fast paced techno dense life can be stressful.

My computer and blackberry conveniently provide information and up to date status that were unheard of even 10 years ago AND they provide a constant stream of messages that say READ ME, PAY ATTENTION TO ME, I AM URGENT!!

When I realize that my state of mind has gotten out of balance and I am paying more attention to the imagined urgency than to the gift of instant information and connection, my work with stress management and inquiry help bring me back into balance.

As a Reiki Master and student of conscious living I have come to understand that my work first and foremost is to be kind and peaceful in this world. If I am anxious or angry or impatient (substitute any emotions other than peace, love and kindness that resonate with you) I am adding to the energy of war. There is a war going on inside me that affects not only me but everyone I come in contact with and the collective conscious. Our energies are all connected. Our thoughts are powerful beyond what most of us can imagine.

So, before I try to fix what’s out there, I refocus on what is inside; using the tools of inquiry, breath, positive affirmation and others to regain peace.

Cheryl Roby’s website is www.rockyourchakras.com and www.robychart.com

Click here to view the embedded video.

“The Twist” Yoga Position from oomphTV on Vimeo.

Upper Body Strength Exercises from oomphTV on Vimeo.

I have always been fascinated by what makes us all happy. After all isn’t that one of the big brass ring’s in life we all strive for? If someone walked up to you and gave you a million dollars or 10 million dollars would that make you truly happy? I’m sure for a certain period of time the answer would be yes, but I’m talking about real happiness for the long run.

I have in fact met millionaires that are miserable and a few that do seem happy and satisfied. Yes, money can make us all happy and I don’t want to discard the big buck, but I’m talking long term deep down happiness and satisfaction with life and living. And that’s what interest’s me. Lets take a look at what the scientists have to say.

A study published online Monday by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences provides evidence on what makes us happy.

Researchers from Australia, the Netherlands and Germany scoured data from thousands of German adults who were tracked for a quarter-century, from 1984 to 2008. Each year, they answered questions about their families, their careers, their health, their social activities and their “life satisfaction.”

Based on all this data, the researchers concluded that these things (in no particular order) contribute to happiness:
• Having an emotionally stable spouse
• Prioritizing altruistic goals like “helping other people” and “being involved in social and political activities”
• Prioritizing family (and, for women, having a spouse who prioritizes family goals is an added bonus)
• Having an active social life
• Regular exercise

And these things detract from happiness:
• Having a neurotic spouse
• Prioritizing “success and material goods”
• Working much more or much less than you’d ideally like (though being unemployed or underemployed is worse than being overworked)
• For men, being underweight
• For women, being obese
Here’s how the researchers summed up their findings: “Results showing that long-term happiness can be substantially affected by individual choices are good news, not only for economists but also for governments and humankind.”

There you go. A quick snapshot of what makes us happy. What about you? What makes you happy? I would like to know.

“The Bridge” Yoga Position from oomphTV on Vimeo.

Lower Body Strength Exercises from oomphTV.

My own blood pressure went up over the summer so I have been keeping an eye on the numbers every week. My increase in exercise and eating better I believe have again made a difference. ( My very first blog post was called “Biking my Weight Off” about losing weight to help decrease my blood pressure ) The last two weeks I have recorded normal numbers. Today I checked with 120/75. Earlier in the summer it got high as 150/98. I don’t know why my numbers got so high, but I plan to continue to keep careful watch.

As we all know, high blood pressure can lead to heart disease and that is very serious indeed.  Cancer gets a great deal of press (for good reason) , but the facts are heart disease is the number 1 killer in America. So doing everything I can to keep my numbers normal is a big priority. As a result, I have been reading a great deal on what can keep blood pressure numbers normal.

Most recently, I read about two new studies, in Orlando Sentinel, about how the low-sugar fruit of blueberries may help folks at risk of  high blood pressure. I want to share this information with you. I wrote another blog post about blueberries called “Another Reason to Love Blueberries”

A team of researchers at Oklahoma State University recently found that consuming  blueberries every day  can help reduce some heart risk factors, such as high blood pressure. Published in the Journal of Nutrition, the study researchers wondered weather eating blueberries, which are very high in dietary antioxidants, would help patients with metabolic syndrome  who were at risk of hypertension

Arpita Basu, an Oklahoma State University nutritional sciences professor and lead author of a study published in the Journal of Nutrition, found a seven- to eight-point drop in the systolic blood pressure of 66 pre-hypertensive men and women who included a blueberry drink in their diet once a day for eight weeks.

The participants in the study were a group of 66 men and women with pre-hypertension, meaning their blood pressure was elevated.  “They were above normal, but not quite at the stage of being diagnosed with hypertension,” said Arpita Basu, an OSU nutritional sciences professor and the lead author.

In the eight-week study, one group of patients drank a beverage made from two cups of blended frozen blueberries once a day — and continued to eat a normal diet. Another group of patients drank an equivalent amount of fluids and ate their standard diet.

After eight weeks, Basu said, researchers saw a seven- to eight-point drop in the systolic blood pressure of patients who had been drinking the blueberry beverage. Additionally, the patients received the benefits of antioxidants in the berries, as well, she said. Basu said consuming one or two servings of blueberries per day can help both pre-hypertensive and hypertensive patients get control of their glucose levels.

This is early research to be sure, but I plan to include even more blueberries into my own lifestyle. Thank God I love to eat them!

The Green Buddha from oomphTV on Vimeo.