Forever Young Journey Trilogy – Article 9

How To Manage Your Immune System by Moving All Day!

Introduction

This is the third and last of our Forever Young Journey Trilogy of articles and videos. The first was called “Sometimes the so called “SCIENCE” is B#LL*CKS!”, and our key message was to make sure you have access to accurate, reliable, science based information you can trust so you can make good decisions about your health and develop an active, healthy, sustainable lifestyle and achieve your goals and dreams. You can find that article/video here.

The second was called “How To Decrease Your Risk If You Get C***d” and our key message was that you have the power to protect yourself against chronic diseases and by doing so reduce your risk from the impact of C***d, if you catch it. You can find that article/video here.

You Can Manage Your Immune System

While human life expectancy has increased very significantly over the past century, our immune system has found it difficult to keep pace. Given that the average human, in the western world, can now expect to live well into their 80’s, unless you proactively manage your immune system, it still thinks it’s living in the dark ages where a live expectancy of 30 or at best 40 was the norm.

So it’s hardly a coincidence that so many of us begin to develop chronic diseases in our late 30’s and early 40’s. But that’s the bad news out of the way! The good, or even great news, is that you can proactively manage these diseases and get off the “slippery slope” by protecting your immune system, if you want to.

Defining Physical Activity

As physical activity can mean many different things, we’re going to define what we mean by it right here. Very simply, physical activity includes all exercise and moving that you do, during the day.

Planned physical activity [exercise] is usually arranged for a particular time such as going for a walk, or a run or a bike ride, maybe 3/4 times a week. Unplanned physical activity is everything else; all the moving you do from the time you get up to the time you go to bed, excluding your planned exercise.

Compelling Benefits of Physical Activity

There is compelling evidence that physical activity plays a key role with important benefits to our immune system and metabolically it has direct anti-inflammatory effects. We also know that the immune system is very responsive to both the amount and intensity of your physical activity.

Research is ongoing but there’s increasing evidence that there is a circulation surge in the cells of our innate immune system every time you exercise and the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effect of this physical activity has a cumulative effect over time in modulating chronic diseases such as cancer, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Key Message: You have to be physically active and that includes both planned and unplanned exercise. If you are a couch potato, understand that moving throughout the day is equally important as your planned exercise.

Key Actions: Decide to take action today and be physically active, both planned and unplanned. Look out for our first podcast and Q&A tomorrow, continue your Forever Young Journey and look out for our 30 Day Moving Challenge coming shortly.