I.M.120 Helping you to BE YOUR BEST SELF

Happy Patriots' Day!

On the day when tens of thousands ran the Boston Marathon, my thoughts turn to the impact of exercise on our longevity and our health in general.

Being Americans, we naturally think that if a little is good, more is better. This seems to be the prevailing wisdom regarding exercise. Why exercise when you can "shred?"  Why should you pursue moderate exercise when you should "go hard, or go home?"  It turns out that the ancient Greek axiom of moderation in everything may hold true for exercise as well.

A study published in the Mayo Clinic proceedings from 2014 examined the effect of increasing exercise on mortality in individuals who had already suffered a heart attack.

They found that in runners there was a steady decrease it all cause mortality as they increased there exercise level up to 30 miles per week. That factors out to about 4 miles per day, or approximately 30 to 40 minutes of running per day depending on your pace.

The interesting detail was that individuals who exceeded that level of exercise actually had an increased mortality rate compared to those who were at the lowest level of exercise intensity. Simply put, you are better off doing gentle walking for 30 minutes per day, then running intensely for 5 miles or more per day, when it comes to your risk of death.

It should be noted however that even the intense runners had decrease mortality compared to the sedentary individuals. Therefore, if you're keeping statistics at home it look something like this; greatest risk of death = sedentary, next greatest risk = intense exercises. Best outcome - 4 miles per day.

Of course, as always, in the grand scheme of things the risk of death in all categories of exercise is 100%. Knowing this ultimate fact leads us to conclude that you should pursue the thing that most fits your life. I haven't done the math on this one, but I wonder what the time effect is if somebody doesn't exercise at all versus somebody who exercises 30 minutes 7 days a week, if at the end of a 20 year lifespan the amount of time spent exercising equals the amount of extra life one would have gained. In other words, the extended life you get may be spent pretty much running. I suppose that's a good thing if you enjoy the actual act of running. Seeing as I don't really like to run, I'm hoping that my supplements are enough to mitigate my lack of aerobic vigor. For those of you who have an inclination to do some running, I hope this article and these thoughts give some parameters to guide you.

To your best health,

Dr. Steve