The Fitness-Nutrition Connection

Nutritionists and exercise professionals have told us for years that a healthy lifestyle and body weight are the result of both exercise and good nutrition. As the old song goes, “You can’t have one without the other.” Or, at least you won’t reap all the benefits for an optimally healthy life from either one alone.

The nutrition/exercise connection goes far beyond the simplistic “calories in, calories out” equation to measure how many units of energy (calories) your body takes in (nutrition) and how many it expends (physical exertion) to keep metabolism in balance. Aerobic exercise burns calories immediately, but weight training builds essential muscle tissue that burns calories quicker and more efficiently than a sedentary body. Other benefits of combining optimal nutrition and exercise include lowering your risk of getting heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and some cancers.

As we age, we become more resistant to insulin, the trigger that signals the brain to metabolize blood sugar. Middle-aged weight gain can result as our bodies become less efficient at using sugar and our brains are bombarded with increased insulin signaling. A study published in Science Daily (July 20, 2007) recounts experiments on mice that removed two genes in their brains that regulate insulin uptake. Without the genes, the mice with reduced insulin signaling lived 18 percent longer that the normal mice, and retained the metabolic rhythms of youth. While there is no gene-altering magic bullet for humans, the researchers found that the combination of eating smaller meals, which cuts down on insulin signaling, and exercise, which retunes the body’s youthful sensitivity to insulin, results in similar benefits.

New members at LifeCenter Plus receive a complimentary personal fitness assessment with professionals who address their specific needs. A comprehensive fitness program can include he help of LCP’s registered dietician as well as personal trainers, to incorporate nutritional aspects along with the exercise program that can result in dramatic improvements. Elements such as group exercise classes, nutrition seminars and support groups radically increase the rate of successful lifestyle change. You don’t have to go it alone!


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