Top 20 Benefits of Exercise

1. Elevates your metabolism so that you burn more calories everyday.

2. Increases your aerobic capacity (fitness level). This gives you the ability to go through your day with less relative energy expenditure. This enables a "fit" person to have more energy at the end of the day and to get more accomplished during the day with less fatigue.

3. Maintains, tones, and strengthens your muscle. Exercise also increases your muscular endurance.

4. Decreases your blood pressure.

5. Increases the oxidation (breakdown and use) of fat.

6. Increases HDL (good) cholesterol.

7. Makes the heart a more efficient pump by increasing stroke volume.

8. Increases hemoglobin concentration in your blood. Hemoglobin is part of the red blood cell that carries oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body.

9. Decreases the tendency of the blood to clot in the blood vessels. This is important because small clots traveling in the blood are often the cause of heart attacks and strokes.

10. Increases the strength of the bones.

11. Causes the development of new blood vessels in the heart and other muscles.

12. Enlarges the arteries that supply blood to the heart.

13. Decreases blood levels of triglycerides (fat).

14. Improves control of blood sugar.

15. Improves sleep patterns.

16. Increases the efficiency of the digestive system which may reduce the incidence of colon cancer.

17. Increases the thickness of cartilage in joints which has a protective effect on the joints.

18. Decreases a woman's risk of developing endometriosis by 50%.

19. Increases the amount of blood that flows to the skin making it look and feel healthier.

20. Exercise, in addition to all the physiological and anatomical benefits, just makes you feel GREAT!

Author and exercise Physiologist, Greg Landry, offers free weight loss success stories and articles, and unique weight loss programs at his site.. http://www.greglandryfitness.com
Thank You Greg Landry!

A Chinese herb called danshen could one day be the foundation of a new treatment for high blood pressure, scientists say.

In a new study, researchers report that an active ingredient in the herb reduces hypertension in hamsters and appears to work by widening blood vessels.

"Traditionally, we knew this was working for high blood pressure, but we didn't know what the mechanism was," said study author David D. Kim, an assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Physiology at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.

The roots of danshen, a kind of sage, are used as medicine in Chinese culture. The herb is used to treat heart problems and high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, a condition that affects an estimated 50 million Americans, according to background information for the study.

Kim, a licensed acupuncturist, said he prescribes the herb to his own patients with high blood pressure. "It works very well, especially with a person who has hypertension with atherosclerosis and angina."

In the study, Kim and his colleagues gave the active ingredient of danshen -- tanshinone IIA -- to hamsters with high blood pressure. The researchers found that the ingredient significantly reduced blood pressure in the hamsters and also widened blood vessels. The ingredient appears to work by boosting the body's production of nitric oxide.

The research could lay the groundwork for future investigations of danshen's potential as a hypertension drug. There are plenty of drugs on the market currently, Kim said, but each has significant side effects.

The researchers reported their findings in an upcoming issue of the American Journal of Physiology -- Heart and Circulatory Physiology.

Much work into danshen's therapeutic role remains to be done, however, said Lixing Lao, an associate professor of family and community medicine at the University of Maryland and co-president of the Society for Acupuncture Research.

"More research on drug toxicity and adverse effects will be needed to evaluate the safety of this remedy," said Lao, who suggested it should be used with caution by people who are on blood thinners.

As for the next step, Kim said he's interested in understanding how long the effects of danshen last after people stop taking it.

"People ask about the difference between Oriental and Western medicine: In Western medicine, [a treatment] works fast but doesn't last long. In Oriental medicine, it works slowly, but it lasts," he said.

Chinese Herb May Lower High Blood Pressure