Author: noorali

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What are the fundamentals of regular exercise?

Exercise regularly or perish like a vegetable.

-Author Unknown

We need to exercise regularly to maintain tone in our muscles. If you do not use certain muscles on a regular basis then the muscles start to waste, become thin and weak. An immobilized muscle starts to lose tone within 24 hours. And it gets progressively worse. Our body was designed to keep moving. That is why we have muscles and joints. Lack of physical activity makes our muscles weak and joints stiff.

There are there are three types of muscles in the human body: cardiac, smooth and skeletal muscles.

Cardiac (heart) muscle is a very strong muscle because it has to pump blood forcefully to all parts of the body. The heart muscle needs regular exercise to keep it strong and make it stronger. In a physically fit person the resting heart rate goes down because a healthy strong heart has to work less to pump the blood to rest of the body.

Heart muscle is the hardest working muscle in the body. It pumps out 2 ounces (71 grams) of blood at every heartbeat. Every day, the heart pumps at least 2,500 gallons (9,450 liters) of blood. The heart has the ability to beat over 3 billion times in a person’s life. That is one more reason to keep the heart healthy and strong.

Smooth muscles make up the walls of the intestine, the uterus, blood vessels, and internal muscles of the eye. These muscles are under the control of autonomic nervous system and their strength is not dependent on exercise.

Skeletal muscles, in most parts, are attached to the bones. There are about 650 to 850 muscles in our skeletal system – these are the muscles responsible for most of our daily activities. Contraction and relaxation of the skeletal muscles helps limbs, joints and other body parts to move. Like the heart muscle, skeletal muscles require regular exercise to make them strong and keep them strong.

Each muscle or group of muscles performs specific activity. The size and strength of the muscles depend on the kind of activity they do. Strongest muscles in our body are masseter (muscles of mastication), gluteus maximus (muscles of the buttocks) and quadriceps femoris (muscles of the thigh).

Masseter, with all muscles of the jaw working together, can close the teeth with a force as great as 55 pounds (25 kilograms) on the incisors or 200 pounds (90.7 kilograms) on the molars.

The gluteus maximus is the largest muscle in the human body. It is large and powerful because it has the job of keeping the trunk of the body in an erect posture. It is the chief antigravity muscle that aids in walking up stairs.

To be healthy and physically strong, we need to keep our heart muscle strong and strengthen our two large and strong skeletal muscle groups (quadriceps and gluteal muscles) by doing aerobic exercises, squats, leg presses, stairs climbing and lunges. More about this in the future columns.

Doing regular exercise is a lifelong commitment. Exercise must become one of those things that you do without question, like bathing and brushing your teeth. It should not be taken lightly. Unless you are convinced of the benefits of fitness and the risks of unfitness, you will not succeed. Be patient and do it at your own pace, but keep doing it. (The President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports: http://www.fitness.gov/home_about.htm)

As they say, more is better and less is better than nothing.

In the next few columns we will discuss different kinds of exercises and their health benefits. So stay tuned.

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Survival of the fittest – are you fit and healthy?

We are what we repeatedly do.

-Aristotle, Greek philosopher (384 BC – 322 BC)

On July 1, we proudly celebrated Canada’s 143rd birthday. My brief research tells me that the first settlers came to Canada over 400 years ago. I also discovered that First Nations have inhabited this beautiful land for over 2000 years. In all this nostalgia, on July 1, my wife and I quietly celebrated our 25th anniversary of our settlement in Medicine Hat. This is the longest I have lived in one city. This says a lot about the wonderful people of Medicine Hat and surrounding areas.

In the last 25 years, much water has flown through the South Saskatchewan River. We are now 25 years older and our family has grown from two to four. My children say I am getting shorter as I get older. I guess this may be true or it may be relative as these days most children are taller than their parents. But one thing for certain is that as I get older I find my abdominal girth gets bigger. My struggle to stay fit and healthy is an ongoing battle. It becomes harder as I get older. And this may be true for most people who care about their health.

There are many things I do to stay fit and healthy. Two basic foundations are healthy diet and regular exercise. For the next few columns, I hope to do a lot of research on various aspects of exercise and share that information with you. I think that is going to be an interesting exercise in itself – pun intended! I will see if I can get my abdominal girth to where I want. That is a good challenge.

As we get older, we are going to face two major health hazards – cardiovascular diseases and physical weakness. Our looks will change. We will be overweight, walking around with some difficulty carrying extra 20 to 100 pounds on us. That will be no good for our morale, nor for our backs, hips, knees, ankles and feet.

For the most part, our survival depends on how fit we are. I have an editorial piece from New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM 2002) titled, Survival of the Fittest – More Evidence, which recounts Charles Darwin’s 1859 published theory of evolution as an incessant struggle among individuals with different degrees of fitness within a species. Now, after almost 160 years later, research supporting the concept of survival of the fittest are strong and compelling, says NEJM editorial.

There is plenty of evidence, unequivocal and robust, showing relation of fitness, physical activity and exercise to reduced mortality overall and from cardiovascular causes and reduced cardiovascular risk, says the NEJM editorial.

It is obvious that healthier people, that are people who have no physical or mental illness, are physically fit and live longer. What is exciting is that there is evidence to show a person with or without cardiovascular disease who is less fit or less active, can improve his/her survival if the person increase the level of fitness or physical activity. A program of regular exercise can improve fitness by 15 to 30 per cent within three to six months. Isn’t that exciting?

This begs us to ask the next question: what is the dose (total energy expended per week) and at what intensity (the energy requirements per unit of time for a given activity) I should exercise to achieve a specific health benefit? We will look into that and many more questions in the future columns. For now, generally speaking, it is recommended that all people adopt a physically active lifestyle and, specifically, that all adults engage in moderately intense physical activity for at least 30 minutes on most – and preferably all – days of the week, says the NEJM editorial.

Stay tuned for more exciting information on this subject next week.

Start reading the preview of my book A Doctor's Journey for free on Amazon. Available on Kindle for $2.99!

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Why do women laugh more than men?

Laughter is a tranquillizer with no side effects.

-Arnold Glasow, American humourist

This is the last segment on our discussion about laughter and how we use it to counterbalance life’s troubles. Laughter makes you emotionally and psychologically strong, makes you physically friendlier and sexually attractive. In this article we will discuss how men and women use laughter for flirtation and long-term commitment. And why women laugh more than men.

“Humour in all its form – sarcastic, witty, anecdotal, ironic, satirical – is as complicated and evolved as language. It can be a weapon used to alienate and a means to communicate interest and intelligence,” says Christie Nicholson, contributing editor of Scientific American in an article in Scientific American Mind (May/June 2010).

Nicholson, in her article The Humour Gap, says that men and women have different sense of humour and appreciation of humour. Men want someone who will appreciate their jokes, and women want someone who makes them laugh. Some researchers believe that this has been an evolutionary process as part of the laws of natural selection.

In 1859, Charles Darwin introduced the term “natural selection.” It is the observation that individual organisms with favorable characteristics are more likely to survive and reproduce than those lacking these traits. Do we use laughter as part of our survival instinct – men and women using laughter in their own way to smooth their relationships and ride over trouble times?

Women find funny men very sexy. Especially in their first meeting. Funny man shows creativity, intelligence, playfulness and openness to experience. Women, consciously or subconsciously, know that humour is a good indicator of intelligence which is a highly prized heritable trait, says Nicholson. Women want their men to make them laugh and have children who are intelligent and funny like their dad. During the time of ovulation, women prefer to be around creative funny men than rich dull guys.

Women are always known to laugh or giggle more than men. You can remember that from your school days. And experiments have confirmed that women laugh so much more when they are speaking to men – and they laugh more than men even when men are doing the talking –suggests that there is some instinct at play, says Nicholson. The instinct may be related to the female role of sexual selector. Nicholson says, “…whatever the roots may be of the female instinct to laugh around men, it works – men find women attractive when they laugh. Perhaps it is because laughter unconsciously signals interest and enjoyment.” It is an invitation to continue.

Studies have shown that laughter is a powerful measurement of the level of attraction between two people. In fact, experiments have shown that female laughter is an accurate predictor of the level of attraction between both partners. A woman laughs a lot when she is attracted to a man or when she senses a man’s interest. More she laughs, more attractive she becomes, indicating that she welcomes his attention.

Nicholson’s article concludes by saying that the deeper purpose of use of humour in our life is to help us connect and bond with one another. She continues, “A genuine laugh is one of the most honest ways to convey: I’m with you.”

So, my dear reader, do not forget to laugh today and every day and make somebody laugh. That means you care. Angry grumpy men should remember, women will like you more if you learn to relax and laugh and make others laugh. And you may produce children who are healthy, funny and intelligent.

Start reading the preview of my book A Doctor's Journey for free on Amazon. Available on Kindle for $2.99!

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Laughter can make you stronger, friendlier and sexier!

The most thoroughly wasted of all days is that on which one has not laughed.

 Nicolas Chamfort, a French writer

We are exposed to many challenges as we make our way through life. Laughter functions as a remedy to these challenges. Laughter makes you stronger, friendlier and sexier.

Eighteenth century philosopher, Immanuel Kant, says hope, sleep and laughter are trio of tactics humans use to counterbalance life’s troubles.

Ashley Montagu, a British-American anthropologist and humanist, has written much about the function of laughter. He says, “We are not short of theories to explain the mystery; for centuries, biologists, philosophers, psychologists and medical doctors have sought a definitive explanation of laughter.” Research continues and now many institutions have departments where they study this phenomenon.

How does laughter make you stronger, friendlier and sexier? An article in the Scientific American Mind (April/May/June 2009) titled, Laughing Matters, says, “Seeing the bright side of life may strengthen the psyche, ease pain and tighten social bonds.” It is written by a psychologist, Steven Ayan. Some of the points discussed in Ayan’s article are summarized here.

Does laughter have influence on physical fitness? No, it is not like pumping iron. But it does have effect on our body by producing short-term changes in our cardio-vascular and respiratory function. Laughter increases our heart rate, respiratory rate and depth and increases our oxygen consumption. Laughter relaxes muscles, decreasing muscle tone for up to 45 minutes after the laughter has subsided.

Laughter may not make you physically strong but it does make you emotionally strong by improving your emotional state and improve your mood. Studies have shown laughter reduces blood concentration of the stress hormone – cortisol. Elevated levels of cortisol can weaken your immune system. Experiments have shown laughter increases the activity of immune cells called natural killer cells in saliva in healthy subjects. Making a nursing mom laugh might sometimes serve as an allergy remedy for her baby. Laughter makes your immune system strong. It makes your mental and physical health strong.

Humour has a calming effect by creating emotional distance between yourself and the excitatory stimulus. It makes you strong by taking sting out of defeat and disappointment. Ayan references studies which show that being a cheerful person with a sense of humour may help you endure negative events and situations and protect you from the threat of pain.

Does laughter make you friendlier? Yes, it does. Ayan says being funny and cheerful can cultivate friendships, facilitates bonding and builds social support.

Does laughter make you sexier? Of course, it does. Funny people get more dates. Ayan’s article says that in 2006, researchers from Westfield State College and McMaster University in Ontario reported that women are more likely to consider a man in a photograph a desirable relationship partner if the picture is accompanied by a funny quote attributed to the man. And you know the women preferred the funny men despite rating them, on average, less intelligent and less trustworthy.

What about men? Men prefer women who laugh at their jokes. A 1990 study suggests that when women and men chat, the amount of laughing by the woman indicates both her interest in dating the man and her sexual appeal to the man. Ayan says, the man’s laughter did not relate to attraction in either direction.

So, do not waste your days by not laughing. And you know laughter makes you emotionally and psychologically strong, makes you physically friendlier and sexually attractive…….yummy!

Next week: Laughter and love and why women laugh more than man? Stay tuned and keep on laughing.

Start reading the preview of my book A Doctor's Journey for free on Amazon. Available on Kindle for $2.99!