Benefits of Exercise

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We have all heard it many times before regular exercise is good for you, and it can help you lose weight. But if you are busy, you have a sedentary job, and you haven't yet changed your exercise habits. The good news is that it's never too late to start. You can start slowly, and find ways to fit more physical activity into your life. To get the most benefit, you should try to get the recommended amount of exercise for your age. If you can do it, the payoff is that you will feel better, help prevent or control many diseases, and likely even live longer.

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What are the health benefits of exercise?

Regular exercise and physical activity may

• Help you control your weight. Along with diet, exercise plays an important role in controlling your weight and preventing obesity. To maintain your weight, the calories you eat and drink must equal the energy you burn. To lose weight, you must use more calories than you eat and drink.
• Reduce your risk of heart diseases. Exercise strengthens your heart and improves your circulation. The increased blood flow raises the oxygen levels in your body. This helps lower your risk of heart diseases such as high cholesterol, coronary artery disease, and heart attack. Regular exercise can also lower your blood pressure and triglyceride levels.
• Help your body manage blood sugar and insulin levels. Exercise can lower your blood sugar level and help your insulin work better. This can cut down your risk for metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. And if you already have one of those diseases, exercise can help you to manage it.
• Help you quit smoking. Exercise may make it easier to quit smoking by reducing your cravings and withdrawal symptoms. It can also help limit the weight you might gain when you stop smoking.
• Improve your mental health and mood. During exercise, your body releases chemicals that can improve your mood and make you feel more relaxed. This can help you deal with stress and reduce your risk of depression.
• Help keep your thinking, learning, and judgment skills sharp as you age. Exercise stimulates your body to release proteins and other chemicals that improve the structure and function of your brain.
• Strengthen your bones and muscles. Regular exercise can help kids and teens build strong bones. Later in life, it can also slow the loss of bone density that comes with age. Doing muscle-strengthening activities can help you increase or maintain your muscle mass and strength.
• Reduce your risk of some cancers, including colon, breast , uterine, and lung cancer.
• Reduce your risk of falls. For older adults, research shows that doing balance and muscle-strengthening activities in addition to moderate-intensity aerobic activity can help reduce your risk of falling.
• Improve your sleep. Exercise can help you to fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer.
• Improve your sexual health. Regular exercise may lower the risk of erectile dysfunction (ED) in men. For those who already have ED, exercise may help improve their sexual function. In women, exercise may increase sexual arousal.
• Increase your chances of living longer. Studies show that physical activity can reduce your risk of dying early from the leading causes of death, like heart disease and some cancers.

How can make exercise a part of regular routine?

• Make everyday activities more active. Even small changes can help. You can take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk down the hall to a coworker's office instead of sending an email. Wash the car yourself. Park further away from your destination.

• Be active with friends and family. Having a workout partner may make you more likely to enjoy exercise. You can also plan social activities that involve exercise. You might also consider joining an exercise group or class, such as a dance class, hiking club, or volleyball team.
• Keep track of your progress. Keeping a log of your activity or using a fitness tracker may help you set goals and stay motivated.
• Make exercise more fun. Try listening to music or watching TV while you exercise. Also, mix things up a little bit - if you stick with just one type of exercise, you might get bored. Try doing a combination of activities.
• Find activities that you can do even when the weather is bad.You can walk in a mall, climb stairs, or work out in a gym even if the weather stops you from exercising outside.

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Sports Nutrition Tips for Young Athletes

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Have young athletes in your family? Feeding them requires knowledge and planning. Not only do they need optimal nutrition for fueling and recovery from training, but they also must meet energy demands for growth and maturation. Help your kids refuel with the nutrients they need by focusing on family mealtimes before and after practice or game day.

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Nutrition for Everyday Athletes

• Focus on carbs for energy. Choose whole-grain bread, crackers, cereal, pasta and potatoes for lasting energy. Save sports drinks for an energy boost during endurance sports or training sessions lasting more than an hour.
• Spread out protein foods. Active bodies need protein to support growth and build and repair hardworking muscles. Young athletes should spread protein foods throughout the day, having some at each meal and with most snacks, such as eggs and whole-grain toast with fruit for breakfast or a sandwich with low-sodium deli meat on whole-grain bread with yogurt and raw veggies for lunch. Plant-based protein foods like tofu and beans also are great choices.
• Use caution with fatty foods. Fatty foods slow digestion, which is not ideal for an athlete facing a competition. Greasy, fried foods and fatty desserts are filling and may leave your athlete feeling tired and sluggish. Skip the fries or pizza before practice, and keep fat content on the light side.
• Eat with food safety in mind. Nothing will slow down your athlete more than food poisoning – having stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea after eating. Make sure you store snacks at proper temperatures to prevent spoilage. Keep cheese, yogurt, meat, eggs and salads made with mayonnaise in a refrigerator or cooler. Shelf-stable items such as nuts, granola bars and whole fruit can be tossed into a sports bag without a problem.
• Flow with fluids. Good hydration should begin early in the day before kids even set foot on the playing field. Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water during the day leading up to a game, especially in the two to four hours before game time. Continue to drink during the game (about 1/2 cup every 15 minutes) and afterward to rehydrate after sweat loss. Water should still be kids' go-to drink for exercise that's under 60 minutes. Training sessions over an hour may require a sports drink to replace electrolytes lost through heavy sweating.
• Timing is everything. When you eat is just as important as what you eat. Your body needs two to three hours to digest a regular meal such as breakfast or lunch before an athletic event, while a small snack such as a granola bar can be eaten 30 minutes to an hour in advance. Load up at meals but don't overeat, and keep snacks light as you get closer to game time.
• Topping it off with milk. In addition to water, fat-free and low-fat milk also are smart ways to help young athletes meet their fluid needs. But that's not all. Just one cup of milk packs 8 grams of protein per serving. It also delivers important nutrients of which most young athletes don't get enough, such as calcium, which is critical for building strong bones, transmitting nerve impulses, and helping muscles contract, as well as potassium for fluid balance.

Eating right on game-day is your athlete's secret weapon for top-notch performance, whatever the sport. Here's a sample game day nutrition plan:

• Pre-game breakfast. Gather together the family for a pre-game breakfast about three hours before the event. Serve sliced and lightly grilled potatoes paired with scrambled eggs and fruit such as berries along with calcium-fortified 100% fruit juice or fat-free milk for a nutritious pre-game meal.
• Don't light-load or skip lunch. Many student athletes compete after school making lunch an essential fuel source. Lunch should be hearty and include foods from as many food groups as possible, such as whole grains, lean sources of protein, fruit, vegetables and low-fat dairy.
• During the game/practice. Make sure your child keeps hydrated before, during and after practices and competitions. Dehydration results when your child athlete fails to adequately replace fluid lost through sweating. Dehydration that exceeds 2 percent body weight loss harms exercise performance, so make sure your child is well hydrated throughout the game with small amounts of water. Remind your child to replace fluid losses after exercise with lots of water. Also look to foods such as bananas, potatoes and fat-free or low-fat yogurt or milk. They contain potassium and carbohydrates which are important to replenish after exercise.
• Post-practice or afternoon game snack. The hours after practice or a weekday competition may necessitate snacking before your family dinner. Make sure to have pre-prepared snacks ready when your kids arrive home hungry from a tough after-school practice or game. This can include sliced fresh fruit, low-fat yogurt and smoothies.
• Post-game family dinner. For a tasty and filling post-game family dinner, include all five food groups ― protein, grains, vegetables, fruits and dairy. Serve baked or broiled lean cuts of meat, poultry and seafood, such as chicken breast, salmon or tuna. Include whole grains, for example, whole-wheat pasta with a tomato or low-fat cheese sauce. Toss in vegetables or include a side green salad. Then, complete your meal with fruit for dessert, such as baked apples or pears accompanied by a glass of low-fat or fat-free milk. Or create an instant yogurt parfait with layers of low-fat vanilla yogurt, fresh, frozen or canned fruit, and crunchy whole-grain cereal.

"Disclaimer: Nutrieat works with a well experienced team.But nutrieat insists before use any type of subject matter mentioned on our website you should ask your concerned professionals about. 

You can ask experienced dieticians of nutrieat through the Ask Us forum below, our team will try to answer your questions as soon as possible. Thanks for visiting nutrieat"