The simple exercise solution for 7 common conditions

(I borrowed this to share with you from UNMC’s Health-e Headlines monthly newsletter.) It caught my eye because it looks exactly like my medical file!

Common health conditions may be helped without medication, according to the Harvard Health Letter. Here’s a brief look at 7 conditions and the simple home treatment for them that is found within you—physical activity:

Arthritis: There’s a good chance that losing weight will make arthritis less painful. Combine weight loss with exercise and you may have less pain and more mobility. Even for those who don’t need to lose weight, exercise that doesn’t put “load” on the joints reduces pain (best examples are swimming and water aerobics).

Cholesterol: Be active to increase your HDL level (the good cholesterol). Your LDL level (the bad type of cholesterol) may drop by 5% or so if you keep foods high in saturated fat off the menu. Additional soluble fiber may reduce LDL levels as well. So can margarines fortified with sterols.

Cognitive decline: Memory training and other “brain exercises” seem to help healthy older people stay sharp. But physical exercise may benefit the brain even more than mental gymnastics.

Depression: Studies have shown that regular physical activity can have a potent effect on bringing people out of the dark days of depression.

Diabetes: Regular physical activity puts a powerful brake on blood sugar levels because exercised muscle becomes more receptive to the insulin that helps it pull sugar in from the bloodstream. Eating fewer sweets and easy-to-digest carbohydrates also helps control blood sugar levels.

High blood pressure: Losing weight, getting more exercise, and eating less sodium all lower blood pressure.

Osteoporosis: Weight-bearing exercise puts stress on bones, so bone tissue reacts by getting stronger and denser, not weaker. Extra vitamin D and calcium top the list of dietary recommendations.