Is Exercise or Eating Well More Important to Your Health

Is exercise or eating well more important to your health?

The answer is yes! 

Both are deeply intertwined in your overall health. 

And while we want to believe we are doing the correct things to stay healthy, most people are looking for a quick fix. Even worse, the media loves to take advantage of this to get readers eyeballs.

How often do you see posts or articles with title like this:

• Top 10 healthy foods you should be eating now

• 5 superfoods you can’t do without 

• 12 Benefits of Walking

• 5 Full Body Exercises Everyone Should Be Doing

Let’s take a step back and think about it for a second: 

Are there really 10 foods you should be eating? Or should you be eating a wide range of unprocessed foods including lots of fruits and vegetables. Are 5 superfoods going to dramatically improve your health? What if the rest of your diet is medicare at best? If you are eating lots of processed foods and refined sugar, it’s likely not going to have a dramatic impact. 

Walking definitely has benefits, but it’s only working your low aerobic system. You’ll need to elevate your heart rate to see real gains in fitness. Do you know anybody who only does 5 exercises that you would consider to be extremely fit. Of course not! You not only need to training your cardiovascular system, but it is going to take way more than 5 exercises to get a true full body workout. 

No if you think this is just another opinion let’s look at some research..

Cardiovascular Disease Prevention by Diet Modification 

Reduction in excess calories and improvement in dietary composition may prevent many primary and secondary cardiovascular events. Current guidelines recommend diets high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and legumes; moderate in low-fat dairy and seafood; and low in processed meats, sugar-sweetened beverages, refined grains, and sodium….  Health professionals should be proficient in basic nutritional knowledge to promote a sustainable pattern of healthful eating for cardiovascular disease prevention for both healthy individuals and those at higher risk.

It’s interesting that the research says we should be taking a basic approach, consisting of unprocessed foods in a sustainable pattern of healthy eating. Not likely to make headlines…..

Effects of Exercise to Improve Cardiovascular Health

Physical exercise results in numerous health benefits and is an important tool to combat obesity and its co-morbidities, including cardiovascular disease. Exercise prevents both the onset and development of cardiovascular disease and is an important therapeutic tool to improve outcomes for patients with cardiovascular disease. Some benefits of exercise include enhanced mitochondrial function, restoration and improvement of vasculature, and the release of myokines from skeletal muscle that preserve or augment cardiovascular function. 

Studies show that physical exercise combining cardiovascular training with strength training will decrease blood pressure and LDL (bad) cholesterol levels and increase your heart's size and strength. It will also decrease the amount of stress on your heart and arteries, which lowers the risk of heart disease . Wow! 

In summary if you want to take control of your health and fitness you need to workout and eat healthy. One without that other is not going to cut it. Your workouts need to consist of cardiovascular training mixed with strength and resistance training and your diet should consist of whole unprocessed foods. 

It’s that simple.. But of course we know simple is not always easy! That’s why we created RiseUp. 

If you’re looking for help with your workouts, book a free trial class here

If you’re looking for help with your nutrition check out our Simple30 program here