Let's talk the AMAZING benefits of frequent exercise

Let's really take a look at exercise, shall we? I'll tell you what I know about it. I'm a neuroscientist with an strong back ground in human physiology, cell biology, biochemistry, and the mechanisms of drug actions in the human system. I will stick to the brain, to a little basic cell biology, a little basic info about aging, and then I'll talk about my experience with exercise. I'm going to be brief because I have a long day ahead of me, but in light of one thread (judging on title alone- I didn't read it.), I felt it critical for me to get this out there. Why? Because many lack education about the human body and it makes me sick to think they might read the title, read the first post, and stop exercising and that choice could damage their health long term. So please consider the following before you cut exercise out of your life.

First... the brain. Exercise is strongly linked to better cognitive function as we age. Why/how? We don't know... but the correlation is strong enough that I feel safe saying that exercise helps the brain (and yes, I know correlation does not equal causation). Individuals who exercise regularly are less likely to develop disorders of the brain like Alzheimer's disease. Perhaps more importantly, stress is a problem when we talk neurofunction, and exercise is an incredible reliever of stress.

Second... cell biology specifically as it relates to the use of glucose and response to insulin. Insulin triggers a critical change in cells... it upregulates glucose transporters and other insulin responsive enzymes. What does upregulate mean? Well... it can mean a lot of things, but in the case of insulin, it causes transporters to move from inside the cell where they're doing nothing to the cell membrane where they can shuttle glucose from the blood into the cell where it can be used for energy. When the system "breaks" and we become insulin resistant, the cells stop responding to insulin as well as they used to. The don't upregulate those transporters that well and glucose gets stuck outside the cell where it's useless. In response, the body releases more insulin in a desperate attempt to counteract the insulin resistance... this can go on for years without us even noticing a problem... eventually, though, the system becomes so broken that we start noticing the symptoms of diabetes...

Exercise can work-around this broken system and more importantly, it can prevent the system from breaking in the first place. How? There are probably dozens of ways and I don't know all of them, but one way that it does this is by upregulating a completely different type of glucose transporter than the one that's activated by insulin. This transporter is independent of the insulin sensitive transporter, but it does the same job... it gets glucose inside the cells where it can be used.

Exercise is one of the best things a diabetic or insulin sensitive person can do.

What about aging? Well, again, there are a host of benefits to exercise when it comes to aging, but one of the biggest (for men and women) is it counters the effects of normal hormone loss. Like it or not, estrogen and testosterone levels drop as you age. When you lose those hormones (especially testosterone), you lose muscle mass. You grow weak. And if you're thinking 'oh well... so I what if I can't lift 100 lbs anymore, who cares? Remember: your muscles support your spine, your joints, etc... loss muscle mass results not just in loss of physical lifting prowess, but in lost ability to walk normally, to stand up straight, and so on. I've experienced first hand the pain that comes with weak muscles. I've been working for months to balance the muscles in legs, back, and abs to alleviate the chronic pain I experience in my lower back and hips.

And so now for me personally? I feel INCREDIBLE after a work out. I'm energized, I'm happy. The happy is a huge thing since I struggle with depression. It helps manage my stress levels. And the pain in my hips and back has changed from nearly debilitating to being just a minor annoyance. I can now go hiking! OH how I missed hiking!!!!!!! I haven't gone in years because it HURT TOO MUCH. I have EXERCISE to thank for that.

Add to all this that exercise helps me maintain a calorie deficit- and I say I'm a true convert to the doctrine of regular exercise.

I won't have time to respond to this thread except maybe at lunch and tonight when I get home... but I hope (probably in vain) that this thread will spawn some good, positive discussion about the benefits of exercise and that it will not turn into another anti-insulin, anti-carb vs. the rest of us war.