Exercise: Do It or Diet!

By Donovan Adendorf, D.C.

During my late teens or early twenties I, like most other men, discovered a passion for The Godfather trilogy. One of the many memorable (and subsequently memorized) moments was when the Godfather, Marlon Brando, leaned forward and in that husky voice said: “Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer.” Now, in my mind that was so profound that I had contemplated making it part of my own life, only to find out some years later that if I lived a moderately good life I will not have any enemies that would want to stomp on me that badly. I found out that I am a pretty nice guy and most people like me (or don’t completely hate me). I thought the latter would be good enough. I am now in my forties. I had rethought my old notions, again. Yeah, I know. The enemies that want to stomp on us when we grow older are meaner and way more deadly than what I had first thought twenty years ago.

Life after forty has a couple of questions that need to be addressed, and often. Life after fifty, sixty and beyond requires yearly attention to the same questions. These questions can mostly be limited to: “How is my heart doing?” and “Am I ahead of any cancer threat?” You see, heart disease and cancer are the enemies and you should keep an eye on them, closely, but without making them feel too important. Early detection leads to choices and treatment options (keeping your enemy close).

Amongst American men prostate cancer and lung cancer are the main carcinoma culprits, and a reduction in tobacco use and an increase in lycopene would go a long way to cancer prevention. Lycopene is found in tomatoes and many a study (American, Chinese and Australian Universities) have shown… that there is an inverse relationship between men that eat at least five tomatoes per week and men that get prostate cancer. Finally on that subject, please do not always rely on the PSA results, see the ‘finger doctor’.

Heart attacks can occur at any age, but if you eat a diet high in saturated fat (fatty steaks) and trans fatty acids (potato chips, processed foods) to name just a few, you are eventually going to clog up your arteries and the result is not too difficult to predict. Keep the fatty foods for special occasions and start exercising! Exercise, now we are talking! Before, in our discussion, we were just defending against the enemy but exercise gives us an active weapon to slap it down. Cardiovascular exercise, wearing good shoes, thick socks and plenty of sweat to donate is a weapon in the right hands. I cannot stress enough how good it is for you; the list of benefits will be longer than the excuses that you can come up with, trust me.

Exercise modulates endorphins (those natural pain killers) and they make you a happy person, which makes you nicer to have around, less stressed and happier to be alive. Cardiovascular exercise, even for 30 minutes a day, starting with a brisk walk, eventually leading to a bike ride or a slight jog will have benefits for you. Get a walk-man or an IPOD, save some great motivating music on it and get going. C’mon, Just Do It!

Dr. Adendorf practices at West Bay Chiropractic on West Bay Shore Drive in Traverse City, MI (231-941-4030) and also in Gaylord, MI (989-858-2345).