Turn on Your Healthy Genes
Fitness Tip
Genes can determine many things that makes us what we are, including a love or hate of exercise, says a CU psychologist.
Scientists have discovered exercise loving genes that help prevent weight gain, diabetes, and heart disease by clearing fat and sugar from the bloodstream.
Just 30 minutes of walking can activate these genes.
Being inactive for 24 hours can turn the genes off. These healthy genes work by making proteins that quickly and efficiently change the food you eat into fuel for your muscles.
Triglyceride levels in people who exercised were up to 50 percent lower than in those who were sedentary. That means the triglycerides got metabolized faster, lowering the risk of high cholesterol.
Marc Hamilton, PhD, says, "If people saw how just one day of being sedentary increases disease risk, we'd have a lot fewer couch potatoes".
Protein Power
You waste some calories every time you eat, according to the Obesity Research Center. On average, about 10 percent of calories are used for digestion, absorption and then storage of these calories. More calories are used to process protein than for carbohydrate or fat, so beefing up your diet with extra protein can help you burn more calories - but in small amounts, around 20 calories a day.
This metabolic boost doesn't really make that much of a difference, especially when you compare it to the amount of calories you could burn by just walking half a mile. More importantly, adequate protein can nourish your body and help you feel full longer.