Thirty Minutes Three Times a Week is Not Enough
By Dr. Gabe Mirkin

If you have heard that you get maximum benefit from
exercising for 30 minutes three times a week, you've been given
bad advice.  Exercise can help to lower high blood pressure,
cholesterol, insulin levels and body fat. However, for most people,
it takes a lot of exercise to see these results.
A recent study shows that many people need to exercise
a very long time just to achieve a normal life  expectancy (Current
Opinion in Lipidology. February 2007).  One out of three
Americans can expect to develop diabetes, and most of these
people have bodies that cannot respond adequately  to insulin
because they eat too much food and do not exercise enough. 
This causes their blood sugar to rise too high after meals, which,
in turn, causes the pancreas to put out huge amounts of insulin
that makes them even fatter.  Exercise can keep blood sugar from
rising too high after meals.  When muscles are full of sugar, blood
sugar goes from the intestines into the bloodstream and spikes to
high levels. On the other hand, when muscles are empty of sugar,
sugar goes from intestines into the blood and then directly into
muscles to prevent the spike.  It doesn't matter much whether you
exercise before or after eating, because both help to prevent the
spike in blood sugar that follows meals. 
This study found that increasing the intensity of exercise
reduces insulin resistance.  If you store fat primarily in your belly,
rather than your hips, the odds are overwhelming that you are
either diabetic or pre-diabetic, and without changing your lifestyle,
you will not live your normal lifespan.  If your doctor clears you for
exercise, start an exercise program.  If your exercise program
does not get rid of your belly fat, increase both the length and the
intensity of your workouts.

Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health e-Zine
June 10, 2007
http://www.drmirkin.com 

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