PM Modi participates in a Yoga Session in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

India's soft power! A very repetitive video!

LIVE: PM Modi participates in a Yoga Session in Tashkent, Uzbekistan - YouTube

How much exercise do you really need?

Recommendable! Some exercise is better than none!

Five healthy habits for maintaining independence in your 60s and 70s

Recommendable!

Almost daily exercise is required!

Notice, perhaps the second most important is very frequent balance training.

I don't think solving crossword puzzles is a good mental exercise! Learning new things is probably much better. Or writing daily blog posts like me! 😊

"...

1. Strength and power training to stay independent ...

2. Balance and gait training for fall prevention ...

3. Optimize nutrition as you age ... we need more protein and nutrients even if we’re eating fewer total calories. ...

4. Keep your brain sharp with cognitive and social habits ...

Mental stimulation through activities like crossword puzzles ...

5. Prioritize preventive care and monitoring ..."

Five healthy habits for maintaining independence in your 60s and 70s | Stanford Report

The seniors still practising taekwondo in their 70s and 80s in Singapore

Very recommendable! Perhaps at age 70 I will get my first black belt! I feel inspired! 😊

Exercise-Induced Urticaria: When People are Allergic to Physical Activity

Amazing stuff! I think I am allergic to allergies! 😊 I guess the good news is that it is very rare. Maybe it is even a medical curiosity.

Could this become a good excuse to avoid physical exercise? 😊

"... First described in the 1970s, exercise-induced urticaria is a relatively rare condition likely due to a sudden increase in the body’s core temperature.

Scientists propose that mast cell degranulation and a rise in plasma histamine levels are involved. In extreme cases, people may experience a systemic reaction where tissues beyond the skin are involved, such as anaphylaxis. The condition can be managed with a regimen of antihistamines and epinephrine administration if required. ...

Another working theory is that an increase in temperature activates the sympathetic nervous system, which is involved in the fight-or-flight response. This stimulates nerve fibers to release the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, leading to mast cell degranulation, and consequently secrete histamine. ..."

Exercise-Induced Urticaria: When People are Allergic to Physical Activity | The Scientist "Some people experience an itchy skin rash or hives after exercising because of immune responses activated by a rise in body temperature."

Figure 2: Urticaria on abdomen within 20 minutes of the onset of the exercise (Source)

Just 5,000 steps a day could slow cognitive decline in people with signs of Alzheimer’s, study suggests. Really!

That is a lot of steps per day! I think, this recommendation might be excessive! What about other physical exercises/activities?

What is the recommendation now? 5,000, 8,000 or 10,000 steps per day? Maybe next year we are told 3,000 steps per day! 😊

It appears, the recommendations are all over the place! A sedentary individual may just lean back pondering all these various recommendations! Caution: irony.

Indeed, the article says the beneficial effect "plateaus at around 5,000 to 7,500 steps per day".

Google Fit tells me that my typical about 3 mile walk (not daily) is roughly 6000 steps.

"... The scientists found that patients who started with high levels of beta-amyloid, an early biological sign of Alzheimer’s, declined less if they were more physically active. Low or moderate levels of physical activity in this group, the authors reported, could slow cognitive decline by half compared with inactive individuals. That effect plateaued at around 5,000 to 7,500 steps a day. ..."

"... The research indicates that people don’t need to take 10,000 steps a day, a goal that is often touted but might be hard for some older individuals to attain ..."

"... Cognitive decline was delayed by three years on average for people who walked just 3,000-5,000 steps per day, and by seven years in people who walked 5,000-7,500 steps per day. Sedentary individuals had a significantly faster buildup of tau proteins in the brain and more rapid declines in cognition and daily functioning. ..."

From the abstract:

"Physical inactivity is a recognized modifiable risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), yet its relationship with progression of AD pathology in humans remains unclear, limiting the effective translation into prevention trials.

Using pedometer-measured step counts in cognitively unimpaired older adults, we demonstrated an association between higher physical activity and slower cognitive and functional decline in individuals with elevated baseline amyloid. Importantly, this beneficial association was not related to lower amyloid burden at baseline or longitudinally.

Instead, higher physical activity was associated with slower amyloid-related inferior temporal tau accumulation, which significantly mediated the association with slower cognitive decline.

Dose–response analyses further revealed a curvilinear relationship, where the associations with slower tau accumulation and cognitive decline reached a plateau at a moderate level of physical activity (5,001–7,500 steps per day), potentially offering a more approachable goal for older sedentary individuals [???].

Collectively, our findings support targeting physical inactivity as an intervention to modify the trajectory of preclinical AD in future prevention trials, and further suggest that preferentially enrolling sedentary individuals with elevated amyloid may maximize the likelihood of demonstrating a protective effect of physical activity on tau accumulation and cognitive and functional decline in early AD."

Take steps to slow Alzheimer's progression: 5,000 of them, actually | STAT "Exercise linked to slower buildup of tau protein in the brain"

Alzheimer’s decline slows with just a few thousand steps a day "A modest increase in physical activity can delay cognitive decline by three years — or more."

Even Modest Amounts of Physical Activity May Slow Alzheimer’s Disease Among At-Risk Older Adults (original news release)

Longer walks beat shorter strolls for heart health (no public access) "People who rack up most of their daily steps in walks lasting less than five minutes have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease than do those who amass their steps in big blocks."

Physical activity as a modifiable risk factor in preclinical Alzheimer’s disease (open access)

Even people who don’t reach the recommended 8,000 steps per day can reap health benefits if they take relatively long walks.

Extended Data Fig. 2: Interactive association between baseline physical activity and Aβ burden on initial ITC tau burden.

Walk faster, age slower

Just regular walking is fine, but faster is better! I would personally subscribe to this finding from my own experience.

"Walking just a bit faster could be the key to aging well. Researchers found that older adults who upped their walking pace by just 14 steps per minute significantly improved their physical abilities—even those who were already frail. A new, user-friendly smartphone app helps measure walking cadence more accurately than typical devices, making this science-backed health strategy easy to adopt. By shifting from a casual stroll to a brisker walk, older adults can stay active, independent, and energized in daily life."

"... The study’s results showed clear benefits: those who increased their cadence by at least 14 steps per minute above their usual pace (to roughly 100 steps per minute) experienced substantial improvements in their functional capacity, demonstrated by their ability to walk longer distances in a standardized test. ..."

From the abstract:

"Walking cadence has been suggested as a measure of activity intensity; however, it remains uncertain if prefrail and frail older adults can increase their walking cadence and if doing so leads to improvements in functional capacity. We aimed to determine if cadence can be increased and if this leads to improvement in functional capacity in prefrail and frail older adults.

We performed a secondary data analysis of a walking intervention in prefrail and frail older adults living in retirement communities. Patients were randomized to Casual Speed Walking (CSW) and High-Intensity Walking (HIW) groups.

Our primary outcome was improvement in 6-minute walk test distance above the minimally clinical important difference. We performed linear and logistic mixed-effects regressions to analyze our aims. 102 participants were included in the final analysis with 56 in the CSW group and 46 in the HIW group.

Participants in the HIW group increased their walking cadence as compared to the CSW group during the intervention (HIW 100[88, 111] steps/min vs. CSW 77[65, 86] steps/min; P < 0.001).

Participants that increased their walking cadence demonstrated an increased odds of improvement in their 6-minute walk test minimum clinically important difference (OR: 0.11, 95% CI: 0.033, 0.18; p = 0.005). Older adults can increase their walking cadence and walking cadence can serve as a surrogate measure of activity intensity during walking interventions. An increase of 14 steps/minute from their comfortable walking cadence increased the odds of improvement in 6-minute walk test minimum clinically important difference."

Walk faster, age slower: The 14-step boost that builds strength | ScienceDaily

Walking slightly faster could help older adults stay fit (original news release)

Walking cadence as a measure of activity intensity and impact on functional capacity for prefrail and frail older adults (open access)

All exercise improves insomnia, but muscle exercises are better than others

Strengthen your muscles for better sleep! More weight lifting before sleep!

I get already sleepy just thinking about exercise! 😊

"... The study was a systematic review and meta-analysis of 25 randomized controlled trials conducted between 1996 and 2021, encompassing 2,170 participants. It evaluated and compared the impact of different types of physical exercise on sleep quality in adults aged 60 and older. Participants were included if they had been diagnosed with insomnia according to DSM-5 criteria. ...

The exercise type that produced the best effect on sleep quality was strength or resistance training. This includes using free weights, weight machines or resistance bands. ..."

From the abstract:

"Abstract

Objective

To measure the impact of each type of exercise on sleep quality and identify the exercise that enhances sleep quality the most.

Study selection

Eligible randomised controlled trials that compare physical exercise to routine activities, usual care, non-physical activity, or health education to measure the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index.

Data source

Studies retrieved from Medline, Embase, CINAHL, Scopus, ClinicalTrial.gov and ThaiJo from the database’s inception to October 2022.

Data extraction and synthesis

Two reviewers independently identified studies, collected data and assessed bias. In the absence of heterogeneity, a fixed effect model was used for pairwise meta-analysis. Alternatively, a random effect model was used. A two-stage network meta-analysis used the surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) to compare exercise efficacy.

Main outcome

Global Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (GPSQI) and subdomain score.

Results

This review comprised 2170 people from 25 trials. Direct meta-analysis revealed significant improvement in GPSQI with combined exercise (unstandardised mean difference (USMD) −2.35, 95% CI−3.13 to –1.57, p<0.001, I2=69.13%). GPSQI decreased considerably with aerobic activity (USMD −4.36, 95% CI −7.86 to –0.86, p=0.01, I2=97.83%). For the network meta-analysis, strengthening, aerobic and combination exercise significantly lowered GPSQI (USMD−5.75, –3.76 and −2.54, respectively). Strength training improved GPSQI scores most effectively (SUCRA 94.6%).

Conclusion

Exercise that strengthens muscles, rather than aerobic or combination exercises, is the most effective way to enhance sleep quality."

All exercise improves insomnia, but some types are better than others "A new study has ranked the best types of exercise for improving sleep quality. The findings demonstrate that exercise is an easy-to-implement, relatively cheap, and particularly effective way of treating insomnia, a common problem for older adults."

Impact of different types of physical exercise on sleep quality in older population with insomnia: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (open access)

When muscles work out, they help neurons to grow, a new study shows

Amazing stuff! Exercise more!

"... Now, MIT engineers have found that exercise can also have benefits at the level of individual neurons. They observed that when muscles contract during exercise, they release a soup of biochemical signals called myokines. In the presence of these muscle-generated signals, neurons grew four times farther compared to neurons that were not exposed to myokines. These cellular-level experiments suggest that exercise can have a significant biochemical effect on nerve growth.

Surprisingly, the researchers also found that neurons respond not only to the biochemical signals of exercise but also to its physical impacts. The team observed that when neurons are repeatedly pulled back and forth, similarly to how muscles contract and expand during exercise, the neurons grow just as much as when they are exposed to a muscle’s myokines. ..."

From the abstract:

"Emerging in vivo evidence suggests that repeated muscle contraction, or exercise, impacts peripheral nerves. However, the difficulty of isolating the muscle-specific impact on motor neurons in vivo, as well as the inability to decouple the biochemical and mechanical impacts of muscle contraction in this setting, motivates investigating this phenomenon in vitro. This study demonstrates that tuning the mechanical properties of fibrin enables longitudinal culture of highly contractile skeletal muscle monolayers, enabling functional characterization of and long-term secretome harvesting from exercised tissues. Motor neurons stimulated with exercised muscle-secreted factors significantly upregulate neurite outgrowth and migration, with an effect size dependent on muscle contraction intensity. Actuating magnetic microparticles embedded within fibrin hydrogels enable dynamically stretching motor neurons and non-invasively mimicking the mechanical effects of muscle contraction. Interestingly, axonogenesis is similarly upregulated in both mechanically and biochemically stimulated motor neurons, but RNA sequencing reveals different transcriptomic signatures between groups, with biochemical stimulation having a greater impact on cell signaling related to axonogenesis and synapse maturation. This study leverages actuating extracellular matrices to robustly validate a previously hypothesized role for muscle contraction in regulating motor neuron growth and maturation from the bottom-up through both mechanical and biochemical signaling."

When muscles work out, they help neurons to grow, a new study shows | MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology "The findings suggest that biochemical and physical effects of exercise could help heal nerves."

Actuating Extracellular Matrices Decouple the Mechanical and Biochemical Effects of Muscle Contraction on Motor Neurons (open access)

 

In response to biochemical and physical cues of exercise, motor neurons (in purple) exhibit new growth (in green) faster than neurons that experience no exercise-induced cues.

MIT scientists find that motor neuron growth increased significantly over 5 days in response to biochemical (left) and mechanical (right) signals related to exercise. The green ball represents cluster of neurons that grow outward in long tails, or axons.

Fig 1 Tuning fibrin hydrogel mechanical properties for long-term muscle monolayer culture.

Scientists work out the effects of intensive, regular physical exercise at the cellular level

Apparently, the health benefits of intensive physical exercise are much more extensive throughout the whole body  than previously known!

This is a massive study! Very interesting are the discovered sex differences!

"... new research shows that the body’s response to exercise is more complex and far-reaching than previously thought. In a study on rats, a team of scientists from across the United States has found that physical activity causes many cellular and molecular changes in all 19 of the organs they studied in the animals. ...

In all, the teams performed nearly 10,000 assays to make about 15 million measurements on blood and 18 solid tissues. They found that exercise impacted thousands of molecules, with the most extreme changes in the adrenal gland, which produces hormones that regulate many important processes such as immunity, metabolism, and blood pressure. The researchers uncovered sex differences in several organs, particularly related to the immune response over time. Most immune-signaling molecules unique to females showed changes in levels between one and two weeks of training, whereas those in males showed differences between four and eight weeks. ..."

From the abstract:

"Regular exercise promotes whole-body health and prevents disease, but the underlying molecular mechanisms are incompletely understood. Here, the ...  profiled the temporal transcriptome, proteome, metabolome, lipidome, phosphoproteome, acetylproteome, ubiquitylproteome, epigenome and immunome in whole blood, plasma and 18 solid tissues in male and female Rattus norvegicus over eight weeks of endurance exercise training. The resulting data compendium encompasses 9,466 assays across 19 tissues, 25 molecular platforms and 4 training time points. Thousands of shared and tissue-specific molecular alterations were identified, with sex differences found in multiple tissues. Temporal multi-omic and multi-tissue analyses revealed expansive biological insights into the adaptive responses to endurance training, including widespread regulation of immune, metabolic, stress response and mitochondrial pathways. Many changes were relevant to human health, including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, inflammatory bowel disease, cardiovascular health and tissue injury and recovery. The data and analyses presented in this study will serve as valuable resources for understanding and exploring the multi-tissue molecular effects of endurance training ..."

Scientists work out the effects of exercise at the cellular level | Broad Institute Prolonged physical activity in rats results in profound changes to RNA, proteins, and metabolites in nearly all tissues, providing clues to many human health conditions.

Temporal dynamics of the multi-omic response to endurance exercise training (open access)

Fig. 1: Summary of the study design and multi-omics dataset.

Exercise Pills: The Next Blockbuster Drug? Palki Sharma

Recommendable! There is a pill for everything! Perhaps even a pill for pill taking! (Caution: irony) 😊 I blogged already previously here about this discovery a few days ago.

Exercise in a pill? New compounds may mimic the effects of physical activity

How often has this been promised in the past? Healthy skepticism is advised!

This seems to be more of an obesity treatment, but who knows!

"Researchers have developed compounds that could mimic some of the health benefits of exercise. One day, these could result in new treatments for muscle atrophy, heart failure, and neurodegenerative diseases. Experiments on rodents have proven encouraging. In the not so distant future, these compounds could be as simple to use as popping a pill. ...

Exercise triggers changes in our metabolism through the activation of specific proteins called estrogen-related receptors (ERRs). These come in three forms: ERRα, ERRβ, and ERRγ. After nearly ten years of research, Elgendy and his team created a compound named SLU-PP-332. While it activates all three of these receptors, the main target was the difficult-to-activate ERRα. This receptor plays a crucial role in managing the body’s response to exercise stress and other vital muscle functions. ..."

From the abstract:

"Physical exercise induces physiologic adaptations and is effective at reducing the risk of premature death from all causes. Pharmacological exercise mimetics may be effective in the treatment of a range of diseases including obesity and metabolic syndrome. Previously, we described the development of SLU-PP-332, an agonist for the estrogen-related receptor (ERR)α, β, and γ nuclear receptors that activates an acute aerobic exercise program. Here we examine the effects of this exercise mimetic in mouse models of obesity and metabolic syndrome. Diet-induced obese or ob/ob mice were administered SLU-PP-332, and the effects on a range of metabolic parameters were assessed. SLU-PP-332 administration mimics exercise-induced benefits on whole-body metabolism in mice including increased energy expenditure and fatty acid oxidation. These effects were accompanied by decreased fat mass accumulation. Additionally, the ERR agonist effectively reduced obesity and improved insulin sensitivity in models of metabolic syndrome. Pharmacological activation of ERR may be an effective method to treat metabolic syndrome and obesity. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: An estrogen receptor-related orphan receptor agonist, SLU-PP-332, with exercise mimetic activity, holds promise as a therapeutic to treat metabolic diseases by decreasing fat mass in mouse models of obesity."

Exercise in a pill? New compounds may mimic the effects of physical activity These compounds could help those who are physically unable to exercise.

A Synthetic ERR Agonist Alleviates Metabolic Syndrome (no public access)

Your heart changes in size and shape with exercise – this can lead to heart problems for some athletes and gym rats. Really!

I believe, it has been well known for several decades that extreme exercise can lead to an enlarged heart or other health issues.

As usual, the ancient wisdom is balance and variety in almost everything you do in your life.

"People who regularly engage in significant amounts of exercise, as endurance athletes do, may develop enlarged hearts. While athletic heart is adapted for performance, it can be cause for concern."

Your heart changes in size and shape with exercise – this can lead to heart problems for some athletes and gym rats

Daily 11 minute brisk walk enough to reduce risk of early death

Good news and easy to do and cheap! No botox, no injections, no surgery, strange potions etc.! 

Couch potatoes get up! There is no good excuse for early death!

This is a very comprehensive meta study!

Currently, I briskly walk as a minimum about 1.5 hours and almost 7 miles per week. I feel I am in good shape! Disclosure: I was not part of this study! 😊

"In a study published today in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, the researchers say that 11 minutes a day (75 minutes a week) of moderate-intensity physical activity – such as a brisk walk – would be sufficient to lower the risk of diseases such as heart disease, stroke and a number of cancers.

Cardiovascular diseases – such as heart disease and stroke – are the leading cause of death globally, responsible for 17.9 million deaths per year in 2019, while cancers were responsible for 9.6 million deaths in 2017. Physical activity – particularly when it is moderate-intensity – is known to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer, and the NHS recommends that adults do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity a week. ...

carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis, pooling and analysing cohort data from all of the published evidence. ...

In total, they looked at results reported in 196 peer-reviewed articles, covering more than 30 million participants from 94 large study cohorts, to produce the largest analysis to date of the association between physical activity levels and risk of heart disease, cancer, and early death.
The researchers found that, outside of work-related physical activity, two out of three people reported activity levels below 150 min per week of moderate-intensity activity and fewer than one in ten managed more than 300 min per week. 

Broadly speaking, they found that beyond 150 min per week of moderate-intensity activity, the additional benefits in terms of reduced risk of disease or early death were marginal. But even half this amount came with significant benefits: accumulating 75 min per week of moderate-intensity activity brought with it a 23% lower risk of early death. ...

What counts as moderate-intensity physical activity?

Moderate-intensity physical activity raises your heart rate and makes you breathe faster, but you would still be able to speak during the activity. Examples include:

Brisk walking

Dancing

Riding a bike

Playing tennis

Hiking"

Daily 11 minute brisk walk enough to reduce risk of early death | University of Cambridge One in ten early deaths could be prevented if everyone managed at least half the recommended level of physical activity, say a team led by researchers at the University of Cambridge.

Non-occupational physical activity and risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and mortality outcomes: a dose–response meta-analysis of large prospective studies (open access)

A few minutes of Short Bursts Of Exercise per day May Extend Life and meet daily physical activity targets

I have been experimenting myself with this form of exercise for several months now besides stretching, walking, and weight lifting.  I started before I even learnt of this new study and these articles. And I find it effective! It is a time saver and it works out e.g. your heart and tendons! It makes a lot of sense!

I don't think this is just another fitness craze, but based on some scientific verifiable research! Why the researchers used Monty Python and teabag walk as an inspiration is almost infantile and possibly not helpful!

"In track or swimming practices, they’re known as intervals. A faster clip for a bit, then a return to normal speed.

In daily life, short, vigorous bursts of physical activity one or two minutes in length—such as very fast walking—are associated with a substantially decreased risk of dying, according to new research. Three one-minute bursts of intense physical activity every day can lower a person’s risk of death by up to 40 percent, researchers report. ..."

From the abstract:

"Objective To compare the rate of energy expenditure of low efficiency walking with high efficiency walking.

Design Laboratory based experimental study.

Setting United States.

Participants 13 healthy adults (six women, seven men) with no known gait disorder, mean (±standard deviation) age 34.2±16.1 years, height 174.2±12.6 cm, weight 78.2±22.5 kg, and body mass index 25.6±6.0.

Intervention Participants performed three, five minute walking trials around an indoor 30 m course. The first trial consisted of walking at a freely chosen walking speed in the participant’s usual style. The next two trials consisted of low efficiency walks in which participants were asked to duplicate the walks of Mr Teabag and Mr Putey (acted by John Cleese and Michael Palin, respectively) in the legendary Monty Python Ministry of Silly Walks (MoSW) skit that first aired in 1970. Distance covered during the five minute walks was used to calculate average speed. Ventilation and gas exchange were collected throughout to determine oxygen uptake (V̇O2; mL O2/kg/min) and energy expenditure (EE; kcal/kg/min; 1 kcal=4.18 kJ), reported as mean±standard deviation.

Main outcome measures V̇O2 and EE.

Results V̇O2 and EE were about 2.5 times higher (P<0.001) during the Teabag walk compared with participants’ usual walk (27.9±4.8 v 11.3±1.9 mL O2/kg/min; 0.14±0.03 v 0.06±0.01 kcal/kg/min), but were not different during the Putey walk (12.3±1.8 mL/kg/min; 0.06±0.01 kcal/kg/min). Each minute of Teabag walking increased EE over participants’ usual walking by an average of 8.0 kcal (range 5.5-12.0) in men and by 5.2 kcal (range 3.9-6.2) in women, and qualified as vigorous intensity physical activity (>6 resting metabolic equivalents).

Conclusions For adults with no known gait disorder who average approximately 5000 steps/day, exchanging about 22%-34% of their daily steps with higher energy, low efficiency walking in Teabag style—requiring around 12-19 min—could increase daily EE by 100 kcal. Adults could achieve 75 minutes of vigorous intensity physical activity per week by walking inefficiently for about 11 min/day. Had an initiative to promote inefficient movement been adopted in the early 1970s, we might now be living among a healthier society. Efforts to promote higher energy—and perhaps more joyful—walking should ensure inclusivity [???] and inefficiency for all."

Walking 'Teabag style' for a few minutes a day could help adults meet physical activity targets

Short Bursts Of Exercise May Extend Life

Quantifying the benefits of inefficient walking: Monty Python inspired laboratory based experimental study

Exercise Changes Our Gut Microbes And Reprograms Your Brain

Anymore excuses not to exercise on a regular basis or to procrastinate on your respective New Year's resolutions!

"Physical activity, the results showed, generated a unique microbiome in the guts of the mice, independent of the animals’ diet: specifically, the mice that exercised hosted Faecalibacterium, Clostridium, and Allobaculum, while the sedentary mice did not. The high-fat diet also caused inflammation in the guts of the sedentary mice, which was not seen in the mice that ate the fatty diet and exercised.  ... They also aligned nicely with a longitudinal study in humans published in 2018 that found lean, sedentary people who exercised for six weeks also developed higher levels of Clostridiales, Lachnospira, Roseburia, and Faecalibacterium in their guts, but those microbes returned to baseline levels when the individuals stopped exercising. ... Exercise might also change the composition of mucus in the gut, which would affect bacterial species that live there, such as Akkermansia muciniphila—a bacterium with anti-inflammatory properties that appears to increase in abundance in response to exercise"

"In October, ... team reported that the brains of rodents that ran had greater than normal histone acetylation in the hippocampus,  ... The epigenetic marks resulted in higher expression of Bdnf, the gene for brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). By [promoting] the growth and maturation of new nerve cells, BDNF ... and higher levels of it correlate with improved cognitive performance in mice and humans."


Exercise Changes Our Gut Microbes, But How Isn’t Yet Clear | The Scientist Magazine®: Physical activity, independent of diet, shifts the composition of bacteria in the intestines, spurring researchers to search for species that might provide benefits akin to working out.


How Exercise Reprograms the Brain | The Scientist Magazine®: As researchers unravel the molecular machinery that links exercise and cognition, working out is emerging as a promising neurotherapy.