MYOKINES – BUILDING MUSCLE & CARDIOVASCULAR EXERCISE – THE HARD TO IGNORE PROOF AROUND THEIR INFLUENCE ON YOUR FUTURE HEALTH.
It used to be thought until very recently that the skin was the biggest organ of the body.
The latest research, however, is starting to say that skeletal muscle is the largest organ in the body. and that it plays a far larger role in your basic wellbeing than ever realised previously.
Muscle helps with communication between your body’s cells, and the more you have of it the better your body and its systems will function.
Not only does skeletal muscle protect the skeleton, give us posture, movement, and the ability to breath: the latest studies tell us that muscle tissue also releases something called myokines.
WHAT ARE MYOKINES?
Myokines are a collection of small proteins and molecules produced in the bloodstream during muscle contraction, that talk and have specific communications with all the bodies systems.
So far researchers have found more than 650 different types of MYOKINES released by the muscle, and whilst the latest research is still ongoing, there are already exciting theories and evidence, on how these compounds influence brain health, bone health and inflammation.
SO, HOW DO THESE MYOKINES HELP US TO LIVE LONGER?
One of the first MYOKINES to be found is called IL6. When you exercise, it gets pumped into your blood, and helps your body to produce anti-inflammatory compounds.
Inflammation in the body is linked to a whole host of disease from cardiovascular diseases to metabolic diseases like type 2 diabetes. Reducing inflammation in the body is a huge key to living longer free of diseases and medication.
The IL6 MYOKINE also helps your metabolism. It helps insulin move sugar away from your blood and into your muscles. Storing sugar in the muscles rather than around the belly or in the liver, is far safer for you.
The more healthy muscle that you have, the more storage you have for the sugar from the blood.
Your muscles, when they are healthy, are packed full of vital mitochondria.
Mitochondria are the bodies energy factories. They turn the food that you consume into something called ATP, which is then used for your body’s energy.
SO – MORE MUSCLE = BETTER INSULIN RESISTANCE & METABOLISM
AND – MORE MUSCLE = MORE ENERGY
HOW CAN MYOKINES RELEASED DURING EXERCISE IMPROVE BRAIN FUNCTION?
Another MYOKINE called CATHEPSIN B, in animal studies, is shown to be released into the bloodstream during cardiovascular exercise and travels up to the brain.
When it arrives at the brain, it stimulates the release of BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR, which helps brain cells to grow and increase memory and learning.
CONCLUSION
Exercise is free, and it is good for us. The more that we do, the better we become at it.
Lifting weights and incorporating resistance training into your health routine at least 2 times per week will see your life improve in every aspect.
Add in cardiovascular exercise into this mix as well and feel the difference to your body and mind in abundance.
From brain health, and energy levels; to bone health; and maintaining the health of your blood vessels, immune system, liver and skin: your muscle mass is a gift for longevity, and if you grow it, and nurture it, with the right nutrition, it will give you the gift of a long healthy and happy life.