Your Heart Health Questions ANSWERED (Finally!)
The truth about your diet and exercise needs
If you’re an older adult — or if you’re obese — I’m willing to bet your mainstream doctor has already bombarded you with instructions to eat less and exercise more.
And it’s great advice.
Doing so can help protect your heart health by boosting the health of your arteries.
But this kind of advice leaves you with a lot of open-ended questions…
Like, what’s the ideal amount of exercise — or weight loss — to get the maximum benefits?
Researchers asked this question in a recent study, and they didn’t get the answer they expected.
Here are the surprising results…
This study included 160 obese, sedentary adults from 65-79 years old.
They were assigned to one of three groups for 20 weeks:
- Group 1: exercise only, regular diet
- Group 2: exercise plus moderate calorie restriction (cutting about 250 calories per day)
- Group 3: exercise plus intense calorie restriction (cutting about 600 calories per day)
The participants underwent MRIs to determine aortic arch pulse wave velocity (the speed at which blood travels through the aorta) and distensibility (the ability of the aorta to expand and contract).
Higher pulse wave velocity + lower distensibility = stiffer aortas.
And the winners were…
Group 2!
The exercise plus moderate calorie restriction group saw significant improvements in aortic stiffness—with about an 8 percent increase in PWV and a 21 percent increase in distensibility.
Both calorie restriction groups lost more weight, and they had greater changes in BMI, total fat mass, percent body fat, and waist circumference than the exercise-only group.
BUT only the moderate calorie restriction group saw improvements in aortic stiffness.
So, the next time you consider going on some crazy fad diet or drastic weight loss program, keep all of this in mind.
Because, while those types of programs may help you lose weight, they might not be great for your heart health.
Yes, exercise.
Yes, work toward a being a healthy weight.
But you don’t have to go crazy doing it.
As this study showed, cutting about 250 calories out of your diet per day brought about the best benefits for your waistline—and for your heart.
Dr. Richard Gerhauser, M.D. (rgerhauser)
P.S. You’ll want to check your pantry and see if you already have the best snack for your heart. Click here to learn about this secret, heart-happy food.
