There’s an old saying that growing old is compulsory but growing up is optional. Unfortunately this saying is telling you that however old you feel mentally is up to you, but however old you feel is not. However, there is a constraint to this adage, if you remain active as you age; feeling old can become an illogical statement. Wouldn’t it be nice to be confused by the term “feeling old”? Wouldn’t it be even nicer to be confused when someone tries to explain what it means to “feel old”? Wouldn’t it be even nicer yet if what you do now can limit or even reverse the effects of aging? This is all possible as long as you stay active.
Why Is Simply Being Active So Important?
More and more research is coming out about the importance of venous health. Veins are a part of the cardiovascular system. The cardiovascular system is comprised of two sub systems: arterial system & venous system. The arteries carry oxygenated blood away from the heart and veins carry de-oxygenated blood back to the heart. While Blood is actively pumped through the arteries by the heart, the veins undergo a different physiological process; blood travels through the veins with the aid of two components: muscle assisted pumping, and valves within the veins. The muscle assisted pumping is performed by skeletal muscle that surrounds the vein. Most predominantly this can be seen at the calf muscles; the vein actually passes between both halves of the calf muscle and undergoes the pumping mechanism when walking which causes the calf muscle to flex. Pay attention to your feet the next time you’re sitting and watching tv. Are they dormant or are they fidgeting. Odds are they’re fidgeting, and that’s your body subconsciously pumping the blood…neat! Regarding the valves, since blood has to travel against gravity (in most cases) to get back to the heart, many valves are located within the veins and these valves prevent back flow or blood pooling around the lower extremities.
Arteries And Veins Are Anatomically Different Too:
Arteries can be thought of as fire hoses; firm walled vessels and if there is any blockage then the blood will either be forced through the blockage or rupture trying. Veins can be thought of as water balloons; compliant, soft walled vessels that will actually expand the vessel wall at the entrance side of the blockage.
Why Being Active Is So Important:
Now that we have an understanding of the anatomical and physiological differences between the veins and arteries let’s discuss why simply being active is so important. As mentioned earlier, the calf muscles (along with other skeletal muscles) actually perform the function of the heart and pump blood back to the heart. If you are not active then your calves cannot perform their function. Walking is enough to keep the blood pumping. With that, as we age, those valves within the veins as mentioned earlier begin to deteriorate and as a result blood will begin to back flow and cause pooling. In order to counter these effects keeping the blood moving in the right direction is extremely important. This is why walking for 20 minutes a day is a great way to stay healthy. It keeps the blood flowing towards the heart!
Why Is Good Blood Flow Important?
This shouldn’t be a question, but I’ll address it anyway. Blood is our life force. It’s the main path of transport for oxygen, antibodies, nutrients, hormones, and even pharmaceuticals. If you don’t have good blood flow then this stuff won’t get to where it has to go. This is when things deteriorate quickly.
Be mobile. Even standing instead of sitting goes a long way of helping your blood flow. These problems are happening to people younger and younger. A sedentary lifestyle is dangerous because of this scenario over most other influences.
Now, if you’re over the age of 50 and would like to start working out; we’ve put together these articles:
Stay active!
Keeping the blood moving in the right direction is extremely important.
- Aging
- Food For Thought
- Testosterone
- Weight Training
