Are Your Organs Getting the Workout They Need?
Here Are Some Questions to Ponder
Ever hear of cancer of the biceps? Or cancer of the hamstrings? Or Alzheimer’s of the knee? Probably not, because these diseases are not as widespread as the Four Horsemen. Let me explain. Dr. Peter Attia calls the four most common causes of later-life disease and mortality the “Four Horsemen of chronic disease.” Those four diseases are heart disease, cancer, dementia, and diabetes. They are the major factors when anyone refers to All-Cause Mortality (ACM). And while keeping your muscles and joints strong is important in later life, those four diseases strike your organs, not your muscles. They aren’t called vital organs for nothing. So, if you think going to the gym to pump iron and work on those biceps will keep the Four Horsemen at bay, this is a misguided assumption.
Your organs need to stay healthy to support your healthspan and lifespan. You may be surprised to learn that your organs are muscles, highly specialized ones, not movement muscles like biceps and hamstrings. They do operate on the same exercise principles though. Your organs respond to being moved, albeit more gently, and to having blood circulate through them as they heal and grow stronger and are better able to perform their vital tasks in your body. They also function better when they are not overloaded with toxins and from overeating and overdrinking. And perhaps most of all, they need unstressed time and relaxation to restore themselves through rest, sound sleep, or meditation.
So, what are the best ways to make sure your heart, liver, intestines, skin, brain, and other organs are getting a good workout, along with the important rebuilding that follows?
The #1 Way to Prevent ACM: Zone 2 Cardio
By far the most researched and recommended preventive of All-Cause Mortality is Zone 2 cardio. As I’ve written about many times, this steady-state aerobic movement is the foundation of all other forms of health fitness. You know you’re doing a Zone 2 workout when you’re at about 2/3 of your maximum heart rate (MHR), which is the so-called “conversational” zone. Whether you’re walking fast, hiking, running, swimming, biking, or doing another form of exercise, you’re working hard but still able to hold a conversation.
The reason Zone 2 cardio works so well for our organs is that it circulates blood at the “Goldilocks” level, not too fast and not too slow—just enough to push the blood into every nook and cranny of your body yet not enough to alarm your body that you are working too hard. Once that higher threshold is reached, your body switches its energy source from fat to lactate (sugar) and secretes adrenalin and other hormones to deal with the added stress. And your organs slow down their activity to deal with the perceived threat. The aim of Zone 2 cardio is to stay below that level and keep the blood, with all its nutrients and vital functions, bathing every pore of your inner body at a steady rate.
How Yoga Supports Organ Health
Yoga is about the total body, integrated harmoniously and working in unison with breath and blood. Every pose, even the most seemingly strenuous pose, is practiced best when you are breathing at a slow and steady pace. In fact, breath is at the core of every pose and gives life to whatever movement you are doing. Holding a pose while focusing on your breathing is another way to keep blood flowing at a steady rate throughout your body. From a purely physical standpoint, it is like a static version of Zone 2 training, while yoga can also offer other spiritual, emotional, and meditative elements.
One particular set of poses that directly benefits inner organs are twists. When you twist, usually keeping the hips firm and twisting the upper body to one side or the other, you engage your core in a way that literally squeezes your abdomen. Think of it like squeezing and releasing a sponge, only here you are squeezing and releasing pressure on your liver, spleen, pancreas, kidneys, and other vital organs, thereby increasing blood flow even more.
Even sitting still while practicing slow, conscious breathing, especially abdominal breathing, like the kind that is done in meditation and is a part of many yoga and related practices, is a great benefit to your organs and endocrine systems. It also lowers your blood pressure and resting heart rate (RHR).
More Reasons to Eat a Nutritious Diet
Our immune system is the cornerstone of our disease-fighting capability, plus, it is the center of our ability to stay healthy and functional as we get older. The immune system removes the older and less effective cells in our body to make room for new growth. Those older cells, when not removed, might start to malfunction and form the basis for cancer and other diseases. Keeping your immune system robust is the best way to fight All-Cause Mortality. Toxins, such as the many additives and lab-created ingredients in modern prepared foods, cause the immune system to get distracted and overwork to remove them. The less work your organs and immune system have to do to keep themselves healthy, the more they can work on behalf of your entire body.
As I’ve written about before, eating a natural diet consisting of mostly freshly prepared food is the best way to ensure you are not putting too many toxins into your body. If you want to kickstart a practice of eating better, a great place to start is with a diet detox.
How Your Body Works During Rest and Sleep
Restoring and healing after any type of activity is just as important, perhaps more important, than the activity itself. This is when your body builds new tissue, repairs damaged cells, and cleans things out to run as efficiently as possible. Your body is always healing, always looking for ways to be healthier and better. Rest and sleep will kick up this immune system activity many notches. When you turn your mind off, your brain detoxes. When you turn your body off, all your organs relax and begin to perform their vital housekeeping.
Health is not about how big your muscles are or what you look like in the mirror. It is about the miraculous biochemical wonders that our bodies are. The infinite amount of work our bodies do to keep us healthy and keep us alive every day is the true miracle of life. But we take it for granted. By becoming more aware of this wondrous process, and appreciating it, you will be doing yourself, and your organs, a big favor.
