The lymphatic system is powered in part by the circulatory system and in part by physical activity (aka "exercise"). Fluid from the blood, minus certain blood products, goes out into the tissues and becomes interstitial fluid. Muscle action dramatically increases the rate at which it gets returned from the tissues to the blood.
This is the mechanism by which the body cleans up most tissues. Except for the brain. The brain has a separate mechanism whereby lymphatic fluid (aka interstitial fluid) gets flushed out, taking wastes with it, only during sleep. This is a primary function of sleep.
Personal firsthand experience suggests that exercise is frequently followed by napping precisely because these are separate systems. Exercise may start this process by flushing out other tissues, but your brain won't get flushed of wastes until you sleep.
If you want to benefit from this research, you will need to have good sleep hygiene in addition to exercising. From what I gather, aerobic exercise is likely to do more good from the perspective of powering the lymphatic system than weight lifting.
Not to mention the fact that good sleep hygiene provides immediate payoffs as well. The single best thing I have done for my health was giving myself the gift of a regular sleep schedule and sticking to it. I perform better in every aspect of my life. Even if I feel like I have less time than I did before, I feel much better every day than I did when I was getting < 7 hours of sleep every day.
That was my impression as well after doing some research in this area a while back. Although I looked specifically at longevity and cardiovascular studies there was a peak benefit at about 2hrs per week after which virtually no more benefits were observed.
"This is the mechanism by which the body cleans up most tissues. Except for the brain. The brain has a separate mechanism whereby lymphatic fluid (aka interstitial fluid) gets flushed out, taking wastes with it, only during sleep."
I've been thinking about this myself and I theorize that this all comes back, full circle, to your heart.
That is, both bodily and brain lymphatic fluid flushing mechanisms are driven by circulation - and the more efficient and powerful your blood circulation is, the more efficient and cleansing your lymphatic flushing will be.
And thus, your brains lymphatic flushing, while not directly driven by exercise, still benefits greatly from exercise due to the improvement in total circulation.
> aerobic exercise is likely to do more good from the perspective of powering the lymphatic system than weight lifting.
This is conjecture? I do hope its true though! A frequent debate I have with a friend is whether weight-lifting or running has better effects. He claims 1 hour of weight-lifting raises your metabolism by many multiples vs more aerobic exercise. Its always a bit hard to have these debates though since we are mostly armed with anecdotes and not facts.
I suspect the answer is always moderation - somewhere in between.
Not disagreeing with it on face value, mind you, but the actual research basically states that you can't just start exercising... you have to already been exercising (and not even all that much, like, ~5000 steps ~= 2 miles a day, some HIIT (less is more) + low rep heavy weight lifting one or twice a week) benefit from this.
So, all of us who are in our 30s now? The time is now.
Also, re: weight lifting, try to target all of your muscle groups right. Don't be the guy who skips leg day, don't be the guy who has a shitty core and is trying to squat 250+. Guys like Jeff Cavaliere are who to look at on how to do this right.
If you’re in your 30s a much better bet for your overall health and for keeping Alzheimer’s away is giving up on sugar, since there’s a strong link between Alzheimer’s and insulin resistance.
Exercise too does help a little with insulin resistance (but not enough to repair the damage done by a diet high in sugar), plus people that exercise tend to also eat healthy.
> don't be the guy who has a shitty core and is trying to squat 250+
I don't really get this advice. I compound lift and when I was lifting regularly I peaked at 145kg/320lbs. I've never done focused core exercises with any regularity, I just focused on good form/posture and a neutral spine. Perhaps compound lifting itself is enough to build the core strength you need for squatting? Obviously I wouldn't recommend other people leave it out, but it doesn't seem to have done me any harm.
Not that I utterly disagree with what you write, but there is almost nothing you wrote mentioned in the article.
Yes, almost any exercise is better than none. The earlier in life the better. Good core is super important in, well, anything including sitting on the chair. Hiit I consider very good based on effects on me, but would like to see some long-term results and its definitely only for people already doing some regular training.
But where do you get the low rep info? This is good for only very specific exercise goals, mainly bodybuilding. Not something most people should strive for. Arnold type body looks great on photos, but is utterly impractical for normal life, super hard to reach and maintain. Low rep means you are close to your limits, which is area where injuries happen a lot, and wear on all parts of the body happens much more (muscles love it, but joints and connective tissue disagrees, and spine has a say in the topic too). Wear is something you are not aware of till its too late and all kinds of pain start to manifest.
Lighter weights, more reps(15-20), shorter stops between them (30-60s), and you not only gain much better results in stamina (what good is it to be able to lift 100kg 3x times and you're done, when you need to move apartment for example or do multi-hour hike/anything else). Muscles grow like crazy too, if you have weights just right. Its much easier to keep good form of exercise when you are not at your limit.
I do ~12,000 steps/day and HIIT 3x/week but I have trouble incorporating weight lifting primarily because I can do the other two without needing a gym, which is very difficult (single dad, 2 kids, sole caretaker, 2 businesses). Any suggestions?
Anecdotal and will get downvoted, but I have WAY more energy when I eat sugar. And yes, I have cut sugar for up to a month at a time before. I never got the magical increases in energy people talk about.
I recently joined a gym ( industrialstrengthgym.com/ ). It has an emphasis on having a welcoming atmosphere and community.
When they asked me during orientation what my goals were, I said "Show up three times a week. I need to grow up, it is time to work out."
And that really is how I feel about the matter.
If you listen to Tim Ferriss' interviews and read his interview books ( Tribe of Mentors, Tools of Titans ), you will notice a pattern: MANY of these highly effective people MAKE time to have intense work-out sessions.
All of the research and knowledge we currently have about human health and successful aging points to regular weight training and cardio training as the secret sauce for having a healthy mind and body as you age.
Going to the gym and working out isn't about having a hobby or enjoying it. It's about being an adult and taking care of yourself.
So grow up. Get to the gym.
Disclosure: I am a member of the gym I mentioned above but have no other affiliation with the gym.
For what it's worth -- an anecdotal as tentative counterpoint: my mentor in my teenage years, an academic and just an excellent man, was an avid cyclist with a diet that supported said hobby. To the extent that he rode daily and would cycle from around lake Michigan every other year. He repaired and built ham radios in his basement, next to his de facto bike repair shop. He was a socialite and happily married. This is how he spent his days.
Yet he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's at 72, six months after mild symptoms started appearing. He passed less than two years later, and his personality & mind a year before that.
Just six years before that he was detailing vector calculus proofs with me at his dinner table.
I try not to be too cynical but I just can't help thinking of him and his bitter end when reading about these albeit preventative measures.
I'm not sure why you are so cynical, my Aunt died of Alzheimer's in her late 50s. Maybe all that activity, staying mentally and physically active, delayed your mentor's symptoms by 15-20 years?
No matter what disease you are worried about, it seems like you need to follow the same advice in your day to day life: eat better, smoke less, drink less, exercise more, sleep appropriately.
Don’t exercise too much. You wanna take the car out to have the motor running every once in a while but if your driving 200km/h everyday the engine is going to wear out prematurely
Seems that brain physiology and health don't live in isolation but are integrally linked with aggregate body muscular physiology. In a Frontiers in Neurology report [1] a prolonged sedentary lifestyle (mouse model) resulted in a 70 pct reduction in neural stem cells compared to a free roaming control group. Specifically, leg-loading exercises (weights) result in the transmission of neurological signals which catalyze generation of healthy nerve cells. A summary of the first technical article appeared in Frontiers Blog [2] if interested.
[1] Reduction of Movement in Neurological Diseases: Effects on Neural Stem Cells Characteristics
Regular exercise with elevated heart rate improve circulatory health (vascular and lymphatic). Low carbohydrate real, organic foods improve vascular function and prevent insulin resistance in the organs. Fasting performs cellular cleanup in all portions of the body.
Our planet and thus our bodies are highly populated with viruses and bacteria. Our body is the best healthcare system we have and works continually to eliminate or quarantine harmful pathogens like Borellia (Lyme), Bartonella, Babesia, Erlichia, Chlamydia, malaria, epstein-barr, herpes, etc. The quarantined pathogens (from biofilms, bacterial starvation forms, etc) often reproduce during immune suppression and over time propagate across the body. Many of the 'deposits' in Alzheimers are composed of quarantined pathogens (lyme, chlamydia, etc) and fasting + diet + exercise can help minimize those.
Personal experience here:
Incidentally, the non-Hodgkins Lymphoma symptoms of Wikipedia very strongly parallel Bartonella and Babesia symptoms. The immune suppression from those often raises viral antibodies to things like Epstein-Barr. Cultural/native medicines lacked microbiology, but had a much better understanding of the body as a whole just from visible physical and patient reported symptoms than most western medicine practice today. Most pathogen testing is poor due to low blood/urine density and most doctors are authoritatively ignorant and refuse to look at other markers like TNF-a, TGF-b, C3a, C4a, etc blood tests.
Steven Buhner has written a number of scientifically and medicinally based books on the bacterial/parasitic pathogens (he has a ton of references from China, Korea, Russia, Germany, India, and the US).
> organic foods improve vascular function and prevent insulin resistance in the organs
This is bullshit.
> Many of the 'deposits' in Alzheimers are composed of quarantined pathogens (lyme, chlamydia, etc) and fasting + diet + exercise can help minimize those.
My Opa is struggling right now- mid 80s, thinking is getting very fuzzy, and he isn't exercising the parts (back) he needs to. It's causing his body to break down. The cartilage and disks in his ribcage and spine are collapsing, forcing him to hunch deeply (accelerating the degeneration) and crushing his lungs. If he had kept his back strong, it would have kept the stress off his tissues for decades. He would still be losing his sight, smell, and taste (horrible, for a chef), but maybe he would be less fuzzy.
My Opa is also the most hardcore motherfucker I've ever met. It's not that he didn't exercise. He still heaves around 80 lb bags of sand, he's building a goddamn cottage almost by himself, he's still almost immune to pain. He's the toughest man I know, and even on the days he has trouble with fairly basic spatial tasks he can multiply three digit numbers in his head faster than I can write them down. His short term memory is still better than mine. He's still smarter than me. He's so stubborn he keeps falling off ladders every week because despite how much he has lost he just refuses. to. give. up.
I can't understate how fucking scary it all is. The man is unstoppable when he puts his mind to something. Time has not worn down his will even a tiny bit. He breaks bones more often now, but he shakes it off, does the PT, and it's like it never happened. But even that isn't enough when age decides to take you. If your spine wilts, all the exercise and work in the world will not save you. When you can't sleep more than two hours at a time, what do you do? You can't force yourself to sleep. You just slowly go nuts, a little more each day.
Aging is the real process of senescence, not just of getting older. Dementia, weakness, and frailty all seem increasingly like symptoms of a larger bodily/immune system degeneration. The inability to exercise, the constant pain, the constant sleep deprivation- those things could give dementia to a young man too. You can stave off the bodily decay until you start aging, but not after. Some lucky few, the Jeanne Calments[1], seem to be basically immune to senescence. They follow the path you'd expect, of a body slowly wearing out. The rest of us eventually hit a point where our bodies suddenly start to break down, and things like exercise just no longer produce the same changes they used to. The systems that handle growth, repair, immune responses- they just stop.
I'm sorry if this is bleak, but it hurts to see him like this. I just spent a couple months helping him put up siding. He wants to finish that cottage so much. I hope it's not his swan song.
Don't be too scared - the way we die now is still much better than the vast majority of humans that have ever died, even in the throes of dementia. The transience of health (and, by extension, life) is the great tragedy of all sentient life. The transience is a brute fact, the tragedy is an emotional response. We understand the brute fact very well, but can't change it. We understand the emotional response very little, and yet we have the ability to change it significantly.
I do not know About exercise; there are other options too: fasting for several days ( 4-5) ; Your body will produce ketones as fuel for your brain and growth hormone will also be produced; both can be used to repair your brain. It is free and from ancient traditions
Am I wrong to be frustrated with the way this is phrased. I think something to the effect of, "Lack of exercise pollutes brain and promotes degeneration." is more informative of the finding.
It is and it does. Water fasting is the quickest way to trigger autophagy. Depending on the person this will start around 12 - 18 hours of no caloric intake.
How about healthy people can do exercise while people with the early symptoms of Alzheimer's are kind of bad at it, but they just need to try harder and have their Medicare to pay people to help them flail around a little more gracefully and when their disease progresses we can just blame them for their disease because of their lack of exercise even though it's a bit hard for them to remember to exercise at that point.
[+] [-] DoreenMichele|7 years ago|reply
The lymphatic system is powered in part by the circulatory system and in part by physical activity (aka "exercise"). Fluid from the blood, minus certain blood products, goes out into the tissues and becomes interstitial fluid. Muscle action dramatically increases the rate at which it gets returned from the tissues to the blood.
This is the mechanism by which the body cleans up most tissues. Except for the brain. The brain has a separate mechanism whereby lymphatic fluid (aka interstitial fluid) gets flushed out, taking wastes with it, only during sleep. This is a primary function of sleep.
Personal firsthand experience suggests that exercise is frequently followed by napping precisely because these are separate systems. Exercise may start this process by flushing out other tissues, but your brain won't get flushed of wastes until you sleep.
If you want to benefit from this research, you will need to have good sleep hygiene in addition to exercising. From what I gather, aerobic exercise is likely to do more good from the perspective of powering the lymphatic system than weight lifting.
[+] [-] rhombocombus|7 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jfaucett|7 years ago|reply
That was my impression as well after doing some research in this area a while back. Although I looked specifically at longevity and cardiovascular studies there was a peak benefit at about 2hrs per week after which virtually no more benefits were observed.
[+] [-] rsync|7 years ago|reply
I've been thinking about this myself and I theorize that this all comes back, full circle, to your heart.
That is, both bodily and brain lymphatic fluid flushing mechanisms are driven by circulation - and the more efficient and powerful your blood circulation is, the more efficient and cleansing your lymphatic flushing will be.
And thus, your brains lymphatic flushing, while not directly driven by exercise, still benefits greatly from exercise due to the improvement in total circulation.
[+] [-] agumonkey|7 years ago|reply
it might be related to your comment too
[+] [-] cma|7 years ago|reply
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/lymphat...
[+] [-] anonu|7 years ago|reply
This is conjecture? I do hope its true though! A frequent debate I have with a friend is whether weight-lifting or running has better effects. He claims 1 hour of weight-lifting raises your metabolism by many multiples vs more aerobic exercise. Its always a bit hard to have these debates though since we are mostly armed with anecdotes and not facts.
I suspect the answer is always moderation - somewhere in between.
[+] [-] mohammedbin|7 years ago|reply
One question- what is it specifically about sleep? Have we figured that out yet? And when you say "only", you mean "only" or you mean 99.9% of time?
[+] [-] cimmanom|7 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|7 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] dralley|7 years ago|reply
[+] [-] DiabloD3|7 years ago|reply
Not disagreeing with it on face value, mind you, but the actual research basically states that you can't just start exercising... you have to already been exercising (and not even all that much, like, ~5000 steps ~= 2 miles a day, some HIIT (less is more) + low rep heavy weight lifting one or twice a week) benefit from this.
So, all of us who are in our 30s now? The time is now.
Also, re: weight lifting, try to target all of your muscle groups right. Don't be the guy who skips leg day, don't be the guy who has a shitty core and is trying to squat 250+. Guys like Jeff Cavaliere are who to look at on how to do this right.
[+] [-] bad_user|7 years ago|reply
Exercise too does help a little with insulin resistance (but not enough to repair the damage done by a diet high in sugar), plus people that exercise tend to also eat healthy.
[+] [-] beaconstudios|7 years ago|reply
I don't really get this advice. I compound lift and when I was lifting regularly I peaked at 145kg/320lbs. I've never done focused core exercises with any regularity, I just focused on good form/posture and a neutral spine. Perhaps compound lifting itself is enough to build the core strength you need for squatting? Obviously I wouldn't recommend other people leave it out, but it doesn't seem to have done me any harm.
[+] [-] saiya-jin|7 years ago|reply
Yes, almost any exercise is better than none. The earlier in life the better. Good core is super important in, well, anything including sitting on the chair. Hiit I consider very good based on effects on me, but would like to see some long-term results and its definitely only for people already doing some regular training.
But where do you get the low rep info? This is good for only very specific exercise goals, mainly bodybuilding. Not something most people should strive for. Arnold type body looks great on photos, but is utterly impractical for normal life, super hard to reach and maintain. Low rep means you are close to your limits, which is area where injuries happen a lot, and wear on all parts of the body happens much more (muscles love it, but joints and connective tissue disagrees, and spine has a say in the topic too). Wear is something you are not aware of till its too late and all kinds of pain start to manifest.
Lighter weights, more reps(15-20), shorter stops between them (30-60s), and you not only gain much better results in stamina (what good is it to be able to lift 100kg 3x times and you're done, when you need to move apartment for example or do multi-hour hike/anything else). Muscles grow like crazy too, if you have weights just right. Its much easier to keep good form of exercise when you are not at your limit.
[+] [-] vanderZwan|7 years ago|reply
This is true for exercising regardless, TBH. The more you build up now, the less trouble you have maintaining it later.
[+] [-] cheez|7 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Scarbutt|7 years ago|reply
[+] [-] chc|7 years ago|reply
[+] [-] atomical|7 years ago|reply
[+] [-] madeuptempacct|7 years ago|reply
[+] [-] _zskd|7 years ago|reply
When they asked me during orientation what my goals were, I said "Show up three times a week. I need to grow up, it is time to work out."
And that really is how I feel about the matter.
If you listen to Tim Ferriss' interviews and read his interview books ( Tribe of Mentors, Tools of Titans ), you will notice a pattern: MANY of these highly effective people MAKE time to have intense work-out sessions.
All of the research and knowledge we currently have about human health and successful aging points to regular weight training and cardio training as the secret sauce for having a healthy mind and body as you age.
Going to the gym and working out isn't about having a hobby or enjoying it. It's about being an adult and taking care of yourself.
So grow up. Get to the gym.
Disclosure: I am a member of the gym I mentioned above but have no other affiliation with the gym.
[+] [-] shaboi|7 years ago|reply
Yet he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's at 72, six months after mild symptoms started appearing. He passed less than two years later, and his personality & mind a year before that.
Just six years before that he was detailing vector calculus proofs with me at his dinner table.
I try not to be too cynical but I just can't help thinking of him and his bitter end when reading about these albeit preventative measures.
[+] [-] Ensorceled|7 years ago|reply
[+] [-] joewee|7 years ago|reply
[+] [-] lev99|7 years ago|reply
[+] [-] abledon|7 years ago|reply
[+] [-] agumonkey|7 years ago|reply
[+] [-] escherplex|7 years ago|reply
[1] Reduction of Movement in Neurological Diseases: Effects on Neural Stem Cells Characteristics
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2018.0033...
[2] Leg exercise is critical to brain and nervous system health
https://blog.frontiersin.org/2018/06/07/neuroscience-leg-exe...
[+] [-] lymeeducator1|7 years ago|reply
Our planet and thus our bodies are highly populated with viruses and bacteria. Our body is the best healthcare system we have and works continually to eliminate or quarantine harmful pathogens like Borellia (Lyme), Bartonella, Babesia, Erlichia, Chlamydia, malaria, epstein-barr, herpes, etc. The quarantined pathogens (from biofilms, bacterial starvation forms, etc) often reproduce during immune suppression and over time propagate across the body. Many of the 'deposits' in Alzheimers are composed of quarantined pathogens (lyme, chlamydia, etc) and fasting + diet + exercise can help minimize those.
Personal experience here: Incidentally, the non-Hodgkins Lymphoma symptoms of Wikipedia very strongly parallel Bartonella and Babesia symptoms. The immune suppression from those often raises viral antibodies to things like Epstein-Barr. Cultural/native medicines lacked microbiology, but had a much better understanding of the body as a whole just from visible physical and patient reported symptoms than most western medicine practice today. Most pathogen testing is poor due to low blood/urine density and most doctors are authoritatively ignorant and refuse to look at other markers like TNF-a, TGF-b, C3a, C4a, etc blood tests.
Steven Buhner has written a number of scientifically and medicinally based books on the bacterial/parasitic pathogens (he has a ton of references from China, Korea, Russia, Germany, India, and the US).
[+] [-] ___alt|7 years ago|reply
This is bullshit.
> Many of the 'deposits' in Alzheimers are composed of quarantined pathogens (lyme, chlamydia, etc) and fasting + diet + exercise can help minimize those.
This is also bullshit.
> Steven Buhner
He's a well-known crackpot.
[+] [-] hwillis|7 years ago|reply
My Opa is also the most hardcore motherfucker I've ever met. It's not that he didn't exercise. He still heaves around 80 lb bags of sand, he's building a goddamn cottage almost by himself, he's still almost immune to pain. He's the toughest man I know, and even on the days he has trouble with fairly basic spatial tasks he can multiply three digit numbers in his head faster than I can write them down. His short term memory is still better than mine. He's still smarter than me. He's so stubborn he keeps falling off ladders every week because despite how much he has lost he just refuses. to. give. up.
I can't understate how fucking scary it all is. The man is unstoppable when he puts his mind to something. Time has not worn down his will even a tiny bit. He breaks bones more often now, but he shakes it off, does the PT, and it's like it never happened. But even that isn't enough when age decides to take you. If your spine wilts, all the exercise and work in the world will not save you. When you can't sleep more than two hours at a time, what do you do? You can't force yourself to sleep. You just slowly go nuts, a little more each day.
Aging is the real process of senescence, not just of getting older. Dementia, weakness, and frailty all seem increasingly like symptoms of a larger bodily/immune system degeneration. The inability to exercise, the constant pain, the constant sleep deprivation- those things could give dementia to a young man too. You can stave off the bodily decay until you start aging, but not after. Some lucky few, the Jeanne Calments[1], seem to be basically immune to senescence. They follow the path you'd expect, of a body slowly wearing out. The rest of us eventually hit a point where our bodies suddenly start to break down, and things like exercise just no longer produce the same changes they used to. The systems that handle growth, repair, immune responses- they just stop.
I'm sorry if this is bleak, but it hurts to see him like this. I just spent a couple months helping him put up siding. He wants to finish that cottage so much. I hope it's not his swan song.
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeanne_Calment
[+] [-] TaupeRanger|7 years ago|reply
[+] [-] wonderbear|7 years ago|reply
I'm glad your Opa has you there with him though this stage.
[+] [-] madeuptempacct|7 years ago|reply
As in e.g. 365 * 128? Or 365 * 8? The latter is realistic, the former is a bit unbelievable. Even the latter is a violation of the "magic 7"[0].
[0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Magical_Number_Seven,_Plus...
[+] [-] thecatspaw|7 years ago|reply
Are you just submitting your RSS feed here?
[+] [-] tim333|7 years ago|reply
It seems quite a weak correlation compared with the story 3 months ago "Alzheimer's risk 10 times lower with herpes medication" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17540094
Maybe healthier / exercising people are better able to deal with viruses?
[+] [-] emgee_1|7 years ago|reply
[+] [-] buckthundaz|7 years ago|reply
Similar to "Time in nature heals you"...
[+] [-] dawhizkid|7 years ago|reply
[+] [-] lymeeducator1|7 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tbabb|7 years ago|reply
[+] [-] nosjwshere|7 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] modzu|7 years ago|reply
[+] [-] rich_ard|7 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|7 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] narrator|7 years ago|reply