Health Benefits of Running
Weight Loss: Running is a very popular form of exercise for losing weight. It is difficult to give the exact number of calories burned while running as that depends upon one’s weight, speed at which one is running and the distance covered. Nevertheless it is a known fact that running to burn fat is more effective than any other form of cardiovascular exercises.
Cardiovascular Health: Running increases the requirement of energy by the cells of our body which results in greater demand for oxygen and nutrients. To meet this need the heart starts pumping blood at a faster rate than normal. Blood vessels dilate to facilitate transport of gases and nutrients throughout the body. This regular dilating and coming back to its normal size improves elasticity of arteries that reduces the risk of heart attacks and developing high blood pressure. Increased heart rate results in better supply of blood to different parts of the body and elimination of waste with increased efficiency. As the cardiovascular health improves, all other systems of the body also receive a boost.
Improved Bone and Muscle Health: A continuous demand on the bones and muscles of the body is created due to regular running. Health benefits on these tissues come from the fact that as bones and muscles respond to meet these demands, they grow stronger. Due to this individuals who run regularly are less prone to suffer from effects of old age on these tissues. One of the most significant health benefits of running for women is that it fights the onset of osteoporosis due to old age.
Psychological Benefits: Running also has psychological benefits. Most people report feeling good and mentally relaxed after running. This is due to the release of the feel good hormone, endorphins. These hormones that keep circulating in the body for quite sometime after a good run, impart a sense of euphoria in a runner. This feeling is most commonly referred to as the ‘runner’s high’. Other than improving one’s mood, running also enables one to cope better with stress. This is because while one runs, he is focused on the job at hand and does not think about other responsibilities or problems. This lowers one’s stress levels. Running is physically strenuous. Hence when one accomplishes covering a certain distance set by him, he feels a sense of achievement which boosts one’s morale.
Other Health Benefits of Running
Here are some more health benefits of running:
Running is beneficial for those suffering from cancer as it improves their health.
Another health benefit of running daily is that it increases capacity of lungs.
Other than helping to keep one’s weight in control, running increases the level of HDL or good cholesterol in the body.
This form of exercise increases the number of lymphocytes in the body which in turn strengthens the immune system.
Regular running also adds glow to one’s skin and makes the skin look young and healthy.
Those who want to make use of the equipment in a gym and work on specific parts of the body also consider running on the treadmill instead of doing so outdoors. For such people there is good news. Current research shows that health benefits of running on treadmill varies only slightly than running outdoors. One tends to spend a little less amount of calories while running on the treadmill as compared to when running out in the open. However, running on treadmill reduces the risk of suffering from effects of running on hard and uneven roads. For best results, always set your treadmill at a 1% elevation.
To make the most of the numerous health benefits of running it is important to do warm up exercises for running. Also there are possibilities of hurting oneself while running. It is important to use proper gear and know proper running technique.
Chest pain is often interpreted as the sign of an impending heart attack, but it is not necessarily true, especially for women. In women, chest pain may indicate the presence of several other medical conditions other than heart diseases. Women experiencing chest pain are usually examined for coronary heart diseases and tests are carried out, which often result in the negative. Therefore, in many instances, chest pain in women is quite difficult to diagnose, mainly due to the fact that chest pain is only related to the heart and so no further tests are carried out after confirming the absence of heart diseases. But research carried out in this regard has pointed out that in most cases, chest pain in women is caused by conditions not related to heart diseases.
Women and Heart Disease
Studies have shown that women before menopause are less likely to have heart diseases, as a high level of estrogen provides protection against heart diseases by preventing atherosclerosis or the narrowing of arteries. However, after menopause, as the level of estrogen decreases over time, they become equally likely to develop coronary heart diseases. However, this also does not mean that heart attacks are totally excluded. It only signifies that the risk of suffering from heart diseases is lower in women before menopause as compared to men. This also points to the fact that if a heart disease is not the cause of chest pain in women, then they should be diagnosed for the other conditions that can cause chest pain. Let’s have a look at some of the possible causes of chest pain in women, other than coronary heart diseases.
Causes of Chest Pain in Women
Women who complain of chest pain are initially diagnosed for coronary heart diseases with the help of a stress test. Usually, this test shows a positive result and points to a coronary heart disease, but successive tests like angiograms, cannot find anything of medical significance. However, recent researches have disclosed that this hard-to-diagnose chest pain in women can be a result of microvascular dysfunction and endothelial dysfunction. Microvascular dysfunction is a condition characterized by small blood vessels that either do not dilate or constrict abnormally, thereby impairing normal supply of blood to the heart and causing chest pain. Besides these, plaque accumulation inside the arteries can occur in such a manner, that it is not easily recognizable by an angiogram. On the other hand, endothelial dysfunction refers to the condition where the cells that line the inner surface of the blood vessels do not function properly.
Some other conditions that are related to chest pain in young women include valvular heart disease, mitral prolapse, rheumatic heart disease, mitral splenosis, angina etc. Pulmonary embolism, which is caused by blood clots in the major blood vessels that carry blood to the lungs, can produce chest pain. Pneumothorax, esophageal reflux and costochondritis can also be responsible for causing chest pain. It has been observed that chest pain in women can also arise from stress and anxiety.
Causes of Right Side Chest Pain in Women
Chest pain, especially pain in right chest area, can be caused by conditions that are not at all related to the heart. As for example, formation of gallstones, pneumonia and liver diseases like hepatitis, can cause right side chest pain in women. Gas problems are also related to right side chest pain in women, while a muscle twitch, either due to inappropriate posture or rapid breathing, can cause pain in both left and right side of the chest.
So women should not neglect chest pain even if a coronary heart disease is not detected. They should undergo further tests as recommended by their physicians for proper diagnosis of other conditions related to chest pain. As chest pain is an important indicator of heart diseases, therefore it also essential to control risk factors like smoking, excessive weight gain and the level of blood cholesterol, which can increase the risk of coronary heart diseases.
Irrespective of what age one may be, dental health is an important factor for keeping the teeth and mouth healthy. With dental health, one can eat a variety of foods required for good health, plus, it also makes our smile far more aesthetic. Our teeth are supposed to last throughout our lives; hence, by incorporating proper dental health, we can protect our teeth as well as gums for a lifetime. Plus, proper dental health is also important for maintaining one’s overall well-being.
Practicing Proper Dental Health
Daily dental health care such as brushing the teeth properly as well as flossing them generally help in preventing dental health problems from occurring. And if they do occur, the conditions are much milder, and hence are less painful and expensive to treat.
Apart from visiting the dentist regularly, there are some simple dental health care practices that we can incorporate in our daily lives which can help to reduce the chances of developing dental problems like cavities in the teeth and gum disease. These are:
Brushing the teeth twice a day as well as flossing everyday.
Using toothpaste and other dental products containing fluoride, after consulting your dentist.
Using a mouth rinse containing fluoride, after consulting your dentist.
Avoiding snacking between meals, and consuming a well-balanced diet.
Rinsing the mouth thoroughly after meals.
Brushing and Flossing Properly for Dental Health
In order to maintain dental health one needs to incorporate the correct way of brushing and flossing the teeth:
Using a soft-bristle toothbrush and a fluoride toothpaste, gently brush the teeth in front, behind, and on the top for the molars.
Use short back and forth movements and small circular movements.
Brush gently and carefully along the line of the gum.
And also brush your tongue gently in order to keep it free from bacteria.
Also, one needs to use a dental floss in order to clean the spaces between the teeth. Flossing enables one to remove the food particles as well as plaque that cannot be accessed with a toothbrush. It is important to rinse the mouth after flossing.
In case there is bleeding of the gums or it hurts while flossing, find out the correct way to do it from a dentist. A floss holder may be useful if one finds flossing difficult to do.
Common Dental Health Problems
Given below are a few dental health problems that occur commonly:
Tooth Cavities or Decay: The outer coating of teeth, which is hard, is known as enamel, which gets covered each day with a thin build-up of bacteria. Eventually, this bacteria result in holes forming in the enamel, which are known as cavities or caries. Brushing as well as flossing daily can prevent tooth decay. A fluoride toothpaste can also be useful in preventing tooth cavities. A dentist needs to be consulted if one does discover tooth cavities.
Dental Plaque and Tartar: Dental plaque is the thin film of bacteria and mucus that get deposited on the teeth that lead to the development of tooth decay and gum disease. If this is not removed every day, it hardens and forms into tartar, which is also known as calculus. Daily brushing and flossing help in preventing the build-up of plaque and tartar. However, once tartar has been formed, only the dentist can remove it.
Gum Diseases: Gum diseases occur due to plaque building up along as well as under the lining of the gum. These lead to infections, which cause the gums to become swollen, painful, and tender, and even lead to bleeding. When the gums bleed, it is known as gingivitis. Daily brushing and flossing are preventive measures for gum disease. If the condition worsens, or in case of other diseases of the gums, a dentist will have to treat the condition. If left untreated, it can ruin the gums, the bones, and the rest of the tissues around the teeth. Eventually, it may even lead to the teeth having to be removed.