Why exercise is just as effective against strokes as medication

“Exercise may be just as effective as drugs at treating common diseases,” reports Herald.ie.

This, as we reported here, after a study involving 339,274 participants “found no significant difference in outcomes between those who had undergone an exercise treatment versus those who received medication for heart disease treatment, stroke rehabilitation, heart failure treatment, and diabetes prevention”.
 
How does exercise help with stroke prevention?
 
As Nutrition & Healing’s Dr Jonathan Wright explains, 30% of stroke victims experience either intense anger or negative emotion within two hours of their stroke.
 
And that’s why anything – including exercise – that helps you blow off steam can keep your heart healthy and reduce your stroke risk.
 
Sounds far-fetched?
 
It’s not.
 
As the Mayo Clinic website explains, exercise’s direct stress-busting benefits include:

• Boosting endorphins – your brain’s feel-good neurotransmitters.
• Helping you focus on a single task so you can let frustrations go – just like meditation. The reason? When you’re busy focusing on how your body’s moving you can’t think about what’s upsetting you.
• Increasing your self-confidence. The more self-confidence you have, the less anxiety you’ll have and the lower your stress levels will be.
• Helping you sleep better. And we all know a lack of sleep can lead to depression and anxiety.

 
By easing your stress levels, exercise won’t only give you better command over your body and life, it’ll help keep your heart healthy and help prevent strokes too. So get active! It could save your life.