Why is it important to maintain a healthy body?

SPRINGVILLE — The following guest column was submitted by Springville Health and Fitness Trainer and Fitness Coordinator Kimberly Duke.

A healthy body sets the stage for your day-to-day well-being and how well you will age. Maintaining fitness through good nutrition and exercise promotes efficient circulation, digestion and musculoskeletal strength. This allows you to live an active life. A healthy immune system helps you ward off disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, healthy body benefits extend to mood elevation and greater mental alertness, as well as reduced risk of chronic disease.

When you keep your metabolism working well, you enjoy greater energy and fewer aches and pains. Adequate vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, fatty acids and carbohydrates are needed to facilitate all of your body processes. Nightly rest periods allow your body to repair cells and perform other maintenance activities.

Sleep or dietary deficiencies can deprive your body of these essentials and create fatigue. Getting enough nutrition leaves you mentally and physically sharp. Regular exercise utilizes your healthy bones, muscles, heart and lungs, preparing them to meet daily demands.

When your body reaches a consistent plateau of health, it is more likely to hold up under unusual stress and less likely to give way to infection. A daily fitness program that incorporates aerobic exercise and strengthening of the bones and major muscle groups helps you avoid pulled muscles, joint sprains and bone fractures.

Along with a diet rich in vitamin C, restful sleep supports your immune system. The National Sleep Foundation reported that individuals are less susceptible to a cold or flu if they do not have a sleep deficit, especially if they are older adults.

Staying fit means less down time and more time moving and burning calories, to help maintain your weight. According to the American Heart Association, 30 minutes of moderate exercise on most days of the week will help to balance your calorie intake from an average healthy diet. Eating low-fat foods that have strong vitamin, mineral and fiber contents will help you control your weight, as they encourage a healthy cardiovascular system.

A diet that is low in sodium and solid fats preserves normal blood pressure and arterial health to reduce your risk for heart disease, the No. 1 cause of death in America. Staying at a healthy body weight also decreases cardiovascular risk, along with the chances for developing Type 2 diabetes and many forms of cancer. Because these illnesses form over time, maintaining your physical health over the course of your life is best.

Kimberly Duke has spent two decades helping people from all fitness levels to become fitter and healthier, through exercise. She has created programs for children, adolescents, adults and seniors. “Your body is your most important investment in life, and, fortunately, it is something you have control over. So often, an injury is what will get you thinking of a better health and fitness regime. Why wait for that injury to occur? Start now and minimize the risk of problems in the future.”