Medically reviewed by Michael Smith, MDMy dad had his first one in his early 50s. Then came quadruple bypass surgery. Four blood vessels in his heart had become clogged with thick, waxy sludge. Surgeons snipped parts of a vein from his left leg, stitching it around the blockages.
This was a big reason why I became a doctor: to help my patients stay well for as long as possible. It was about holding off disaster. Kaufman weighed more than 400 pounds. He doesn't know the exact number because his doctor's office scale didn't go that high.Eventually, he began to believe that this was the body he was given, this was his DNA, and he'd just have to accept the misery.
To protect his joints and avoid more surgeries, Kaufman was told to limit physical activity. Get a desk job, he recalls his doctor saying. At 38, Kaufman was in such bad shape that his doctor wouldn't OK gastric bypass surgery for weight loss. It was too risky for someone with so many out-of-control medical problems.
This medicine is perfectly calibrated, working at the right time on the right target at the right dose. As a doctor, there's no better medicine in my arsenal. When you head out on that walk , your body unleashes an army of billions of immune cells, some aptly named natural killer cells. Within an hour, these cells filter out of the bloodstream and seep into organs throughout your body. They find and destroy dangerous intruders and defective cells .
In one study, some of these changes lasted for minutes. Others stayed for at least an hour. A second study backed that up. His advice: Don't think of exercise as just a tool to burn off calories. Make it part of your life because the more often we use our muscles, the more often we send those waves of molecular messengers out through the bloodstream to refresh our entire system.Many people hate to exercise. But that can change once it's a habit and you start to feel better. It helps if you choose something you like to do and can do with other people.
For Kaufman, the gains spilled over to his family. His wife, Heather, became an avid runner. Kaufman chokes up with emotion as he recalls seeing Heather's face as he finished his first race. Her eyes were filled with pride. Pity was long gone.
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Source: Forbes - 🏆 394. / 53 Read more »