NorthStar Nutritionals Blog

Joint mobility probably isn’t something people think about often – until they’ve started to stiffen up and lose mobility.

At which point, joint mobility becomes more important than they ever expected.

So don’t wait to deal with joint mobility until you’ve started to feel the effects of losing it.

Start now, with these tips and tricks, and stay moving for years to come…

Whole Body Mobility

Cardio aerobic exercise is important. Joint mobility is important. So address both at the same time with these full-body activities.

1. Swimming. Perhaps the best exercise you can find for joint mobility and health, swimming is completely no-impact, so you don’t risk damaging your joints at all. The strokes work your shoulders, elbows, and wrists, while the kicks keep your hips, knees, and ankles moving. Plus, if you’ll swim for thirty minutes or longer, you’ll get a great cardio workout for your heart, lungs, and overall health!

2. Rowing machine. Don’t have the ability or inclination to get out on the river, but still want the results of rowing? Rowing machines will give them to you! A very low-impact activity, stationary rowing helps protects your joints, while working them enough to keep them mobile. The pull in your arms works your shoulders, elbows, wrists, and hands. The push in your legs is good for hip, knee, and ankle joint mobility. And don’t be fooled by the first two or three minutes on the machine. Give it time and you’ll get a great cardio workout.

3. Elliptical machines. These work joint mobility and balance, to help keep you independent. Go slowly at first, because the coordination between the arm motions and the stepping can take some getting used to. But once you find your rhythm, your hips, knees, shoulders, and elbows will all thank you. And as with the others in this category, it won’t take long before you’ve worked up a good, aerobic sweat.

Targeted Joint Mobility

While whole body mobility is key to overall health, balance, and independence, sometimes you need to target specific joints. They’re the ones beginning to stiffen up or become a bit of a problem.

Keep up with your aerobic, cardio workouts – and add easy exercises for specific joint mobility!

They may seem easy, but that’s what mobility is all about, the ability to keep doing the easy stuff for yourself. Repeat each exercise ten to twenty times.

Elbow 1 – Sit or stand up straight, with your arms relaxed at your sides. Slowly, bend your elbows, bring your fist to your shoulder. Hold, then straighten your arm, slowly. Be sure not to hyperextend your elbow on the downward motion.

Elbow 2 – Bend your elbows 90*, so your forearms are parallel to the floor and your palms are up, facing the ceiling. Without moving your shoulders, rotate your palms so they face the floor, then return to the upright position.

Hand 1 – With your palm facing upward, make a loose fist. Release your fist, extending your fingers long, and spreading them wide. You should feel a stretch in your fingers and palm. Relax.

Hand 2 – If you can’t make a fist without pain, start with your palms up, and your fingers pressed together. Spread your fingers and thumb as widely as you can without pain. Hold, then relax.

Hand 3 – Hold your hand out flat, palm up, fingers relaxed. Bend your thumb to the tip of each finger, one at a time. If you can’t reach the tip of one of your fingers, close the gap between your thumb and finger to the best of your ability. Move through all four fingers, then relax.

Hip 1 – Lie on the floor, flat on your back, arms relaxed by your side. Bend one leg, bringing your knee as far toward your chest as you can without pain. Slowly lower your leg. Repeat other side. This is one cycle.

Hip 2 – Stay on the floor, in the same beginning position. Move your leg to the side, as far as you can. You can lift your leg an inch or so, or you can scoot it along the floor. The focus is on opening the hip, not lifting your leg, though. Slowly, bring your leg back to the starting position. Repeat with the other leg. This is one cycle.

Knee – This is a good one to combine with the hip joint mobility exercises because they start in the same position. For the knee, though, bend your leg so your foot is flat on the floor. Depending on how much joint mobility you have, this may be the whole exercise. If so, slowly extend your leg back to starting position, and repeat with the other leg. If you can, however, slide your foot – keeping it flat on the floor – as close to your buttocks as possible. Then slowly slide the leg back, and release into starting position. Repeat with your other leg. Going through the motion with both legs makes a full cycle. Remember, this shouldn’t hurt your knee.

Final Touches for Joint Mobility

You’ve gotten whole body joint mobility, and targeted exercises for your trouble spots. Now, bring it all together with the final pieces –

Get some sleep! Your body restores and rejuvenates itself while you sleep, and your joints are no exception. Give them their best chance to maintain mobility, strength, and health by getting the sleep they – and you – need. Aim for seven to nine hours a night.

Eat the right foods. By eating foods that trigger a healthy inflammatory response, you’re eating foods that will help maintain your joint mobility. The omega-3s in fish…the antioxidants in cherries…the vitamins in green vegetables…keeping your joints healthy can taste great!

Work with your body. Give your joints the support they need, even while you sleep, with LunaFlex PM – the only joint support supplement on the market that targets your joints all day and all night. It’s like waking up with “new” knees (and hips and shoulders and fingers…) every morning.

Don’t dread losing joint mobility. And don’t panic over keeping it, either. It can be fun and can improve your overall health, too. If you choose general exercises, targeted ones, or both – and LunaFlex PM – maintaining joint mobility is nothing to worry about any more!

You’re carrying a little extra weight around your middle, a bit of a beer belly, but that’s okay right?

Because it’s just the beer belly, and your weight is fine otherwise.

Sadly, no. The beer belly is a larger problem than you may realize.

In fact, having a beer belly can be more dangerous to your health than a higher overall BMI.

So, What Makes It Different?

The problem with fat that causes a beer belly is that it’s not just subcutaneous, or immediately under the skin, the way fat elsewhere on your body is.

This fat is indicative of visceral fat – the fat that goes deep into your body, and envelopes your vital organs. And fat that covers your vital organs is particularly dangerous.

So you can have an otherwise healthy weight, but if you’re carrying a beer belly, you’re at greater risk for serious, systemic medical concerns.

Deadly – and Not So Deadly Effects of the Beer Belly

There are three potentially deadly effects of the beer belly that affect men and women. Then there’s a fourth, embarrassing one that men will just want to avoid on principle.

1. An unhealthy heart. Visceral fat, the kind that creates that beer belly, slows down the heart’s ability to receive blood and oxygen, the two things a healthy heart needs most. It also creates an unhealthy inflammatory response throughout the body that can negatively impact your heart’s health.

2. Metabolic syndrome. While metabolic syndrome isn’t a disease, per se, it is a collection of health conditions that are all linked to poor health and greater risk of disease. The five markers considered in metabolic syndrome are:

• High triglycerides
• Low HDL (the “good” cholesterol) levels
• High blood sugar
• High blood pressure
• And yes, the beer belly

Re-read that: a beer belly is so significant to your health that it is considered a marker for metabolic syndrome. That’s very different from carrying around a little extra weight in your hips or thighs.

3. Brain and Memory. What’s happening in your gut is directly impacting your brain. Without getting too scientific, your brain depends on a specific protein (among other things) to stay healthy. But the abdominal fat that creates the beer belly actually reduces the amount of that protein in your body. Which puts cognitive function at risk.

4. The fourth effect of the beer belly isn’t dangerous, but it’s also not one most men want to deal with or think about: performance issues. Because yes, in men, the beer belly can interfere with sexual performance – and not just because you may not feel as sexy as you’d like. Excessive belly fat interferes with blood flow, so you don’t get the response you want. But also, a beer belly can wreak havoc on your testosterone levels. Visceral fat produces an enzyme that turns testosterone into estrogen, so your testosterone levels drop. Definitely not as bad as heart problems, but still not something you want to ignore.

Defining, and Fixing, the Beer Belly

Now that you know the beer belly is more than just a beer belly, what are you supposed to do about it? First, make sure you’ve got a beer belly.

Take a fabric tape measure and wrap it around your tummy, just at the belly button. If it measures more than 35” for women, and more than 40” for men, you’ve got a beer belly.

In spite of its name, simply cutting out beer probably won’t solve the problem. Diet, exercise, age, and genetics play as much of a role in the beer belly than actual beer consumption.

Realistically, the only way to get rid of the beer belly is to lose weight the old fashioned way:

• Make healthier food choices. Cut out processed foods. Get plenty of leafy greens, lean proteins, healthy fats, and good-for-you carbs.
• The American Heart Association recommends at least 30 minutes per day of aerobic activity. That’s just to stay healthy. In order to lose weight, try to get more than that and aim for 10,000 steps a day.
• Get your sleep. Not getting enough sleep can actually keep you from losing weight. So aim for seven to nine hours a night.
• Learn to relax. When you’re stressed, your body produces the stress hormone, cortisol, which can completely undo the positive effects of diet and exercise. Plus, it targets the fat, putting it directly into your beer belly. It’s not enough to pretend to be calm, either. Your body knows when you’re faking it. Find a way to really relax and let go of the stress.
• Keep portions under control. The truth is that when you’re actively trying to lose weight, portions and calories matter. Even the healthiest of foods can cause you to gain weight if you eat too many of them. So don’t overeat anything, including those lean meats, healthy fats, and good-for-you carbs. BenVia Gold may help here, by keeping you fuller, longer, with fewer than 100 calories!

It’s not just a beer belly. It’s a health risk. You owe it to yourself to be honest, and to do something about it.