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You’re tired but invigorated after your workout, whether it’s pumping iron, a brisk walk, or a swim in the pool. You know you’re improving your health, but do you wonder what is actually happening inside your body?

The following essential reasons to exercise are gleaned from various medical journals:

• Exercise promotes fat loss — If you want to shrink your size you must exercise at least 30 minutes every day without increasing your caloric intake. If a daily commitment is a bit too much, an hour of intensive training every other day would be effective too. And some research indicates that you can break that hour into segments throughout the day to reap the same reward. Do what works for you but be regular and consistent.

• Exercise soothes stress — While working out, increased core temperature can lessen muscle tension and beneficially alter brain neurotransmitters. Pump up the endorphins and you’ll enhance your mood. Psychological changes can occur due to alterations in dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine, hormones that affect anxiety and mood.

• Exercise is good for the brain — Yes, crossword puzzles and other challenging mind endeavors are important but so is exercise. Researchers from the University of Illinois found that brain responses in active seniors were comparable to those of young adults. The consensus is that exercise increases blood flow to the brain, just as it improves circulation to the heart and the rest of the body. Movement also stimulates nerve cell growth in the memory part of the brain.

• Exercise benefits the heart — Exercise reduces LDL cholesterol, the bad artery clogging kind. Additionally, many studies show improved blood pressure (less stress on the heart), blood flow and heart muscle function. All lessen your chance of developing blood clots. Dr. William Kraus, associate professor of medicine at Duke University Medical Center states in The New England Journal of Medicine, “Even a moderate amount of exercise helps your heart. Some exercise is better than none and more is better than less.”

• Exercise helps prevent cancer — A recent study from the Seattle Cancer Research Center discovered at least 35 percent of all cancer deaths could be related to overweight and inactivity. Exercise is thought to accelerate food through the colon, thus reducing time that any toxins are in contact with the body. Overfat people also tend to have more insulin, which promotes tumor growth. And finally for women, exercise diminishes the level of oestrogen, a hormone associated with breast cancer.

• Exercise helps control arthritis — After a two-year study of 300 rheumatoid arthritis patients, Dutch researchers concluded that regular, intensive exercise builds muscle strength, aerobic capacity, improves the ability to perform daily tasks while nourishing a sense of well-being. Other studies target osteoarthritis, the most common form of the disease. When cartilage deteriorates between two bones of a joint, stiffness and pain ensue. Since cartilage doesn’t have a blood supply, synovial fluid moves in and out of the joint providing nourishment and eliminating waste products. Exercise aids this process.

• Exercise helps avert stroke — “Highly active” people had a 27 percent lower risk of having a stroke or dying from one, compared with sedentary persons while “moderately active” had a 20 percent lower risk, based on findings from 23 international studies that appeared in the journal Stroke last year.

Not convinced that you need to exercise? Ask your health care provider if you can afford not to exercise.

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Kay Sager is a certified fitness and aquatic specialist living at Port of the Islands. She is a personal trainer using land and water fitness and teaches swimming. She also has written articles for Physician and Sports Medicine among other publications. Kay can be reached by e-mail: kswimfit@aol.com.