[Health Byte]

Defeat stroke and heart disease:

10 minutes at a time

The smart folks at Oxford University have found that women of every age can reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke immediately and significantly by doing one simple thing.

Exercise for only 10 minutes, just 2-3 times per week. That's it.

Anything will do, according to the research published in the prestigious journal Circulation. Compared to doing nothing, simply getting any form of physical activity at least once a week was found to lower the risk of heart disease.

And many types of physical activities lower your risk, including walking, gardening and cycling.

Of course if you do more, you can reduce the risk even more. One study found 92% reduced risk for heart disease by avoiding smoking, exercising, eating healthy and having normal weight, regardless of anything else.

But says Dr. Miranda Armstrong, a physical activity epidemiologist at the University of Oxford, "Positively, the research showed that every effort to be physically active could contribute to improving heart health, with those women who undertook physical activity just once a week having a lower risk of heart disease than those who did nothing. The women who were active 2-3 times a week were able to cut their risk of heart disease substantially."

Other studies also show that taking part in consistent exercise has the greatest benefit in saving your heart from developing life-threatening difficulties. It's even more important than losing weight.

Australian scientists base their conclusion on an analysis of risk factors in more than 32,000 women taking part in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health. Since 1996, the study has been following the long-term health of Australian women born in 1921 to 1926, 1946 to 1951, and 1973 to 1978.

The researchers conclude: "Our data suggest that national programs for the promotion and maintenance of physical activity, across the adult lifespan ... deserve to be a much higher public health priority for women than they are now."

For faster results, well, just go faster. The Scripps Research Institute has shown that intense interval exercise taps into the nervous system's 'fight or flight' reaction.

This sparks muscles to perform better and also stimulates them to get ready for whatever comes next, including exercise or a sudden occurrence. Whatever happens, you and your heart will be ready.

-Easy Health Options