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RESEARCH NEWS
Popeye was right – spinach really does make you strong!
Researchers have discovered eating a bowl of spinach a day can make muscles “profoundly” more efficient.
Resistance training good for lowering blood pressure
Resistance training is as good as aerobic exercise in lowering blood pressure according to a study by the Appalachian State University in America.
Researchers looked at changes that occurred to arteries and blood flow following 45 minutes of exercise using resistance machines the same as those typically found in gyms and health clubs.
They reported finding that strength training resulted in as much as a 20 per cent
decrease in a person’s blood pressure, results that were as good as, or better, than the benefit of taking anti-hypertension medications.
The beneficial effects of resistance work continued for about 30 minutes after the exercise finished and for as long as 24 hours in those who trained for 30-45 minutes three times a week. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 2009; Nov 23(8): 2331-2338
They found consuming 300g of the vegetable reduced the amount of oxygen needed to power muscles by as much as five per cent when exercising, and the effect is so powerful it kicks in after just three days.
The secret is not iron but nitrates, which are abundant
in spinach, which make the mitochondria (like the engine rooms of every muscle) more efficient.
Dr Eddie Weitzberg of the Karolinksa Institutet in Sweden explains: “It’s like a fuel additive for your muscles – it makes them run much more efficiently and smoothly.” Cell Metabolism 2011;Feb 13(2):149-159
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