Students and exercise

Lunch today
4 oz of Meatloaf
1 cup of home grown kale
1 cup of organic brown rice topped with raw saukerkrat and relish
1 cup of cabbage and sausage mixture (amazing)
Entire plate drizzled in walnut oil
Dessert:
Almond brownie with cookie and cream topping. (yes 100% healthy)


Every day we turn on the TV and the benefits of a healthy diet and exercise are featured. You’ve heard it all: lose weight, avoid diseases, etc… Here is a slightly different viewpoint on that topic. I am currently reading a book called Spark, which explains how physical exercise directly relates to a better functioning brain. The book discusses one high school, Naperville District 203, which implemented “learning readiness physical education,” or what they called, “Zero Hour PE class.” This was a fitness class that was conducted before school started every day. They followed a structured program of running, weight lifting, and other challenging activities. The results were staggering. This district turned 19,000 students into the fittest in the nation, and ALSO the smartest. The school’s test scores skyrocketed, and so did its annual fitness testing results. If we dig a little deeper into WHY test scores were affected, I’m sure that you would find the students were less groggy in class (having balanced insulin levels), more aware, and happier. Endorphins are released from exercise and they trigger a positive feeling in the body, similar to that of morphine. For example, the feeling that follows a run or workout is often described as "euphoric." After leaving the gym, your mood is generally positive and you have an energizing outlook on life. This translates to a more productive, motivated, happier person.

"In order for man to succeed in life, God provided him with two means, education and physical activity. Not separately, one for the soul and the other for the body, but for the two together. With these two means, man can attain perfection."
- Plato