Cycling Benefit #2: Healthier Lungs & Pollution Reduction
Researchers at Imperial College London found passengers in buses, taxis, and cars inhaled substantially more pollution and ultrafine particles, which can settle in the lungs and damage cells, than cyclists and pedestrians. Here’s the breakdown:
Taxi passengers >100,000 cm3
Bus passengers < 100,000 cm3
Car passengers ~ 40,000 cm3
Cyclists/Walkers ~ 8,000 cm3
It’s thought that, since cyclists ride at the edge of the road, they aren’t directly in the line of exhaust smoke as are vehicle passengers.
Other environmental benefits:
– 20 bicycles can be parked in the same space as one car.
– It takes around 5% of the materials and energy to build a bike than a car
– A bike produces zero air pollution.
– You travel around three times faster than walking.
– You get the equivalent of 2,924 miles to the gallon when biking.
Check out all the cycling benefits, here
Cycling Benefit #1: Strengthens Your Brain!
“Exercise stimulates the growth of new connections between cells in cortical areas of the brain.
A UCLA study showed exercise makes it easier for the brain to grow neuronal connections. This helps with the general power of the brain but also aids the regrowth of axons on damaged cells after a nerve crush injury, the study revealed.
Exercise can also aid brain function later in life. “It boosts blood flow and oxygen to the brain, which fires and regenerates receptors, explaining how exercise helps ward off Alzheimer’s,” says Professor Arthur Kramer of the University of Illinois.
A 2019 study also found cycling improved executive functions. These are the processes that enable planning, attention focus and observation, to name just three.”
Check out the full article and learn about all 27 benefits here.
Healthy Cookout Tips!
🎉 Happy (almost) 4th of July!🌭
Whether you’re hosting or heading to a cookout this year, take a moment to check out these tips for a healthy holiday celebration!
Spotting “Healthy” Ultra-Processed Foods
How does your processed foods knowledge stack up? If the ingredient list is full of unrelated items that are hard to pronounce, steer clear! Learn how you can avoid ultra-processed junk in your food with these tips!
Always Read Food Labels!
BUYER BEWARE! Always read the nutrition label with any new-to-you prepared foods. You may think you’re making healthy choices, but often there are ridiculous amount of added sugars, preservatives, and junk. Check out this Trader Joe’s Coleslaw Kit. 28 grams of sugar – that’s almost as much as a bowl of ice cream (34g)!!
🧠 Change Your Diet, Improve Your Brain! 🧠
Diet does matter! Even your brain benefits from healthier habits! “While a growing body of research suggests that biological aging brought on by stressful events could be reversible, this new study shows that improving your diet may be one of the simplest options to improving body condition, irrespective of the years.”
To read the entire article, click here
