Pumpkin seeds, like all edible seeds, an immense nutritional and medicinal punch. After all, they contain future 
worlds within their compact structure. As Emerson said, “The creation of a thousand forests is within one acorn.”
In order to prepare their "babies" for survival outside the pumpkin, Nature equips these seeds with an extremely dense source of organically-bound nutrients, including exceptionally high levels of key, health-promoting minerals.
For example, a one cup serving (64 grams) of pumpkin seedshas 44% daily value (DV) of zinc, 22% of copper, 42% magnesium, 16% manganese, 17% potassium, and enough iron (17% DV) to improve iron-deficiency associated anemia. And remember, food-derived minerals are far more bioavailable and biocompatible than inorganic forms.
But beyond the obvious nutritional virtues of the seed, recent scientific investigations have revealed that pumpkin seed meal, as well as its pressed oil, may have great therapeutic value in alleviating the following conditions:
1). Prostate Growth: pumpkin seed has been studied for its ability to inhibit testosterone-induced prostate growth, a common causative factor in benign prostatic hyperplasia. It was also proven safe and effective in a 2014 clinical trial comparing it to the drug Prozasin. More details here.
2). Postmenopausal Symptoms: Women supplemented with 2,000 mg of pumpkin seed oil over the course of 12 weeks were found to have reduced blood pressure, increased HDL cholesterol, as well as reduction in the severity of hormone insufficiency associated symptoms, e.g. hot flash, headaches and join pain. Additional experimental research indicates that adverse cardiovascular changes associated with estrogen deficiency, such as blood pressure and lipid abnormalities, can be mitigated with pumpkin seed oil.
3). Calcium-Oxalate Kidney Stones: According to a study performed in 1987 and published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, children with calcium-oxalate crystals in their urine responded favorably to the supplementation of their diet with pumpkin seeds.
4). Cardiovascular and Liver Disease: A mixture of flaxseed and pumpkin seed was found to have heart-protective and liver-protective properties in an animal study from 2008 published in the Journal of Food Chemistry & Toxicology.
5). Drug & Chemical Toxicity: The protein isolate of pumpkin seed has been shown to alleviate acetaminophen (Tylenol) toxicity on the liver, and as methotrexate-induced small intestine damage in an animal model. It has also been studied to protect against carbon tetrachloride-induced liver injury.
6). Arthritis: Pumpkin seed oil was found to compare favorably with the NSAID drug indomethacin in an experimental model of arthritis, but without causing liver damage, in a study published in 1995 in the journal of Pharmacological Research.
7). Hypertension: Animals fed pumpkin seed oil were found to respond more favorably to conventional drug-treatment with Ace-inhibitors and Calcium Channel Blockers, likely because of its beneficial antioxidant properties.
8). Parasites: A preclinical canine study has shown that pumpkin seeds have significant activity against canine intestinal parasites.
9). Insomnia/Anxiety: Pumpkin seeds contain a high level of tryptophan (22mg/gram of pumpkin seed protein), the amino acid precursor to serotonin – which is itself converted to melatonin, the "sleep hormone," in the evening. Research published in 2007 in the Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology found that when de-oiled pumpkin seed was taken in combination with glucose, a clinical effect similar to that of pharmaceutical-grade tryptophan was achieved.
A 2005 study published in the journal Nutritional Neuroscience found that pumpkin seed sourced tryptophan in combination with carbohydrate was as effective as pharmaceutical tryptophan in reducing awake time during the night.
10). Androgenic Alopecia (i.e. male pattern baldness): A 2014 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial published in Evid Based Complement Alternat Med found that men receiving pumpkin seed oil saw 30-40% increased hair counts while the placebo group showed only 5-10% more hair count on average. Learn more in our report on the study here. Pumpkin Seed Oil Found to Help Reverse Balding.
11). Overactive Bladder/Urinary Disorders: A 2014 clinical trial found that pumpkin seed oil, at 10 grams a day for 12 weeks, was safe and effective in reducing Overactive Bladder Symptom Score (OABSS) in patients with Overactive Bladder. More details here.
These, of course, are only some of the experimentally confirmed beneficial properties of pumpkin seed. Like all foods, there are likely countless properties which within the right context, the right timing, and the right amount, fulfill Hippocrates' age-old and timelessly true proclamation that food can be our medicine. Stay abreast of new research on pumpkin seed oil and other pumpkin components on our database dedicated to the topic: Pumpkin Research.
Unfortunately, injuries are often an unavoidable part of exercise and sports. To recover fully, whether from a minor strain or major surgery, you must meet certain specific nutrition needs. The physical damage caused by training or injuries is the same as any other trauma. Even if the trauma is somewhat expected, the body needs to repair and recover from that damage before it can handle more stress.
Recovery from injury is a complex process that involves fueling the healing process, removing damaged cells, managing inflammation and repairing damaged tissue. It should be no surprise that nutrition has a direct impact on these processes.
1). Fueling Healing: One of the most common errors in recovery nutrition is misunderstanding calorie needs. Many affected by injury underestimate the role of calories during the healing process. Depending on the severity of the injury, calorie needs can increase by up to 20 percent above baseline. However, it should also be recognized that injury results in significant reductions in calories expended during recovery. By accounting for both decreased activity and the increased healing factor, we can fuel recovery without promoting negative changes in body composition
Protein is often the focus of recovery, as it plays a major role in tissue regeneration and repair. Even if there’s adequate protein in the recovery plan, special attention should be paid to the extent of the injury. Minor injuries might not require additional protein, but major surgery can increase protein needs by 10 percent. General recommendations for protein are between 0.8 and 1.2 grams per pound of body weight, but major surgery can increase this need.
Additional protein needs can be easily met though dietary changes; whey protein isolate or vegan protein options can help support increased needs.
2). Managing Inflammation: Swelling, pain, redness, and heat are signs of inflammation that are readily identified following an injury. Inflammation is an important and necessary part of injury recovery. It is triggered by the body's need to clear dead and dying cells and to start the process of new cell development. For as many as four days post-injury, it's important not to attempt to decrease this inflammation phase because it can impact recovery time. Following this initial stage, the focus should shift to managing inflammation.
A diet rich in fats knowns as omega-3s can help maintain the body's normal inflammatory response to activity and injury. Research has shown that consuming 2-3 grams of omega 3s daily can positively influence markers of inflammation in the body. This amount can be met through a diet containing two servings of fish per week combined with increased intake of nuts, seeds, avocado, olive oil, chia and flax seeds—or through the addition of a fish oil supplement.
Bromelain, an enzyme found in pineapple, has been shown to promote reduced swelling and bruising after surgery by helping to maintain a healthy inflammatory response to exercise and injury. Bromelain is recommended in amounts between 150 and 500 milligrams per day. Although all parts of the pineapple contain bromelain, it is most abundant in the stems, leading many people to add a bromelain supplement to their diet.
Curcumin, the active ingredient in the spice turmeric, has been used as a medicinal food for thousands of years. It is most commonly found in curry powder, but research has shown that supplementation of 500 milligrams twice daily can promote reduced swelling and tenderness, specifically in those with chronic or lingering inflammation issues.
3). Repairing Damaged Tissue: The final piece of recovery nutrition involves supporting the creation of new tissue to replace the tissue damaged by injury. While many vitamins and minerals are needed to support recovery, vitamin A, vitamin C and zinc get the most attention.
Vitamins A and C help support the first few days of a beneficial inflammatory response and assist in the 
formation of collagen, which helps provide the structure of connective tissues such as tendons, ligaments and skin. Vitamin A has also been linked with a decrease in immune suppression normally seen after an injury.
Research has shown that a vitamin C deficiency can lead to irregular formation of collagen fibers, and hence to decreased stability of the tissues and abnormal scar formation.
Zinc plays a role in new DNA creation, the ability of cells to multiply and protein synthesis. Zinc deficiency, which is fairly common, can inhibit wound healing. Recovering athletes might consider a multi-vitamin containing vitamin A, vitamin C and zinc during the initial wound healing phase.
Amino acids, the building blocks of protein, are the last area of consideration for recovery. In times of stress and damage, the body has an additional need for some amino acids. Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in the bloodstream. It is considered conditionally essential in times of trauma or damage as an important source of energy in recovering cells.
Leucine and its metabolite HMB have been shown to help slow muscle breakdown and nitrogen loss in injured patients. Arginine can increase nitric oxide production, which can improve blood flow to damaged areas, providing important nutrients and promoting removal of dead and damaged cells. Amino acids are part of complete proteins in the diet, some athletes prefer to take them directly in supplement form.
Understanding what is happening in your body following an injury can help ensure that your nutrition supports a full recovery so you can return to your normal activities a.s.a.p.. The above recommendations are guidelines. It's always best to consult a registered dietitian or your health-care provider when making significant dietary changes or introducing nutritional supplements. When choosing a nutritional supplement, it is imperative to look for a brand that has been certified for safety and is free of banned substances, as determined by a third party such as NSF Certified for Sport.
Matthew Kadey, MS, RD
Avoid late-night dietary disasters that can ruin your physique and 
even your sleep. Here are the 5 worst offenders. While surfing through Colbert, Stewart, and Fallon, your stomach starts to rumble. But if you don't tread lightly, you could easily derail your fat loss and fitness efforts. That's because the wrong post-sunset snack choices can easily end up padding your midriff with flab and even jeopardize your night of restful sleep, which is essential for fat loss and fitness improvements alike. To avoid this pitfall, here are five of the worst snacks you can reach for when the late-night hunger pangs strike, and their smart alternatives to avoid a next-day food hangover.
1. Late-Night No-No: Dark Chocolate: Over the past several years, dark chocolate has become a snack hero of sorts. That's because this dark delight is laced with body-friendly antioxidants shown to help fend off a range of maladies. A word of caution, though: Luxuriating in a chunk of dark chocolate should be a daytime activity rather than one you do in the wee hours. Chocolate is a natural source of stimulants such as theobromine and caffeine that can keep you tossing and turning for hours by charging up your nervous system. A good night's rest is essential for building a glance-worthy physique. This is the time when a significant amount of muscle recovery occurs, and when the body releases anabolic hormones like testosterone and growth hormone. Snacking on foods that disrupt your shut-eye could very well sabotage your fitness gains.
2. Late-Night No-No: Boxed Cereal: Who hasn't dug into a bowl of comforting breakfast cereal when the late-night munchies strike? Make this a snack habit, though, and your midsection will definitely remain a few cans shy of a six-pack. The problem with most boxed cereals—and not just the ones adorned with cartoon characters—is that they're chock-full of sugar, which can spike your blood sugar.Late in the day, when your metabolism starts to become more sloth-like than Usain Bolt-like, this sudden rise in blood sugar can trigger fat storage and ruin your buff-to-blubber ratio.
3. Late-Night No-No Ice Cream: For the most part, ice cream contains a snacking double-whammy. For one, tubs of Chunky Monkey and other ice cream varieties are often packed with sugar that can contribute to fat gain. The high amount of fat in the icy treat can also force your digestive system to kick into overdrive, which can lead to disturbances in sleep and, therefore, less of a chance that your body will recover properly from the gym beat-down you put it through earlier. Also be leery of brands made with chocolate or caffeine that can rev you up when you should be mellowing out.
4. Late-Night No-No: Pretzel Sticks: It's hard not to get tempted by the appeal of ripping into a bag of crunchy pretzels when cruising the TV channels after a long day. And aren't they way better than greasy chips? Well, it turns out this baked snack food isn't so benign after all. The problem with pretzel snacks is that they're made with white processed flour, giving them a sky-high glycemic index. This can not only encourage fat storage late in the day when your metabolism is slowing, but the spike in blood sugar can also disrupt healthy sleep patterns. It's also very easy to lose track of just how much you're eating; before you know it, you've polished off a whole bag and put yourself into calorie overload.
5. Late-Night No-No: Fruit Yogurt: Drop your spoon into fruit-flavored yogurt and you could be getting an unwelcome surprise: plenty of sugar. And we have already established that sugar is not supportive of a chiselled physique when consumed during the post-dinner hours. The main point of contention with blueberry, strawberry, and other fruity yogurt is that refined sugar is often more prominent than real fruit.
1). Eat more nutritious food at dinner, particularly protein and dense veggies. These foods require more processing, thus will keep you full for a longer period of time. Going easy on the calories at dinner is a great idea, but going so light that it sets you up to eat junk later is outright self-sabotage. Very destructive, don’t do it!
2). Drink a nice big glass of icey cold water. We have crappy thirst signals wired in, and the research says we’re very inclined to mistaking thirst for hunger. In addition to not having any calories, water is a good pick because most of us are a bit dehydrated anyways (unless you’ve a very diligent purposeful water drinker throughout the day), so slam a generous round of good old H2O!
3). Distract yourself--go do something. As the greater percentage of night time eating is due to plain boredom or a silly habit, doing something playful or even useful is far more therapeutic and far less destructive. Play a game, do some light n’ easy exercises, stretch, call or text a friend, go for a walk (and take your pet(s) with you), dig in to a hobby or other favorite past-time, sit on your patio and watch the sun set or take in the evening breeze, toss in a load of laundry, howl at the moon. Anything BUT entertaining yourself via feeding!
4). Simply ignore your urge to munch and go on about your business. In the vast majority of cases, it’s just an urge in your head, so you don’t need to answer the call. Any craving will lose steam after about 20 min. or so, so put on your big girl or big boy pantaloons and be a disciplined adult about it already. You have many other urges you don’t indulge in due to negative consequences (like slapping the stuffing out of your boss or other annoying person who flips your switches) and this sort of urge is NO DIFFERENT. Move along, move along, nothing to see there, and nothing need be done about it!
5). Nosh on a small bit of LEAN protein If you absolutely MUST eat something (which seems highly unlikely if you’ve fed yourself properly throughout the day…), a small piece of any lean meat, or if you’re a veggie person, go for a serving of a plant-based protein, but NO CARBS, and keep the fat on the scarce to non-existent side. The protein will go a much greater distance in taking the edge off, and without jacking your blood-sugar all over the place or keeping (or adding) fluff to your midsection.
Every one of the above 5 alternatives can work, have worked, and have been used effectively by myself and clients, so select one or more that you think may work for you and implement them. Also note that different approaches can work at different times, so try ‘em all!
The studies so far haven’t addressed how long the effects last, but preliminary findings suggest adults will have to keep exercising to maintain the benefits.
Another approach is to start young, with findings that different types of exercise affect a child’s mental capacity in a number of ways. For example, if you want kids to focus for an hour — on a math test, say — the best bet is to let them have a quick run around first. That’s according to studies that show a simple 20-minute walk has immediate effects on children’s attention, executive function and achievement in mathematics and reading tests. Letting kids sprint or skip about has the same effect. A brisk walk can also help children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder to focus, although again it’s not yet clear how long the effects last.
These findings should be used to make decisions about the daily school routine, says Charles Hillman at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who carried out some of the research. He agrees with current recommendations that children get at least an hour of exercise daily, but notes that it might be best spread over the course of the day. Because purely aerobic exercise keeps kids focused in the near term, giving them breaks to walk or move around every 2 hours might be the best way to promote learning.
In contrast, exercise that is highly structured and focused on specific skills, such as for a sport or to improve coordination, hampers attention. A bunch of drills and rules may be too taxing for children right before a test or a situation that requires sustained focus.
Instead, these kinds of specific exercises seem to build up attention span gradually over the long-term. In research yet to be published, Maria Chiara Gallotta at the University of Rome in Italy found that twice-weekly sessions of coordinative exercises, such as basketball, volleyball or gymnastics practice, over the course of five months helped children do better on tests that required concentration and ignoring distractions.
The cerebellum — the finely wrinkled structure at the base of the brain — has been long known to be involved in coordinating movement, but is now recognized as having a role in attention as well. Practicing complicated movements activates the cerebellum and, by working together with the frontal lobe, might improve attention in the process.
Making sure children are physically fit can have lasting cognitive benefits too, says Hillman. He has shown that children who are fit have larger hippocampi and basal ganglia, and that they perform better in attention tests. The basal ganglia are a group of structures important for movement and goal-directed behavior — turning thoughts into actions. They interact with the prefrontal cortex to influence attention, inhibition and executive control, helping people to switch between two tasks, such as going from sorting cards by color to sorting cards by suit.
Hillman focuses on children aged 8 to 11 because areas like the hippocampi and basal ganglia are still maturing, so intervening at a young age can make a big difference. And even small gains in fitness lead to measurable changes in the brain. In some of his studies, Hillman has put kids on year-long after-school fitness programs. Many are overweight, and while they don’t lose much weight, their brains do change. They’re going from being unfit to slightly less unfit, says Hillman. “But we’re still finding benefits to brain function and cognition.”
Adults too can reap brain gains from sporty challenges, says Claudia Voelcker-Rehage at Chemnitz University of Technology in Germany. Her research on older adults showed an increase in basal ganglia volume following coordination exercises that included balancing, synchronizing arm and leg movements, and manipulating props like ropes and balls, but not from aerobic exercise.
Voelcker-Rehage found that these types of exercise improved visual-spatial processing, required for mentally approximating distances — for instance, being able to assess whether you have time to cross the street before an oncoming car reaches you — more than aerobic exercise.
Another explanation comes from recent research by Tracy and Ross Alloway, both at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville. They found that just a couple of hours of activity of the type we often enjoy during childhood, such as climbing trees, crawling along a beam, or running barefoot, had a dramatic effect on working memory.
This is the ability to hold on to information and manipulate it in our minds at the same time. “It prioritizes and processes information, allowing us to ignore what is irrelevant and work with what is important,” says Tracy Alloway. “Working memory influences nearly everything that you do, from the classroom to the boardroom.”
So what is it about climbing trees or beam balancing that is so beneficial? The researchers only found positive results when the activities were a combination of two things. They needed to challenge the sense of proprioception — the position and orientation of the body — and also needed at least one other element, such as navigation, calculation or locomotion. Basically, the advantages came from exercises in which we need to balance and think at the same time.
The more we learn about the effects of exercise on the brain, the more different types of benefits are emerging, extending beyond cognition to changes in behavior.
One of the most popular fitness trends of the last few years is high-intensity interval training, which involves quick spurts of all-out exercise. Its sheer toughness is claimed to provide the same benefits as longer efforts in a fraction of the time. These workouts might have an extra advantage: short bursts of activity can help curb cravings. And although the tougher the better, they don’t necessarily have to be gut-busting hard.
To test the effects of intensity training on appetites, Kym Guelfi at the University of Western Australia in Perth invited overweight men to come into the lab on four separate occasions. On three of the visits, they spent 30 minutes on an exercise bike, but at different intensities — a moderate, continuous pace; alternating between intervals of high-intensity cycling for 1 minute followed by 4 minutes of moderate cycling; or alternating between very high intensity, 15-second sprints followed by one really easy minute. The fourth visit consisted of resting for the full 30 minutes.
Craving control: After the most intense intervals, the men ate less of the provided, post-workout porridge and less food overall for the next day and a half compared with days they cycled moderately or simply rested.
One explanation could be that the exercise reduced levels of the “hunger hormone”, ghrelin. This is responsible for telling the part of the brain that controls eating — the hypothalamus — when the stomach is empty. When full, ghrelin production shuts off and hunger wanes. Following the most intense intervals of exercise, ghrelin levels were lowest.
What is clear is that these effects can endure well into old age, and it’s never too late to start. The hippocampus shrinks as we get older, leading to the typical struggles with memory. Exercise not only prevents this loss — it reverses it, slowing the effects of getting older. Voelcker-Rehage has found that the brain requires less energy to complete certain tasks after exercise. “We would say that points to the fact that the brain is more efficient,” she says. “It works more like a young brain.”
And in a study looking at yogis that had been practicing for many years, Sara Lazar at Massachusetts General Hospital found that some brain regions were remarkably well preserved compared with those of healthy controls that were matched for age, gender, education and race. “The 50-year-old’s brain looked like a 25-year-old’s,” notes Lazar.
If you’re still unsure what to do, there’s some overlap between the different exercises and benefits, so Liu-Ambrose’s suggestion is simple: “If you’re not active, do something that you enjoy.” The best exercise is the kind that you’ll actually do.
by Teal Burrell (from Conscious Life News, via the Elivate e-zine)
Pumping iron to sculpt your biceps. Yoga poses to stretch and relax. Running to build your endurance. There are loads of reasons why it’s smart to exercise, and most of us are familiar with the menu of options and how each can shape and benefit your body. But we are discovering that there are numerous ways in which exercise makes you smart too. Many of its effects have been going unnoticed, but if you were to peer inside the heads of people who like to keep active, you’d see that different exercises strengthen, sculpt and shape the brain in myriad ways.
That the brains of exercisers look different to those of their more sedentary counterparts is, in itself, not new. We have been hearing for years that exercise is medicine for the mind. Physical fitness has been shown to help with the cognitive decline associated with dementia, Parkinson’s disease and depression, and we know this is at least in part because getting your blood pumping brings more oxygen, growth factors, hormones and nutrients to your brain, leading it — like your muscles, lungs and heart — to grow stronger and more efficient.
But a new chapter is beginning in our understanding of the influence of physical exercise on cognition. Researchers are starting to find more specific effects related to different kinds of exercise. Specifically, weight training, high-intensity intervals, aerobic exercise, yoga and sports drills affect different areas of the brain.
Researchers are looking beyond the standard recommendation of 30 minutes of moderate exercise for the sake of your brain. Are there benefits to going slower or faster? To lifting weights, or performing sun salutations? Whether you want a boost in focus for an exam, find it hard to relax, or are keen to quit smoking, there’s a prescription for you.
The first clue that exercise affects the brain came from studies 15 years ago. Older adults who did aerobic exercise three times a week for a year grew larger hippocampi and performed better in memory tests. Those with the highest levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in their blood, which promotes the growth of new neurons, had the biggest increases in this brain region.
The idea that exercise helps to improve memory has been especially welcome. The search for effective treatments for cognitive decline has been slow in progress. It now seems that aerobic exercise may help stave off Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.
As the evidence for aerobic exercise accumulated, Teresa Liu-Ambrose at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, began to wonder about other types of exercise. She has been looking for ways to halt dementia in people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a population of adults known to be at increased risk of developing dementia, and was especially interested in strength training, which has in recent years been added to US and UK government recommendations for physical activity.
To test the idea, Liu-Ambrose compared the effects of aerobic exercise and strength training in women with MCI. She measured their impact on two abilities known to decline as the condition progresses: memory and executive function — which encompasses complex thought processes, including reasoning, planning, problem-solving and multitasking.
Twice a week for an hour, one group lifted weights, while the other went for brisk walks quick enough that talking required effort. A control group just stretched for an hour instead. After six months of this, both walking and lifting weights had a positive effect on spatial memory — the ability to remember one’s surroundings and sense of place. On top of that, each exercise had unique benefits. The group that lifted weights saw significant improvements to executive function. They also performed better in tests of associative memory, which is used for things like linking someone’s name to their face. The aerobic-exercise group saw improvements to verbal memory — the ability to remember that word you had on the tip of your tongue. Simply stretching had no effect on either memory or executive function.
If aerobic exercise and strength training have distinct benefits, is combining them the way to go? To address this, Willem Bossers of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands split people with dementia into three groups. One group walked briskly four times a week for 30 minutes; a combination group walked twice a week and strength-trained twice a week for 30 minutes each; and a control group did no exercise.After nine weeks, Bossers put the participants through a battery of executive-function tests that measured problem-solving, inhibition and processing speed. He found that the combination group showed more improvement in executive function than the aerobic-only or control groups. “It seems that, for older adults, walking only is not enough. They need to do some strength training,” he says. “Lifting weights helps improve complex thoughts, problem-solving and multitasking”.
Immediate Attention Boost: These benefits extend to healthy adults too (not just those with MCI). In a year-long trial of healthy older women, Liu-Ambrose found that lifting weights, even just once a week, resulted in significant improvements in tests of executive function. Balancing and toning exercises, on the other hand, did not.
The combination of lifting weights and aerobic exercise might be particularly powerful because strength training triggers the release of a molecule called insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), a growth hormone produced in the liver that is known to affect communication between brain cells, and to promote the growth of new neurons and blood vessels. On the other hand, aerobic exercise mainly boosts BDNF, says Liu-Ambrose. In addition, Bossers says strength training also decreases levels of homocysteine, an inflammatory molecule that is increased in the brains of older adults with dementia. By combining aerobic exercise with strength training, you’re getting a more potent neurobiological cocktail. “You’re attacking the system in two ways,” he says.
The studies so far haven’t addressed how long the effects last, but preliminary findings suggest adults will have to keep exercising to maintain the benefits.
