If your joints hurt, you have to take it easy. The brain inevitably deteriorates with age. Heart muscle cells cannot grow back in adults. Really?
Not at all! These are just a few medical myths that are not scientifically supported. Our body is not a machine that wears out inexorably, but a living system that can repair itself.
Medical journalist Jörg Blech has done extensive research. His most important message: exercise is essential for a healthy body. And it is worth starting to exercise even in old age, as a Europe-wide study has shown. Over 1,500 women and men, an average age of 79, took part. They trained their endurance, strength and sense of balance twice a week. Their physical performance was regularly checked – with clearly positive results.
Even moderate exercise not only builds muscles and stabilizes bones, it also strengthens the immune system. Exercise even makes the brain more efficient: Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia occur more frequently in people who have hardly moved since middle age.
Jörg Blech cites many studies and reports on conversations with scientists. His book is a fact-rich medical report that motivates you to fight your inner demons. Uta Altmann
Jörg Blech
Health Master Plan
DVA, 320 p., € 26,–
ISBN 978-3-421-07011-1