I spent this past weekend at the MARC American Academy of Sports Medicine Mid-Atlantic Annual Conference with some fellow Wellness Management Majors. It was so awesome to be able to listen to the first-hand accounts of the vast amount of research done in the realm of Exercise Physiology, Sports Medicine, and Nutrition. Fascinating stuff, and made me super excited to be going into the Health field with the possibilities for careers expanding all the time!
Among the research presentations I saw, my favorite by far was one about Exercise Immunology, and how exercise can effect our bodies ability to fight off infections. Specifically, the presenter spoke of some of the foods with the highest levels of flavonoids. These flavonoids are responsible for the bodies recovery from heavy exertion.
I was a little surprised that of foods with the highest flavonoid counts, there were several I eat on a regular basis. Namingley, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, coffee, grapes, green tea, red wine. Go me!
The conference also made me realize how lame my excuses really are on those days I "don't have time" to get to the gym...exercise. is. so. important. It benefits literally every single aspect of our health. This conference changed my opinion on working out from simply something I should do, into something I would be irresponsible for not doing.