This advice is a bit unconventional, isn’t it?
The truth is that nothing quite beats exercise. Exercise is a part of nature that our bodies literally fall apart without it.
The problem?
Most people hate exercise. Theoretically, it sounds nice. But the very thought of squeezing your body into funky clothing so that you can fake your way through a workout certainly has turned a lot of people away from this crucial part of being healthy.
Luckily for those people, science has found a way to reap the benefits without actually exercising!
Researchers from Loughborough University found that a nice, relaxing hot bath burns the same amount of calories as a 30-minute walk.
Incredible, isn’t it?
Not only that but they also reported that repeatedly taking a relaxing hot bath reduces chronic inflammation, which coincidentally is a major part of type 2 diabetes.
So, how did they find this information?
The authors of the study split participants into two groups: one group sat in a hot bath for one hour while the other group did one hour of cycling.
They then looked out how these activities impacted calorie burning, inflammation, and blood sugar levels.
Obviously, the group that cycled for an hour burned significantly more calories than the bath-taking group. Both groups, however, showed comparable results of reduced inflammation and lowered blood sugar.
This isn’t the first study of its kind, though. Another study out of Finland in 2015 demonstrated that people who regularly participated in saunas showed significantly reduced the risk of heart attack and stroke.
Yet another study from the University of Oregon found that hot baths significantly reduce blood pressure.
In fact, this line of research dates as far back as 1999 where Colorado’s McKee Medical Center found that patients with type 2 diabetes who participated in hot tub therapy had improvements in body weight, blood sugar, and insulin metabolism.
So grab some Epsom salts (like I have already mentioned here) and draw yourself a nice, hot bath. Maybe you won’t have an Instagram-famous body by the end, but you will certainly be doing lots of good for your body.
[expand title=”References“]
US News. URL Link. Accessed April 5, 2017.
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