Dr Reece Yeo - Holistic Chinese Medicine Practitioner

21/02/2026

427 people. Same fitness at 16. Measured again at 23, 30, 37, 44, 51, and 63.

By the end, the most and least active weren't even on the same chart anymore.

Everyone's aerobic capacity peaks somewhere in their late 20s to mid-30s. After that, everyone declines. Slowly at first, then sharply after 50. That part is inevitable.

What isn't inevitable is where you end up. The spread between the most and least active by 63 was enormous, and it wasn't explained by where they started.

Here's the part that matters if you feel like you missed the window: people who were inactive early but became active later didn't just slow their decline. They reached their personal peak fitness later than the always-active group. If you weren't training at 25, your body can still be improving at 45.

The caveat matters though. Your late-arriving peak will almost certainly be lower than it would have been if you'd built that base earlier. The ceiling is shaped by what you did in your 20s and 30s. But a lower peak you actually reach beats a theoretical one you never did.

The fan in this chart isn't genetics. It's decades of accumulated decisions about movement, and those decisions compound in both directions.

Westerstahl M, et al. J Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle. 2025;16(6):e70134.

21/02/2026

Exercise trains a mouse's brain to build endurance

Exercise does more than strengthen muscles; it also rewires the brain. In a study published in the Cell Press journal Neuron, researchers reveal that the lasting gain in endurance from repeated exercise—such as the ability to run farther and faster over time—involves changes in brain activity that help muscles and hearts to become stronger.

In their experiments, the authors noticed that mice had increased brain activity after running on the treadmill, especially in the nerve cells located in their ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH). This brain region plays an important role in how the body uses energy, including regulating body weight and blood sugar.

By monitoring neural activity in mice, the team found that a specific group of nerve cells in the VMH, called steroidogenic factor-1 (SF1) neurons, became active when the animals ran on a treadmill. These neurons also stayed active for at least an hour after the mice finished running.

After daily exercise for two weeks, these mice showed improvement in endurance. They were able to run faster and longer before becoming exhausted. When researchers looked at the mice’s brains, they saw that more SF1 neurons in mice became active, and the activity levels were significantly higher than at the beginning of training.

When the team blocked SF1 neuron activity and prevented them from sending signals to the rest of the brain, these animals got tired quickly and showed no improvements in endurance over the two-week training period.

To the researchers’ surprise, blocking SF1 neurons only after exercise also prevented endurance gains even though the neurons functioned normally during exercise itself. This result suggests the important role for SF1 activity after exercise.

https://sciencemission.com/Exercise-and-endurance

21/02/2026

Cancer treatment follows a familiar pattern: Doctors spot symptoms, diagnose the disease, and start treatment.

21/02/2026

Past studies in animals have shown that a highly processed diet is linked to memory problems and inflammation in the aged brain—and the effect can happen fast, after just three days of poor eating.

21/02/2026

The best way to handle anger isn't to vent, but to breathe.

For decades, the "pressure cooker" metaphor has led us to believe that venting anger—through shouting, punching pillows, or visiting "rage rooms"—is a healthy way to release tension.

However, a groundbreaking meta-analysis of 154 studies involving over 10,000 participants reveals that this common wisdom is fundamentally flawed. Researchers found that expressing anger through high-arousal activities does not provide catharsis; instead, it often reinforces aggressive feelings and keeps the body’s stress response in overdrive. Even traditionally healthy habits like jogging can be counterproductive in the heat of the moment, as they further increase physiological arousal levels rather than dampening them.

To truly defuse fury, the key lies in turning down the body's heat through arousal-reducing techniques. Activities like deep breathing, mindfulness, and progressive muscle relaxation were shown to be consistently effective across various ages and cultures. Surprisingly, even gentle yoga proved more beneficial than high-intensity sports because it focuses on breath control and lowering the heart rate. By choosing to "chill out" rather than "blow up," individuals can effectively rob anger of its physiological fuel, offering a simple yet powerful alternative for managing daily stress and emotional outbursts.

source: Kjærvik, S. L., & Bushman, B. J. (2024). A meta-analytic review of anger management activities that increase or decrease arousal: What works and what doesn't. Clinical Psychology Review.

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21/02/2026

New research reveals that sleep deprivation sends aberrant signals through the vagus nerve, triggering a serotonin surge that can kill gut stem cells.
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21/02/2026

Viral illness shows to spike the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

A comprehensive review of 155 studies published by the American Heart Association has uncovered a startling link between common viruses and cardiovascular emergencies. The findings suggest that the weeks following recovery are the most critical; flu patients are four times more likely to suffer a heart attack and five times more likely to have a stroke in the month after illness. COVID-19 recovery presents a similar outlook, with patients facing a tripled risk of heart events for up to 14 weeks, and some remaining at higher risk for an entire year. Even common lingering viruses like shingles, which affects one in three people, contribute to significantly higher rates of heart disease.

This cardiovascular threat is triggered by the body’s own defense mechanism. When the immune system attacks a virus, it releases molecules that cause significant inflammation and change blood chemistry to encourage clotting. While this helps isolate the infection, it also creates a perfect storm that can destabilize arterial plaque, causing it to rupture and block blood flow. Because of this, medical experts are reframing vaccines as essential tools for heart protection rather than just a way to avoid a cough. Recent data shows that receiving a flu shot can lower the risk of major cardiac events by 34 percent, making preventative care a cornerstone of long-term cardiovascular health.

source: American Heart Association. (2025). Some acute and chronic viral infections may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Heart.

21/02/2026

Recurrent Weight Gain after Weight Loss Induced by Lifestyle Intervention, Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, or Semaglutide in Adults with Obesity: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials - PubMed https://buff.ly/vVcn66w

21/02/2026

Modern snacks are engineered less like meals and more like ci******es.

21/02/2026

Regular exercise is not only good for the body, but it may also help you stay cool under pressure. Research published in the journal Acta Psychologica found that higher cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is associated with lower anxiety and anger and greater emotional resilience.