My Butt Could Use a Good Laugh

And so could the rest of me.  You have heard that laughter is the best medicine?  Well, while it won't ever surpass the polio vaccine or penicillin, it is good for you.  In fact, laughing 15 minutes throughout the day burns an average of 50 calories.  Admittedly, that's not even an Oreo, but it's not just the calories that count when it comes to a good guffaw.

Laughter helps reduce stress and decrease the offending hormones involved - cortisol, adrenaline and dopac.  This is important because cortisol is a particular problem for those trying to lose weight.  It has a long history of 'protecting' the body by building fat, especially around the midsection, in reaction to stress.  When we were living in caves, this was useful as stress was often brought on by conflict or if the weather turned and we knew that food wouldn't be as readily available.  Now, for most of us, food is everywhere and our bodies never changed their chemistry.

A good giggle not only assists in fighting the bad, it increases the good - T-cells and globulins.  These are agents that act to build and bolster our immune system.  You see, though the science is late 20th century to today, the expression, "Laughter is the best medicine", was sound a hypothesis long ago.

In the spirit of funny, I wanted to bring you a few things that could potentially make you healthier...

From Go Comics - Two of my all time favorite strips -

The American Film Institutes Top 20 Best Comedies of all time (as of 2000) - 

The poster and trailer for the new movie "Cedar Rapids" and yes, for you Iowans, it really was shot in Cedar Rapids:

So, there you are, just a few things that make me laugh.  Whatever hits your funny bone, laugh and laugh often, it's good for you.

Yours in Health,

Kate

Laughter works the abs

I did my hour and a half at Fitness World West today. (Including some killer cardio.) Then it was home to shower and get ready to go to a show.

Now, I readily admit I do not get enough sleep, so when I received the invitation to see the preview of "Jerry Springer: The Opera" last night, I hesitated. But Lori has had a hard week and needed a laugh. So, since it was going into Friday, what the heck, I went.

WARNING: If oh, just about anything offends you - do NOT go to this show.

On the other hand, if you want to have a rollicking, outrageous and fascinating trip through the sick little world of Jerry Springer in a sometimes filthy, but always funny show - this is for you. Seriously, if you offend, don't go. But if you want to laugh, sing and just generally have a blast (while hearing some great singing) then get your tickets now - it's selling fast.

It's being produced by Stage West at the Stoner Theatre at the Civic Center. Find out more here.

By the way, not only do you feel a proper laugh in your abs, it does help burn calories. From the results of a European study: "The researchers discovered that laughing increased both heart rate and calorie expenditure by up to 20 per cent – and the longer participants laughed the greater the effects.

Using the results, the scientists then went on to calculate that just 15 minutes of laughter a day will burn 10 to 40 calories, depending on a person’s weight and the intensity of the laughter. That’s enough to shift between 1 and 4lb a year."

So, there you go - laugh your butt off.

Yours in health, Kate