Health Hotline Magazine | July 2025

NUTRITION

By Aryn Doll and Katherine MacNair

Just Five Minutes of Daily Exercise Benefits Physical and Mental Health We’re increasingly aware that spending too much time sitting can take a toll on health, raising the risk of chronic disease and premature death, but new research shows you don’t need to log hours at the gym to make a meaningful impact. A 2025 study found that just five minutes of daily exercise can benefit both physical and mental health, suggesting that even a small dose of movement each day can be surprisingly effective.

Published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology , the study investigated how brief, daily workouts affect physical fitness, body composition, and mental wellbeing in healthy but sedentary adults. Participants followed a four-week exercise program that required just five minutes a day, performing 10 repetitions each of four bodyweight exercises: chair squats, chair reclines, wall push-ups, and heel drops. Each movement emphasized the eccentric phase— lowering slowly and with control for five seconds—followed by a quick return to the starting position. As participants progressed and mastered the exercises, modifications were introduced to increase difficulty, such as one-leg chair squats, straight-leg chair reclines, and standard push-ups. After the program, while overall body composition did not change (likely due to the short training period), participants experienced significant improvements in physical fitness, including strength and muscular endurance. For example, the number of push-ups and sit-ups they could complete within a set time increased notably. Mental health scores like vitality also significantly improved, and most subjects reported feeling stronger, fitter, and overall healthier. Finally, adherence to the program was strong throughout, and many continued exercising after the intervention ended, highlighting how starting with a simple, manageable routine can build consistency and lay the foundation for lasting lifestyle change.

Glyphosate Exacerbates Inf ammation and Alzheimer’s-Like Damage In the Brain A recent study from Arizona State University found that glyphosate, a chemical commonly found in commercial herbicides, contributes to brain inflammation and accelerates signs of Alzheimer’s-like disease in mice, even after a six-month recovery period. Researchers used two genetic types of mice: normal and those genetically predisposed to brain degeneration similar to what humans with Alzheimer’s disease experience. They separated each type of mouse into three groups and exposed them to either 0 mg/kg, 50 mg/kg, or 500 mg/kg of glyphosate daily for 13 weeks, then they stopped exposing the mice with glyphosate for six months. After the six-month recovery period, samples of the mice’s blood and brain tissue were assessed for inflammatory markers, signs of neurodegeneration, and levels of glyphosate and its byproducts. Both genetic types of mice who were exposed to glyphosate at either dosage showed

increased markers of inflammation in the brain six months after their final dose, with the most significant increases occurring in the highest-dose group. The mice who were genetically predisposed to Alzheimer’s-like changes and exposed to glyphosate also exhibited greater signs of anxiety-like behavior, were more likely to die prematurely, and had increased presence of brain abnormalities like amyloid beta plaques and neurofibrillary tau tangles compared to mice with similar genetics who were not exposed to glyphosate. In addition, both types of mice who received glyphosate were found to have significant levels of aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) in their brain tissue six months after their last exposure, compared to the mice that were not exposed to glyphosate. AMPA is a metabolic byproduct of glyphosate and has similar toxicity. The mechanism of how this chemical got into the brain has yet to be determined, but the researchers hypothesized that glyphosate was metabolized into AMPA by gut bacteria, after which it crossed the blood-brain barrier and accumulated in brain tissue. The lingering presence of AMPA may be one important contributor to persistent inflammation in the brain and the acceleration of Alzheimer’s-like brain changes, among other factors in a complex interplay of immune and metabolic dysregulation.

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