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Exercises for a Young Brain

admin — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 01:18:06 +0000

You’ve heard proper exercise is important for your health. It tones muscle, burns fat, and helps keep your heart and lungs in tiptop shape.

But if that isn’t reason enough, numerous studies now prove exercise also plays a critical role in preventing age-related memory and cognitive decline.

Post-mortem studies of human brains for over a century have documented physical damage which corresponds to a steady decline in memory and cognitive function as we age.

Starting around our early 30s, our brain weight and volume actually begins shrinking by about 2% per decade. Fortunately, numerous studies in neurobiology also show we have the ability to minimize the effects of this physical decline – and possibly reverse it altogether.

Two types of exercise protect your brain

Forbes magazine recently spoke to a Hawaiian lady who remains sharp as a tack at 102 years old. Credit for her good health was given in large part to her active physical and social life, including daily swimming and frequent games of bridge and mahjong.

But can physical exercise and playing games really have a positive impact on your mental health? According to a number of researchers in the fields of neurology and biology, yes it can.

Physical exercise

A 2007 review of numerous human and animal studies by researchers at the University of California – Irvine’s Institute for Brain Aging and Dementia found exercise clearly protects learning and memory, minimizes mental decline, and can even help alleviate depression.

Exercise directly strengthens the systems which promote mental function including improving metabolism and vascular function. It also reduces disease risk factors which contribute to brain dysfunction and degeneration such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular disease.

While physical exercise positively affects the brain in numerous ways, the researchers believe the benefits all derive from a common mechanism: reduced local and systemic inflammation.

Another study published in the Journal of Gerontology found cardiovascular
fitness substantially reduces the amount of brain tissue lost from aging.

However, exercise doesn’t just slow mental decline. Normally, the rate of formation of new brain cells declines as we age. But a new study published in May by Germany’s prestigious Max Plank Institute of Immunobiology found physical exercise may actually reverse decline by stimulating dormant stem cells in the hippocampus region of the brain to begin dividing into new brain cells again. Looks like you really can teach the proverbial old dog new tricks.

Mental exercise

Use it or lose it applies to the brain as well as other areas of life. A number of studies have shown that regular participation in intellectually stimulating activities can reduce the risk of mental decline and even severe disease like Alzheimer’s.

A five-year study by Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center in Chicago found even leisure activities such as reading a newspaper can have a positive effect, with more thinking activities directly corresponding to a reduced risk of an Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis.

Recent studies have also shown training programs specifically geared towards improving memory and thinking can boost mental capacity well into our
later years. The final lesson: get out from in front of the television, get some exercise,
then play a game or read a book. It might just save your brain.

Related references

Lugert S, et al. Quiescent and active hippocampal neural stem cells with distinct morphologies respond selectively to physiological and pathological stimuli and aging. Cell Stem Cell. 2010 May 7;6(5):445-56.

Raz N. Aging of the Brain and Its Impact on Cognitive Performance: Integration of Structural and Functional Findings. In: Craik FIM, Salthouse TA, eds. The Handbook of Aging and Cognition. 2nd ed. Mahweh, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates; 2000:1-90.

Buchman A; Wilson R; Bennett D. Total Daily Activity is Associated With Cognition in Older Persons. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry:August 2008 – Volume 16 – Issue 8 – pp 697-701

Langreth, R. How To Keep Your Brain Young. Forbes. 2009 Apr 07.

Cotman CW, Berchtold NC, Christie LA. Exercise builds brain health: key roles of growth factor cascades and inflammation. Trends in neurosciences. 2007 Sep;30(9):464-72.

Sternberg R. Increasing fluid intelligence is possible after all. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. PNAS 2008 105 (19) 6791-6792

Wilson RS, et al. Participation in cognitively stimulating activities and risk of incident Alzheimer disease. JAMA. 2002 Feb 13;287(6):742-8.

Barnes DE, et al. Computer-based cognitive training for mild cognitive impairment: results from a pilot randomized, controlled trial.

Alzheimer disease and associated disorders. 2009 Jul-Sep;23(3):205-10.

Verhaeghen P, Marcoen A, Goossens L. Improving memory performance in the aged through mnemonic training: a meta-analytic study. Psychology and
aging. 1992 Jun;7(2):242-51.

Tylenol and Motrin Total Recall

admin — Mon, 10 May 2010 19:17:37 +0000

If you’re a parent or grandparent, you’ve hopefully heard of the massive recall of children and infant medications from pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson earlier this month. As a father of 8, it certainly caught my attention.

According to the related FDA news release, medicines involved may have too much of the active ingredient, inadequately tested inactive ingredients, or even foreign particles which don’t belong in there at all.

All this on the heels of another major recall of 21 types of infant’s and children’s liquid Tylenol last September due to bacterial contamination and another recall of Tylenol Arthritis Pain in November due to a chemical contaminant. Clearly children and adults alike have been put at risk in the past several months.

So what’s a health conscious citizen to do? According to the big pharma influenced FDA, buy generic. Um, were they manufactured in the same plant? No word on that.

I have a better proposal. Stop using all forms acetaminophen and ibuprofen altogether regardless of manufacturer. And yes, I’m serious.

The real dangers of acetaminophen and ibuprofen

Regular acetaminophen use has been directly attributable to 8% to 10% of the estimated 50,000 annual cases of end stage renal disease in the United States. The more of it you use, even as prescribed, the greater the odds you’re going to die of kidney failure.

According to an article on acetaminophen toxicity by Dr. Susan Farrell, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, acetaminophen is one of the most common pharmaceuticals involved in both intentional and accidental poisonings. In the United States, toxic effects of acetaminophen overdose is now the most common cause of acute hepatic failure and the second leading cause of liver failure requiring transplantation.

While only about 1 in 50 overdose patients die or require a liver transplant, an overdose can occur by taking less than double the daily recommended maximum dose. Is this really a substance you want to keep around the house, much less feed yourself and your kids?

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) including ibuprofen are no bastion of safety, either. In fact, they’re probably worse. Including both prescription NSAIDs and over-the-counter varieties like Motrin and Advil, over 30 billion doses are taken each year just in the United States. This number on the rise. So are related hospitalizations and deaths.

Every year in the U.S. over 100,000 people are hospitalized and over 16,000 will die from NSAID use and misuse. According to one study, 1 in every 1,200 people who take an NSAID for at least two months will die from related gastrointestinal complications. That doesn’t count those with adverse effects who survive.
Fortunately, there are safer alternatives for Tylenol, Motrin, and their generic equivalents.

Natural remedies for fever reduction, pain relief and inflammation

The most common reasons over-the-counter medicines like acetaminophen and ibuprofen are taken include fevers, general aches and pains, and to reduce inflammation. Each of these have much healthier alternatives in the world of natural medicine.

Fever

Remember, first of all, that a fever is your body’s defense mechanism. Infants under 3 months with a fever should always see a doctor right away. Otherwise, here are some simple techniques helping you or your child remain comfortable and reduce fevers:

Wear loose-fitting cotton clothing to allow your body to breathe. Keep the upper body covered to help prevent chills.
Take a lukewarm bath (sponge bath for infants). Hot water will be clearly counterproductive, but so will cold water as it causes your body to work harder to stay warm, therefore raising your internal temperature.
Drink lots of cool fluids. This helps prevent dehydration and cools the body down. Some herbal teas with licorice root or echinacea can help reduce fevers too.

Pain Relief

Ask any parent the most common cause of infant pain and they’ll
likely respond either tummy aches or teething pain. Here are some
great natural ways to ease infant teething and gas pains:

Teething pain can often be helped by massaging your baby’s gums with your finger or allowing them to chew on a cooled pacifier or teething ring.
Apply clove oil very lightly directly onto baby’s gums to reduce pain (older children and adults can get a similar effect for a sore tooth by holding a whole clove against it with their tongue).
Let baby chew on a natural herbal (not candy) licorice stick. Besides numbing baby’s gums, licorice also has natural anti-inflammatory properties and can ease stomach irritations.
Another great combined teething pain reliever and stomach soother is pure vanilla extract (real vanilla, not the artificial stuff). Similar to clove oil, apply by rubbing a tiny bit on baby’s sore gums.
Infants with upset stomachs, gas pains and colic can often get relief using all-natural ingredients as well. One product I like, Gentle Naturals Tummy Soother, uses chamomile and ginger – both well known for anxiety reducing and stomach soothing properties.
For general aches and pains, children (over 2 years old) and adults alike find the arnica, MSM, and menthol in Rub On Relief pain cream are work just as well as ibuprofen at relieving pain. Those with arthritis will especially love Rub On Relief for the Celadrin found in it, clinically proven to help reduce pain and increase flexibility and mobility in 100% of those who tested it.

Inflammation

Most children really don’t have a problem with inflammation. It’s when we get older that our bodies stop producing most of the proteolytic enzymes which signal our body to end its inflammatory response to injuries. That’s why it takes so much longer for something as simple as a sprained ankle to heal as an adult compared to when we were children.

Fortunately the solution is simple: supplement with the proteolytic systemic enzymes your body doesn’t make enough of. This allows your body to naturally fight inflammation. Other beneficial side effects of these enzymes are they also clean our blood, fight off viral and bacterial infections, and break down excess fibrin which leads to scar tissue inside our bodies.

In the end, there really are much healthier natural alternatives to drugs like Tylenol and Motrin. We just need to break our collective habit of reflexively taking drugs as our first response to pain.

Related references

Perneger
TV, Whelton PK, Klag MJ. Risk of kidney failure associated with the
use of acetaminophen, aspirin, and nonsteroidal antiinflammatory
drugs. The New England Journal of Medicine. 1994 Dec
22;331(25):1675-9.

Farrell S. Toxicity, Acetaminophen. Medscape. 2009 Sep 23.

Frech E, Go M. Treatment and chemoprevention of NSAID-associated
gastrointestinal complications. Therapeutics and Clinical Risk
Management. 2009; 5: 65–73.

Singh G. Recent considerations in nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug
gastropathy. The American journal of medicine. 1998 Jul
27;105(1B):31S-38S.

Tramèr MR, et al. Quantitative estimation of rare adverse events which
follow a biological progression: a new model applied to chronic NSAID
use. Pain. 2000 Mar;85(1-2):169-82.

Widrig R, Suter A, Saller R, Melzer J. Choosing between NSAID and arnica for
topical treatment of hand osteoarthritis in a randomised,
double-blind study. Rheumatology International. 2007
Apr;27(6):585-91.

Back Pain Exercises

admin — Mon, 10 May 2010 00:06:59 +0000

You’ve likely found this post because you are searching for information on “back pain exercises”…

Well, first, let me say that most back pain can be greatly reduced or completely eliminated with exercise… However, the key is knowing which exercises are going to help and which are going to hurt. It’s true, some back pain exercises could make your condition and pain worse!

So don’t make the mistake so many others do and just try any old back pain related exercise or stretch you can find… you might end up worse off than you are now. Instead, figure out which specific back pain exercises are going to be right for you.

Click on the link below to learn more about how to do this:

Back Pain Exercises and Stretches

Healthy Back Chair

admin — Mon, 10 May 2010 00:03:28 +0000

Are you looking for a chair that will allow you to sit without pain? Does back, neck or sciatic pain keep you from being able to sit for extended periods?

If so, you need to watch this video right now:

The chair reviewed in the video above is by far the best chair for a healthy back. It can not only allow you to sit with great posture and less or no back pain, but it will also help you prevent the pain from returning. We highly recommend this chair!

Fat Loss Quickie

admin — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 03:17:04 +0000

Author Scott Tousignant has created a sensational program called “Fat Loss Quickie”..

Download “Fat Loss Quickie” Now!

Hypnosis: Changing Your Mind About Weight Loss

The Secret to True Health and Wellness

admin — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 00:26:17 +0000

The “Western” approach to health care and medicine is truly pathetic once you know better. And boy will you know better once you watch these videos we’ve put together for you!

Discover how to stop treating just the symptoms and how to identify and address all of the hidden causes and contributors to your pain, sickness or dis-ease.

After watching these videos you will literally know more about health and wellness than most doctors – no joke here folks!

I truly hope you enjoy these videos and more importantly, that you use what you learn to become as healthy and happy as you possibly can

An Easy Way to Increase Stability and Strengthen Core Muscles

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 09:07:33 +0000

Ever hear, “if it was that easy, everyone would be doing it?” Sometimes, they probably would be if only they knew about it.

Strengthening your body’s core muscles helps increase your body’s stability and balance. Strong core muscles and stability help you avoid lower back pain. So, strengthen your core muscles.

Wait. That sounds suspiciously like a lot of work.

Sure it is. And if you want those rock hard, magazine cover abs you’re going to need to spend a certain amount of time focusing on exercise. And watching what you eat. And getting enough sleep. And so on.

But you’re not interested in me selling you a pipe dream fantasy world of appearing on the cover of some health magazine, are you? I’ll bet you’d rather have a simple solution for improving your core muscles and stability to avoid lower back pain. Wouldn’t it be nice if a simple, elegant solution was already in hand?

Maybe it already is. Like that big blue exercise ball gathering dust in the corner of your living room. Or readily available in the Pilates room at your local health club.

Physical therapists have used exercise balls (they call them stability balls) for over four decades to help their patients increase stability and strengthen core muscles. There are many, many terrific exercises which take advantage of the unique features of an inflated exercise ball to help you build abs of steel. Or at least strengthen your core muscles enough so you can perform dangerous activities like rolling out of bed in the morning without throwing your back out.

Simple. But today I promised you easy. Here it is, in just two steps:

Step 1: Go get one of those inflated blue exercise balls (blue is optional, inflated isn’t)

Step 2: Sit down on top of the exercise ball

Easy enough?

No, I’m not kidding. Truth is you’re not going to build rock hard abs just by sitting on an exercise ball. But you can make incremental improvements in your core strength and stability every day.

Still don’t believe me? Here’s how it works.

When you sit in a normal chair, like the one you’re sitting in right now, your body doesn’t have to do anything. It just sits there.

Sit on an exercise ball and you introduce a measure of instability. Suddenly your body has to use your back and abdominal muscles to make very small adjustments in order to maintain stability. It’s called “active sitting” because your muscles actually work to keep you sitting instead of just flattening out.

When you first sit on the exercise ball you might find it uncomfortable because your body isn’t used to working just to remain seated. If you can only stay on 30 seconds the first time, then stay on 30 seconds. Try for 45 seconds or a minute the next time.

As your core muscles grow stronger and you gain better stability and balance from daily sitting on the exercise ball, you’ll be able to comfortably increase the amount of time spent sitting on one. By the time you can comfortably sit on the ball for 20 minutes or longer, you’ll find it fun to actually roll your hips around on top of the ball while sitting. It feels great and gives your core muscles an even better workout – plus it doesn’t even feel like a workout!

Best yet, you don’t even have to make time for exercise. Just roll your desk chair back and use your exercise ball instead. How’s that for easy?

There are a couple of considerations when choosing an exercise ball.

First, choose one with the right height for you. Your hips and knees should form a 90 degree angle when your feet are flat on the floor. In other words, your thighs should be parallel to the floor or slightly pointing downwards while sitting on the exercise ball.

Secondly, please spend the $30-$40 for a durable exercise ball that won’t explode on you, dumping you unceremoniously onto the floor and possibly injuring you. If you use a ball that you inflate yourself with an air pump, follow the instructions on fill level.

Finally, avoid wearing sharp items that might puncture the ball while you sit on it. Common sense, but you’ll thank yourself later for heeding it.

Related references:
Panjabi MM. Clinical spinal instability and low back pain. Journal of electromyography and kinesiology. 2003 Aug;13(4):371-9.
Posner-Mayer J. Ball Dynamics International. 1995. Swiss Ball Applications For Orthopedic And Sports Medicine; pp. 2–3.

Lower Back Pain Exercises

admin — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 02:40:08 +0000

WARNING: Some exercises will help while others might make your lower back pain worse. Watch this video below to learn how you can figure out which lower back pain exercises are going to be best for you.

Is Spinal Decompression the Secret to Lasting Back Pain Relief?

admin — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 02:39:14 +0000

Inversion Therapy Table

Undo the damage gravity has done to your back. Inversion has been used for thousands of years… has millions of success stories and is a safe and proven way to eliminate back, neck and sciatic pain. Click here to learn more about inversion therapy

Nubax® Trio – Spinal Decompression Device

The Nubax Trio is an excellent way to decompress the spine and is a great alternative to using an inversion table because it’s easier to get in and out of and it allows you to apply as little or as much traction as is needed. Click to see just how effective this simple little device can be…

At Home Sciatica Relief

admin — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 04:23:40 +0000

Imagine the pain of a sharp razor blade slicing open your lower back, through your buttocks and down the back of your leg. Then again, if you suffer from sciatica, you may not need to imagine it at all.

Sciatica is not an actual condition, but describes a very real set of back and leg pain symptoms. Fortunately you can almost always reduce or completely stop sciatic pain right at home without harmful drugs or surgery.

What causes sciatica pain
The sciatic nerve is the largest single nerve in the human body. It is also the thickest at over 3/4 of an inch across. It supplies nearly the whole skin of the leg, the back thigh muscles, and other muscles down to the feet. This length is why shooting pain down one or both legs is felt when the nerve is irritated.

Sciatica symptoms are caused by one of four conditions: a herniated disc, spinal stenosis, isthmic spondylolisthesis, or most commonly piriformis syndrome where the piriformis muscle places pressure on the sciatic nerve.

Get sciatica relief right at home
In each of the four common conditions causing sciatica, muscle imbalances either directly cause or contribute to the condition behind your pain. For sciatica relief, you can follow a simple three step process in the privacy of your own home.

First, identify the cause. This involves understanding the dysfunctions present in your body and the muscle imbalances which created them. These can be identified through a series of self assessments.

Second, treat the pain symptoms. Clearly you won’t be able to correct the problem if your pain is so severe that you can’t move.

Finally, begin working on the underlying dysfunctions and muscle imbalances which caused the condition leading to sciatica. Relief that lasts requires correcting the problem, not just covering up the symptoms.
Learn more about getting at home sciatica relief including a video which shows a quick stretch you can use to stop sciatica pain from piriformis syndrome in seconds plus complete details behind the causes and treatments for sciatica.