Little Changes in Eating Habits... Can Offer Big Health Benefits

Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. ~ World Health Organization, 1948

It's no secret that many of us are struggling to find the right balance in our dietary habits that nuture best health while satisfying our taste buds. If we try to be all healthy in our eating, our taste buds complain and we dont't stick to eating healthy; and on the other hand, if we let our taste buds rule, our body complains and our health suffers. So what can we do to strike balanced and realistic chords that will encourage us to stay on the healthy side?

Make Conscious Substitutes that Cut Fat, Calories & Cholesterol...

... from our diets whenever we can so that we eat healthier, boost our nutritional in-take, and lower our unhealthy lifestyle risks. I know, your eyes are glazing over and you're saying to yourself, " no way is this going to work." Well, hold-on just a moment and consider this strategy:

• SUB: Olive-oil dressing for Creamy dressing
  
  Topping your salad with olive-oil dressing passing-up th creamy blue cheese or ranch will save you about 90 calories per two tablespoons. And you can save even more by using a reduced-fat olive-oil dressing; this saves a huge 120 calories per serving.
  
  
• SUB: Mustard, low-sodium soy sauce, salsa for Ketchup and mayonnaise
  
  Mayonnaise and ketchup add unwanted calories and sodium to your foods. Minimize calories while adding flavor and nutrition with mustard (ground style) and salsa, which contain antioxidants, and low-sodium soy sauce. And most of us plop on way to much of these condiments.
  
  
• SUB: Pomegranate or cranberry juice and club soda and or tea for Sugary fruit drinks
  
  Try club soda mixed 1:1 with a 100-percent fruit juice like pomegranate or cranberry both of which are loaded with the powerful cancer fighters anthocyanidins to save 50 calories per serving over a sugary fruit drink.
  

  
  

• SUB: Roasted chicken for Deli meats
  
  Buy a roasted chicken or turkey breast from the deli (without the skin) and use it instead of high-fat pastrami, salami, and other deli meats. If you store it in the meat/cheese drawer, it will stay fresh for one week.
  

These are just a few easy and smart choices you can make to help yourself stay on track to healhier, more nutritional eating. To learn more read this article: Easy to make Food Substitutes for Healthier Eating Eat healthier to have better health, the choice is up to you.

10 Foods Tough to Digest

There's lots of people in this world who spend so much time watching their health that they haven't the time to enjoy it. ~ Josh Billings

And you thought it was just because YOU were getting older; but as it turns out, there are some foods that are tough to eat... tough to chew... tough to swallow... and tough to digest. Note: Not everyone is affected by the digestive concerns

Let's take a closer look at some of our favorite foods that are tough to digest. And yes, they are some of our favorite eats. Here's the list:

Hard to Digest Foods:

• Fried chicken nuggets
  
• Spicy foods
  
• Chocolate binges
  
• Citrus fruit juices
  Mashed potatoes creamed with milk
  
• Raw onions
  
• Oh, not! Ice Cream
  
• Raw broccoli and raw cabbage
  
• Ligumes and beans
  
• Soritol found in sugar-free foods
  

To find out why they cause us digestive problems, read this MSN Health & Fitness article, 10 Hard to Digest Foods.

THE TAKE AWAY: Eating them in moderation and less frequently is advised. Other helpful tips include enjoying these foods cooked versus eating them raw, diluting them or mixing them with complementary foods, baking, broiling, or grilling instead of frying. Kermit, the frog is oh, so right, it's not easy being "green" or always eating healthy.

Here's to your sparkling health©.

Challenge Your Brain Daily To Stay Sharp-Minded In Spite of Ageing!

Training your brain in brief one-hour long sessions of brain exercise can have long-lasting benefits for elderly people, helping them stay mentally fit for at least five years, according to a study published in the current issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study was led by Sherry Willis, a human-development professor at Penn State University.

Age-related mental decline is expected to affect 84 million people worldwide by 2040, according to the study's accompanying editorial. Research findings indicate that people of age 73, on average, could dramatically stave-off mental decline with just 10 sessions — less time than it takes to stay physically fit — helped keep their brains sharp.

The study's brain training involved hour-long classes and included exercises done using computers. Over the years, other studies have shown that intellectual tasks such as crossword puzzles and reading can help keep the brain sharp as people grow old.

Memory Training is Key

... in helping seniors keep an alert mind. Organizing thoughts about bus schedules and grocery lists, for example, can help a great deal. Findings show organizing a 15-item grocery list into categories like dairy, vegetables and meat to make it easier to remember and locate items.

The reasoning training taught participants how to see patterns in everyday tasks such as bus schedules and taking medicines at different doses and times.


The take-away: Use-it or lose-it... Challenge yourself with cross-word puzzles, suduko, and other complex thinking activities daily. Learn More!

Unclog My Heart... Obesity Takes It In the Gut!

You ARE what you eat! ~ Anonymous

Leading the nation to a trimmer, healthier personna, NYC officially bans artery-clogging artificial trans-fatty products from restaturants... this includes the local pizzeria to high-end dining.

In addition, to having to eliminating trans-fatty foods and oils, fast-food chains and restaurants will now have to post the "calorie count" of the food they serve.


Trans Fat DANGER!
Trans fats are artifical and are formed when liquid oils are made into solid fats by adding hydrogen in a process called hydrogenation where the oil turns to solid form. A common example of this is partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, which is used for frying and baking and turns up in processed foods like cookies, pizza dough, and crackers... in a solid form that adds to the "weight" of the products while providing extra "fat" with no nutritional benefits. Trans fats, which are favored by manufacturers because of their long shelf life, are also found in pre-made blends like pancake and hot chocolate mix.

Because trans fats are not digested they linger in our system, accumulate, and clog-up our arteries.

Many doctors believed trans fats to be so harmful because they facilitate heart disease by raising bad cholesterol and lowering good cholesterol at the same time. Some experts say that makes trans fats worse than saturated fat because of this double whammy effect.

From Crisco to Frankenstein?
While trans fats occur naturally, in small quantities, in meat and dairy products from ruminants. Most trans fats consumed today, however, are industrially created as a side effect of partial hydrogenation of plant oils — a process developed in the early 1900s and first commercialized as Crisco in 1911. Partial hydrogenation changes a fat's molecular structure (raising its melting point and reducing rancidity) but this process also results in a proportion of the changed fat becoming trans fat.

Unlike other fats, trans fats are neither required nor beneficial for health. (Source: Wikipedia)

The FDA estimates that the average American eats 4.7 pounds of trans fats each year. Yeccah!

Click here to: Read more about it.

Boys' Blood Pressure Often Higher Than Girls...

Action is the foundational key to all success. ~ Pablo Picasso

A five-year study of more than 1,200 students in Montreal found that the risk of higher systolic blood pressure increased 19 percent a year for boys, but remained stable for girls. Systolic blood pressure, the larger of the two numbers in a blood pressure reading, represents pressure when the heart is fully contracted.

This is the first study to document gender differences in blood pressure in adolescents and could help in the development of new strategies to reduce rates of hypertension in young male adults, the researchers said.

The complete findings are published in the current issue of the journal Circulation but you can read more about it in this Men's Health Article . You can also find some background information on blood pressure at: Medline Encyclopedia

Take preventive health action: Eat healthy, excercise, and have your blood pressure check regularly.

It's true Apples ARE Really Good for You

"An apple a day, keeps the doctor away and your brain share.

There is nothing like biting into a crisp, juicy apple -- be it a Delicious apple, a Granny Smith, a Cortland, or a Gala -- mixture of taste and texture burst upon your taste buds with such excitement, you know you're doing something great for your body and health.

Aside from its general anti-oxidants benefits, research has shown that the nutrients found in apples help protect the brain cells from damage. Specifically the nutrient known as quercetin, provided even more protection than Vitamin C, which is known to combat neurodegenerative diseases in humans.

Food scientist and research Chang Y. Lee, who has spent twenty-years researching this, found that the nutrient quercetin in apples can protect rat brain cells from damage. Quercetin is a powerful flavonoid has much higher antioxidant activity compared to other flavonoids and Vitamin C," says Dr. Lee. His work has shown that not only may quercetin help brain cells, but also it may actually hurt cancer cells. In his lab experiments with quercetin, it blocked some of the pathways by which tumors grow out of control, and in this task, quercetin outperformed Vitamin C. Apples are the key source of quercetin. And this flavonoid is also found in onions, tea, blueberries and cranberries. Eating healthy is the smart thing to do.

So grab that apple and enjoy; it not only tastes good, but it is GOOD for you. To learn more, read Apples Help Protect Your Brain for Alzheimer's

EASY THINGS TO DO TO LOWER YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE

"Your good health depends on what you eat and drink!"

The health of the Nation continues to improve overall, in part because of the significant resources devoted to public health programs, research, health care, and health education. According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control), as of April 19, 2006 -- U.S. life expectancy continues to rise, reaching a new record in 2004, Babies Born in 2004 Have Life Expectancy of 77.9 Years. The sharp decline in deaths from cardiovascular disease, we now enjoy, is a major public health achievement that resulted in large part from public education campaigns emphasizing a healthy lifestyle and increased use of cholesterol and hypertension-lowering medications.

And although life expectancy in the United States continues to show a long-term upward trend, the most dramatic increases have already been achieved in the early part of the 20th century. However, we can still expect increases of a smaller gains throughout this decade and those to follow.

Of particular concern in recent years has been the increase in overweight and obesity, which are risk factors for many chronic diseases and disabilities including heart disease, hypertension, and back pain. The rising number of children and adolescents who are overweight, and the high percentage of Americans who are not physically active raise additional concerns about Americans’ future health.
(Source: National Center for Health Statistics, Health, United States, 2005 With Chartbook on Trends in the Health of Americans Hyattsville, Maryland: 2005)

HBP Is A Serious, Growing Problem

In spite of many great medical advances, high blood pressure-related medical health issues are growing at an alarming rate... especially when you consider that we can prevent and effective control the health problems associated with high blood pressure. Here are the alarming facts:

• Hypertension killed over 49,707 Americans in 2002. It was listed as a primary or contributing cause of death in about 261,000 U.S. deaths in 2002.
  
• As many as 65 million Americans age 6 and older have high blood pressure.
  
• One in three U.S. adults has high blood pressure.
  
• (30%) Thirty percent of people with high blood pressure don't know they have it.
  
• Of all people with high blood pressure, 11 percent aren't on therapy (special diet or drugs), 25 percent are on inadequate therapy, and 34 percent are on adequate therapy.

The cause of 90–95 percent of the cases of high blood pressure isn't known; however, high blood pressure is easily detected and usually controllable.

For the elderly and many ethnic groups, the numbers are even more alarming. In 2002 the death rates per 100,000 population from high blood pressure were 14.4 for white males, 49.6 for black males, 13.7 for white females and 40.5 for black females.
(Source: American Heart Association)

The following are the latest estimates of prevalence for these conditions.

• High blood pressure (HBP)—65,000,000.
  (Defined as systolic pressure 140 mm Hg or greater and/or diastolic
  pressure 90 mm Hg or greater, taking antihypertensive medication or being told at least twice by a physician or other health professional that you have high blood
  pressure.)
  
• Coronary heart disease (CHD)—13,200,000.
  
• Myocardial infarction (MI, or heart attack) — 7,200,000.
  
• Angina pectoris (AP, or chest pain)—6,500,000.
  
• Heart failure (HF)—5,000,000.
  
• Stroke—5,500,000.
  

(source: Circulation, AHA Journal You can read more by clicking here Journal of Circulation

HIGH SALT IN-TAKE IS A BIG PROBLEM

We eat TOO much processed foods and these contain very high amounts of sodium. On average, the higher an individual’s salt (sodium chloride) intake, the higher an individual’s blood pressure. Nearly all Americans consume substantially more salt than they need. Decreasing salt intake is advisable to reduce the risk of elevated blood pressure. Keeping blood pressure in
the normal range reduces an individual’s risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, congestive heart failure, and kidney disease. (Source: Health Dietary Guidelines

Key Recommendations

• Consume less than 2,300 mg (approximately 1 tsp of
  salt) of sodium per day.
  
• Choose and prepare foods with little salt. At the same
  time, consume potassiumrich foods, such as fruits and
  vegetables.
  Key Recommendations for Specific Population Groups
  
• Individuals with hypertension, blacks, and middleaged
  and older adults. Aim to consume no more than 1,500
  mg of sodium per day, and meet the potassium recommendation
  (4,700 mg/day) with food.
  And I would add... Drink Goji Juice - an all natural high nutrient juice from the Himalayans that has wonderful health benefits for helping you keep your blood pressure properly regulated. Learn more by visiting Juice 4 Healing
  

It is important to read the food label and determine the sodium content of
food, which can vary by several hundreds of milligrams
in similar foods. For example, the sodium content in
regular tomato soup may be 700 mg per cup in one brand
and 1,100 mg per cup in another brand.

Sources of Dietary Sodium

The relative amounts of dietary sodium in the American diet.

• 77% Food Processing
  
• 12% Naturally Occurring
  
• 6% At the Table
  
• 5% During Cooking
  

"Lifestyle changes can
prevent or delay the onset of high blood
pressure and can lower elevated blood pressure."

Reducing salt intake is one of several ways that people
may lower their blood pressure.


Another dietary measure to lower blood pressure is to
consume a diet rich in potassium. A potassiumrich
diet also blunts the effects of salt on blood pressure , may
reduce the risk of developing kidney stones, and possibly
decrease bone loss with age.
Potassium rich fruits and vegetables include leafy green vegetables,
fruit from vines, and root vegetables.
<
EAT MORE FRUIT... CUT down on chips, pretzels, frozen pizza, & canned soups
& canned/bottled tomato juices. NOTE: Eating raw tomates and using tomato sauce is good.
(Source: Dietary Guidelies: Sodium and Potassium)

Get D*A*S*H into your eating lifestyle. More tomorrow on how to be a DASHER.

May is Lower Your Blood Pressure Month

The Mission:
To Combat High Blood Pressure in America

May is National High Blood Pressure Education Month. Because far too many of us needlessly fall victim to high blood pressure and its deadly consequences, there is an all-out push is being promoted this month by the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to get us more attuned to what each of us can do to HELP ourselves prevent and control this disease.

This year's awareness campaign is taking on a bold and aggressive approach. "Mission Possible: Prevent and Control High Blood Pressure" is the theme of the May 2006 National High Blood Pressure Education Month Campaign. A special focus this year is on reaching out to businesses, community groups, and members of religious congregations. It's time for us to be serious about preventing high blood pressure.

The Mission:
To Combat High Blood Pressure in America. Join the cause... Help yourself or someone you love starting now!

BP HEALTH TIP: Make physical activity a regular part of the day. Choose activities that you enjoy and can do regularly. For example, to reach a 30-minute goal for the day, walk the dog for 10 minutes before and after work, and add a 10 minute walk at lunchtime. Or, swim 3 times a week and take a yoga class on the other days.

What Is High Blood Pressure?

High blood pressure IS a force to be reckoned with. It's no joke, high blood pressure is risky business. High Blood Pressure is called the silent killer because there are no warnings or symptoms... but we can save lives.

Blood pressure is the force of blood against the walls of arteries. When that force stays too high, it becomes a life-threatening condition—high blood pressure (also called hypertension). It makes the heart work too hard, hardens the walls of arteries, and can cause the brain to hemorrhage or the kidneys to function poorly or not at all.

A blood pressure reading of 140/90 mmHg or higher is considered high. Normal blood pressure is less than 120/80 mmHg.

Who does high blood pressure impact?

• More than 65 million American adults — 1 in 3 — have high blood pressure
  
• Nearly 60 million Americans are over age 55 which means they have a 90 percent likelihood of developing high blood pressure in their lifetimes.
  
• African Americans and Latinos are more likely to develop high blood pressure than any other racial or ethnic group and tend to develop it earlier and more severely than others.
  
• Women: More women than men have died of cardiovascular diseases every year since 1984. CVD kills as many women each year as the next 16 causes of death combined, including breast cancer. Early detection and treatment of high blood pressure could prevent many of these deaths.
  
• 18 million Americans have diabetes which increases their chances of developing high blood pressure.
  
• 122 million American adults are overweight or obese which increases their chances of developing high blood pressure.
  
• Older Americans: The likelihood of developing high blood pressure increases with age. New research shows that middle-aged and older Americans have a 90 percent chance of developing high blood pressure in their lifetimes.
  

Anyone can develop high blood pressure. But these factors increase the risk: being overweight or obese... being physically inactive... high salt and sodium intake... low potassium intake (due to not eating enough fruits and vegetables)... excessive alcohol consumption... and diabetes.

There are easy things we can do now; like

• Know Your BP Numbers
  
• Establish Healthy Habits for Eating & Living
  
• Develop Everyday Strategies for Improving Our Lives
  

HBP Learn more

Tomorrow we'll look at some of the easy things you can do now to help yourself or a loved one.

Life is not merely to be alive, but to be well. ~Marcus Valerius Martial

Water Works... Healthy & Strolling Memory Lane

The Circle of Life
You start something, you get away from it, then unexpectedly you're back into it!

Happy May Day! Growing up as a kid and attending school in NYC, May Day was a special, fun-filled time. It was the great showcase of our school talent when each grade and class would show-off their cultural skills by performing a historical folk dance from yesteryear. We kids would proudly assembly in our school yard, all neatly dressed in our costumes, where our parents and family sat waiting to beam enthused as the kids did their polka, minuet, dosey-do, ritual dance, merengue, you name it. Truly it didn't matter what we did, we all participated in the May Day Pole Celebration. A grand time was had by all, and the punch and cookies were the best. In those days, Nabisco could really smoke some cookies!

Yeah, I'm a babyboomer! And back way back then it was inconceivable that one would ever pay for water. The whole idea of doing such a thing was preposterous. Water was free, it was everywhere! You could stop in any city park and get a slurp of warm, wet water from any available fountain. In those days, people didn't spit in the fountains so it was safe to drink the water. Having grown-up in an era when water was one's inalienable right, frankly, I'm NOT a fan of buying water. But today, in 2006 it's a whole different story. Unless of course, you know where to get the good free stuff, if you want water to drink, you better be prepared to plunk-down a buck or three to quench your thirst!


But after you dig into your pocket and belly-up to the cash register, are you getting your money's worth and is the water you're buying anything special?

Now, I must admit that the availability of bottled water has definitely and greatly increased the amount of water most of us drink on a daily basis... and that's a good thing. Keep your body properly hydrated is really important for maintaining good health.

Storing and bottling water is centuries old. People have always had to carry their water supply with them. Whether by camel, mule, or slaves carrying water had to be done. And as we all have experienced, water-carrying is no light task. Even though the innovation of recycled plastic containers in 1980 has made individual water-carrying more practical and easier, still carrying water is a weighty issue. But we have adapted readily to the idea of carrying our water and have made water bottlers very rich in the process. How rich?

According to Beverage Marketing Corporation, an industry research and consulting firm in New York City, in 2004 bottled water sales for the U.S. reached t $9.2 billion... that a lot of peanuts! In addition, stats show that we consumed 6.8 billion gallons, an 8.6% increase over 2003. This averages to 24.0 gallons per person, which means U.S. residents now drink more bottled water annually than any other beverage, other than carbonated soft drinks (CSDs). They go on to report that it not just the easy of portability that is push the water consumption trend. Now-a-days water not only can quench your thirst, it can also be a status symbol of who you are and your water works politics. These days, you can get your water to do all sorts of "other things" for you, as well as, be exotic. Today's bottled water varieties comes with vitamins and fruit essence, or electrolytes to replish excess body water loss, or made from glacial ice, or farmed from the world's deepest water reservoir located in Ohio, or you can even get water that will help clear-up your skin or natural elements to help you lose weight.

While this newest trend in water-additives is not harmful, there is no scientific evidence that its helpful or needed, according to Dr. David Robbins, a director in the division of digestive diseases at New York City's Beth Israel Medical Center. He says, "... the reality is that if you are a healthy individual who has a good diet, then these are just marketing ploys." Be mindful that some of these " enhanced waters" may not technically be considered bottled water at all. The FDA has specific standards that must be met for any water stating that it's spring, purified, mineral, sparkling, artesian or well water. Any enhanced water — such as those that contain added flavor, enhancements or vitamins—is considered a soft drink.

So what's the take-away from this boom in water works... well be sure to drink plenty of water but don't spend a lot for the water you do drink and don't expect enhanced waters to part the seas or perform any miracles.

Read more... visit International Bottled Water Assoc. website or Forbes' Magazine insightful article by Susan Yara featured on 04.13.06 entitled: Your Health: Everybody In The Water!

"Food and water are natural healers; Eat well and drink wisely."

Sunrays are Proving to be Skin Ally

A new study from the University of New Mexico shows that sunlight may also help melanoma victims survive the disease.

There's more... A second study conducted by the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden shows that sunlight may reduce the risk of getting cancer of the lymph glands.

These two new studies have researchers confounded since its long been thought that exposure to the sun is the leading cause of the often fatal skin disease melanoma. Researchers admit that these new findings are totally counterintuitive, reports The Associated Press.

Skin Cancer Study Findings
The five-year study of 528 melanoma victims, researchers found that increased sun exposure actually led to increased survivability stated lead study author Marianne Berwick told AP. The new research iDs two scientific clues as to how sunlight may slow or stop some types of cancer.

Clue No. 1: Vitamin D. Our skin makes this vitamin in response to sunlight. It's an essential vitamin in that it helps regulate cell growth and helps cells stop unneeded growth through a process called apoptosis.

Clue No. 2: Sunlight may help victims survive melanoma through something called solar elastosis, which is a response to sunlight that breaks down collagen in the skin. Or put more simply, this is the same process that causes sun-related wrinkling. "It may be something in solar elastosis itself. It may be that some physical barrier created by this breakdown of collagen keeps the melanoma from getting into the blood and lymph system," Berwick explained to AP.

Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Study Results
In a second study conducted by Karin Ekstrom Smedby of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, the research team studied 3,000 people who had lymph cancer and another 3,000 who did not. The results? Increased exposure to ultraviolet radiation through sunbathing and sunburns resulted in a reduced incidence of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, reports AP.

But wait there is still a Strong Warning Against anyone going outside and sunbathing. The ultraviolet radiation of sunlight is still a well documented human carcinogen. So enjoy the sun but... in moderation!

Read more

New U.S. Dietary Food Pyramids: Hit The Market

New U.S. Dietary Food Pyramids Aim to Foster Healthier Eating and Better Health.

Biggest change from old pyramid? Now there are 12 different pyramids, each targeting four overarching themes:

1. Variety: Eat foods from all food groups and subgroups.
   
2. Proportionality: Eat more of some foods (fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fat-free or low-fat milk products), and less of others (foods high in saturated or trans fats, added sugars, cholesterol salt, and alcohol.).
   
3. Moderation: Choose forms of foods that limit intake of saturated or trans fats, added sugars, cholesterol, salt, and alcohol.
   
4. Activity: Be physically active every day.
   

Background:
The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans are the basis for new Federal nutrition policy. The MyPyramid Food Guidance System provides food-based guidance to help implement the recommendations of the new Guidelines. MyPyramid was based on both the Guidelines and the Dietary Reference Intakes from the National Academy of Sciences, while taking into account current consumption patterns of Americans.

MyPyramid translates the Guidelines into a total diet that meets nutrient needs from food sources and aims to moderate or limit dietary components often consumed in excess. An important complementary tool is the Nutrition Facts label on food products. And MyPyramid provides web-based interactive and print materials for consumers. In addition, materials have been developed for both consumers and professionals in the field. How MyPyramid Works

Overview of the New MyPyramid Food Guidance System:
The new pyramids works on the two key ideas. First, that one size does NOT fit everyone. And second, getting the bulk of your nutrients through food in-take is best. The MyPyramid Education Framework provides specific recommendations for making food choices that will improve the quality of an average American diet. These recommendations are interrelated and should be used together. Taken together, they would result in the following changes from a typical diet:

• Increased intake of vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, and other essential nutrients, especially of those that are often low in typical diets.
  
• Lowered intake of saturated fats, trans fats, and cholesterol and increased intake of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains to decrease risk for some chronic diseases.
  
• Calorie intake balanced with energy needs to prevent weight gain and/or promote a healthy weight.
  

Take sometime to fully explore the new website: MyPyramid There's a lot of new information to digest; so plan to visit the site often. More about the new pyramids next time.

(Source: MyPyramid.gov)

Health Benefits of Physical Activity

A strong body makes the mind strong.
- Thomas Jefferson

Regular physical exercise is the best antidote to many of the effects of aging. Major benefits from regular exercise include the following:

• favorable effects on fats in the blood
  
• better handling of blood sugar
  
• improved breathing
  
• better endurance
  
• improved balance
  
• greater strength
  
• stronger bones
  
• improved sense of well-being
  
• clearer thinking
  
• better sleep
  

Studies are currently being done to show the benefits of exercise programs for increasing life expectancy and decreasing the risk of or delaying disability as long as possible. Virtually, all studies done to date have consistently and repeatedly shown strong evidence that excercise is a key component for a quality, healthier life. So it's really important to keep active and excercise -- regularly!

To Learn More visit:
Physical ActivityBenefits

Keep Your Mind Sharp -- Excercise Daily

As soils are depleted, human health, vitality and intelligence go with them.
- Louis Bromfield

Staying physically fit throughout your life is not only good for your body, its great for your mind too. Exercise every day, and you're more likely to keep your mind sharp well into old age.

Maintaining a healthy mind2body health connection is the ultimate paradigm for living a healthier, full and active, longer life. Researchers from the V.A. Medical Center in San Francisco found that adults who were the most fit at the start of a six-year study maintained their mental sharpness over time and did better in tests of their mental function conducted years later than did their less physically fit peers, reports Reuters.

Study author Dr. Deborah E. Barnes, told Reuters that "Physical activity appears to be good for the brain as well as the body. And, older adults with higher levels of cardiorespiratory fitness experience a slower rate of cognitive decline over time."

The benefits link between excercising and maintaining good health becomes even more important as we age. A person who has cardiorespiratory fitness may also be at a lower risk for cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes, all of which are known to be associated with poor mental function in older adults. Research findings suggest that cardiorespiratory fitness may be directly associated with blood flow to the brain. Reduced blood flow to the brain has been linked to lower mental function in both Alzheimer's disease patients and normal older adults.

Full study findings are published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Also check out Health in Aging.

Meditate to Improve Your Health...

Ill-health, of body or of mind, is defeat... Health alone is victory. Let all men, if they can manage it, contrive to be healthy.
-- Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) Sir Walter Scott

Are YOU Meditating? Yes, it can improve your health.

Even if you don't have years and years of meditation skills and practice you too can benefit from meditation. (See previous article citing measurable results for Buddhist monk practitioners). Research results show that meditation stimulates Brain & Immune Functions for everyboy! These are the clear and conclusive findings of a research study conducted in 2003 at the Laboratory for Affective Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin. And many recent findings of other clinical studies, including trials at Harvard support these findings.

The 8-week clinical training program in mindfulness meditation was applied in a work environment with healthy employees. And study consisted of two groups, those who meditated and those who did not. Subjects in both groups were were also injected and vaccinated with an influenza vaccine.

Findings: Researchers reported for the first time significant increases in left-sided anterior activation, a pattern previously associated with positive affect, in the meditators compared with the nonmeditators. Also they found significant increases in antibody titers to influenza vaccine among subjects in the meditation compared with those in the non-meditation control group.

Read More: Mindful Meditation Improves Brain and Immune Functions

Bottom Line: The health benefits are real not just "all in your head". Meditate to improve your health! Could this be a "no brainer" way to also lower your chances of Alzheimer's?

Meditation Supports Healthy Minds & Emotions!

A quiet mind cureth all. -- Robert Burton

Maintaining your brain is crucial. As recent research findings clearly prove.

Practitioners of meditation have long used this brain work to achieve different levels of cognition and emotion. Recently, scientists at the University of Wisconsinwere able to detect positive mental changes associated with meditation -- through electrical imaging.

The Dalai Lama – the most well-known meditation practitioner – greatly supported the study by offering eight of his Buddhist monks, with 10,000 to 50,000 hours of lifetime meditation (15-40 years of practice), to undergo tests and brain scanning.

These eight “professional” meditators’ results were compared to an untrained control group of ten volunteers. Even before either group began meditation, scientists noticed that the monks’ brain waves had considerable more activity than the control group – indicating that meditation may have lasting effects on the brain.

As both groups began to meditate on unconditional compassion, the intensity of the monks’ gamma wave activity was the highest that the researchers had ever seen.

Fast Factoid: Gamma waves are high-frequency electrical brain impulses, which knit together disparate brain circuits that are required for high-level brain functions, such as learning and conscious perception.

The monks with the most practice meditating also had an exceptional amount of activity within the left prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain associated with happiness and positive thoughts and emotions!

Finally, the belief that connections among brain nerve cells are fixed early in life and do not change in adulthood, as it turns out, is passé! Today, scientists believe that the brain is actually quite plastic, enabling development to continue over a lifetime.

So, if you’ve been considering a meditation class (or any class that requires focused attention and learning), you will be doing a lot more than the activity itself. You’ll be developing valuable new brain circuits!

Article Source: Our Health Coop and Full Scientific Study

Acupuncture Wins Western Medical Approval

Our understandings are always liable to error. Nature and certainty are very hard to come at, and infallibility is mere vanity and pretense. -- Marcus Antoninus

This ancient Chinese technique of sticking needles into the skin to relieve pain, nausea, and many other ills has finally won the endorsement and approval of western medicine. Acupunture has long suffered keen skepticism from the traditional western medical profession.

But now there is a growing and strong body of scientific evidence -- brain scans, ultrasound, and other "scientific" techniques -- showing that acupuncture triggers direct, measurable effects on the body, including perhaps activation of precisely the regions of the brain that would be predicted by ancient Chinese theory.

Acupuncture, an extraordinarily safe technique, has been in used for centuries throughout Asia. And according to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, a government agency, some 8.2 million Americans now use acupunture on a regular basis. Even some insurers are now paying for acupuncture treatments.

And in light of the recent FDA recall of painkillers Vioxx and Celebrex, this news that acupunture works and is a viable treatment, is great news for millions of Americans now faced with finding new pain relief in the wake of the recall.

[Acupunture] "never fails to make me feel better -- more mellow and more energized. I used to think this lovely state was mostly due to the placebo effect." For decades western medicine has been sharply skeptical about acupunture and its benefits.

Researchers at the University of California at Irvine, have shown that when a needle is placed in a point on the side of the foot that Chinese theorists associate with vision, sure enough, the visual cortex in the brain ''lights up" on functional magnetic resonance imaging scans, though the cause and effect are not totally clear.

"Neuroscientist Seung-Schik Yoo of Brigham and Women's Hospital has shown that when a needle is placed in a point called pericardium 6 on the wrist, known in Chinese medicine as a sensitive point for nausea, the part of the brain that controls the vestibular system (which affects balance and nausea) lights up on scans."

"While much about acupuncture remains mysterious, at least to Westerners, a great deal is becoming clearer, thanks to an explosion of studies using Western scientific techniques." And in deed, it seems that ancient Chinese theory as practiced and predicted is for real! To read more about it: Medical Research Shows Acupunture Works

When It Comes to Chocolate, Dark is Healthier For You

The superiority of chocolate, both for health and nourishment, will soon give it the same preference over tea and coffee in America which it has in Spain.
--Thomas Jefferson

Dark chocolate may help reduce blood pressure and boost the body's ability to metabolize sugar from food, according to the results of a small recent study in Italy and published in the March 2005 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Investigators at the University of L'Aquila in Italy found that after eating only 100 grams, or 3.5 ounces, of dark chocolate every day for 15 days, 15 healthy people had lower blood pressures and were more sensitive to insulin, an important factor in metabolizing sugar.

This is not the first study to demonstrate potential health benefits of dark chocolate, which contains high levels of a kind of antioxidant called flavonoids. Research shows that flavonoids that can help maintain a healthy heart and good circulation and reduce blood clotting, which can lead to heart attacks and stroke.

Chocolate's health benefits include flavonoids that help the body by neutralizing potentially cell-damaging substances known as oxygen-free radicals, which are a normal byproduct of metabolism, explained Dr. Claudio Ferri.

However, Ferri urges caution when interpreting the results. In spite of dark chocolate's apparent benefits and its rich antioxidant base, it also contains a lot of fat and calories. Dr. Ferri noted that each 100 grams of dark chocolate contains roughly 500 calories. He suggests that people who want to add some chocolate to their diet need to subtract an equivalent amount of calories by cutting back on other foods, to avoid weight gain.

Another good reason to keep-on eating dark chocolate! Unfortunately, milk and white chocolates do not provide the same health benefits.

There are four basic food groups, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, and chocolate truffles. --Unknown

Read more about this chocolate health research finding:
Dark Chocolate Is Healthier

If you are not feeling well, if you have not slept, chocolate will revive you. But you have no chocolate! I think of that again and again! My dear, how will you ever manage? --Marquise de Sevigne, February 11, 1677

Eliminate Normal Body Waste -- Naturally

A well-balanced diet is the most important requirement for healthy living.

Good nutrition helps reduce our risk of getting a large number of diseases, from diabetes to heart disease. But to ensure that your body absorbs all the nutrients of our well-balanced diet and their full dietary values of proteins, enzymes, vitamins, amino acids, and all the other 'good stuff' at the micro-celluar level, it is important that you detoxify your body on a regular basis. One of the good things about detoxing the body is that it can be easily accomplished with many of the foods we eat.

This article, Benefits of Detoxing Your Body, give a great explanation about detoxifying our bodies and what foods help to get rid of the that 'body waste' we naturally produce during "the process of converting food into the raw materials and energy we need to live, along with the complex biochemical reactions that occur continuously within cells." This process produces waste products that must be eliminated from the body. Learn how you can do it easily and naturally!

Alzheimer's Can Be Avoided

Life is not merely being alive, but being well.
-- Martial, c. AD 66 Epigrams

Memory loss is not an inevitable consequence of aging, but rather is usually the consequence of age-related diseases, a new study says. Some people, no matter how old they are, have sharp and clear minds and memories.

"What's their secret? It's a timely question, and not just for scientists. Baby boomers are watching their parents get older -- and spotting a few grey hairs of their own in the mirror. What can they expect from the aging brain?" Read
Secret of People Whose Minds Never Fade

In case you're wondering, "Fear not, memory loss and brain aging are a natural part of getting older. It is often the case that people will start to report in their 50s that they think their memories are slipping," says Zola, a research career scientist who has dedicated his work to memory function." There could be other reasons for it short term memory lost; Alzheimer's disease is not the only cause for memory problems as we age. Health issues such as stress and anxiety; depression; ADHD; infections; and brugs, both prescription and over-the-counter. So, Is Your Memory Normal?

Flaxseed: Small but Mighty Health Food!

“A man too busy to take care of his health is like a mechanic too busy to take care of his tools.”
--Spanish Proverb

Country-wise Living: A 68-year-old retired registered nurse sings the praises of Flaxseed Meal. “It is a vital health-smart ingredient to add to your daily dietary intake.” Overcoming her initial skepticism regarding what she read about the benefits of flaxseed “because nothing could be that good”, she has found flaxseed to be a powerhouse of nutritional benefit.

She now recommends it to everyone, especially women because it “causes tumors and cancer to shrink by stopping the growth of small blood vessels that they need to grow.” However, she cautions its usage for “pregnant women and small children who are still developing.” For everyone else it is a god-send.

It lowers cholesterol, raises the good cholesterol we all need to produce hormones, alleviates arthritis (in a fairly short time) and increases peripheral circulation (I can feel my hands, for the first time since the 1980s). Flaxseed is also high in fiber, but does not cause diarrhea. She goes on to say that “it seems to have normalized by metabolism which had been off since I tried to change thyroid medicine in the mid 1980s.” Take note, the nurse isn't the only one convinced about the health powerhouse flaxseed. Here's what one group of flaxseed growers report Flaxseeds Lowers Blood Pressure, Eliminate Constipation, Easy Arthritis

All it takes is ½ cup a day for therapy, if you’re experiencing any problems or suspect you might be a risk, to prevent or alleviate tumors or cancer. The great thing is that it can be added to bread, muffins, cookies, pie crust, cake mixes or scratch – add it like nuts, says the inspired nurse.

In addition, she add that it can be eaten in yogurt, cottage cheese, salads, and casseroles; add it to a pot of beans or even turkey dressing. However, you can get it into your diet, do it.

While the oil is being promoted more than the meal, I found that [the oil] interferes with the absorption of some medicines especially any that are absorbed in the stomach, says Nurse Quinn.

“Your magazine promotes the healthy slow food lifestyle and flaxseed mean is a good addition to that goal. It may very well be the antidote to our very toxic world.” – Betty Quinn, California. (Source: Countryside Vol. 89 No. 2 March/April 2005 Tips Column) CountrySide Magazine

Retired nurse Quinn is not the only one singing the praises of the power health food. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) is taking a serious look at Flaxseed too. Duke University's Comprehensive Cancer Center and National Cancer Institute (NCI) are currently running clinical trials for: Low-Fat Diet and/or Flaxseed in Preventing Prostate Cancer. NOTE: This study is currently recruiting patients. Flaxseed may well be one of the cancer cures we have been looking for.

It's a super source for fiber, omega-3 oil, and Here's a great article that tells you The Health Benefits of Flaxseed and everything you want to know about the Mighty Flaxseed.

Others Are Saying: MUST READ!
Flaxseed Oil FAQs UK Ministry of Fitness
Whole Health MD: Applauds & Praises Flaxseed
1997 Prevention Magazine Article Excerpt: Flaxseed -- Top Seed


Flaxseeds have been around forever. The early Eypyptian, Greeks, and Romans ate them as part of their daily diet. During the past 100 years, flaxseed has fallen out of favor. But now its health benefits are being re-discovered and scientifically proven. So what do you think? Is there something special about flaxseed? Well, you don't have to tell me twice, I've added flaxseed to my diet. So what about you? It's your move now!