Spring is a great time of year to recommit to your healthy lifestyle. Before you start spring cleaning and yard work, it's a good idea to ensure your spine is functioning properly to avoid injury. It also pays to pace yourself if you've been less active over the winter months.
Enjoy the nice weather!
A number of studies have linked poor sleep or lack of sleep to an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease; one reason for this is because your brain's waste removal system only operates during deep sleep. By pumping cerebral spinal fluid through your brain's tissues, the glymphatic system flushes the waste from your brain back into your body's circulatory system, from where it can be eliminated.
In the US, more than one-third of children and adolescents are overweight or obese. Physical inactivity, and particularly watching TV, which exposes children to junk-food commercials and presents a prime opportunity for unhealthy snacking, is known to increase this risk.
If you enjoy hiking, camping or simply spending time outdoors in wooded areas, you should be aware of Lyme disease, an infection caused by Borrelia burgdorferi, a bacterium that is often found in deer ticks. Help prevent them by: Wearing protective clothing such as light-colored, long-sleeved shirts, and tuck your pants into your socks when in wooded areas. Performing a "tick check" and immediately washing your body after spending time in the woods or tall grass. Keeping an eye out for anything unusual on your skin, especially a rash made up of concentric rings. If you have any symptoms such as rashes, fever or joint pain, consult a doctor who is knowledgeable about diagnosing and treating Lyme disease. The typical treatment is with antibiotics.
A new clue to preventing the development of Alzheimer's disease in its very early phases has emerged from a small study at UCLA. Researchers there have reported that supplementing with omega-3 fatty acids found in oily fish, in conjunction with antioxidants, reduced inflammation in the brain. The combination also cleared amyloid-beta protein (the primary constituent of Alzheimer disease plaques) from neurological tissues over the course of four to 17 months.
Joints can become less flexible with age, and this inflexibility can lead to falls, a major cause of disability for older people. Flexibility and balance training should be integral parts of your daily fitness routine - try practicing yoga or Tai chi to help improve balance and flexibility.
Research on older adults ages 60 to 80 measured brain activity, physical activity, and aerobic capacity. Those who were the most physically active had better brain oxygenation and better patterns of brain activity, particularly in the hippocampus and in connecting different brain regions together. Such patterns are associated with improved cognitive function. What is perhaps most intriguing about the findings is they occurred among older adults who were physically active but not athletes. The study participants did not exercise formally but rather got their activity in via walking, gardening, and simply moving each day. Those who were active had significant brain advantages compared to their more sedentary peers.
The glycemic index (GI) ranks foods based on how quickly the body turns the carbohydrates they contain into glucose (blood sugar), provoking an insulin response. Grains in their natural, whole form have a relatively low GI, while processed carbohydrates, especially those made with flour or puffed grains, have a high GI. When using the glycemic index, be sure to consider glycemic load - it takes account of how many grams of carbohydrate a normal serving contains.
The FDA has called on drug makers to strengthen their warning labels on prescription and OTC non-aspirin NSAIDs, to warn of increased risk of heart attack or stroke
If you are looking for a tasty food that can help lower cholesterol, regulate blood pressure, and protect against heart disease and stroke, reach for an avocado. This versatile fruit (it's actually a large berry), can be used in everything from guacamole to ice cream to soup. It's a good source of vitamin K, dietary fiber, potassium and folate. While avocados are very low in sodium and cholesterol-free, don't overdo it, as they do contain fat, albeit the heart-healthy, monounsaturated kind. This time of year the Bacon, Fuerto and Zutano varieties are ready to eat - if you buy one that's hard, you can speed up the ripening process by placing it in a paper bag for a few days.
Most people think that a bone "spur" is sharp and produces pain by pressing on tissue, when in fact, these bony growths are usually smooth and flat. Although they rarely cause pain on their own, bone spurs in the feet can lead to callus formation as tissue builds up to provide added cushion over the area of stress. Over time, wear and tear on joints may cause these spurs to compress neighboring ligaments, tendons or nerves, thus injuring tissue and causing swelling, pain and tearing and causing a bone spur.
Sauna therapy has many health benefits, including expelling of toxins, improving blood circulation, killing disease-causing microbes and improving mitochondrial function.
Want to eat more fruit and vegetables? Of course you do! Upping your produce intake is one of the surest paths to better health, but many people simply find it too difficult to do on a regular basis. If you are among them, here are two tips:
-Invest in a transparent bowl
-Keep produce within arms reach
In an article published in Environment and Behavior, researchers tested college students by placing apple slices and carrot sticks in either clear or opaque bowls, which were positioned either at a table near the students or a table two meters away. The participants were told they were welcome to eat the produce, then left alone for ten minutes.
Result: the apples and carrots in the nearby transparent bowls were more likely to be eaten.