Tai Chi is not only great exercise but it helps with balance, mental health, strength and breath. Research o fall prevention suggests the slow and meditative exercise of tai chi , with its disciplined focus on balance, may help lessen apprehension . Exercise is one of the best ways to prevent falls.
Read more about Tai Chi and how it helps people improve one’s balance as we age.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/how-tai-chi-can-help-conquer-fear-of-falling-as-we-age-1464023456
I am big believer in writing in a journal. When you actually hand write out your thoughts and feelings your brain is better able to process what you are writing.
This article supports the power of hand writing. Students who take notes gy hand outperform students who type. http://www.wsj.com/articles/can-handwriting-make-you-smarter-1459784659
So grab a journal and do some writing about what is on your mind!
Learn some techniques to help train your brain to recognize and stick with healthy portions of food. Using portion control allow you to eat almost anything with an awareness of what portion sizes are.
Read more at : https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016/07/15/the-truth-about-portion-control/MZbiv7XxoMm5GQnQghtuHL/story.html
Exercise is as effective as drugs at preventing diabetes and repeat heart attacks. It is potentially better than medicine for averting additional strokes.
Read more at http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303643304579109240925822648
Read about devices to use on your phone to help you teach yourself to relax.
Read more: http://allthingsd.com/20130514/breathe-relax-repeat-devices-for-inner-peace/
There are less invasive options becoming available for weight loss surgery. There are over 200,000 Americans who undergo the major operation called bariatric surgery to try to least weight.
Read more at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323296504578396440393998244.html
40 Facts about sleep you probably didn’t know; some examples are ………..
– To drop off we must cool off; body temperature and the brain’s sleep-wake cycle are closely linked. That’s why hot summer nights can cause a restless sleep.
– Anything less than five minutes to fall asleep at night means you’re sleep deprived. The ideal is between 10 and 15 minutes, meaning you’re still tired enough to sleep deeply, but not so exhausted you feel sleepy by day.
-Elephants sleep standing up during non-REM sleep, but lie down for REM sleep.
– Ducks at risk of attack by predators are able to balance the need for sleep and survival, keeping one half of the brain awake while the other slips into sleep mode.
read more at:
http://www.abc.net.au/science/sleep/facts.htm
Check out these top 10 tips to keep your New Years Resolutions
http://lifehacker.com/5971803/top-10-strategies-for-making-your-new-years-resolution-stick
Fun toy to track your moves and monitor your fitness
Fitbit launched a .028 ounce wireless monitor to track your moves. Its available at Fitbit.com $60
Researchers are discovering more ways obesity can damage one’s body. These include an individual’s sense of smell, disrupting sleep and seual life and cancerous tumors can grow faster. Read more at
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204598504578080683053072000.html
Timing is everything in life….especially when it comes to weight loss. A timely study just released from the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics reminds us that the calorie density, or the amount of calories per bite of food that you eat, may make all the difference in helping you painlessly shed some of that extra winter weight.
Just ask Barbara Rolls, PhD, researcher, and author of the just released, The Ultimate Volumetrics Diet, an updated and expanded version of her bestseller book published in 2004. According to research, much of which was conducted by Rolls, it is the volume of food rather than the calories that is the key to helping you feel satisfied or satiated when you eat. Translation: When it comes to weight loss, you need to outsmart your stomach by filling it up with a large volume of low calorie-dense foods to satisfy your hunger, which will enable you to cutback on daily calories. In this case, size does matter.
For example, an apple that would fit in the palm of your hand (about 3 inches) is a mere 75 calories. Because over 85 percent of its weight is from water (0 calories) and fiber (0 calories), it is considered a low-density food as it is low in calories per bite. However, a slice of apple pie, which could also fit in the palm of your hand, has calorie-dense fat and sugar added, along with the apples, so will serve up about 300 calories a slice. (That’s without the a la mode part.) You would have to eat four apples to consume the equivalent of the calories in the pie slice. Because of the apple’s volume, you would likely get “full” after chomping on an apple or two, and thus, consume less calories overall.
Compare these two meals:
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| Source: CDC |
Volume-wise, the more colorful dinner plate of grilled chicken, which is loaded with tons of low calorie, high-volume veggies is going to fill you up for less calories compared to the higher fat, more caloric-dense fried chicken meal. In fact, the puny portions in the fried chicken dinner may cause you to go back for seconds (adding more calories to your meal) in order to obtain the volume of foods you need to eat to feel full.
The same strategy goes for soups. By ladling a low-calorie dense, veggie-based soup rather than a high calorie-dense fatty chowder in your bowl, you will end up consuming the same volume of soup but for less calories:
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| Source: CDC |
This is actually part of the logic behind the new MyPlate. By devoting half of your plate to low- calorie, high-volume fruits and veggies, you will crowd out the higher, calorie-dense items on your plate while feeling satisfied.
Need help in planning meals that are voluminous but not high in calories? The Ultimate Volumetrics Diet also contains over 100 new recipes developed by registered dietitian and culinary wizard, Mindy Hermann, as well as advice for when you are food shopping and dining out.
You can eat more and weigh less.
In This Week’s Issue:
The more you eat daily once you reach the age of 70, the higher your risk for memory problems, and possibly Alzheimer’s disease. Investigators at the Mayo Clinic came to this conclusion after analyzing data on more than 1,200 seniors in Olmstead County, Minnesota. They found double the risk of memory impairment among the participants who consumed between 2,143 and 6,000 calories per day compared to those whose calorie consumption was lowest – between 600 and 1,525 per day. A third group of participants consumed between 1,526 and 2,142 daily calories and had no added risk of Alzheimer’s. The higher risk of memory deficits among the big eaters doesn’t prove that overeating causes memory problems but may mean that cutting back on calories could be good for the brain. The study is to be presented in April at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology.
My take? Consistent overeating can lead to obesity, which is clearly associated with many health problems. This new study suggests that it can also have an adverse effect on brain health. As far as the type of food eaten is concerned, we know that people with high levels of a toxic amino acid known as homocysteine have twice the usual risk of developing Alzheimer’s, and that these levels tend to be higher in those who eat a lot of animal protein. A diet that includes plenty of fruits and leafy green vegetables provides folic acid and other B vitamins that help the body reduce homocysteine levels. In addition to prudent portions, cutting back on animal protein and eating more plant foods is a good idea for general health, and may help to prevent Alzheimer’s, too.
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