Improve Your Memory, Exercise!

The target of Alzheimer's Disease are usually the elderly people. And because of this, we sometimes ask: does it follow that when you reach the age of said 50 or higher, you will have that illness? Or are there any other factors that contribute to it? As we get older we think that doing physical exercise can strain our bodies and cause negative effects. But a recent study in Australia may prove this wrong.

This disease is caused by a build-up of proteins in the brain. The build-up manifest in two ways first is the plaques which are the deposits of the protein beta-amyloid that accumulate in the spaces between nerve cells and the other is the tangles which is the deposits of the protein tau that accumulate inside of nerve cells. But there are also some factors that contribute to this disease like the age, family history and the lifestyle factors.

A recent study conducted by Nicola T. Lautenschlager, M.D., of the University of Melbourne, and colleagues, to test whether a physical-activity intervention might delay progression of prodromal symptoms to full-blown dementia, the researchers conducted a randomized controlled trial of 138 patients who did not meet criteria for dementia but who reported memory problems and had lower scores on the cognitive section of an Alzheimer's disease scale.

Patients (about 40% women, mean age about 68) were randomly assigned to a 24-week, home-based exercise program or to an education and usual-care group. Results show that patients from the home-based exercise program has shown improvement in terms of delayed word recall and Clinical Dementia Rating. However, total immediate word recall, digit symbol coding, verbal fluency, Beck depression score, and the Medical Outcomes summary did not change significantly.

Investigators said that "physical activity has health benefits that are not confined to cognitive function alone as suggested by other findings for depression, quality of life, falls, cardiovascular function, and disability."

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Female Anopheles Mosquito - Deadliest Insect on Earth

We are afraid of snakes, lions or sharks. But according to sixwise.com, the deadliest animal on earth is very small and vulnerable - a female Anopheles mosquito.

Female Anopheles mosquitoes can carry a Malaria virus which makes them deadly. Male anopheles mosquitoes don't have the capability to carry the virus because they only eat on sugar sources. Females however need to take in a 'blood meal' in order for her eggs to develop.

There are 300 - 500 million cases of Malaria across the globe, yearly. In Africa, a child dies from Malaria every 30 seconds. Malaria causes a flu-like illness that can lead to coma, kidney failure or even death. Symptoms include high fever, and chills.

It is very necessary to take precautions when travelling to a place where Malaria is transmitted. This includes countries in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and South Pacific. Applying insect repellant at your exposed skin or spraying insect repellant outside your clothes are some ways to prevent mosquitoes from penetrating your skin.

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Tips on Serving Sizes

It is sometimes difficult to understand the serving sizes that are indicated at the back labels of the products that we buy. To help you understand more about it here are some tips that was shared by Diana Kohle from Medicine.Net:

•One cup is approximately the size of your fist, and is typically two servings of pasta or rice.
•Three servings of meat, fish or chicken is about the size of a deck of cards, or the palm of your hand.
•One apple should be about the size of a baseball.
•Two servings of a bagel (about one half of a bagel) should be about the size of a hockey puck.
•One serving of a pancake should be about the size of a compact disc.
•One serving of cheese is about the size of four stacked dice.


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Is there a need to stop using plastic water bottles?

You have probabaly asked this question already.

Recently I read an article from Prevention regarding the use of clear water bottles. According to them, we don't have to completely get rid of using water bottles but we should reduce the frequency of using it.

But Why?

Chemicals that were used to create the bottle will end up going into the water. In a report released last April, the federal government's National Toxicology Program expressed "some concern" that one chemical in many plastics could harm children's neurological development and reproductive organs.A chemical called Bisphenol A is known as an endocrine disruptor, which means it can mimic or blog the function hormones.

So here are some tips that might help you reduce the use of plastic bottles:
Instead of purchasing mineral waters, bring your own container or a sports bottle. Instead of buying plastic bottles, purchased those that are placed in glass bottles. You can even recycle it.

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Having "Good" Fat is Better

More and more children and adults are gaining more weight that in turn leads to obesity. But recent study shows that having "good" fat inside our bodies may be a new key to fight against obesity.

Fats are classified into 2 kinds. White Fat and Brown Fat. Researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston said they used a single molecular switch to turn immature muscle cells into brown fat cells in the lab, suggesting that brown fat may be more akin to muscle cells than conventional white fat cells.Meanwhile another team found a protein that stimulates the growth of brown fat tissue.

According to Julie Steenhuysen from Reuters "A person who is obese has large stores of white fat, and researchers think if they can coax the body into making more calorie-burning brown fat, this might help people obese people lose weight."

More and more researchers are looking into this topic with the aim to find a way to prevent obesity.

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Overweight Are Prone to Heart Attack At An Earlier Age

Heavier person, obsese or overweight are more prone to heart attacks. Most heart attack occur as a result of coronary artery disease (CAD). CAD is the build up over time of a material called plaque on the inner walls of the coronary arteries. Eventually, a section of plaque can break open, causing a blood clot to form at the site. A heart attack occurs if the clot becomes large enough to cut off most or all of the blood flow through the artery. Because of the too much fat in the veins, overweight and obese people are more prone to it.

A study shows that the more you gain weight, the chances of getting this kind of disease is also increasing. Many cardiologist and several institutions study different data on more that 111,000 people who had heart attack.

They are also prone to diseases such as diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure."It gets very biochemical and very molecular." A simple explanation is that caloric restriction activates an enzyme that prevents fat from being deposited in heart cells.

Another study has a result that the provided evidence for the mechanism by which the obese people have taken comfort from the studies. There are also indication about the survival in the heart attack of the thin people.

"The heart functions better with caloric restriction."


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Prevent Memory Loss and Stroke by Eating Fish

According to World Health Organization, health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
It is always associated with proper nutrition.

We are prone to diseases such as cancer, heart attack, high blood pressure, memory gap and etc. That is why it is very important to keep our bodies healthy.

According to Medicine.net, Researchers said that when you are fond of eating fish or non-fried fish to be specific helps boost their memory and can also prevent stroke.
Older adults that are fond of eating fish or tuna will develop less brain lesion that will develop later a silent brain lesion that lead to the vascular stoke.
The fish contain omega-3 fatty acid that prevents this kind of brain lesion.

The main damage of the brain lesion that occurred in a person was the brain will have brain tissue damage. This is the cause of the lacking of blood flow in that are lacking in that area. The effect of this lesion are the following: thinking problems, memory loss or commonly known as the memory gap, and stroke.

The study simply shows that eating fish or not only fish all the nutritious food will help us prevent any kind of diseases.

Always remember this quotation "Prevention is better that cure".


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Get More Out of Your Sleep

They say that sleep is essential for one's growth and health but though this fact was never been firmly establish. Sleep varies with the need of a person that's why children needs more sleep for their growth than those who are older. People that are deprived of sleep experience weakness and that they loss their concentration on what they do, they also experience loss of appetite and that they are easily get anger. This is because sleep affects our daily functioning our physical and mental health in many ways.

How much sleep do we need?

Need for sleep by an individual may vary on different factors including age as I say those children especially infants require about 16 hours a day, while teenagers need about 19 hours on average. For the adults they need 7 to 8 hours a night which appears to be the best amount of sleep. People may need as few 5 hours or as 10 hours of sleep each day. Those pregnant women during their 3 months may need several more hours of sleep than usual. This amount of sleep by an individual may also vary if he has been deprived of sleep in precious the days.

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Difference Between Lactose Intolerance and Dairy Allergy

It may be hard at times to differentiate the difference between the being lactose intolerant or allergic with dairy products.

Six Wise.com defines Lactose Intolerance as

an inability to fully digest lactose, or milk sugar, in dairy products. It's caused by a deficiency in lactase, an enzyme produced by your small intestine that breaks down lactose.

Symptoms include bloating, gas, abdominal cramps, diarrhea. Being lactose intolerant means you have to avoid dairy products. An option for you is to take probiotics that help the body digest lactose. You can also take in small amounts of lactose such as cheeses, yogurt and kefir.

Dairy Allery however is different. According to six wise.com,

a milk allergy is caused by an immune system malfunction in which your immune system mistakenly recognizes milk proteins as being dangerous, and then produces a response against them.

Common symptoms include diarrhea, abdominal cramps, coughing or wheezing, runny nose, and skin rash. With milk allergy, you have no option but to totally avoid dairy products cause this may trigger the allergic attack. It is also wise to carry a self-injectable epinephrine in cases of emergency.

Improving Sex Life at 40

As women reach the age of 40, the libido levels suddenly drops. This can be associated with the hormonal change due to menopause. Despite this fact, it is still important to maintain a fulfilling sex life to stay passionate with our lifetime partners. Here are some of the reasons and how science can help overcome the situation:

Low Testosterone Levels



When a woman reaches the menopausal stage, the testosterone level decreases. To augment this, doctors can prescribe testosterone gels. Women can also take nutritional supplements with ginseng,and ginkgo. Oral contraceptives can also help increase your libido.

Distractions During Sex

It might be because of a deadline at work, or problems with the kids, but there are a lot of distractions during sex. The hormone DHEA 9dehydroepiandrosterone) can help increase dopamine levels that creates the desire to go after a reward.

Trouble Reaching Orgasm
Poor circulation of blood to the genitals may be one of the causes of this problem. Amino acid L - arginine can help increase the production of nitric oxide during arousal.

Dryness
This is primarily because of the fluctuation of hormones why women produce less lubrication. Women can then apply estrogen locally such as insertable vaginal estrogen rings or tablets or vaginal estrogen creams.

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Exercise Makes The Heart Younger

As years add up to our life, our physical body also ages, including our internal organs such as our brain, lungs and heart. The physical state of our internal organs deteriorates over time because of the toxins, foods and drinks that we consume.

A recent study at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, endurance exercise training can make the heart younger. Researchers also found out that women benefited more than men.

Researchers found out that after endurance training in older people, the participants heart doubled glucose update during high-energy demand, just as younger hearts do.

Endurance exercise includes walking, running, and cycling exercises for about one hour session. Physical activity and excercises should now be limited to younger generation. Older people, even ages 60 and above should still engage themselves in exercises, not only can it help you gain more strength but exercise can also reverse the effects of aging, especially in our hearts.

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Lead on Lipsticks

Lipsticks adds colors to a woman's lips and makes women physically more appealing. However recent study shows that some lipsticks found at department stores may contain lead.

Campaign for Safe Cosmetics commissioned an independent laboratory to test lead levels in 33 brand-name lipsticks. Results show that 61% of the lipsticks had detectable lead levels.

In some countries such as Australia, they have mandated comestic manufacturers to include their labels with warning statements and safety directions.

According to wikipedia,

Lead is a poisonous metal that can damage nervous connections (especially in young children) and cause blood and brain disorders. Because of its low reactivity and solubility lead poisoning usually only occurs in cases when the lead is dispersed, like when sanding lead based paint, or long term exposure in the case of pewter tableware.

Women should be more cautious in choosing their lipsticks. Start reading the labels. Its better to be on top of the infromation rather than blowing off poisonous kisses :)

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Foods That Cleans Your Arteries

Arteries is the transportation of blood to different parts of our human body. They deliver oxygen rich blood to the capillaries for the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. They also carry nutrients to different parts of our body,

That is why it is important to keep our arteries healthy and strong. SixWise.com shared the 10 Foods that Keep Your Arteries Clean and here are some of them:

1. Grapefruit - slows down the progression of atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is the inflammation of the walls of the arteries.


2. Garlic - reduces the formation of plaques inside the arteries and prevents the oxidation of cholesterol.

3. Green Tea - prevents blood clots and promotes healthy endothelium

4. Tomatoes - contains lycopene that make LDL cholesterol less susceptible to becoming oxidized

5. Apples - rich in procyanidins that prevents blood clot.

Eat your way to healthy arteries and healthy heart!


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Overweight and Diseases

Being obese or overweight has a lot of social stigma associated with it. It directly affects your physical appearance as well as your self-confidence and self esteem. But aside from that, there are a lot of diseases that are associated with being overweight or obese.

Scientific Laboratory for Food Intolerance, recently published 20 diseases that can be attributed to obesity. Here are some of them:

* Diabetes - pancreas malfunctions which lead to limited productivity or no productivity of insulin in our bodies.

* Cancer

* Congestive Heart Failure

* Enlarged Heard

* Pulmonary Embolism - or a blockage of an artery in our lungs.

* Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome - multiple formation of cysts in the ovaries

* Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease

* Fatty Liver Disease

* Hernia

* Erectile Dysfunction

This just shows that it is still important to maintain not just a slim body but also a healthy and fit body. It will not only make you feel better about yourself but it will also help you have a healthy way of living.

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When To Throw That Leftover Meal

Is your fridge full of left-over meals? Do you know when to trash that left over meal?

Here are some tips to know when its say goodbye to your left over meals:

* Physical apperance of the food doesn't mean its unsafe to eat. There are pathogens that are odorless, colorless and invisible. You will not be able to tell by your naked eye.

* Don't keep foods that are more than 4 days old at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or 4 degrees centigrade. Temperature plays a major role in the life of bacterias and pathogens since most of them are time and temperature dependent.

According to Catherine Donnelly, professor of nutrition and food sciences at the University of Vermont in Burlington, "If it's contaminated and then you further abuse it temperature-wise, then you're at risk," Donnelly said. "In heat, low levels of contamination can just go really wild." We should avoid leaving our groceries inside our hot cars for hours.

* We should also limit the transport time of 2 hours between table to fridge.

Observe a fridge theremometer and count the days on the calenday for food safety. This is more effective than just merely looking or smelling your leftover food.

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Cigarettes and Teenagers

We have always been aware of the consequences of cigarette smoking to our bodies. Recent study from Université de Montréal shows that teenage girls who smoke are more likely to have difficulty loosing weight than non-smoker teenagers. And teenage boys who smoke shows a decrease in height as well as their body mass.

Dr. Jennifer O’Loughlin headed the research and according to their study, a teenage boy ages 12 - 17, who consumes 10 cigarettes per day is about an inch shorter than non-smoker teenager boys.

According to Dr. Loughlin, “We were surprised to find that there was no link between smoking and weight among teen girls because it’s something that many of us take for granted,We can only hope that girls will think twice about taking up smoking now, if weight loss is one of their goals.Maybe teenage boys will see smoking as a bad decision if they dream of being a quarterback or star basketball player,”

This study is truly helpful to parents who woould want to convince their children to avoid cigarette smoking. These results can be used in creating awareness of the physical effects of cigarette smoking to the growth and development of adolescents to adulthood.

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Brain Zapping Foods

Have you noticed that you're a bit more slower after a heavy meal? Or you feel out of focus after lunch? Have you ever wondered whats causing it?

You don't need to look further! The type of foods that we eat may impact our brain activities. According to Dr. Westerdahl, director of Wellness and Lifestyle Medicine for Castle Medical Center in MidWeek, "There are certain nutrients that are important for a healthy brain and there are certain foods that you need to avoid, such as alcohol, because they destroy brain cells,".

Here are some of the foods to avoid:

1. Food Additives - such as MSG, and coloring blue 1 - MSG can cause sensitive neurons to die, whereas coloring blue 1 has been linked to brain tumors in mice.

2. Excessive Alcohol - can kill your braincells

3. Refined Foods - can cause imbalances in your brain that cause you to feel irritable or fidgety.

Some of the highly suggested foods are: organic egg, leafy vegetables, blue berries and apple, walnuts, salmon, whole grains and green or black tea. These foods are known to be brain zapping and can help improve your brain development.

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Broccoli Helps Reverse Diabetes

Broccoli is a plant of the cabbage family that is high in vitamin C and soluble fiber. According to Wikipedia, Broccoli contains multiple nutirents with potent anti-cancer properties including diindolylmethane and selenium. It can be boiled or steamed or be included in different recipes.

Recent study at Univeristy of Warwick says that Broccoli could reverse the damagecaused
done by diabetes due to sulforaphane. This compound is believed to increase the production of enzymes that protects the blood vessels. This can actually lower the risk of having heart attacks and strokes.

Team from Warwick studied the effects of sulforaphane on blood vessel cells damaged by diabetes. Results show that there is a reduction of molecules in the body and that sulfarophane activated a protein that protects cells and tissue from damage.
Other researches have also shown that broccoli may also lower the risk of the formation of cancer cells inside our body.

So the next time you visit your local grocery store, don't forget that pack of broccoli and say goodbye to diabetes.

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How to Prevent Gallstone Formation

Wikipedia defines gallstones (choleliths) as crystalline bodies formed within the body be accretion of concretion of normal of abnormal bile component. This happens when bile contains excessive cholesterol and there is a lack of bile salts inside the gall bladder. Incomplete and infrequent emptying of the gallbladder as well as the presence of proteins in the liver and bile are one of the major causes of the formation of the stones.

Dr. Andrew Weil, M.D. shared some tips on how to prevent gallstone formation:

* drink plenty of water or liquid to help your bile to empty your gallbladder frequently.
* avoid crash dieting - this can eventually lead to gallstone formation
* Take Vitamin C and curcumin daily.
* Lower your sugar intake instead increase your fiber intake.
* Decrease your fat intake. Fat can trigger an attack if you already have gallstones.
* Increase your calcium intake daily. Calcium helps bind bile acids. Limit it to 500-600 mg daily consumption.

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