I stumbled across this on the web and couldn’t resist sharing it. In case you needed to be reminded about the dangers of relying on fast foods for nutrition.
Tony
Monthly Archives: April 2015
5 Reasons it Pays to Be Kind – Infographic
I liked this infographic because it reminds me that being kind is beneficial to ME. We often fail to realize that being kind is a wonderful two way street in which both of us benefit. Not only the recipient of my kindness, but me, too.
Tony
Filed under kindness
Follow the MIND Diet to Stave Off Alzheimer’s
The newly created MIND diet (Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay), developed by researchers from Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, was shown to reduce the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s by 53 per cent in people who followed it rigorously and by 35 per cent in those who adhered to it only modestly.
Regular readers know that I have serious interest in Alzheimer’s and dementia as there is a history of it in my family. This MIND diet appears to make possible a two-pronged approach to avoiding the mental mayhem of these dread afflictions.
The first prong of the defense remains exercise. To learn more check out my Page – Important Facts About Your Brain (and Exercise Benefits).
Tony
Leslie Beck, a registered dietitian wrote . . . . .
Most of us have heard about the heart-healthy Mediterranean and blood-pressure-lowering DASH diets that may also guard against dementia.
According to a study, a hybrid of these two eating plans – called the MIND diet – is associated with a significantly lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. That’s true even if you don’t follow the diet strictly.
Family members are prerecording messages as part of a unique pilot program at the Hebrew Home in New York. The videos are trying to help victims of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia break through the morning fog of forgetfulness.
The newly created MIND diet (Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay), developed by researchers from Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, was shown to reduce the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s by 53 per cent in people who followed it rigorously and by…
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Filed under Alzheimer's, MIND diet
8 Nutrients to Protect the Aging Brain
I like the idea of eight nutrients to protect the aging brain, but do not forget for a moment that exercise is absolutely critical for this. Please read my Page – Important facts about your Brain (and Exercise Benefits) to read further on this important subject.
Tony
Brain health is the second most important component in maintaining a healthy lifestyle according to a 2014 AARP study. As people age they can experience a range of cognitive issues from decreased critical thinking to dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. In the March issue of Food Technology published by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), contributing editor Linda Milo Ohr writes about eight nutrients that may help keep your brain in good shape.
- Cocoa Flavanols: Cocoa flavanols have been linked to improved circulation and heart health, and preliminary research shows a possible connection to memory improvement as well. A study showed cocoa flavanols may improve the function of a specific part of the brain called the dentate gyrus, which is associated with age-related memory (Brickman, 2014).
- Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Omega-3 fatty acids have long been shown to contribute to good heart health are now playing a role in cognitive health as…
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Top 10 Exercise Myths – Infographic
We should all be getting exercise on a daily basis. Fully employed folks do that with some difficulty if at all. So, we should definitely get the full benefits from what we are doing on the machines, out there running, or whatever form or activity we have chosen.
Here are some mistakes we make.
Tony
Filed under exercise myths
7 Myths on Sodium Consumption Busted – American Heart Association
The American Heart Association recommends we limit our sodium consumption to 1500 mg per day, but that doesn’t mean we have to eliminate salt from our diet. We just need to pay attention to how much we are consuming.
I thought there were some particularly useful ideas in this, particularly that 75 percent of the sodium we consume comes from processed foods.
Tony
Filed under American Heart Association, sodium
The Sugar Addiction Cycle – Infographic
As a person who has had a problem with sugar consumption, I could appreciate this.
Tony
Filed under sugar, sugar addiction
How the Brain Benefits from Exercise – Infographic
I feel strongly that the importance of exercise to the brain is largely overlooked in the world of fitness. The following are from just 20 minutes of exercise.
To read much more on this, check out my Page – Important Facts About Your Brain (and Exercise Benefits).
Tony
Why People Fail at Losing Weight
I think Mark Twain’s words on quitting smoking translate perfectly to the way people handle losing weight. Most people keep doing it over and over. Yo yo dieting. Despite all the words and books written and DVDs made on weight loss and exercise, more than half of us are overweight and nearly a third of us are outright obese.
I think I know why.
I have been writing this blog more than five years now and in the course of it I have read thousands of pages on losing weight. Every day it’s the same, take off pounds fast, eat these fat burning foods. Burn those inches off your waist with these movements. And on.
In the past five years, I have learned that the battle of the bulge starts in the brain. As above, so below. To succeed at losing weight, you need to decide that you currently have some unhealthy habits and you are going to end them. Those extra pounds are a result of the unhealthy habits. But that is just the beginning. Page one…
The magic secret to losing weight and keeping it off is very simple. Not easy at first, but simple. You need to understand that losing weight is the beginning, not the end. You don’t take off those five, 10 or 15 pounds you are carrying and then your problems are solved. When you get those pounds off, you don’t quit, breathe a sigh of relief and go back to your old unhealthy ways. You don’t celebrate by going out and eating a pizza.
One of the courses I have taken since retiring is “Lifelong Health: Achieving Optimum Well-Being at any Age” The instructor is Dr. Anthony Goodman. There are many wonderful lessons in it and if you have the time and inclination, I recommend you check it out at The Great Courses. 
I think the most important concept I got from that course was the origin of the word diet. Dr. Goodman points out that the word diet comes from the Greek diaita – which means a manner of living or a way of life.
So, if you decide to go on a diet to lose weight, go on that kind of a diet. Change your manner of living, in particular how you relate to food and exercise.
If you go on that kind of diet, you are on the right track. Pay attention to what, and especially, how much you eat. Make sure you get your exercise as close to daily as is humanly possible. And realize that is the manner in which you will live going forward. You will not slip back into your old, careless unhealthy habits that allowed you to pack on those extra pounds in the first place. You won’t be a Mark Twain type of dieter.
Eat less; move more; live longer. Simple, but not easy, at first. I have been doing it for five years now and I think it has actually become easy because it is the way of my life. My weight has stayed in the 150 pound area since I first lost the pounds writing this blog and I haven’t put it back. You can do the same.
Tony
Filed under weight loss
Four Foods That Can Help You to Lose Weight – Infographic
Getting control of your weight depends on a lot of variables. How much, when and what you eat are all relevant. Here are four that you can count on.
Tony
Filed under good weight loss foods
Age-related Changes in the Brain Can Have Significant Impact on Individuals, Society
This is by far one of the best summaries I have read about age-related changes in the brain.
It questions the value of those ‘brain games’ seniors are buying and recommends being physically active, among other things.
To read more on this very important subject, check out my Page – Important Facts About Your Brain (and Exercise).
Tony
Gradual and variable change in mental functions that occurs naturally as people age, not as part of a neurological disease such as Alzheimer’s disease, is one of the most challenging health issues encountered by older adults, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine. The aging process affects the brain just like any other part of the body. Known as “cognitive aging,” the type and rate of change can vary widely among individuals. Some will experience very few, if any, effects, while others may experience changes in their memory, speed of processing information, problem solving, learning, and decision-making abilities. The committee that carried out the study and wrote the report proposed three top actions individuals can take to help maintain optimal cognitive function with age.
“Changes in mental functions and capabilities are a part of aging and occur with everyone,” said committee chair Dan G. Blazer, the J.P. Gibbons…
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Filed under aging, brain, brain health
One hundred years young: Frank Booth’s vision for a healthier America
“We’re spending too much money on curing and not enough on preventing to have to cure,” he said. Though the NIH has made recent changes to include more exercise physiologists on its review committees, neither “exercise” nor “physical inactivity” is listed among the agency’s 244 funded research areas.
Wow. Frank Booth’s work provides living proof of the mantra – eat less; move more ; live longer.
Regular readers know how strongly I feel about the benefits of exercise, not only only the body, but the brain as well. To explore this further: check out my Page Important Facts About Your Brain (and Exercise).
Tony
Frank Booth, 71, takes a break from running on the treadmill in his office. Inspired by his research on the effects of exercise, Booth runs several miles each day. Photo by Rachel Zamzow.
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Frank Booth wants people to live to be 100. And then be told they have 48 hours to live. Only at the very end of life should people succumb to conditions such as cancer or heart disease, he says. Then, a serious illness wouldn’t be a tragedy; it’d be cause for throwing one last giant party.
Booth, an exercise physiology professor at the University of Missouri, figures that we should thrive until the end of our lives instead of gradually declining into sickness. Our lifespan should not outlast our healthspan. Otherwise, he wonders, what’s the point of sticking around for so long?
Unfortunately, a large proportion of the U.S. population is chronically…
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Filed under aging, Frank Booth
A Dozen Super Hydrating Fruits and Veggies – Infographic
Everyone knows about drinking eight glasses of water a day, but they forget that we get a lot of water from fruits and veggies. This is another good reason for integrating fresh fruits and veggies into our daily diet.
I often eat fresh watermelon after a bike ride. Besides tasting wonderful, I have found it to be a super re-hydrator and energizer. To read more check out:
How Healthy is Watermelon?
Vita Mix – Drinking a Watermelon
Vita-Mix – Watermelon Sorbet Recipe
Watermelon Cooler – Guest Post Kelli Jennings
Tony
Scientists Discovered A New Way to Cook Rice that Cuts the Calories
An undergraduate student at the College of Chemical Sciences in Sri Lanka and his mentor have been tinkering with a new way to cook rice that can reduce its calories by as much as 50 percent and even offer a few other added health benefits. The ingenious method, which at its core is just a simple manipulation of chemistry, involves only a couple easy steps in practice.
I love this, yes another way to use coconut oil and increase our consumption of it. If you don’t know the very great food value of coconut oil, check out my Page – Coconut Oil: Why You Should Include it in Your Diet.
Tony
Rice, the lifeblood of so many nations’ cuisines, is perhaps the most ubiquitous food in the world. In Asia, where an estimated 90 percent of all rice is consumed, the pillowy grains are part of almost every meal. In the Caribbean, where the starch is often mixed with beans, it’s a staple too. Even here in the United States, where people eat a comparatively modest amount of rice, plenty is still consumed.
Rice is popular because it’s malleable—it pairs well with a lot of different kinds of food—and it’s relatively cheap. But like other starch-heavy foods, it has one central flaw: it isn’t that good for you. White rice consumption, in particular, has been linked to a higher risk of diabetes. A cup of the cooked grain carries with it roughly 200 calories, most of which comes in the form of starch, which turns into sugar, and often thereafter body…
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Filed under cooking rice
Exercise More and Live Longer – New York Times
Gretchen Reynolds, writing in the New York Times, had some great information on the value of exercise in terms of living longer. She said that one of the problems with exercise is that experts aren’t clear on how much is too little, too much or just the right amount to for us to be healthy and, more importantly, to improve our longevity.
In one broad large scale study, comparing 14 years of death records, “They found that, unsurprisingly, the people who did not exercise at all were at the highest risk of early death.
“But those who exercised a little, not meeting the recommendations but doing something, lowered their risk of premature death by 20 percent.”
“Those who met the guidelines precisely, completing 150 minutes per week of moderate exercise, enjoyed greater longevity benefits and 31 percent less risk of dying during the 14-year period compared with those who never exercised.”
As a senior citizen who works on endurance and worries about breaking and tearing body parts with strenuous exercise, I was gratified to learn the conclusion: “The sweet spot for exercise benefits, however, came among those who tripled the recommended level of exercise, working out moderately, mostly by walking, for 450 minutes per week, or a little more than an hour per day. Those people were 39 percent less likely to die prematurely than people who never exercised.”
I have said time and again in this blog that walking is the Cinderella of the exercise world – totally under-appreciated, but really royalty.
Eat less; move more has been the mantra of this blog almost from the beginning. I would like to amend that to: eat less; move more; live longer.
Here are some of the posts I have done concerning seniors and exercise:
Why Seniors Need to Exercise – NIH
Weight Training Techniques for Seniors
What About Seniors Doing Endurance Sports?
What are the Guidelines for Seniors Exercising?
To read more on the benefits of walking:
Why You Should be Walking More
20 Benefits of Walking – Infographic
ow Good is Walking for You? – Infographic
Is Walking as Effective an Exercise as Running?
What are the Benefits of Walking and Bicycle Riding?
Last, but not least, no one wants to live long without the benefit of a fully functioning brain: check out my Page – Important Facts About Your Brain (and Exercise). You can have it all.
Tony
Filed under Exercise, living longer, New York Times
What Are Six Sodium-boosting Popular Foods? – Infographic
The American Heart Association (AHA) says we keep our sodium intake below 1500 mg per day. If we eat a lot of these foods that is going to be a tough task.
Processed foods are big offenders in the sodium realm.
The AHA says:
Here are the approximate amounts of sodium, in milligrams, in a given amount of table salt:
- 1/4 teaspoon salt = 575 mg sodium
- 1/2 teaspoon salt = 1,150 mg sodium
- 3/4 teaspoon salt = 1,725 mg sodium
- 1 teaspoon salt = 2,300 mg sodium
Tony
Filed under processed foods, sodium
Wellness Secrets of a SuperAger 