Monthly Archives: May 2015

WORLD NO TOBACCO DAY – QUITTING SMOKING FOR GOOD!!

My sentiments exactly. Please check out my Page How Bad is Smoking to read more on this modern plague.

Tony

mandaleept

quitting smoking

The tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced, killing nearly six million people a year.  More than five million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use while more than 600,000 are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke.  Approximately one person dies every six seconds due to tobacco, accounting for one in 10 adult deaths.

Of all the risk factors for ill health, tobacco smoking is responsible for the greatest burden on the health of Australians, accounting for 7.8% of the total burden of disease in 2003.  Tobacco smoking is a major risk factor for:

  • Coronary heart disease;
  • Stroke;
  • Peripheral vascular disease;
  • Numerous cancers including cancers of the lung, mouth, oesophagus, larynx, kidney, pancreas, bladder, stomach and cervix;
  • And other diseases and conditions.

In 2003 an estimated 15,511 people died in Australia as a result of tobacco…

View original post 251 more words

Leave a comment

Filed under no tobacco day

Nine Diet Mistakes that Are Making You Tired

For a balanced release of energy choose low-glycemic carbohydrates such as 100-per-cent stone-ground bread, 100-per-cent bran cereals, steel-cut and large-flake oatmeal, milk, yogurt, soy beverages, apples, bananas, pears, oranges, dried apricots, berries, nuts, seeds and beans and lentils.
There is wonderful, useful information in this piece. Once again, a recurring theme is how processed foods bring us down. It’s so much better to keep out food choices simple and natural.

You can check out my Page – Snacking – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly for more.

Tony

Cooking with Kathy Man

You eat too many refined carbs.

Carbohydrate-rich foods are metabolized into blood glucose, the only form of energy the body can use immediately. But not all carbohydrates are created equal.

Highly processed, refined carbs (e.g., white bread and crackers, refined breakfast cereals, sweets and sugary drinks) rank high on the glycemic index.

That means they cause large spikes in blood glucose followed by sharp drops, which can bring on fatigue. Sugar also blocks the activity of orexin-producing cells, brain cells that stimulate wakefulness.

For a balanced release of energy choose low-glycemic carbohydrates such as 100-per-cent stone-ground bread, 100-per-cent bran cereals, steel-cut and large-flake oatmeal, milk, yogurt, soy beverages, apples, bananas, pears, oranges, dried apricots, berries, nuts, seeds and beans and lentils.

You skimp on protein.

Protein-rich meals help you feel more alert by counteracting drowsiness that can be brought on by consuming excessive sugar or carbohydrates.

Including protein at meals…

View original post 629 more words

Leave a comment

Filed under low energy, Snacking

How Does My Brain Change with Age? – Infographic

This infographic contains a lot of good information on the development of our brain over the course of our life.

I have to add, however, that I believe the outlook for our later years is significantly brighter than is suggested here. Check out my Page – Important Facts About Your Brain (and Exercise Benefits) for much more.

95328d2ffb8192d307784255a60e6a9b

Tony

2 Comments

Filed under brain, how the brain ages

How Healthy are Fruits? – Infographic

With the approach of summer it is a good time to remember how beneficial those fresh fruits we will be seeing in the grocery stores and at the farmers’ markets are.

These also make great ingredients for smoothies to cool off.

b6c7179310451443baa486e75f5e376e

Tony

Leave a comment

Filed under healthy fruits

Longevity Facts Revealed in 50 Year Study of Men Who Made It to 100

“Our findings that there is a correlation with maternal but not paternal longevity are fully consistent with a previous studies,” Dr. Wilhelmsen says.

There is some really good information in this. Once again smoking plays a big part. None of those who made it to 100 were smokers.

As dementia increased over 80 years old, I would once again like to stress the value of exercise. Please read my Page – Important Facts About Your Brain (and Exercise Benefits).

Tony

Cooking with Kathy Man

Among interesting discoveries: longevity more closely related to mother’s than father’s; 20% had dementia; cardiovascular disease big killer.

A 50-year study of men born in 1913 has found that only 10 of 855 (1.2%) lived to become centenarians – 100 years of age. The study provides interesting insight after the age of 80 as to the causes of death and the numbers with dementia. The researchers also have some ideas on what it takes to reach the age of 100.

“Survival was related to non-smoking, mothers’ high age at death, high social class and previous high physical working capacity,” the study says.

Over the past half century, the University Gothenburg has hosted one of the world’s first prospective studies of aging. The researchers at Sahlgrenska Academy have followed the health of these Gothenburg men born in 1913.

The first surveys were conducted in 1963. Now that it has been determined…

View original post 434 more words

Leave a comment

Filed under live to 100, longevity

Turmeric is a Super Spice – Infographic

The more I read about healthy foods and spices, the more I run across turmeric. I know that our friends into ayurvedic medicine feel strongly about its benefits, too. I have found it in Indian cooking a lot.

9790edc1ba732d013d71e2e4939d1cfb-1Tony

2 Comments

Filed under Ayurvedic medicine, turmeric

More Skin Cancer Awareness Facts – Infographic

After posting the very informative infographic on skin cancer detection  yesterday, I have run across this new one today and wanted to share it with you. This one has more to do with protecting yourself from skin cancer rather than recognizing its signs.

Cover up. My dermatologist says, “There is no such thing as a healthy tan.”

If you want to read further on it, you can check out my Page – Skin Cancer Facts in General and My Three Skin Cancer Surgeries in Particular.

0212f2bebcf981e5c9b0825627fe8fafRemember, Broad Spectrum sun block is what you need.

Tony

Leave a comment

Filed under skin cancer

May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month – Infographic

As a skin cancer sufferer I really should apologize for running this infographic so late in the month dedicated to Skin Cancer Awareness.

I have had three basal cell carcinomas surgically removed in the past few years. You can read the details on my Page Skin Cancer Facts and My Three Skin Cancer Surgeries in Particular.

How_to_SPOT_Skin_Cancer_Infographic1

Tony

2 Comments

Filed under skin cancer

10 Top Health Benefits of Broccoli – Infographic

Popeye had his spinach, but broccoli is really healthy, too.

There are lots of fancy ways to fix it, but my favorite, that is to say, Mr. Lazy Cook’s favorite, is to steam it a couple of minutes and dig in. If you aren’t familiar with steaming, it is wonderfully quick and brings out the most brilliant colors in your veggies.

9c3a93859bb679fa9fbe8c0e29e93aacTony

3 Comments

Filed under broccoli benefits

10 Tips for Successful Weight Loss – Infographic

I never cease to be amazed at the information contained in these infographics.

This one has some great suggestions which echo what you have read here in a number of posts. Some of these take a little interpretation. Number 8 for example, says to pray the fat away, because people who are closer to God are more likely to be physically active. I buy the physically active part, you can handle the religious part any way you want. Eat less; move more; live longer – I believe that.

Number 9, however, I fully subscribe to. When I was taking off my 50 pounds in 52 weeks, I absolutely designated Sunday as my cheat day and indulged a bit. It helped to relieve the pressure of my diet and weight loss efforts from the prior six days.

ten-tips-for-successful-weight-loss

Tony

4 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

5 Fitness Myths Busted – Infographic

Since bad information is worse than no information, I thought I would pass this along.

Must say I was gratified to learn that running on a treadmill is not helpful. Something about those machines gives me the willies.

fitness-myths-busted

Tony

4 Comments

Filed under fitness myths

Health Benefits of Pineapple in Arthritis Management and Others

One of the most celebrated uses of pineapple in terms of health is its ability to reduce the inflammation of joints and muscles, particularly those associated with arthritis, a truly debilitating disease that affects millions of people around the world.

As a long time arthritis (hands) sufferer, I drink pineapple juice daily. It’s nice to see all the benefits of this tasty fruit.

Tony

Cooking with Kathy Man

Enlarge image . . . . .

One of the most celebrated uses of pineapple in terms of health is its ability to reduce the inflammation of joints and muscles, particularly those associated with arthritis, a truly debilitating disease that affects millions of people around the world.

Pineapples contain a relatively rare proteolytic enzyme called bromelain, which is primarily associated with breaking down complex proteins, but it also has serious anti-inflammatory effects, and has been positively correlated with reducing the signs and symptoms of arthritis in many test subjects.

Read more . . . .

View original post

Leave a comment

Filed under arthritis, pineapple

A Graphic Guide to Food Portions – Infographic

In the years I have been writing this blog, the single most important concept I have run across is Portion Control.

You have to get a handle on how much you are putting into your stomach if you want to have a chance at good nutrition and good health. The perfect partner to Portion Control is Serving Size. When you look at a snack package and read “150 calories per serving,” don’t get excited about eating it until you know how many servings are in it. If there are four servings in the package you need to realize that eating the whole package is a 600 calorie snack, not a 150 calorie one.

I like the visual examples in the info graphic. A three ounce serving of protein is about the size of a deck of cards.

My Plate also gives a good breakdown of the proper proportions of veggies to fruits, grains, protein and dairy in a healthy diet.

My Plate Infographic

Tony

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

How the Body Rebuilds – Infographic

I love this. It is a perfect reminder that no matter how bad we might mess up, we can always get back on track. Our body is renewing itself every day. We just have to help it.

On the positive side, think – every day in every way I am getting better and better.

0d6309de8eb4ffd9554dbbd8c071958cTony

7 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

How Exercise Benefits the Brain – Chicago Tribune

I wrote Exercise, Aging and the Brain back in September 2011. The first sentence reads, “Just a year of modest aerobic exercise reversed normal brain shrinkage by one to two years in older adults and improved their memory function, according to an article in today’s Wall Street Journal.”

brainbenefits-01-1

Because I have a family history of Alzheimer’s and dementia, I am acutely aware of my own brain’s vulnerability, so the Wall Street Journal piece reassured me and also spurred me to investigate how the brain benefits from exercise. You can check out my Page – Important Facts About Your Brain (and Exercise Benefits) to read more posts on the subject.

So, you can imagine my excitement to learn that the Chicago Tribune had picked up on the concept, too. My brother, Mike, also a senior citizen, called to alert me about the article – The Best Brain Exercise May be Physical by Julie Deardorff, a certified personal trainer and writer for Northwestern University, where I taught journalism some years ago.

I liked the fact that Deardorff expanded the concept of exercise aiding the brain all the way to infancy. “Babies, for example, need regular movement to carve out critical pathways and form connections in the brain. In children, research suggests exercise improves attention, focus and academic performance.”

My focus had been on the aging brain, but it is gratifying to learn that the principle starts in the crib.

“Scientists used to believe the mind-body connection was a one-way street: The brain helped build a better physique — or else it sabotaged attempts to get to the gym. But scores of studies suggest that what’s good for the body also is nurturing the old noodle. Exercise, it turns out, can help improve cognition in ways that differ from mental brain-training games,” the Tribune piece continued.

Yes, about those brain games. In April 2011 I wrote Exercise, Not Just Sudoku for Seniors. “Unless the activities that you’re practicing span a broad spectrum of abilities, then there is not a proven general benefit to these mental fitness programs. So, the idea that any single brain exercise program late in life can act as a quick fix for general mental function is almost entirely faith-based,” Professor Wang said in our post on physical exercise vs mental exercise.

So, seniors who are doing crosswords and sudoku puzzles to keep their brains active would be far better off taking a walk or indulging in other physical exercise that will send some oxygen up to their brains and create new neurotransmitters.

The Tribune piece concludes, “Sadly, the hippocampus naturally shrinks in late adulthood, leading to impaired memory and increased risk for dementia….

“”Atrophy of the hippocampus in later life is generally considered inevitable,” said Kirk Erickson, professor of psychology at the University of Pittsburgh. “But we’ve shown that even moderate exercise for one year can increase the size of that structure. The brain at that stage remains modifiable.””

I would like to conclude with some quotes from my post of May 2011 Exercise Has Real Benefits for the Brain.

“The brain has similar needs to other organs. It needs glucose, oxygen and other nutrients. There are very real concrete benefits to exercising that directly affect the brain.

“I like to say that exercise is like taking a little Prozac or a little Ritalin at just the right moment,” says John J. Ratey, MD, an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and author of A User’s Guide to the Brain.spark-book

“Exercise is really for the brain, not the body. It affects mood, vitality, alertness, and feelings of well-being” according to WebMD.

Dr. John Ratey also wrote the Book Spark – The Revolutonary New Science of Exercise and the Brain which you can check out at this Amazon link.

So, as I have said so many times on these pages, eat less/move more/live longer. You are likely to be doing it with your mental faculties intact, too.

Tony

1 Comment

Filed under brain, Exercise

Emotional Guide to a Healthy Diet – Infographic

This would be one of those one picture is worth a thousand words posts.
Check out my Page – What’s Wrong with Soft Drinks? for more.

6ca10baf4eb2d7cbf07fa2f09519306c

Tony

Leave a comment

Filed under fast food, junk food