Walking approximately 6–9 miles a week is associated with increased gray matter in the brains of older adults, according to a study published in Neurology (2010; 75 [16], 1415–22) “Just by walking regularly, and so maintaining a little bit of moderate physical activity, you can reduce your likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease and [can] spare brain tissue,” Kirk I. Erickson, lead study author and assistant professor of psychology at University of Pittsburgh [Pitt] in Pennsylvania, told HealthDay. The study participants were subjects in the Pittsburgh site of the larger Cardiovascular Health Cognition Study, a longitudinal study conducted over a 13-year period.

The Pitt researchers wanted to determine whether consistent moderate physical activity among older adults would be associated with cognitive health in later life. The scientists enrolled 299 adults with a mean age of 78 in 1989 and recorded the distance each person walked per week. Nine years after this measurement, investigators conducted MRI brain scans to measure brain size. At this stage, none of the participants exhibited any cognitive impairment. Four years later, approximately one-third of the subjects had experienced cognitive decline.

Data analysis showed that the individuals who walked a minimum of 6 miles per week had more gray-matter volume in the brain and only half the risk of developing cognitive impairment compared with less active subjects. Sections of the brain that retained more gray matter included the frontal and temporal brain regions, including the hippocampus and the entorhinal cortex. These brain regions can be subject to age-related deterioration. More gray matter in these areas is associated with reduced risk of developing dementia or mild cognitive impairment.

More physical activity, however, does not provide more benefits. “That’s because the size of our brain regions can only be so large,” said Erickson. However, the improvements that can occur are important: “What we often think of as an inevitable component or characteristic of aging—memory decline and brain decay—is clearly not inevitable. There’s plenty of evidence now . . . that shows that we can retain our brain tissue and retain our memories well into late adulthood by maintaining an active and engaged lifestyle.”

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Fitness Handout:

Did you know that time spent sitting, standing and even sleeping could be hurting your body? The cumulative effect of the long hours spent in these positions can lead to prolonged damage to both your muscles and fascia (strong connective tissue). To keep your body fully functional, it is important to address this damage by performing corrective exercises.

To determine what specific exercises to do, you can work with a qualified personal trainer who has expertise in this area. You can also make the following adjustments yourself. These adjustments, from Justin Price, MA, co-owner of The BioMechanics in San Diego and creator of The BioMechanics Method, can alleviate some of the problems caused by improper seated, standing and sleeping postures.

The human body is designed to be upright and weight bearing on two feet, with the hips extended under the spine to support the torso and head. In today’s world, however, people are spending more time in seated positions.

Use these suggestions to help prevent problems from sitting too long:

• Get out of your chair several times a day to promote hip/leg and spine extension.
• Convert your workspace to a standing desk or walk when possible instead of driving.
• Change chairs and positions often or alternate sitting on a stability ball with sitting on an office chair.

Mind-Body-Spirit News:

Meditation reduces anticipation of pain, as well as negative judgments about pain, according to a study published in the journal Pain (2010; doi:10.1016/j.pain.2010.04.017). Research findings have shown that mindfulness meditation training helps people reduce their experience of pain. But scientists have been unclear whether this lessened pain response results from lessanticipation of pain—from being able to stay more clearly focused in the present—or whether there is an actual reduction in theexperience of pain. This study’s purpose was to use high-density electrophysiology to measure brain activity during the anticipation of pain and during the actual pain experience and then to compare the reactions of a nonmeditating control group with the responses of experienced meditators.

Researchers from the University of Manchester, in England, divided 27 subjects into two groups based on meditation experience. Control group members had no prior meditation experience; among meditation subjects, prior experience was varied, but each practitioner practiced some type of meditation that involved sustained, focused attention as a primary feature. Scientists administered the same pain stimuli to all subjects as EEG recordings were taken. Data analysis showed that the meditation group produced less anticipatory reaction to pain than the control group. No conclusive between-group findings could be made regarding the actual experience of pain, however.

Limitations of the study included its small sample size, lack of consistency among meditation subjects’ specific practices and whether the personality traits of the meditators, rather than the meditation practice itself, affected the results. Christopher Brown, PhD, lead study author, said, “People who experience chronic or persistent pain may benefit from meditation-based therapies. Experiencing the raw sensation of pain can be useful; for example, when exercising, pain is useful for alerting you that you might be overexerting yourself and damaging your body. It’s the unpleasantness of pain and the emotional consequences of that—for example, anxiety and depression—that need to be reduced. That’s what meditation appears to selectively target. Unfortunately, our study doesn’t prove that the reduced emotional perception of pain and the reduced anticipation of pain are caused by meditation practice. We just compared a meditating group with a nonmeditating group. Hence, other factors may have influenced the results; for example, there may be already something different about people who take up a meditation practice.”

Study authors recommended further research to test the causal relationship between meditation, pain anticipation and pain experience, using experiments that assess pain processing independently from anticipation.

 Shirley Archer, JD, MA  /IDEA Author/Presenter

LET’S  TALK HEALTH & WELLNESS: ONLY REVITALIZE 

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• Preference given to Natural Approaches for Metabolic Syndrome issues
• Customized Life-Style Management Services
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Contact Grace by e-mailing her at Grace@BeingwithGrace.com  or call  (910) 231-8046  for additional information

Exemplary 1 Week Meal / Supplement Plan Report

Monday

Meal: Breakfast 1                           Description: Egg white Vegetable Sausage Omelet Time: 07:30 am

Meal: Supplement                                                 Description: Breakfast Supplements Time: 07:45 AM

Meal: Morning Snack                                                     Description: Kiwi Protein Shake Time: 10:00 am

Meal: Supplement                                                 Description: Morning Supplements Time: 11:00 AM

Exemplary 1 Week Meal / Supplement Plan Report

Sunday

Meal:   Breakfast 1                                               Description:  Egg whites Fake Bacon Granola Bar                                        Time:     07:30am

Glycemic Rating 63.16   Meat totals:                                  501.5          34.7           85.1               6.1                476.0           871.5               3.5

Meal: Morning Snack                      Description: Protein Meal Replacements with Fruit Juice                       Supplements Time: 10:00 AM

Meal:    Lunch 1                      Description:     Chicken with Salad and Corn                          Time:  12:00 pm

Meal:    Supplement                                         Description:        Lunch Supplements                                                                               Time: 12:15pm

Meal:  Supplement                                   Description: Afternoon Supplements     Time: 3:00pm

Meal:  Dinner 1                                                 Description: Chicken Sesame Salad Time: 05:30 pm

Meal: Supplement                                                       Description: Dinner Supplements Time: 05:45 PM

Meal: Supplement                                                     Description: Evening Supplements Time: 07:00 PM

Meal: Evening Snack                                          Description: Pineapple Protein Shake Time: 08:30 pm

 Days Totals: 1535.5 148.8 262.3 27.3 944.0 3658.5 26.5

Average Macronutrient Ratio for all Meals this Day: 31% 56% 13%

Food for Thought:

If most adults participated in making their own meals versus letting someone else take charge of the prep, would it influence diet quality? Surprisingly not, says a new study in the September 2010 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

During 2004–2006, a sample of 2,814 Australian adults aged 26–36 completed a self-administered questionnaire on demographics, diet and lifestyle factors. Participants were asked to report who was usually responsible for preparing the main meal on working days. Researchers Kylie J. Smith, MSc, and colleagues found little evidence that those who typically helped prepare the main meal on a workday made more healthful dietary choices than those who let another household member take charge.

The investigators determined diet quality by calculating the mean number of daily servings for each food group. Analysis of variance was used to test for differences in means of dietary intake data. More women (65%) than men (29%) had sole responsibility for meal preparation. Shared meal preparation was reported by 23% of women and 27% of men.

Factors associated with greater involvement in meal preparation included marital status, education, occupation and physical activity. When adjusted for sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, the data showed that men who prepared the main meal themselves had a higher intake of lean meat and alternatives, whereas women who shared meal preparation had higher intakes of vegetables and dairy. However, differences in diet quality were small, at best. “These results suggest that strategies seeking to motivate greater involvement in meal preparation might not be sufficient to markedly improve diet quality in young Australian adults,” the authors stated.

While the outcome did not show a link between diet quality and who prepared the meal, you should not assume that people are better off leaving the cooking duties to someone else—especially if the alternate source is a fast-food outlet or the corner pizzeria. Informed choices, knowledge about nourishing, balanced ingredients and healthy preparation techniques are essential.

Reference: Sandy Todd Webster / IDEA Author/Presenter

• Built to Your needs, Life Style Therapy to loose weight and control Metabolic issues such as Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, High Cholesterol
• Preference given to Natural Approaches for Metabolic Syndrome issues
• Customized Life-Style Management Services
• Hyperbaric Chamber Therapy
• Infrared Sauna Detoxification
• Customized Body Detoxification Processes

Contact Grace by e-mailing her at Grace@BeingwithGrace.com

• or call  (910) 231-8046  for additional information

Have you noticed that the New Agers are telling you to go towards your bliss? To notice what you love to do, what gives you pleasure and joy, and do more of that? Pshaw, I say. Gravitate to what you hate.

Here are some things I used to hate:

- Carrots

- Exercise that required sweating

- My brother

- Listening to my parents

- Getting dressed up

- Stopping working at a set time

- Salad

- Taking risks

- Being scared

- Celery

- Honest conversations

- Failing

Here is how I now feel about some of those things:

Vegetables are delicious and they make me feel so good and good about myself. I had just never tasted them really or trained myself to think correctly about food, health and taste. Thank goodness I forced myself to TRY to like veggies; now I do not know what I’d do without them.

As for my family, sure it was a fun cliché to resent and blame them for my issues, but I am much happier taking 100% responsibility for my own life and getting to know them as adult people, equals. Turns out, I really like my brother and my parents. Thank goodness I dropped the distaste I had for being with them and cleaned up my messes and started to listen. It feels undeniably good to be connected to my family of origin. The more I like them, the more I like me and vice versa. Fancy that!

Dressing up is still something I have to GET myself to do, but I force myself to gravitate towards it, because you know what? Looking my best feels really good. (Thank you stylist George for the support here.) I wouldn’t have thought blow drying my hair, having my toes done, putting an outfit together or wearing shoes would make a difference, but it does. Self-respect and self-care resonate with me and others in the world.

Risks- oh boy. I still have to force myself to take risks, have hard conversations and work through failures, but I do it. Turns out, it’s an EXCELLENT high and it makes for great stories, too. Folks, you want some stories to tell your kids to inspire them (or at least amuse at the next party you go to). I’d even venture to say you are on this earth to make great stories to leave behind. All your little soul really wants to do is evolve, learn and grow and it won’t do that without risks and challenges. It’s literally what your life is for.

So, what’s your list of what you hate? This year gravitate towards what you hate at least some of the time. Sure, follow your bliss too, rock on! But make sure you give serious thought to facing your deep, dark demons and your daily demons, too. We can really help you. You can start anywhere: issues with food, family, love, self-esteem, your career, communication, or just plain risk-taking. If you tackle one, the rest will fall much easier. Let us show you how. If you haven’t been to the Life Coaching Crash Course, you are missing the best bang for your buck, ever. We will make it incredibly fun and inspiring to face your demons. Hope to have you.

LET’S  TALK HEALTH & WELLNESS: ONLY REVITALIZE MED

Grace M. Swartz - Certified Personal Trainer and Fitness Coach

• Built to Your needs, Life Style Therapy to loose weight and control Metabolic issues such as Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, High Cholesterol
• Preference given to Natural Approaches for Metabolic Syndrome issues
• Customized Life-Style Management Services
• Hyperbaric Chamber Therapy
• Infrared Sauna Detoxification
• Customized Body Detoxification Processes

Contact Grace by e-mailing her at Grace@BeingwithGrace.com or call  (910) 231-8046 for additional information