Posts Tagged ‘News’
Exercise Body and Brain to Maintain Lifelong Cognitive Health
Copyright (c) 2008 SharpBrains
The American Medical News, a weekly newspaper for physicians published by the American Medical Association, just published an excellent article on the importance of Exercise – Physical and Mental:
A few quotes from the article titled “Steps to a nimble mind: Physical and mental exercise help keep the brain fit”:
“Until recently, conventional wisdom held that our brains were intractable, hard-wired computers. What we were born with was all we got. Age wore down memory and the ability to understand, and few interventions could reverse this process. But increasingly, evidence suggests that physical and mental exercise can alter specific brain regions, making radical improvements in cognitive function.”
and
“With nearly 72 million Americans turning 65 over the next two decades, physicians need the tools to handle growing patient concerns about how to best maintain brain health. Armed with this new brand of science, frontline physicians will be better equipped to address the needs of aging baby boomers, already in the throes of the brain fitness revolution.
One of the physicians quoted in the article is Gary J. Kennedy, MD, Director of the Division of Geriatric Psychiatry at Montefiore Medical Center in NYC and a professor in the Dept. of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
To put the AMA article in better perspective, we asked Dr. Kennedy a few follow-up questions. Below you have his questions.
Alvaro Fernandez (AF): Can you summarize how cognitive functions tend to evolve as we age?
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Gary Kennedy (GK): As we age cognitive functions that rely on processing speed or reaction time decline, slow down. Problem solving speed declines. This is in part the result of frayed neuronal insulation as the myelin sheath surrounding the axons wears thin with advanced age or illness. However it is possible to specialize and optimize some cognitive processes through experience, practice and planning. For example vocabulary can increase to age 90 provided there is ongoing stimulation and motivation to learn. And the growth and development of new brain cells can be augmented with the stimulating effects of physical exercise.
AF: Now, there are very significant cognitive differences among individuals of the same age, so age itself is not the main predictor. Can you explain what may be?
GK: Age also has the effect of amplifying differences between individuals. This is the result of variability in aging itself, freedom from or accumulation of illnesses and injury, and life style. The influence of genetics is largely exhausted by the 6 and 7th decades of life which means that habitual activities and social relationships have a larger and larger impact resulting in greater and greater variability between individuals.
AF: Can you please explain the relationship between cognitive and emotional health (what we typically call “brain fitness”)
GK: Cognitive health requires motivation to sustain it and motivation depends on emotion and social reinforcement. Emotional self-regulation is not simply self control. Rather it is the capacity to respond to an emotional stress without prolonged loss of equilibrium. And it is the capacity to modify emotional reactions to resonate with others in the environment. Thought and feeling when linked together can be a powerful stimulus for learning, both for better and for worse. A positive outlook with an active response style is more protective than a tendency toward negativism and withdrawal.
AF: What advice would you give to people who want to maintain their brain in top shape?
GK: Simply finding a partner for regular physical activity is one of the best prescriptions for improving brain function. Staying emotionally, intellectually and socially engaged is also good advice. And the more the better. The brain is a muscle – use it or lose it.
AF: And what advice would you give to doctors and health professionals on how to help their patients?
GK: Doctors and all health professionals need to know how to motivate their patients to make the changes in life style that will promote healthy aging. Small, meaningful changes are relatively easy to achieve if the professional simply asks. Two straightforward examples: “how often do you enjoy an alcoholic beverage?” and “how often do you get a half hour of physical activity, walking or exercising?” can help the older person to minimize alcohol and maximize exercise. Brief interventions work surprisingly well.
AF: Thank you very mmuch for your time and advice.
GK: You are welcome.
Alvaro Fernandez is the Co-Founder of SharpBrains.com, which reviews resources for brain fitness, such as cognitive assessments and cognitive therapy . SharpBrains has been recognized by Scientific American Mind, The New York Times, and more. Alvaro holds MA in Education and MBA from Stanford University, and teaches The Science of Brain Health at UC-Berkeley Lifelong Learning Institute.
Health Net Names New President of Northeast Plans, General Counsel
Health Net Inc. has reshuffled responsibilities of two executives in light of UnitedHealthcare’s recent acquisition of the company’s Northeast U.S. licenses.
Health Net said it named Linda Tiano as president of regional health plans for Health Net of the Northeast. She has served as senior vice president, general counsel and secretary since January 2007.
To replace Tiano, the company named Angelee Bouchard as senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary, effective immediately.
In the newly created position, Tiano will relocate to Health Net’s Shelton, Conn. office and will lead the Northeast operations under an agreement with UnitedHealthcare. She will report to Jim Woys, Health Net Inc.’s chief operating officer.
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Attempts to get comment from Health Net weren’t immediately successful.
“Linda will work with the local management team to continue to provide excellent customer service for our members during this transition,” Woys said in a statement.
Paul Lambdin, president of Health Net of the Northeast, who helped to close the Northeast transaction, will continue with Health Net during the first quarter of next year to help with the transition of membership to UnitedHealthcare.
Recently, UnitedHealthcare, a unit of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), completed its roughly 0 million acquisition of Health Net’s Northeast U.S. health plans in a deal that expands its presence in Connecticut, New Jersey and New York (BestWire, Dec. 14, 2009).
UnitedHealthcare was to pay Health Net (NYSE: HNT | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) million for its Medicare and Medicaid business, and renewal rights for commercial membership (BestWire, July 21, 2009).
Bouchard joined Health Net in 2003 as vice president, assistant general counsel and assistant secretary. In this role, she oversaw the company?s corporate finance and merger-and-acquisition transactions as well as Health Net’s corporate governance program.
Health Net of Connecticut, Health Net of New York and Health Net of New Jersey each currently has a Best’s Financial Strength Rating of B+ (Good).
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New Science Website Online: ScienceIndex.com – Science News Indexed
Bangkok, Thailand (PRWEB) January 11, 2012
ScienceIndex.com is a new Web 2.0 sciences social network established to index the very latest news, headlines, references and resources from science journals, books and websites worldwide. This content is contributed by the website’s users. There are currently over 1.3 million stories distributed among 75 categories, a content base that is rapidly growing. ScienceIndex.com indexes news in all fields of biology, business, chemistry, engineering, geography, health, mathematics and society.
Currently, over 75,000 users monitor nearly 8,200 journals covering the broad spectrum of sciences. They share circa 2,500 new articles every day. Since new science content is discovered in real-time, the delay between original publication and appearance at ScienceIndex.com is usually no more than two days.
While users are encouraged to join the Sciences Social Network and submit their favorite science content for inclusion in ScienceIndex.com are welcome to submit their listing through the site, the site does not intend to publish unqualified popular stories like many nor most other social networks. Each and every submission is reviewed by effective algorithms and our staff to prevent spam and other unwanted content.
The Biology Sciences category covers life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, genetics, and distribution. It is divided into ten subcategories including Agriculture, Anatomy, Biotechnology, Ecology, Environment, Forestry, Genetics, Microbiology, Physiology and Zoology. It currently covers 400 journals and contains over 76,000 articles. One of the most recently included articles is one on stimulation of proliferation of human breast cancer cells by protein kinase D1.
The Business Sciences category covers commercial, industrial, and professional occupation. It is divided into seven subcategories including Accounting, Administration, Economics, Finance, Management, Marketing and Nonprofits. It currently covers over 140 journals and contains more than 12,500 articles. One of the most recent inclusions is an article on sensemaking, storytelling and the legitimization of elite business careers.
The Chemistry Sciences category covers the composition, structure, properties, and reactions of substances. It is divided into seven subcategories including Biochemistry, Food Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Materials Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Physics and Toxicology. It currently covers almost 300 journals and contains nearly 97,000 articles. One recent article is on near-infrared laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy of hafnium monofluoride.
The Engineering Sciences category covers the design, manufacture, and operation of efficient and economical structures, machines, processes, and systems. It is divided into three subcategories including Architecture, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Communication, Control Systems Engineering, Electronics, Industrial Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. It currently covers 170 journals and contains nearly 26,000 articles. A recent inclusion provides an analytical solution to optimal relocation of satellite formation flying in arbitrary elliptic orbits.
The Geography Sciences category covers the physical characteristics of the earth including its surface features, and the distribution of life on earth. It is divided into three subcategories including Astronomy, Geology and Meteorology. It currently covers 220 journals and contains over 33,000 articles. A recent article in this category investigates the role of ejecta in the small crater populations on the mid-sized Saturnian satellites.
The Health Sciences category is the largest section of ScienceIndex.com and covers the effects of disease and medical treatment on the overall condition of organisms. It is divided into eighteen subcategories including Audiology, Dentistry, Dermatology, Endocrinology, Gastroenterology, Healthcare, Immunology, Medicine, Neurology, Nutrition, Oncology, Pathology, Pharmacology, Psychiatry, Psychology, Radiology, Rheumatology and Surgery. It currently covers 775 journals and contains nearly 142,000 articles. A recent article compares information on common genetic variation modulating cardiac ECG parameters with susceptibility to sudden cardiac death.
The Mathematics Sciences category covers the structure, algorithms, behavior, and interactions of natural and artificial systems that store, process, access and communicate information. It is divided into two subcategories including Informatics and Statistics. It currently covers nearly 250 journals and contains over 33,000 articles. A recent inclusion in this category provides a classification of regular maps of Euler characteristic.
Finally, the Society Sciences category covers the totality of social relationships among humans. It is divided into twelve subcategories including Anthropology, Archeology, Arts, Education, Family, History, Law and Crime, Linguistics, Literature, Philosophy, Politics and Religion. It currently covers over 250 journals and contains nearly 15,000 articles. A recent inclusion provides societal facts for comparing the two competing Asian giants China and India.
ScienceIndex.com’s content is divided into “Popular” and “Upcoming” sections. While content in the “Upcoming” section is rarely older than a few minutes, the “Popular” section contains approved articles approved between 20 to 60 minutes after submission by users. All articles can easily be bookmarked with the AddThis Sharing tools which include the Google+1 button. The website provides an advanced search feature which suggests up to ten closely related articles for a search and also for a selected story. The latter list is sorted primarily by relevancy and secondarily by publishing date. This helps users compiling lists of related references for literature retrieval purposes.
Other features include a “Life Traffic Feed” which is helpful in watching the online traffic in real-time and a “Top Content” sidebar which includes the most actively read and shared articles available on the site. The included Google Translate gadget supports translating ScienceIndex.com’s content into over fifty languages.
ScienceIndex.com offers users to stay updated with the latest inclusions and news in their favorite science topics by subscribing to one or more of the seventy-five RSS feeds which are available for every category. ScienceIndex.com also maintains the new Twitter account @ScienceIndex_ for improving public exposure and inform their users about the latest developments in the sciences.
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Diet, Weight Loss And Nutrition Expert, Jackie Wicks Of PEERtrainer.com, Advises Why Portion Control May Be Keeping You Fat
Diet, Weight Loss And Nutrition Expert, Jackie Wicks Of PEERtrainer.com, Advises Why Portion Control May Be Keeping You Fat
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida (PRWEB) December 20, 2011
PEERtrainer.com founder and nutrition expert, Jackie Wicks, shares a controversial view on an old favorite regarding weight loss – and this may raise a few eyebrows — portion control may be the culprit that is keeping people fat.
According to Wicks, “It’s important to note that portion control is a critically important tool. Of course we want to be aware of the calories that go into our bodies — and for people just starting the weight loss process — portion control is something that must be learned and even mastered.”
Wicks adds, “The problem with portion control is that people most often use it as their primary weight loss strategy. Because life is busy and most of us have a limited amount of things we can focus on, it often becomes the only strategy that people use.”
So why is society so focused on something that is not working?
According to Wicks, “Probably because it sounds reasonable and sensible. It is also the advice we are likely to hear from our doctors and medical professionals. It’s what we, as a society, have learned. There are a lot of ways that we get programmed as individuals and this is definitely one.”
Wicks adds, “Additionally, people portion control meat and animal protein. Now, based on all the available science, as well as the interpretation of the available research, we hear that we need to keep meat consumption to roughly 10% of calories. However, this does not take into account any difference in the quality of the meat source. Would it sound reasonable to you to suggest that a serving of poached Wild Salmon (natural food) is probably better for you than a hot dog (processed food)? Sure it does.”
Wicks concludes, “I’d like to argue that not only is the singular focus on portion control not the answer, but it is likely a root of many of our nutrition problems. Not only does it promote the idea that any food is fine as long as it is eaten in limited quantities – but in my years of experience – portion control actually discourages people from eating the best foods in beneficial enough quantities.”
For more information and the full story, visit:
http://www.peertrainer.com/diet/is_portion_control_keeping_you_fat.aspx
About Jackie Wicks/PEERtrainer.com
Jackie Wicks is the founder of the groundbreaking health and weight loss community PEERtrainer.com, which was recognized by US News And World Report as one of the best sites to stay on a diet and lose weight in June, 2011. She is regularly quoted in the press as a healthy lifestyle expert in publications such as ABC News, Wall Street Journal Radio and hundreds of other national media outlets. Ms. Wicks is also the author of the innovative PEERtrainer Cheat System: A Simple Guide To Healthy And Long Term Weight Loss. For more information or to sign up for PEERtrainer’s Free Daily Weight Loss Support Program and Tip of the Day, please visit http://www.peertrainer.com.
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Sitting May Increase Body Fat by 50% Regardless of Diet and Exercise
Sitting May Increase Body Fat by 50% Regardless of Diet and Exercise
Scottsdale, AZ (PRWEB) December 15, 2011
While many Americans vow New Year’s resolutions designed to regain their health joining gyms and ordering dietary regimens such as Jenny Craig, most weight loss resolutions are doomed to failure. Recent research, reported this week on ABC News, is showing that the failures are not always due to a lack of motivation or will power. According to researchers one of the main reasons Americans fail to lose weight greets them at the office every morning: the office chair. TrekDesk treadmill desks hope to change that dynamic, offering an opportunity for employees to walk while they work and reap the benefits of their new found resolve.
“No matter how little you eat or how much you exercise, too much sitting by itself may broaden your bottom” reported Lindsay Davis, on behalf of ABC News this week. “The researchers found that when we sit down the amount of force we put on our body tissue causes the very cells that are the precursors to fat cells to produce even more fat. Up to 50% more fat.”
Numerous studies are showing that the body has a unique ability to adapt quickly to its environment triggering cell production best suited to the demands of its external stimuli. Sitting is interpreted quickly as a trigger to slow metabolism and store energy. The body reacts producing more fat cells and less muscle cells. It is simple body economics; supply based on demand. The good news is that these same triggers can operate in reverse. Move more and a new generation of cells will be concentrated less on developing fat stores.
“The road block for most good intentioned New Year’s resolvers is one of education,” stated Steve Bordley, CEO of TrekDesk Treadmill Desks. “You cannot undue the damage of sitting in an office for eight hours a day with just a daily visit to the gym and dietary adherence. The body just does not work that way. Movement throughout the day is critical to improving health, productivity and reaching personal fitness goals.”
Designed to fit any existing treadmill, TrekDesk treadmill desk is an affordable, full sized, height adjustable workstation that allows individuals the opportunity to gain the necessary amount of exercise daily to maintain health, prevent disease, strengthen muscles, boost mood and productivity, without requiring additional time during the day or extra motivation. Workout at work with TrekDesk. No sweat!
TrekDesk is currently available for sale online at TrekDesk.com for $ 479.00 including free shipping.
Join the TrekDesk “Movement Revolution” to learn more on TrekDesk’s Facebook page.
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, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
