Education

There’s a reason we’re seeing Alzheimer’s in the news more and more – sadly, it has become more prevalant. Five million Americans suffer from this devastating brain illness, to say nothing of the suffering of their loved ones.

So, naturally, we’re all on the look out for ways to protect ourselves against this beast. At the same time, we’re always looking for ways to improve our overall health, including the health of our all-important heart. Fortunately, many of the things that are beneficial to one part of our bodies are also beneficial to the other parts. This is never more true than when it comes to the brain and the heart. In fact, the heart actually plays a very big role in keeping the brain healthy.

We know the things we should do to keep our heart strong: Avoid smoking, get regular exercise, and eat a diet heavy in fruits and vegetables. These steps improve the health of blood vessels leading to the heart – so, in turn, they improve our heart’s health. What we don’t realize (until now, of course!), is that they also improve the health of blood vessels to the brain – so, in turn, they improve our brain’s health.

We should all start doing the following to protect and strengthen our hearts AND minds:

1. No Smoking! If you smoke, stop. Find a way. Make a way. This should be the year you do the smartest thing possible for your health. It’s absolutely critical for your heart and your brain.

2. Exercise more. Find ways to become more active!

• Buy an exercise dvd or even just an exercise mat. Wear comfortable clothes around the house, then you’ll be more apt to work out on or with your new fitness tools.
• If at all possible, buy a treadmill or exercise bike. Place it right in front of your television and work out while watching your favorite show. 30 minutes will pass quickly and you can feel good knowing that you got your work out in for the day!
• Park a little further from the door each time you go to the store. Once you’re inside, take the longest route possible to what you came for. Then take the longest route possible to the check out. It may not seem like much at the time, but all the steps add up, and your brain, heart, and overall health will thank you for it.

3. Eat more fruits and vegetables! I think we’ve all seen those words so often that we’ve become almost immune to them. Think about it, we started hearing about the dynamic duo before we were even old enough to read. “Eat your fruits and vegetables…. Don’t eat so much of that! Eat your fruits and vegetables..” To children, they can become the enemy pretty fast. On one hand there’s Ice Cream sandwiches, Sweethearts, and hot dogs – while on the other there’s fruit cocktail, lima beans, and carrots. Once we were able to read, we read about fruits and vegetables in health class every semester – they were always there, taking their rightful place in the food pyramid, in all of their colorful glory.

Today? They’re still everywhere we look. The articles about losing weight tell us to eat more fruits and vegetables. The articles about heart health extol their virtues. And now, even information about keeping our mind’s healthy tells us that we should eat more of these wonder foods.

The thing is….we really should! The nutrients and vitamins our bodies and minds need are right there in nature’s finest. We can’t allow our eyes to just glaze over when we read the words – and we can’t say, ‘”I had mashed potatoes for supper last night and fries for lunch…I’m doing okay.” Wrong! First of all, if the only way you can claim to get your fruits and vegetables is through the almighty potato, you need to rework your diet entirely. And I won’t even get into the fries…

Start finding ways to get more vegetables and more fruits into your day. Think of it as a color’s game, see how many different colors you can work into a meal. It won’t take long to see that those white potatoes don’t provide a great deal of color or variety.

Here are a few ideas from a fruit and vegetable fanatic:

• Keep fruit on hand and in a central location. You’ll find yourself grabbing an apple on the way out the door or a pear as you head to the sofa. I love to take a bowl of grapes with me to the bath. My inner Cleopatra is totally into that sort of thing.
• Buy fruit juice. Apple juice is about as yummy as anything you can pour into a cup…anything that doesn’t answer to the name of coffee, that is.
• Make your own fruit cocktail with grapes, strawberries, orange wedges, pineapples, blackberries, etc.
• Add fruit to Vanilla Yogurt and top it all off with granola. It’s dessert-quality delicious, even kids will think so.
• Buy a new Vegetables only cookbook and experiment. Read my post about the book Being Vegetarian - you’ll see just how fun and creative Vegetables can be.
• Add bananas to peanut butter sandwiches – thank you, thank you, very much. Long live the King’s sandwich of choice.
• Look up great Smoothies recipes and have fun whipping up different varieties.

Once you start experimenting with ways to work more exercise and good food into your life – you’ll have so much fun AND feel so much better, you’ll never want to stop. The trick is to start – and there’s no time like NOW!

Make each moment count double,
~Joi

Here’s a really great story about Nuns who are leaving their brains to science, in the hopes of aiding the battle against Alzheimer’s: Nuns Leave Their Brains to Science.

Good for them!

We’re all pretty familiar with the characteristics of the disorder known as schizophrenia: A noticable withdrawal from reality, illogical, uncacceptable patterns of thinking, delusions and (even) hallucinations. There are also other emotional and behavioral disturbances that vary from person to person. At the risk of oversimplifying, a person who suffers from schizophrenia is locked inside of a nightmare.

The term, schizophrenia, means “a splitting of the mind” and was first used in the early 1900’s. We think of schizophrenics, today, as individuals who want, more than anything else, to avoid everything that realtiy represents. More and more is being learned about the disorder, in hopes of helping those who suffer from it to lead more normal lives. Whatever “normal” is!

Many people wonder what puts a person at risk for this particular mental disorder. Especially those who have schizophrenia in their family – they’re seeking reassurance that they, themselves, won’t one day have to face this disorder.

According to Healthwise, the following situations put an individual at a higher risk for developing schizophrenia:

1. Have a mother, father, or sibling with schizophrenia ( genetic predisposition). But having a relative with schizophrenia does not mean you will develop this disorder. Many people have schizophrenia who do not have a relative with this condition, and many people who have relatives with schizophrenia will not develop this condition.

2. Have another disorder that is like schizophrenia (such as schizotypal personality) or have family members with such a condition.

3. Had a childhood head injury, especially if you have a family history of schizophrenia.

4. Were exposed to a viral infection, malnutrition, or medications ( diuretics) used to control a mother’s high blood pressure prior to birth.

5. Have a substance abuse problem. It is not yet clear whether the abuse triggers schizophrenia or whether a person with schizophrenia is more likely to have a substance abuse problem.

6. Have a father who was over age 50 when you were conceived. It is not yet clear why the age of the father may put you at higher risk. Research is ongoing to better understand and prove this risk factor.

For a fascinating look at the sort of things that a person living with this disorder faces, you have to see the VIDEO on ABC.com. The video is a 3D simulation that mainly focuses on the hallucination symptoms of the disorder. It’s a real eye-opener.

If you or anyone you know suffers from the disorder, or if you have any other concerns and/or questions, you should visit, and bookmark, Schizophrenia.com.

Interesting stuff, here!

The Science of the Sexes DVD from the Discovery Channel is about as fascinating as it gets.

From the Website:

This definitive trip around male and female anatomy confirms what our bodies know, but we often forget: men and women are made for each other! Listen, but try not to blush, as intimate portraits and real-life situations are combined with scientific analysis to show that from conception to old age, our bodies grow, adapt, compliment and support each other.

Episode One: Growing UpAn expert debate on the issue of nature versus nurture prompts an intimate look at two teenagers – one boy and one girl – on different continents. Who has the advantage?

Follow Dr. Helen Fisher, an anthropologist and world-renowned expert on gender differences, to Africa to determine if the development of the male and female brain could be linked to our evolutionary past. The latest research on spatial ability between the sexes is revealed, and there’s an unlikely connection: testosterone levels and finger length!

Episode Two: Different by DesignTake a look at sexual progression from adulthood to old age. From sexual attraction to physical stamina, every angle is explored. Watch as identical twins are put to a real-life test of sexual attraction. And, thanks to some computer animation and unique endoscopic filming techniques, you’ll see what goes on inside their bodies when they’re aroused.

Study the mechanics of intercourse using an MRI scanner and get a close-up look at the peaks and valleys of brain activity in the two sexes when processing.

…”A close-up look at the peaks and valleys of brain activity…” I am so there.

If you’ve ever watched a Discovery Channel special, you know just how addictive they are. So much great information, presented in a way that’s as fascinating as any movie Hollywood can produce…even the Bourne movies (also addictive!).

I guarantee, Science of the Sexes DVD won’t let you down.

Make each moment count double,
~Joi