FitSugar

Brain News: Cognitive Decline May Start in Your 20s

FitSugar — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 03:00:00 -0700

If you're in your late 20s and your brain feels a little more sluggish than usual, don't blame your last late-night ANTM TiVo marathon. New research indicates that the cognitive decline once associated with old age begins much earlier than previously thought. It seems that brain function peaks around 22 years and begins to slowly shrink starting around 27 years. After 27 years, abstract reasoning, brain speed, and puzzle-solving all show signs of diminishing function, with the average memory decline beginning around 37 years. All is not lost though; vocabulary and general knowledge skills seem to increase until at least 60. Yay!

Just like you challenge your muscles to increase your strength, playing creative brain games like crossword puzzles and sudoku generates neuron growth and increases brain function. If Brain Age is your guilty pleasure, think of it as flexing your gray matter for exercise. Don't forget that aerobic exercise is good for the brain, too.

Source

No-Carb Diets Could Crash Your Brain's Memory

FitSugar — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 03:30:00 -0800

As far as fad diets go, the low-carbohydrate train has enjoyed a prolonged ride when compared to its more trendy counterparts. Some dieters shun carbs because their bodies respond by shedding pounds, but new research shows they could also be sacrificing some very important brain power.

The brain converts carbohydrates to glucose for proper functionality, and severely restricting carb intake can limit our ability to remember. Nineteen women were put on either a very low-carb diet or the low-calorie diet recommended by the American Dietetic Association, and after just one week the low-carb dieters performed worse on memory-based tasks than the women following the ADA diet.

While low-carb participants consumed almost no carbohydrates during the first week, limited carbs were introduced during the second week and their memories showed improvement with the revised diet. The study's co-author Holly A. Taylor, PhD commented on the bottom line, saying, "Although this study only tracked dieting participants for three weeks, the data suggest that diets can affect more than just weight."

Have you noticed that some diets affect your brain's ability to function properly?

Source

Another Reason to Exercise: It's Keeps You Sharp

FitSugar — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 11:00:00 -0700

A daily dose of aerobic exercise is good for your mind just as much as it is for your heart and waistline.

One of the many downfalls of aging is that our brains become not as sharp as they used to be resulting in forgetting things easily along with the reduced ability to pay attention. Recent research out of the Netherlands has found that aerobics can boost cognitive processing speed, motor function, and visual and auditory attention in older adults. In other words: regular aerobic exercise may actually help keep that brain of yours sharp as a needle well into your golden years.

Looking for ideas? Check out some of my own cardio ideas, sign up for a fun new class, or try out an exercise DVD.

Source

Drink Cocoa for Your Brain

FitSugar — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 13:05:00 -0800

There are so many reasons to enjoy a nice, hot mug of cocoa, and now there are even more.

A recent study found that cocoa increases blood flow to the brain, which means it may be helpful in treating dementia since it is marked by decreased blood flow in the brain.

Cocoa is high in the anti-oxidant known as flavanol, and flavanol promotes
dilation of the arteries. Hence the increase in blood flow to the brain. The wonders of cocoa don't stop there, it has been found to help decrease blood pressure as well. Chocolate companies are positioning themselves to break into the lucrative health food market and Mars announced plans to market a line of products under the name CocoaVia which will be high in flavanols. Looks like Hershey will follow suit and increase flavanols in their dark chocolate products.

Studies will soon be performed on folks with compromised brain function to see if drinking a nice, hot mug of cocoa increases blood flow to their brains as well as the young lasses that participated in the original study.

Your Brain’s Default Setting Is Daydreaming

FitSugar — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 04:00:00 -0800

It looks like a wandering mind is the human brain's default setting.

Researchers are unraveling the complexities of the brain and the latest findings show that with no specific task at hand we simply daydream. Not that all the thoughts are of a dream date with McDreamy, they are a little more like "to do" lists. That is why the scientists have labeled this thinking pattern "stimulus-independent thought." How very dry.

So write your "to do" list down so you can spend your daydream time on other more fanciful things.

Source

In Defense of Cardio: It's Good For Your Brain

FitSugar — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 12:00:00 -0700

I've seen a lot of cardio bashing recently. It reminds me of the Atkins Diet-inspired carb bashing that took place in the 90s. There are so many reasons aerobic training is good for your body, and to that list we need to add that it also benefits your brain. Now what do you think about that?

According to Dr. John Medina, author of Brain Rules, cardiovascular exercise dramatically increases blood flow to very specific parts of the brain that govern learning, problem solving, emotional control, and reaction time. Strength training, which offers many benefits on its own, doesn't help the brain in these ways.

During a recent interview on Fitness Rocks Medina explained that within four months there are measurable improvements with just a moderate amount of weekly exercise. However, skip working out for over a week and you will begin to lose all the wonderful brain function you gained by increasing the blood flow to your gray matter. Surely that fact will motivate you to get off the couch and out the door.

So if you have given up cardio like Michelle Pfeiffer, you might just want to rethink your plan.

Tell me in the comments section below why you do cardio – for your brain, your heart, your waist line, or your peace of mind.

Source

What's the Diff: Omega-3s vs. Omega-6s

FitSugar — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:00:10 -0800

Omegas are all the buzz right now, and it seems like everywhere you turn, new foods are being enhanced with this essential fatty acid, or labeled as an excellent source. What people don't know is that there are different types of omegas, and eating too much of one kind can actually be harmful to your body.

Omega-3s are found in flax seeds, walnuts, cod liver oil, and fatty fish like mackerel, lake trout, albacore tuna, and salmon. Fish are the best sources because they are high in two particular fatty acids that are crucial to good health, DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid).

Then there are omega-6s. These fats are found in eggs, nuts, chicken, and vegetable oils such as corn, soy, safflower, and sunflower oil. Omega-6s are high in LA (linoleic acid), which is converted by the body into GLA (gamma-linolenic acid), and then further broken down to AA (arachidonic acid).

Do you know which type of omega fatty acid we should be eating more of? To find out, keep reading

Another Plastic Health Risk - Erectile Dysfunction

FitSugar — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:13:34 -0800

While there have been previous studies, linking bisphenol A (BPA), found in hard plastics, to health problems, including precancerous tumors, prostate cancer, and brain damage, a new study, conducted in China, substantiates its claims with results in humans. In one of the first studies of its kind to be conducted on humans, researchers are finding that much of what they've previously seen in animal studies holds true - men exposed to significant amounts of BPA are at greater risk of sexual health problems.

The study compared the levels of sexual dysfunction in two groups of male factory workers - one group, which was exposed to high levels of BPA, while the other was not. The overall findings of the research reveal that when BPA enters the body, it may mimic estrogen, and block male sex hormones from functioning. In the males who were exposed to high levels of BPA, researchers observed that the risk of erectile dysfunction was four times that of a man not exposed to the chemicals.

According Dr. Rebecca Sokol, the director of the andrology program at the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine, and specialist in the effects of toxins on the reproductive system, these are some "compelling results." She notes that, "It's not cause and effect, but when you have the kind of ambient air quality assessment that they made, it comes pretty close to cause and effect."

To learn more about the study keep reading

Another Reason to Eat Carbs: Boost Your Mood

FitSugar — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:00:56 -0800

The majority of Fit readers call themselves carb queens, and Winter can make those carbohydrate cravings even more intense. But have no fear: scientists are finding even more reasons not to avoid this essential food group.

A recent study of more than 100 obese and overweight adults in Australia found that dieting put people in a better mood; a drop in pounds led to increased satisfaction. But for people on low-carb diets, the mood boost didn't last.

The study group was split, with half the subjects on a lowfat diet and the other half low-carbing it. Interestingly, folks in both groups lost the same amount of weight on average, about 30 pounds. But after a year, the low-carb dieters also lost the positive mood effects, while the low-fat dieters did not. Here's more from the study.

Why Exercise Won't Help You Lose Weight . . . Sort Of

FitSugar — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:00:36 -0800

There have been a lot of reports in the last year confirming that contrary to popular belief, not all exercise leads to significant weight loss. If you want to shed pounds, it mostly comes down to diet. It’s no surprise that changing your diet can help you lose weight, but for decades, many people believed that exercise was the best pathway to a slimmer, fitter you.

Today the New York Times added to the news that exercise doesn’t significantly aid in weight loss by reporting the results of an exercise and obesity study. The study followed a group of 58 obese individual who underwent three months of supervised aerobic activity but didn’t change their diets at all. And while the group lost an average of seven pounds, many participants barely lost three.

I admit that when all of these studies started coming up I was a little shocked, but it turns out that high intensity workouts mainly burn carbs, not just fat.

To hear what type of exercise may maximize fat loss, read more.

The article explains: "'The message of our work is really simple,' although not agreeable to hear, said Edward Melanson, PhD, the lead author of the study. 'It all comes down to energy balance,' or, as you might have guessed, calories in and calories out. People 'are only burning 200 or 300 calories' in a typical 30-minute exercise session, Melanson points out. 'You replace that with one bottle of Gatorade.'"

Fat loss can be maximized, but it’s a matter of how you approach your workout. To do this, work out at a lower intensity in your fat-burning zone, which is 60 to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate. For most people this zone falls between 105-134 beats per minute. Melanson’s study also found that once weight is lost from reduced calorie intake, exercise might prevent it from coming back by resetting metabolic pathways that stop the body from wanting to store fat.

The research is interesting, but should not dissuade any of us from our fitness goals. The benefits of exercise reach far beyond weight loss - it helps the brain function better, reduces stress, creates a toned body, and is important for healthy heart function.