FitSugar

Want to Stay Smart? 3 Ways to Keep Your Brain Healthy

Leta Shy — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 13:52:10 PST

Our lifestyle habits don't just affect our waistlines and physical health; they also affect our intelligence. If you want to keep your smarts, make sure you do these three things.

Exercise regularly: Exercise has been proven to be good for your brain because it promotes brain cell growth. Not only that, studies have found that being obese prematurely ages your brain, which can lead to a higher risk of Alzheimer's - all the more reason to make exercise a habit as early as possible in your life.

Sleep right: Sleep rejuvenates your body as well as your mind, and when it comes down to it, quantity matters. We've probably all been there: the forgetfulness and dulled reasoning skills that we have to deal with after an abbreviated sleep time, and it's been proven - sleeping fewer than seven hours a night can result in a decline in brain function the next day. But make sure you don't overdo it; the same study found that sleeping for more than eight hours also lowers your brain's ability to function.

Eat superfoods: We eat right for our bodies, so why not our brains? From blueberries to chia seeds, there are many types of superfoods that do double duty by lowering your risk of diseases while also increasing your brain power. A new study confirms the power of omega-3 fatty acids for your brain - it found that people who ate a diet low in omega-3s had smaller brains and scored lower on cognitive and memory tests than those who ate a more omega 3-rich diet. Ready to add more brain-boosting foods into your diet? Here's a list of seven superfoods that increase your brain power.

5 Ways to Improve Your Smarts

Leta Shy — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 03:05:55 PDT

Just because you're well out of school (or at least enjoying the Summer break) doesn't mean you should neglect your noggin. Improving your smarts now will help you out later, whether it's trying to remember your grocery list on the weekend or staying mentally sharp later in life. Feeling foggy-headed? Check out these five lifestyle changes that will make you smarter!

What You Can Learn From NFL Stars

Leta Shy — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 14:00:44 PDT

What's not to love about football season? Burgers on the grill, chips and dip, and all the crudité you can imagine. Oh, and whatever game is on TV. I may not be the hugest football fan, but I have to admire the fitness discipline of professional athletes. Even if you don't know your first-and-tens from your field goals, here are some fitness lessons you can learn from those modern-day gladiators.

Conditioning is important:

varying your workout

Protect that brain: Sporting a helmet on your bike ride is a no-brainer, but don't forget to protect your greatest asset by eating the right kind of brain food, like brazil nuts, avocados, and blueberries.
Teamwork is key: Jocks value the importance of being on a team, so start your own by getting some workout buddies. They're good at motivating you, they can teach you some things, and unlike on a football field, the encouraging butt tap is optional.
The right gear is essential: You may not be sporting a number on your back, but your workout uniform should have you performing at your best. Find what works for you to keep you supported in all the right places, sweat-free, and safer from injuries.
Timing is everything: In football, those last few seconds on the clock can sometimes mean the difference between a Gatorade shower or a dejected march to the locker room. Get that winning feeling the same way by shaving seconds off your personal best or increasing your running time or goal miles.

Source: Flickr User Ed Yourdon

Brain News: Cognitive Decline May Start in Your 20s

FitSugar — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 03:00:00 PDT

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.

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No-Carb Diets Could Crash Your Brain's Memory

FitSugar — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 03:30:00 PST

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?

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Another Reason to Exercise: It's Keeps You Sharp

FitSugar — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 11:00:00 PDT

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.

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Drink Cocoa for Your Brain

FitSugar — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 13:05:00 PST

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 PST

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.

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10 Cool Facts About Olfaction

BellaSugar — Thu, 24 May 2012 03:30:00 PDT

We all have a sense of smell, and we all use it constantly, whether we realize it or not. Scents and smell are two of the most important yet often overlooked elements of everyday experience. Want to learn a few truly amazing facts about the things your nose knows? Then just keep reading.

Sharpen Your Memory by Shedding Some Pounds, Study Says

Heather Dale — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 00:59:06 PDT

If I were to put my gym membership to good use, I just might not need those ginkgo biloba pills after all. A new study, examining data from 109 bariatric surgery patients and 41 obese control subjects at Cornell Medical College and Weill Columbia University Medical Center, discovered that those who lost weight from surgeries demonstrated improved memory and concentration, moving from the slightly impaired range up to the normal range.

Just another motivational reason to lose some weight, in case you didn't have enough already. But something you may want to consider with your diet and workout plan is that you still need carbs for proper brain functionality, since the brain converts carbohydrates to glucose; and glucose is the brain's fuel.

Research has shown that removing carbs from your diet can sacrifice important brain power - especially your memory.