AARP's 50 Ways to Stay Healthy (10 Ways to Beat Obesity)-- Part 3

From AARP magazine, October 2015 (p, 36-46)

(abridged by Blog editor)

Being slightly overweight may reduce your risk of dying prematurely. But being obese (BMI of 30 or more) raises your risk of dying by 18 percent. Check out 10 ways to fight fat and win.

21) Consider a crash. A recent study shows that those who severely restrict calories are more likely to achieve their target weight and have the same chance of keeping the weight off as those who do this over time. Don't get too radical. Very low-calorie diets are associated with a variety of health risks, including the formation of gallstones.

22) Be naturally sweet. Stay away from diet drinks with artificial sweeteners. Try honey and maple syrup.

23) Trick your appetite. Eat off smaller plates, 10 inch plates rater than 12 inch plates. And go for the blue plate special... the blue-colored plate will make food appear unappetizing and you'll likely eat less. (Do you really want to make food unappetizing? Blog editor)

24) Make skinny friends. (Not a suggestion that you shun your chubby friends, or is it? Blog editor) If one person gains weight, his or her close friends are more likely to gain weight too.

25) Keep it uncomfortable. By keeping your home a bit colder in winter and warmer in the summer, you may force your body to burn more calories to adjust. That makes you body work harder and you burn more calories to adjust.

26) Watch your cravings. Depressed people with decreased levels of serotonin have a tendency to overeat. Overeating-- especially carbohydrates (simple and complex) may be an attempt to self-medicate to restore serotonin levels. A small portion of your favorite pasta can achieve the same effect.

27) Pick protein. A recent study found that people who ate eggs instead of a bagel for breakfast lost 65 percent more weight and had a 34 percent greater reduction in waist circumference.

28) Don't default to antibiotics. Dont' overuse antibiotics. May contribute to obesity. They have an adverse effect on digestive microbes that influence your metabolic rate.

29) Check you neck. If you're gaining weight for no discernible reason, it could be a faulty thyroid gland.

30) Cut back. Studies show that exercise alone has no effect on weight loss. A survey of American adults found that despite increase in physical activity between 2001 and 2009 the rise in exercise was matched by a jump in obesity. If you're really trying to lose weight, focus on your food intake and quality.

AARP's 50 Ways to Stay Healthy (10 Ways to Prevent Heart Disease)-- Part 2

From AARP magazine, October 2015 (p. 34-36)

(abridged by Blog editor)

What are the six easy steps for women to greatly reduce your chances of having a heart attack?
Don't smoke, have a normal body mass index (BMI), get at least 2 1/2 hours of exercise a week, watch an hour or less of TV a day, eat a healthy diet, and limit alcohol to a drink or less a day.

Prevent Heart Disease (11-20) (p.34-36)

11) Whittle your middle. If you're shaped more like an apple than a pear, you're at greater risk for a heart attack.
12) Floss. Studies point to a link between gum disease and higher rates of heart disease.
13) Sweat when you exercise. Experts advise pushing till you're modestly out of breath. That means you pumped up your heart rate.
14) Get enough Vitamin D. "Low levels of vitamin D can increase your risk of stroke and heart attack," says Steven Masley, M.D., author of The 30-Day Heart Tune-Up.
15) Cuddle more. Snuggling not only feels good-- it reduces stress and triggers the release of the hormone oxytocin, which ha been shown to help lower blood pressure. Puppies work too.
16) Think outside the pillbox. Be careful with your use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory pills (NSAIDs) for chronic pain. They can increase chances of stroke and heart attack.
17) Keep it down. Reduce your exposure to roadway noise. Research shows that every 10 decibels of roadway traffic noise near your home increases risk of stroke by 10 percent.
18) Stick with your statins. A new study reports that statin use with people at medium risk of heart attack reduces death from heart disease.
19) LOL at those online cat videos. Laughing out loud helps improve blood flow, dilates blood vessels by 22 percent, and, in turn, lowers blood pressure.
20) Stop stewing. Forgiveness helps to reduce blood pressure and lower your heart rate, especially when it comes to betrayal and conflict. Submit your resignation to La Cosa Nostra even if they keep pulling your back.

AARP's 50 Ways to Stay Healthy (10 Ways to Cut Cancer Risk)-- Part 1

From AARP magazine, October 2015 (p. 32-34)

(abridged by Blog editor)

Cut Cancer Risk (1-10)

1) Cut the cola. Cutout sugar-sweetened soft drinks.
2) Grab some grapes. Resveratrol, found in grape skins, kills damaged cells before they replicate.
3) Dress in red and blue. Dark colors protect you from UV exposure.
4) Marinate your meat. Rosemary and thyme, anti-oxidant rich herbs, can cut the cancer risk posed by charring your meat.
5) Ban the bottle. Bottled water contains bacterial and chemical contaminants.
6) Watch for weird symptoms. (Voice sounds different, breasts are itchy, waistband is tight-- can be signs of lung caner, breast cancer, and ovarian cancer, respectively)
7) Get moving. Regular exercise reduces likelihood of breast cancer (by 10%) and colon cancer (by 40%).
8) Cut the BPA. Bisphenol A, a chemical in a lining that coats cans used for soup and vegetables, has been linked to cancer. Avoid BPA by going with fresh or frozen foods.
9) Go nuts. Brazil nuts are full of selenium, an antioxidant that lowers the risk of bladder cancer. Selenium boosts immunity and suppresses the formation of blood vessels that nourish tumors.
10) Schedule the following screenings-- especially past the age of 50 years.
* Colon cancer
* Breast cancer
* Lung cancer
* Prostate cancer
* stomach cancer

Walk, Don't Jog...

Why do people love to jog? Slow down... you're moving too fast.

Jogging makes you feel athletic. You move a little quicker jogging than you do walking. The jogger's face usually looks contorted. The jogger sweats and pounds the ground. Certainly jogging is an aerobic exercise.

But--
1) Is jogging any better than walking?
2) When does jogging cause more problems than its worth-- leading to injury or strain on the joints for the older runner?

Jogging may be a case of self-delusion!

You jog for 2-3 miles and I walk for 4 miles-- who exerts the most energy? You jog those 2-3 miles in 40-50 minutes. The 4 miles walk takes me 70 minutes. I have less stress on my joints. My face is not contorted by exhaustion. I enjoy the scenery and get an aerobic workout. The main difference-- my walk takes a bit longer and I don't look quite as macho in my athletic pursuit.

In "Beyond Pritikin"-- mainly a diet book-- by Louise Gittleman summarizes the advantages of "brisk walking." Here's the passage:


"Beyond Pritikin" (1988)-- p 110

Brisk, vigorous walking burns just as many calories per mile as does running. It may even provide better muscle toning than running because, when walking a mile, more steps are taken than when running a mile. When you walk, try to move your whole body vigorously. New research reports that exercise in which both the arms and legs are actively moving is a better fat burner than exercise in which only the legs are involved. This is why cross-country skiing is so highly rated for its calorie-burning benefits, as well as the NordicTrack and stationery rowing machines. So get into it and move all of your body.

White man jumping... Asher Price and the Year of the Dunk

Participated at the Texas Book Festival this weekend-- as a seller of my book, Funny Man: Love & Murder at Venice Beach, and as fan and reader of books.

Two sessions I attended and thoroughly enjoyed--
1) Hand Drawn Jokes for Smart, Attractive People-- by Matthew Diffee, New Yorker cartoonist
2) Year of the Dunk-- by Asher Price

Since this blog focuses on physical activity, I'll discuss Asher Price's book on his decision to devote a year of training towards dunking a basketball. Price, a sportswriter for our local Austin paper, the Austin-American Statesman, made this decision at age 34. He stands 6 ft 2 1/2 inches. He began the journey at about 200 pounds. In the process of getting into dunking shape he dropped to 170 lbs. and decreased his percentage of body fat from 20% to 8%. Did he achieve his goal? Asher didn't ruin the book's ending for his audience-- but it seems safe to assume he achieved his goal, an impressive achievement for a 34 year old guy!

Asher explained the story brings attention to our potential for achieving goals seemingly out-of-reach. He has a great sense of humor and nice modesty. His book highlights the importance many NBA superstars attached to dunking a basketball for the very first time. Charles Barkley felt liberated after dunking for the first time. Barkley gained confidence on his journey to move beyond the world of his hometown in Leeds, Alabama.

I identified more with Asher Price than a NBA superstar. I never got beyond touching the rim. I played guard on the high school basketball team on Long Island but never impressed anybody with my leaping ability. I have literally dreamed of dunking a basketball-- a skill Asher said involves both physical strength and good body flexibility.

Asher had to add flexibility to his body to achieve his goal. And added flexibility-- that's something that helps every stage of life, and brings better health of al kinds-- physical, mental and spiritual.

Walgreens 23 health tips

Walgreens 23 health tips--       Feel Good Every Day

23 ways to Boost Your Brainpower

If you want to boost your brain, you have to focus your attention on good self-case, says David Alter, Ph.D. co-author, with Henry Emmons, M.D., of Staying Sharp (Touchstone). Try these simple, science-based tips.

1)           Take a French class. Learning a second language can help your brain process information and help you focus more sharply to avoid distraction. It may even help delay the onset of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease in some people, according to exciting new research from Singapore Management University.

2)          Write in red ink. A fascinating new study from the University of Regensburg in Germany found that the color red “binds” into our memory better than other colors—making it ideal for recalling what’s on your to-do list.

3)         Play ping-pong. Table tennis has been lauded for its ability to improve attention and concentration. Japanese researchers also found that in players older than 50, ping-pong improved brain function by activating specific neurons, and showed promise in preventing dementia as well. (Plus, it’s lots of fun!)

4)          Close your eyes. Research from the University of Surrey in the U.K. found that closing your eyes while recalling an event could help you remember details 23 percent more accurately. How does it work? It’s thought that once visual distractions are removed, your brain focuses more efficiently.

5)         Brush your teeth with the other hand. Using your dominant side to tackle a daily task or two is a great way to challenge your cognitive function by spurring your brain cells to produce growth-stimulating molecules.

6)         Lower blood sugar. Diabetes is a known risk factor for dementia, so work with your doctor on was to minimize your risk factors. (A healthy blood sugar is less than 100 after fasting.) If you already have diabetes, controlling it will help prevent dementia.

7)         Do a Daily Meditation. In just eight weeks, a daily mindfulness break can improve connectivity throughout the brain network in 55-to-90 year olds, according to ongoing research from Wake Forest University. What’s more, meditation may slow Alzheimer’s progression and decrease production of the stress hormone cortisol within the brain.

8)         Eat Avocadoes. “It contains medium-chain fatty acids, which increase your brainpower by reducing inflammation,” says Emmons.

9)         Consider a Daily Low-Dose Aspirin. An ongoing National Institutes of Health clinical trial is testing the theory that taking an aspirin could lower the risk of dementia. Talk to your doctor about whether this could be right, and safe, for you.

10)    Fall-Proof Your House.

11)    Mind your Bs. B vitamins lower homocysteine (an amino acid), which is linked to dementia. You can find them in enriched read, pasta, rice and cereal, plus poultry, beans, dark leafy veggies, papayas, oranges and cantaloupe.

12)    Shake Your Booty. Aerobic exercise can actually increase the size of your hippocampus—the part of your brain which helps you learn and remember.

13)    Become a Tourist in Your Own Town. Seeing fresh sights can rewire your brain to use new parts of itself, therefore, helping it to work better than ever. “Once a month, sit down with the community calendar section of your newspaper and choose an activity you’ve never tried before—see a new play, or go to the local art museum if you’ve never visited it,” says Alter. “New experiences allow the brain to flex like a new muscle.”

14)    Color. Thought you outgrew your crayons? Adults everywhere are rediscovering their artistic sides and snapping up adult coloring books. This new trend can ease stress as well as put you in a meditative frame of mind. Both of these benefits are great for the brain. (Visit Parade.com/coloring for free downloadable coloring pages.)

15)    Go Fish. Eat your omega-3s found in salmon and other cold-water fish) or take a supplement. A new study from the University of Pittsburgh found eating any kind of baked or broiled fish once a week helped spur structural brain changes that boost memory.

16)    Enjoy a Glass of Red Wine. Fresh research from Texas A & M University found that resveratrol, an anti-oxidant found in red wine, improves memory, mood and learning capacity.

17)    Munch Peanuts. This yummy snack is also backed with cognition-boosting resveratrol.

18)    Find Your Sleep Sweet Spot. Getting good sleep is the best thing you can do for your brain long term,” Emmons stresses.

19)    Start a Pinterest Page. Pursuing new ideas that interest you is a powerful way to exercise your brain. Curious folks have lower rates of dementia, says Alter.

20)    Surf the Internet. Suring for into on the web actually improves the neural circuitry of your brain, keeping it healthy, according to research from UCLA.

21)    Don’t skip your Morning Coffee. A John Hopkins study found that regular consumption of 200 milligrams of caffeine—the amount in one strong cup of coffee—has a positive impact on how much you remember for a full 24 hours after drinking.

22)    Hang our with Friends and Family. Social connections benefit brain health, experts say. Have lunch with your friends, take you grandchildren trick-or-treating or go for a  long walk with your partner.

23)    Look on the Bright Side. Make a point to regularly ask yourself, “What if everything went right instead of wrong?” Positive thinking can actually activate your brain’s physical ability to adapt and change. Former President Jimmy Carter, 91, who responded to his recent cancer diagnosis with “optimism, vitality and determination,” is a great example of this, Emmons says.