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Tag Archives: longevity
You Are What You Eat
One of my frequent admonishments to patients is to only eat what God makes (or just avoid anything with a bar code — until a patient reminded me that fruit and vegetables are bar coded 😂)
“A review of research involving almost 10 million people has found a direct association between eating too many ultra-processed foods — those breads, cereals, snacks and frozen meals that have been industrially manufactured with flavors and additives to make them more palatable — and more than 30 health conditions, including heart disease, anxiety and early death.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2024/02/29/ultraprocessed-foods-health-risk/
When a Preschool Was Opened Inside a Dementia Care Home, All Heaven Broke Loose
“They say it takes a village to raise a child. Centered on that concept of communal flourishing, Northwest England’s first intergenerational care village, home to both older people and young children living and learning together, recently celebrated its official opening.
Stimulation, learning, fun—these are activities that are known to delay the progression of dementia, and what better way to add these critical elements of life to a daily regimen than to let a flock of preschoolers do it?”
How to fight dementia, according to neurologists
“Get ready to focus on your brain, because according to the AAN, the era of preventive neurology has arrived. In fact, the academy is hoping that all Americans will be on the healthy brain train by 2050.
“It’s a brain health revolution,” Rost said. “We want to help the public understand that a lifetime of health begins with brain health.”
https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/12/health/brain-checkup-wellness/index.html
Pets and cognitive decline
“I talk to our dog; I talk to our cats. Mind you that these are not deep conversations, such as the ones I have with my wife. It turns out, however, that the presence of pets in the house can have profound effects on slowing the verbal cognitive decline in older individuals. There is one catch: you have to be living alone.”
“I believe this study underscores something that is all too real about disconnectedness in our modern culture. Loneliness and isolation are significant threats to physical and mental health. Recently, the US Surgeon General issued an advisory on the public health crisis of loneliness, isolation, and lack of connection in our country.1 Primary care clinicians need to be aware of this and ask patients specifically about their social networks and feelings of loneliness.”
“Reaching out to, and building connections with family, friends, and — importantly — others in our communities who are disconnected, is vitally important to health and well-being. And, in some cases, a household pet can be a big benefit. I tell this to my dog and cats all the time.”
A Vitamin a Day may Keep the Doctor Away
Want to slow memory loss after 60? A multivitamin may be the answer.
A group taking a multivitamin was two years younger in memory function than a group taking a placebo, research shows
It is the third in a series of studies assessing the cognitive effects of a daily multivitamin on older adults. And a systematic review, or meta-analysis, of the three studies accompanying the most recent paper said their cumulative results were similar: The group taking a multivitamin was two years younger in memory function compared with the group taking a placebo.
And don’t forget exercising and keeping your mind busy by reading and doing puzzles. If you are retired and watching cable TV and Fox News all day, doubt balanced meals or vitamins are going to help.
Common Sense Suggestions
Our best brain tips for a healthier, happier life
“0Exercise your body, eat fiber-rich foods, stay social and do hard things. These are some of the habits of “SuperAgers.” They are the “Betty Whites of the world,” says Emily Rogalski, a cognitive neuroscientist at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/12/14/brain-mental-health-best-tips/
If You Only Do 5 Exercises, a Physical Therapist Says These Are the Most Effective for Keeping You Pain-Free
f the time or energy you have to move your body is limited—or maybe you’re just easing into this whole fitness thing—rather than rushing through a complicated, multi-part workout, a better strategy can be honing in on just a few specific exercises to prevent injuries and common problems like back pain. Because, although there are hundreds of moves out there with different benefits for your body, you don’t need to do them all to stay healthy and pain-free.
Plank
One of the most loved and hated core exercises around gets top billing in this list. “Planks work your core stability and endurance, which helps with overall balance and stability as well as protecting your spine,”
Directions: Hold your body in the top of a push-up position. Aim to hold for 60 seconds at a time.
Step-ups
Exaggerating the act of going upstairs by working one leg at a time is a great way to build strength and balance.
Directions: Using the bottom of a staircase or a sturdy four- to eight-inch tall step stool, step up onto one leg. Place your hands on a railing, counter, or other surface if you feel imbalanced. Slowly lower yourself back down, then step back up. Repeat 10 to 15 times for three sets on each leg.
Side-lying hip abduction
Dr. Behenna says she has seen dramatic improvement in clients when they learn to activate and strengthen their glutes, and these leg lifts are a great way to target the gluteus medius in particular.
Directions: Lie down on one side of your body. Bend the bottom knee and keep the top knee straight. Lift the top, straight leg in the air, keeping your heel slightly behind your hip. Lower back down. Repeat 10 to 15 times, for three sets.
Heel and toe raises
Working your calves will help keep you mobile by building strength and lengthening these often tight, knotted muscles. You’ll also activate the small muscles in your feet to help create a stable base for walking.
Directions: Stand next to a counter or railing, holding on with both hands for balance only. Rise up onto your toes, then lower back down. Repeat 30 times, for two sets. Next, keep your heels down and lift your toes up, and repeat 30 times, for two sets.
Hamstring and calf stretches
These stretches are the complement to those heel raises and step ups you just did.
Directions: To stretch your hamstring, sit sideways on the edge of a couch with the outside foot on the floor and the inside leg straight in front of you on the couch. Keeping your knee and back straight, lean forward until you feel a stretch on the back of the thigh. Hold that stretch anywhere from 15 to 30 seconds and repeat three to five times on each leg.
Midlife belly fat linked to increased Alzheimer’s risk
Yet another reason to lose weight 🧐
“People with higher amounts of visceral abdominal fat in midlife may be at increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease”
Nearly Everyone With Mild Cognitive Impairment Goes Undiagnosed
See a CNMRI Neurologist if you’re having memory concerns.
Millions of people over the age of 65 likely have mild cognitive impairment, or MCI—minor problems with memory or decisionmaking that can, over time, turn into dementia. But a pair of recent studies both concluded that 92 percent of people experiencing MCI in the United States are not getting diagnosed at an early stage, preventing them from accessing new Alzheimer’s treatments that may be able to slow cognitive decline if it’s caught soon enough.
https://www.wired.com/story/nearly-everyone-with-mild-cognitive-impairment-goes-undiagnosed/
CNMRI: Neurology, Sleep Medicine, MRI 