Training for memory to make the brain sparkle

I am so inspired by "Redesign your Brain", that I am undertaking to memorize the deck of cards.  Here is how to do it.

1. Place the cards around your house, three to a room.
2. Give each card three characteristics a person, an action and an object.
3. I wrote all this onto a list.
4. To aid your memory, in your mind, visit each room in your house to help recall the three cards of that particular room.
5. To reproduce the deck from memory "walk through the rooms of your house" threading a story using either the name, or object or the action.

I am giving it my best shot.  I have really enjoyed myself practicing. It requires so much concentration that I cannot be stressed or distracted by the usual dramas of daily life

Self Defence for Seniors - Great new program at NAC

Golden Canes at Nundah Activity Centre, Jenner Street, Nundah, is a self-defence program embracing the philosophies of self-awareness, self-reliance and self-esteem to ‘build’ stronger seniors in body, mind and spirit.  Interest can also be registered on www.goldencanes.com.au.
People have given me great feedback about this program.  The presenter is great.  Saturday mornings 8.30am to 9.30am (Gold coin donation).

Nutritionists at Nac

The Nutrtition students, Claire and Laura have concluded their six-week practical training at the Nundah Activity Centre.  During this time they gave lectures to the PFI group and visited individuals.  As well, they conducted a cooking demonstration with nutritious, easy recipes. These recipes have been filmed and posted on You Tube.

Check out the links to the videos.

http://www.youtube.com/user/NACNutrition

A field trip to Brisbane Hydrotherapy at Aspley

The new hydrotherapy pool is opened at Aspley, 605 Robinson Road, to be precise.  The Aspley class had a field trip.  We met Julie Harris who showed us around the beautiful facility.  It has two pools one for a workout:  deep water running, my favourite, and water walking,  The other pool for hydrotherapy,  physio treatment in the pool. Ahhhhh lovely and warm for sore backs, and tired muscles. 

The facility was purpose built for hydrotherapy.  I wish Judy Larsen and Julie Harris all the best for their exciting new venture and I hope to be in the beautiful water myself soon.
Have a look for yourself, they said you can pop in anytime and have a look
Here is the link.

 www.brisbanehydrotherapy.com.au

Hydrotherapy at Aspley

Brisbane Hydrotherapy

After class I was at the Robinson Road, Coles and I bumped into Judy Larsen and Julie Harris. They had formerly run the Wesley Hospital Hydrotherapy pool.  They are physiotherapists who work in a heated pool. Judy and Julie train other physios Australia and overseas in hydrotherapy and are leaders in the field.

They have opened a beautiful Hydrotherapy centre on the top floor of the Coles building coles called Brisbane hydrotherapy. They are keen for the my class members to come and see.  I have arranged for the aspley class to have a tour of the facility on Monday after class at 11.00am, 8th July.

They are happy to show anyone around and answer any questions. They are keen.

Here is the link to their web page.  Have a look for yourself.

http://hydrotherapybrisbane.com.au

Nac Pfi the home stretch final assessment appointment times

Hi Folks,
The lovely Jacky, the physio is back home and is ready for action tomorrow.  Here are the appointment times.

Name	Time
Althea	10 am
Dan and Fay	10.30 am
Fred and Norma	11 am
Ngaire	11.30
Mary Claire	12
Carol	12.30

On you tube - Nac pfi

The nutrtionistas have prepared the video application for the funding for the Promoting functional independence (pfi) smart phone app. 

Here is the link which is a good summary of our group's work.  Just click onto the link and check it out: --.www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHv-l4_XBho

 

Nac Pfi Life Tec Visits

 Thanks Life Tec, and Anne Livingstone for a great day. Great to see Maggie from the Sandgate Sandbags and the nutritionistas, Claire and Laura.  Great turn out by the NAC PFI group.  I visited, too, but all by myself. The Life Tec centre is very impressive.  It dominates the skyline like a big cathedral. Jean took me around and I was able to ask Katie, the OT, questions on behalf of my dad.

I liked the kitchen, the large print screen, the office gear, the lounge chair. My favourite thing was the handle for the vacuum cleaner.  It allows a person to stand up straighter so its easier on the wrist and on the back.

Life Tec's great skyline - within the shopping complex and set against the hills of Newmarket

Inclusive, funky signage. 

Jean our guide in the "happening" smart kitchen

Dan, Carol, Claire and Jean the finer points

Mary Clare, Fay, Norma, Althea, hands on, in the kitchen  Laura, Fred in the background

Jean demonstrating one of the many handy kitchen gadgets - an opening ceremony

My favourite things - the kettle and

 the gardening gear, I would say that.

who would have thought a toilet would be so interesting? -  At Life Tec, Yes.

Jean in the smart kitchen - the class in rapt attention, Norma, Althea

Life Tec's clever bed

Close inspection by Dan and Carol and Claire

I love this kitchen, so many smart ideas

Great Nutrtion Ideas

Here is a great web link for fantastic healthy grain recipes.  The New York Times, Health Pages. It is well worth a look.  I have set up a link:-

well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/14/small-grains-big-nutrition/?ref=health

Nutrionistas are here

NAC PFI 

Nutrition Students from University are undertaking a six week practical training at Nundah Activity Centre.
Their activities include:-

•  Visiting each member of our group to discuss healthy nutrition
• Accompanying the group on its visit to the LifeTec centre
• Delivering lectures and cooking demonstrations to our PFI group as well as to the respite group.

Extra Ordinary News - Game-Changers

There have been a number of news items, published lately, which may alter things to come in a major way. 

Could back pain come from a Bacteria?

This sounds nuts, doesn't it?. There is a Danish sturdy of those who suffered back pain which found 40 per cent of their back pain sufferers had a bacterial infection similar to acne.  There are implications here.  What if the cure for your backpain is to take an antibiotic.  Let's remember that not very long ago everyone "knew" that a stomach ulcers was caused by stress.

A DNA Test for that Tumour

Scientists can study the dna of a cancer tumour and determine precisely what treatment to give it based  on its composition.  This may mean an exact dose as well as a more accurate chemotherapy can be delivered which targets the cancer and leave your other cells alone.

"Teaming" with microbes  - The best way to clean the baby's dummie?

Turns out, everyone knows, 'cept me, that the best way to clean a baby's dummy that has been spat out on the floor is in the mother's mouth.  The bacteria from the mother is much better for the baby, than the dirt on the floor.   Each of us has a unique array of bacteria, on our skin, in our mouth, in our gut.  This bacteria is essential for good health. When we take antibioticis, we are knocking out the good bacteria, as well as the bad, so it is a good idea to restore it with some probiotics.  It was recommended that my dad take it for six weeks. 
Other studies have indicated that the health of your gut depends on the health of your gut flora. The implications could be that we are given a dose of our own "biotics" to restore our health.  Wow.

NAC PFI Into the digital age

"There was movement at the station for the word had passed around......." or rather, let me paraphase Banjo, there was recording at the homestead...

I have compiled a class for the 2.00pm session on Wednesday 22nd May at 2.00pm. The room will be set up for action. i.e. chairs, but no tables. The class will be broadcast on the screen and hopefully you will be able to have an exercise class together by following the action. Good Luck. Feel free to pause the action if you need a pit stop or a drink.

As well if you would like to repeat a section, just rewind. When the class is finished stay behind and have a chat if you like. The class itself will only last for about 30 minutes. so you should be able to wrap it up about 2.45pm.




Meanwhile work on those smart goals.

Think about whatever you would like to discuss with the nutritionist.

Keep moving - not just one, but all four types of exercise.

Endurance,

Strength,

Stretch and

Balance.

New way to comment on the blog anonymously

I have changed the set up of the blog and now it is easier to comment.  You no longer need a google account to make a comment.  However, you will have to type the two words that appear.  This is a safeguard to prevent "robot" programs flooding the blog.

So have a go.  If you can't read the two words, just press the renew and it will generate two new words that may be easier.  Leave a space between the words.

NAC PFI Week Three Group Session

NAC PFI

WEEK THREE      

In week three, we had another session at Nundah Activity Centre.  We took advantage of the school holidays and had our entire session in the big hall.  The team at the centre set the big screen up for us and I had the microphone.

Smart Goals from Fred -  Ballroom dancing on the screen

We enjoyed a warm up – walking in a circle, and then some squats, then Tai Chi. There are important principles of Tai chi, which are more important than the moves.  As well, Tai chi helps with balance.

We talked about smart goals and goal setting – Fred shared his “goal setting story

Then we moved into digital mode.  Mary Clare told us she was heading overseas and would keep in touch via the internet.

Meanwhile, we had another look at the blog.

We took the questionnaire which tried to pinpoint our computer skills

Computer Questions

1.      Can you type? 

Dan, Carol and Norma practicing Tai Chi

2.      Can you send a text message?

3.      Can you type a word document?

4.      Can you open an account?

5.      Can you print a document?

6.      Can you receive emails?

7.      Can you compose and send an email message?

Warming up in the Circle

8.      Can you read a blog?

9.      Can you comment on a blog?

10.  Can you write a blog?

Any other questions

We drew a picture of the “Pie Graph “of the Australian Dietary guidelines.

We all made appointments with Jacky for reassessments and appointments with Ann for some intensive work at home. 

We acquainted ourselves with the “good bladder habits”

 Functional Independence

This is about Functional Independence.  This means we manage our optimal lives, in our own homes.  So in week four, we have a bit more practice at home, there is no scheduled- group gathering.

Week Five Reassessment

Practice our strength and balance at home and see if those assessment scores can be improved.  Jacky will be at the centre for the interim assessments on Friday 26^th April.  I will be coming down from the range, as well.

Good luck everyone. See you Friday

Full Cream Milk May Offer Protection from Cardiovascular Disease

Some class members tipped me off to this study from our own Queensland Institute of Medical Research QIMR.
This was a large study nearly 1,600 people, which looked at people for 14 years.  The conclusion was that consumption of full cream dairy milk did not predict premature death from heart disease, in fact the contrary.  Full cream dairy may offer protection.
In my opinion, the more "whole" the food is, the better.  The more we mess about with food the more we miss out on micro nutrients and enzymes, which we don't yet understand.


So here is the QIMR media release in full:-

Full-fat dairy not responsible for heart attack deaths

A new Australian study has found that eating full-fat dairy may reduce the risk of cardiovascular-related death.

Dr Jolieke van der Pols from the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) said this is a surprising but not unfounded result.

“There are other studies that suggest that certain fats in dairy may be protective for cardiovascular disease (CVD),” said Dr van der Pols from QIMR’s Cancer and Population Studies Group.

“We found that people with the highest intake of full-fat dairy had 70% less chance of death by heart disease or stroke than those who had the lowest intake of full-fat dairy.”

“It is possible that milk fat may contain nutrients that counteract the expected negative effects of the saturated fat in dairy products.”

Scientists surveyed more than 1,500 Australians about their dairy intake over 16 years and found total intake of dairy products was not associated with cardiovascular death.

The study also found that total dairy intake had no correlation to death due to cancer or overall risk of death.

The paper will be published in European Journal of Clinical Nutrition and is available online.Journal article on Full cream dairy milk 

There is more

In addition, more than ten years ago, Readers Digest had an article,which a client brought in to show me.  This article indicated that the consumption of full cream milk may mean that people consume fewer calories overall.  The idea was that consumption of full cream milk is more satisfying and increases the time in which you feel full,  so few calories are consumed

Don't get me started

The difference between margarine and butter.  There is no comparison between the whole food, butter, and margarine. What do they have to do to make a plant into a solid product.  David Gillespie, of "Sweet Poison" fame has written about good oils.  He is saying that we should fussier about the oils we eat.  He does not recommend oil from seed, like canola.
This ties in with my previous post about what is the actual step by step cause of the blockage of the coronary arteries. - see the post  -  04/04.13

Back Pain

Last Monday's Health Report
 There were two interesting stories on back pain. One discusses a completely new way which physiotherapists can regard back pain

 - here is the link:-
link to abc health report back pain

This article discusses Cognitive behavioural Therapy for lower back pain.  It says that changing the way you think about back pain, allows you to relax the muscles and move in a more healthy way.

There was also an article about having an MRI scan for back pain.  The article said it is prescribed when people have extreme pain and yet it does not show the level of pain someone is experiencing.  More importantly, when someone has an MRI that shows some pathology the patient feels worse, because they have evidence.  When the truth is that the MRI, in fact shows the sort of degeneration that is common and that otherpeople may not get the accompanying pain.

here is the link to this one:-

Link to the MRI article

Nac PFI Week 2

This week saw the inclusion of four "little helpers".  We practise our balance in the hall and the kids were great examples.

We look at the causes of falls.

We tackled the computers in a little more detail. Some participants played with the I
pad. We looked at the blog post of the class and hoped that people would comment.

You can see the constellations and satellites on the ipad

For homework. We replied to an email and those who needed tried to open a google account.  Don't worry if you can't manage.  It is tricky and we can tackle it together over the break.

working on the computers

Speaking of the break

After the third lesson we will have a break for a few weeks to go home and practise what we have learned, both the exercise component,and the computer component.  This time allows me to schedule some smaller groups or individual time so we can work on precisely your needs.  This may mean extra exercise coaching, or computer skills, whatever it is that you need.

Functional independence means....

Hence we have been trying to figure out what your Functional Independence needs are.  The closer we can target your needs the better the training or assistance we can offer.

This is the ipad

In week three

We will be reviewing all forms of exercise, and commence the class with Tai Chi. We will review smart goals and look at the Dietary guidelines.  We will look at the good bladder habits.

We will concentrate on computer skills needed to email, search the web, etc.

Habit of the Week

This week, habit of the week.

Take a walk

The weather has become milder and as long as we dodge the showers, it is beautiful out there.  There are many shrub and trees in flower, like a false spring.  The air is crystal clear and clean after all the rain.  So let's head outdoors for a walk.  Remember the sunscreen and the hat.

You can comment.  Let me know where you are walking this week, especially those folks going on holiday.  It will be interesting to find out where you are walking.

My knee is feeling a lot better, so I will be stretching my legs as well. I will keep you posted

Aspley Class - Chi Ball Update

The Chi Ball class with its five distinct elements is great for the mind body and spirit.  It certainly helps me to overcome all the aches and pains from a big weekend of weeding. 

For me, each element builds into an authentic whole experience which is deeply refreshing. The head massage phase of the Release section is, for me, one of the highlights of the class.  It means the deep muscles at the base of the skull get a gentle stretch.  But there are people for whom this is not suitable.

Attention  - a Caution - the Release phase of the class

It came to my attention, while chatting after class, that a number of people experience unpleasant side effects from having the ball at the top of their neck.  I never realized this.  So I am grateful to those who spoke up.  The symptoms ranged from a wave of nausea, to a feeling of vertigo.

This is a warning to all class members.  If you have any of these symptoms during any phase of any class, do stop the exercise immediately, change position, or even walk around stretch your legs, have a drink of water, get some fresh air outside, if you like.

 I will definitely be discussing this with the regular class next week and again when we have a Chi ball class.
Please let me know whether the class is okay for you.  Once again, thanks to class members for the "heads up",

You can comment below, if you like.  Remember, comments here are public, so if you need a private chat, phone me or email me.

How do our coronary arteries get blocked?

Here is my summary of a very interesting article.

This article published in February, 2013.  It came to my attention in the “Melbourne Age” this week because the author, Fred A Kummerow is 98 years old.  He has had a 60-year career in cardiovascular research.  I wonder what I will be doing at 98.

I want to summarize the article, so that it is easier to digest, and in addition, the effort of summarizing will help my own understanding.  I will attach a link to the article. Please feel free to read it for yourself.  I have included the link, below.

One of the new “weapons” against heart attack is a new test.  A friend has just had it.  It is a simple non-invasive test which shows the amount of calcium build up in the branches of the coronary (heart) blood vessels.  This turns out to be a good predictor of trouble, and the calcium is easy to spot on the scan. 

So here is the article, on topic, of the actual chemical pathway of those calcium deposits in the coronary arteries.

Interaction between sphingomyelin and oxysterols contributes to atherosclerosis and sudden death

Am J Cardiovasc Dis. 2013; 3(1): 17–26.

Published online 2013 February 17

I am paraphrasing the article.

Heart disease continues to be the leading cause of death in the United States and in Australia. It turns out that oxidized lipids contribute to heart disease in two ways 1. by increasing deposition of calcium on the arterial wall, a major hallmark of atherosclerosis, and 2. by interrupting blood flow, a major contributor to heart attack and sudden death.

Oxidized cholesterol (oxysterols) increases the production of a substance called sphingomyelin, a phospholipid found in the cellular membranes of the coronary artery. This increases the sphingomyelin content in the cell membrane switches on double calcium ion receptor.  This means calcium will bind to the cell membranes. In addition sphingomyelin also interrupts the flow of blood.  It is a double whammy.

So what are these oxidized cholesterols (oxysterols)?  Wereally need to stay away from these.

They are found in oxidized fats used in commercially fried foods like fish and chips, fried chicken, in other words, fast food. No surprise there, but I never want to eat another chip as long as I live. 

Here is the big surprise. Other sources include:-

 “oxidation of cholesterol in vivo driven by consumption of excess polyunsaturated fatty acids from vegetable oils”  (article sited above).  This means your own body oxidizes the excess of polyunsaturated vegetable oils into oxysterols.  Yikes.

Smoking also leads to the increase production of sphingomyelin. As well, transfats found in some commercially produced, prepared  and pre-packaged foods  are another source of oxysterols.  Unfortunately, In Australia, there is no requirement to list transfats on food labels.

The decrease in smoking – down 43% - is not matched by the equivalent decrease in fatal heart disease  So, the downturn in smoking rates does not go far enough to explain why heart disease is still the leading cause of death in the western world. This article shows there are other factors, which we can control, which reduce our risk of heart attack  and sudden death from heart disease .

Here is a link to the article: - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3584645/

Good Bladder Habits

This is another older blog post with more than 700 views. Here it is:-

"Habit of the Week"  this week comes with a warning.  You may want to go to the toilet just reading about it.  

GOOD BLADDER HABITS

 1.       Drink two litres of fluid per day; include water, juices, and milk. 

Ahhh Coffee - special note.

   Restrict caffeine to 3 cups per day, if you don't have "urge"symptoms; Try and eliminate caffeine if urgency and frequency are problems.

2.    For that two litres go to the toilet 5 – 7 times to pass urine from when you get up to when you go to bed.

3.      Cut out ‘just in case’ visits to the toilet.

4.    Go to the toilet when you have a bouncy full  bladder sensation rather than the urethral sensation

5.    All you life have good bowel function

6.   Never hover or strain to pass urine.

Makes you think about the habits of a lifetime and all those times mum said to go "Just in case".