Our orange and mandarin trees are full of fruit. I'm able to eat some fruit straight off the tree every day. I have noticed something special. When the orange tree is in the sun, the fruit gives off the sweetest perfume.
So I am lucky to eat such fresh fruit. There are also some wild raspberries ripening, out of season. I regard them as my vitamin C supplement.
Friday 30 June 2017
Sunday 23 April 2017
Meditation - There's so much evidence
Bridget Schulte, The Washington Post has interviewed a Neuroscientist Sara Lazar, of Harvard,about her personal meditation. She benefitted so much that she changed her research. This is a great article, worth a look , if you are into science, like me.
Here's the link:-
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/wp/2015/05/26/harvard-neuroscientist-meditation-not-only-reduces-stress-it-literally-changes-your-brain/?tid=ss_fb-bottom&utm_term=.cb6759e813e2
Tuesday 11 April 2017
Dancing! For the Brain?
There was an older European lady I knew. In fact, she was in her late eighties. She had completed two degrees since retirement. She took up aqua aerobics with gusto, because she thought she needed to give her body attention - she had already been looking after her brain after all, and it was time to work on her fitness.
Little did we know, however, how beneficial fitness was to the functioning of the brain.
Scientists have known that the white matter in our brains is responsible form transmitting signals. To quote the New York Times:-
"White matter consists of specialised cells and their offshoots that pass messages between neurons and from one part of the brain to another."
As we age our white matter frays and becomes thinner. The fraying of the white matter means our brains'processing speeds slow down as we age.
A study conducted by the University of Illinois, Urbana, wanted to know whether exercise would slow down this fraying process and while they were at it, what type of exercise would be most useful.
This was an interesting experiment because, in addition to testing processing speed of participants' brains. Brain scans were administered to measure their white matter.
The participants were aged 60 to 70 years of age and were divided into three groups.
Three different exercise regimes were undertaken.
1. A walking regime, a total of three hours per week.
2. Stretch and balance class, three times a week
3. Learn country-dancing, three lessons a week
Six months later their white matter was measured and their processing speeds were tested.
Results were amazing and should really cause a stir.
All groups improved in the speed of mental processing. However the brain scans showed a degeneration of the white matter in the six months, to an extent that was surprising even to the researchers.
" The degeneration was especially noticeable in the oldest volunteers and those who had been the most sedentary before joining the study.", New York Times.
Except the dancers, whose white matter IMPROVED. .
What is the lesson here?
Keeping active in old age has consequences for our conserving mental ability. It is worth taking a closer look at the content of the dance class in the study:-
"These men and women showed up to a studio three times a week for an hour and practiced increasingly intricate country-dance choreography, with the group shaping itself into fluid lines and squares and each person moving from partner to partner." New York Times
During our exercise class, we form lines, circles, square. We do partner work. We try to learn new routines. It might just be worth perservering those frustrating new routines, because we lose our marbles from the feet up.
From the New York Times Article by Gretchen Reynolds, "Walk, Stretch or Dance? Dancing may be best for the brain."
Little did we know, however, how beneficial fitness was to the functioning of the brain.
Scientists have known that the white matter in our brains is responsible form transmitting signals. To quote the New York Times:-
"White matter consists of specialised cells and their offshoots that pass messages between neurons and from one part of the brain to another."
As we age our white matter frays and becomes thinner. The fraying of the white matter means our brains'processing speeds slow down as we age.
A study conducted by the University of Illinois, Urbana, wanted to know whether exercise would slow down this fraying process and while they were at it, what type of exercise would be most useful.
This was an interesting experiment because, in addition to testing processing speed of participants' brains. Brain scans were administered to measure their white matter.
The participants were aged 60 to 70 years of age and were divided into three groups.
Three different exercise regimes were undertaken.
1. A walking regime, a total of three hours per week.
2. Stretch and balance class, three times a week
3. Learn country-dancing, three lessons a week
Six months later their white matter was measured and their processing speeds were tested.
Results were amazing and should really cause a stir.
All groups improved in the speed of mental processing. However the brain scans showed a degeneration of the white matter in the six months, to an extent that was surprising even to the researchers.
" The degeneration was especially noticeable in the oldest volunteers and those who had been the most sedentary before joining the study.", New York Times.
Except the dancers, whose white matter IMPROVED. .
What is the lesson here?
Keeping active in old age has consequences for our conserving mental ability. It is worth taking a closer look at the content of the dance class in the study:-
"These men and women showed up to a studio three times a week for an hour and practiced increasingly intricate country-dance choreography, with the group shaping itself into fluid lines and squares and each person moving from partner to partner." New York Times
During our exercise class, we form lines, circles, square. We do partner work. We try to learn new routines. It might just be worth perservering those frustrating new routines, because we lose our marbles from the feet up.
From the New York Times Article by Gretchen Reynolds, "Walk, Stretch or Dance? Dancing may be best for the brain."
And Another Serve
An Apple a day keeps the psychologist away. It was reported on the The Age that eating a high quality diet can reduce the risk of depression. This means extra serves of fruit and veg. If we bump up our daily dose of fruit and vegetables up to between five and seven serves we can reduce the risk of depression. WOW
It gives me pause though. Fruit and Veg! Exercise!
How come that which, literally, makes us feel great, physically and mentally, is what we turn away from at a given moment. We seek comfort instead of movement. We'd rather stay in than go out for a walk or a run. And we choose rich food instead of the good stuff. It makes us feel fine, in the moment, but makes us feel sluggish and heavy afterwards.
Our caveman heritage may have something to do with our moment-to-moment choices. Maybe we are seeking shelter in the cave again. And maybe we are "gorging" on the bounty, in order to prepare for an upcoming famine.
Our environment - obeso-genic
We live in an environment, where not only are we surrounded by the stimulus to eat, it is practically unavoidable. Everywhere there are billboards, commercials on TV cooking shows have practically turned cooking into a religion. And here is a trick, bright coloured packaging of processed foods speaks directly to that ancient hunter-gatherer brain. It's as though we see a bright berry in the forest and we go towards it.(I'm growing cherry tomatoes and my eyes are drawn to the red jewels compulsively).
In addition, the brightly coloured store-bought packet keeps on prompting us as it sits in our home in our pantry, and when we use it and on the way to the bin.
I hate being manipulated by packaging.
More veg
An Apple a day keeps the psychologist away. It was reported on the The Age that eating a high quality diet can reduce the risk of depression. This means extra serves of fruit and veg. If we bump up our daily dose of fruit and vegetables up to between five and seven serves we can reduce the risk of depression. WOW
It gives me pause though. Fruit and Veg! Exercise!
How come that which, literally, makes us feel great, physically and mentally, is what we turn away from at a given moment. We seek comfort instead of movement. We'd rather stay in than go out for a walk or a run. And we choose rich food instead of the good stuff. It makes us feel fine, in the moment, but makes us feel sluggish and heavy afterwards.
Our caveman heritage may have something to do with our moment-to-moment choices. Maybe we are seeking shelter in the cave again. And maybe we are "gorging" on the bounty, in order to prepare for an upcoming famine.
Our environment - obeso-genic
We live in an environment, where not only are we surrounded by the stimulus to eat, it is practically unavoidable. Everywhere there are billboards, commercials on TV cooking shows have practically turned cooking into a religion. And here is a trick, bright coloured packaging of processed foods speaks directly to that ancient hunter-gatherer brain. It's as though we see a bright berry in the forest and we go towards it.(I'm growing cherry tomatoes and my eyes are drawn to the red obeso-genic, compulsively).
In addition, the brightly coloured store-bought packet keeps on prompting us as it sits in our home in our pantry, and when we use it and on the way to the bin. In other words, it's still advertising.
Thursday 6 April 2017
Take a H.I.I.T
As in days of yore, those, in the know, are recommending High Intensity Interval Training H.I.I.T. for older adults. A previous study, from the eighties , in Norway says that high intensity Interval training is not only suitable for older adults, but is recommended for for those even in cardiac rehabilitation. You've got to love Norway. So the very people that we would "tip toe around", and whom we would treat with "kid gloves" turn out to thrive with a bit of huff and puff.
New York Times reports that H.I.I.T is especially beneficial to older adults. It works at the cellular level. The mitochondria are the power houses of the body's cells. As we age, our mitochondria reduce in size and power. What keeps our mitochondria in good shape is some high intensity work. However, with age, our tendons, muscles and ligaments are more inclined to sprain, strain and tear. So while older adults can certainly enjoy the benefits of higher intensity workouts, we need to safeguard ourselves. We must wear correct shoes for safety, and we must warm up to prevent injury. This is where the interval training makes sense. Some intervals classes include high intensity blocks of one minute duration, some 20 seconds duration I believe an older adult can work really hard for 8 seconds...Then take it down to moderate for 12 seconds. Our bodies adapt to the load they are given, so requiring less and less of yourself means actually reduces our capacity. Thus
So included in classes are short intervals of 8 seconds fast and 12 seconds slow. In class we do four sessions of two sets each. This means 8 times altogether. It doesn't seem like much while you sit and read about it , however these intervals are interspersed with our regular aerobic exercise. So we really are seeking to get puffed.
So let's step up to the challenge of High Intensity Interval Training. It just might be the fountain of youth.
New York Times reports that H.I.I.T is especially beneficial to older adults. It works at the cellular level. The mitochondria are the power houses of the body's cells. As we age, our mitochondria reduce in size and power. What keeps our mitochondria in good shape is some high intensity work. However, with age, our tendons, muscles and ligaments are more inclined to sprain, strain and tear. So while older adults can certainly enjoy the benefits of higher intensity workouts, we need to safeguard ourselves. We must wear correct shoes for safety, and we must warm up to prevent injury. This is where the interval training makes sense. Some intervals classes include high intensity blocks of one minute duration, some 20 seconds duration I believe an older adult can work really hard for 8 seconds...Then take it down to moderate for 12 seconds. Our bodies adapt to the load they are given, so requiring less and less of yourself means actually reduces our capacity. Thus
So included in classes are short intervals of 8 seconds fast and 12 seconds slow. In class we do four sessions of two sets each. This means 8 times altogether. It doesn't seem like much while you sit and read about it , however these intervals are interspersed with our regular aerobic exercise. So we really are seeking to get puffed.
So let's step up to the challenge of High Intensity Interval Training. It just might be the fountain of youth.
Tuesday 4 April 2017
Dancing? For your brain!?
There was an older European lady I knew. In fact, she was in her late eighties. She had completed two degrees since retirement. She took up aqua aerobics with gusto, because she thought she needed to give her body some attention - she had already been looking after her brain after all, and it was time to work on her fitness.
Little did we know, however, how beneficial fitness was to the functioning of the brain.
Scientists have known that the white matter in our brains is responsible form transmitting signals. To quote the New York Times*:-
"White matter consists of specialised cells and their offshoots that pass messages between neurons and from one part of the brain to another."
As we age our white matter frays and becomes thinner. The fraying of the white matter means our brains'processing speeds slow down as we age.
A study conducted by the University of Illinois, Urbana, wanted to know whether exercise would slow down this fraying process and while they were at it, what type of exercise would be most useful.
This was an interesting experiment because, in addition to testing processing speed of participants' brains. Brain scans were administered to measure their white matter.
The participants were aged 60 to 70 years of age and were divided into three groups.
Three different exercise regimes were undertaken.
1. A walking regime, a total of three hours per week.
2. Stretch and balance class, three times a week
3. Learn country-dancing, three lessons a week
Six months later their white matter was measured and their processing speeds were tested.
Results were amazing and should really cause a stir.
All groups improved in the speed of mental processing. However the brain scans showed a degeneration of the white matter in the six months, to an extent that was surprising even to the researchers.
" The degeneration was especially noticeable in the oldest volunteers and those who had been the most sedentary before joining the study.", New York Times.
Except the dancers, whose white matter IMPROVED. .
What is the lesson here?
Keeping active in old age has consequences for our conserving mental ability. It is worth taking a closer look at the content of the dance class:-
" These men and women showed up to a studio three times a week for an hour and practiced increasingly intricate country-dance choreography, with the group shaping itself into fluid lines and squares and each person moving from partner to partner." New York Times
During our exercise class, we form lines, circles, square. We do partner work. We try to learn new routines. It might just be worth perservering those frustrating new routines, because we lose our marbles from the feet up.
From the New York Times Article by Gretchen Reynolds, "Walk, Stretch or Dance? Dancing may be best for the brain."
Little did we know, however, how beneficial fitness was to the functioning of the brain.
Scientists have known that the white matter in our brains is responsible form transmitting signals. To quote the New York Times*:-
"White matter consists of specialised cells and their offshoots that pass messages between neurons and from one part of the brain to another."
As we age our white matter frays and becomes thinner. The fraying of the white matter means our brains'processing speeds slow down as we age.
A study conducted by the University of Illinois, Urbana, wanted to know whether exercise would slow down this fraying process and while they were at it, what type of exercise would be most useful.
This was an interesting experiment because, in addition to testing processing speed of participants' brains. Brain scans were administered to measure their white matter.
The participants were aged 60 to 70 years of age and were divided into three groups.
Three different exercise regimes were undertaken.
1. A walking regime, a total of three hours per week.
2. Stretch and balance class, three times a week
3. Learn country-dancing, three lessons a week
Six months later their white matter was measured and their processing speeds were tested.
Results were amazing and should really cause a stir.
All groups improved in the speed of mental processing. However the brain scans showed a degeneration of the white matter in the six months, to an extent that was surprising even to the researchers.
" The degeneration was especially noticeable in the oldest volunteers and those who had been the most sedentary before joining the study.", New York Times.
Except the dancers, whose white matter IMPROVED. .
What is the lesson here?
Keeping active in old age has consequences for our conserving mental ability. It is worth taking a closer look at the content of the dance class:-
" These men and women showed up to a studio three times a week for an hour and practiced increasingly intricate country-dance choreography, with the group shaping itself into fluid lines and squares and each person moving from partner to partner." New York Times
During our exercise class, we form lines, circles, square. We do partner work. We try to learn new routines. It might just be worth perservering those frustrating new routines, because we lose our marbles from the feet up.
From the New York Times Article by Gretchen Reynolds, "Walk, Stretch or Dance? Dancing may be best for the brain."
Tuesday 14 March 2017
"The Power of Habit" by Charles Duhigg,
Thought of the week.
Whatever we practice get get good at. We become efficient, quick and proficient. The things we practice becomes our default setting. So the habit of the week's postural tips, really work if we really do practice. It becomes our new normal.
Spread our dots,- that means expanding the triangle at the top of our chest framed by the imaginary dots at the front of our shoulders and the base of our sternum.. if we practice that 10 to 15 + times per day not only do we actually start to change our body, but we activate neural pathways, those nerve muscle connections. The more we repeat the movement pattern, the stronger those connections become.
However, take care. "Whatever we practice we get good at... " includes all our habits, "bad" habits, too. . Say, eating while watching TV, or biting your nails, smoking or whatever. In "The Power of Habit" Charles Duhigg outlines the simple ABC of a habit
A the stimulus
B the action
C the reward
Ouch, with this model, we need to figure out what ARE the stimulus and reward are, for the nailbiting, smoking or the mindless eating. When we have cracked that little nut, then we can substitute another action in response to to the stimulus.
For example,
A the stimulus ... I feel lonely
B the action. ..... I want to watch tv and eat
C the reward. ...... a feeling of comfort.
This is a tough undertaking, and requires honesty, when your strongly craving that reward, whatever that is, you are at the closest point to understanding the stimuls and therefore the action.
Charles Duhigg's "The Power of Habit" is well worth a read.
Sunday 12 March 2017
Draw the golden thread. Habit of the Week. - HOW
It's still too hot to seriously consider running around. So this week's habit/homework is another posture shaper.
Draw the golden thread upwards.
Firstly you need to imagine a line the extends from the earth through the soles of our feet, up through our legs and body, finally through the crown of our head. It needs to be a straight line.
Then by pulling upwards with thread, we not only improve the alignment of your body, neck and head, we lengthen. This makes movements like turning and twisting more easy. And, if we're lucky, the more we move, the better we feel.
.
Draw the golden thread upwards.
Firstly you need to imagine a line the extends from the earth through the soles of our feet, up through our legs and body, finally through the crown of our head. It needs to be a straight line.
Then by pulling upwards with thread, we not only improve the alignment of your body, neck and head, we lengthen. This makes movements like turning and twisting more easy. And, if we're lucky, the more we move, the better we feel.
.
Saturday 11 March 2017
An Extra Serve*
The New York Times reports that an extra serve of vegetables per day can reduce the risk of COPD**, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, up to 8%. This has significance for current and former smokers.
That's a powerful statistic for us all. I am not even a smoker, but I am telling everyone this story, so we can marvel at the healing power of veg.
Vegetables are superfoods.
They feed our gut bacteria, who seem to be more important with every passing day.
Their fibre keeps us regular.
Vegies help us "eat the rainbow", thus reducing inflamation and maybe even our risk of cancer.
Eating our vegetables is good for the planet. Far fewer emissions of greenhouse gas is required to produce a carrot, than say, a steak.
You can grow your own - If you dont have a garden, you might have a patio, or a pot to grow herbs. A day with parsley is a sad day, indeed.
Sprouts count too. You don't need an acre to sprout a handful of mung beans. They are nutrition dynamite.
I'm trying to "pimp" my meals by increasing the amount of vegetables each evening. I am seeking to become a better cook of vegetarian meals. I'm curious about good cuisine so when we go out, I'll order vegetarian. Do you have any great vegetarian recipes?
Breaking news! I just heard the statistic that on average an one third of the food consumed by Australians is processed food. Yikes!
* In Australian slang "to give someone a serve" means to scold or reprimand them. Ha
**COPD is a group of lung diseases that block airflow and make it difficult to breathe. According to the Mayo clinic
"Emphysema and chronic bronchitis are the most common conditions that make up COPD. Damage to the lungs from COPD can't be reversed."
That's a powerful statistic for us all. I am not even a smoker, but I am telling everyone this story, so we can marvel at the healing power of veg.
Vegetables are superfoods.
They feed our gut bacteria, who seem to be more important with every passing day.
Their fibre keeps us regular.
Vegies help us "eat the rainbow", thus reducing inflamation and maybe even our risk of cancer.
Eating our vegetables is good for the planet. Far fewer emissions of greenhouse gas is required to produce a carrot, than say, a steak.
You can grow your own - If you dont have a garden, you might have a patio, or a pot to grow herbs. A day with parsley is a sad day, indeed.
Sprouts count too. You don't need an acre to sprout a handful of mung beans. They are nutrition dynamite.
I'm trying to "pimp" my meals by increasing the amount of vegetables each evening. I am seeking to become a better cook of vegetarian meals. I'm curious about good cuisine so when we go out, I'll order vegetarian. Do you have any great vegetarian recipes?
Breaking news! I just heard the statistic that on average an one third of the food consumed by Australians is processed food. Yikes!
* In Australian slang "to give someone a serve" means to scold or reprimand them. Ha
**COPD is a group of lung diseases that block airflow and make it difficult to breathe. According to the Mayo clinic
"Emphysema and chronic bronchitis are the most common conditions that make up COPD. Damage to the lungs from COPD can't be reversed."
Thursday 9 March 2017
Move more, hospital less
Newcastle University has conducted an interesting study which shows that middle aged people can reduce their number days in hospital by walking a little extra.
Not even the famous 10,000 steps are required
Researchers showed in a commendabley long study that, in middle aged people, increasing the number of steps per day from 4,500 to 8,300 hospital stays were reduced between 4% and 8%. And even 1000 extra steps were shown accrue some benefit.
The study was able to be carried out for such a long period of time that participants' data was collected after the first two years elapsed. This interval removed any short term benefits from the exercise itself and so researchers were able to look at really long term benefits.
Yeah but!
And there's always a "but" the most benefit, naturally accrued to the least active person. It makes sense:- a marathon runner is not going to be benefitting in any meaningful way from a few thousand extra steps.
Every step counts - the good news
Walking out to the letterbox, going to class, even a gentle class is more than 3,000 steps. Also aqua aerobics counts. You can even sneak in a few steps while waiting for the bus, standing in one place, just shift your weight from one foot to the other. No one will even notice.
Here's the rub. We can't afford not to exercise
Exercise trends come and go, exercise theories come and go, but the benefits are real and measurable for the individual and for society.
Not even the famous 10,000 steps are required
Researchers showed in a commendabley long study that, in middle aged people, increasing the number of steps per day from 4,500 to 8,300 hospital stays were reduced between 4% and 8%. And even 1000 extra steps were shown accrue some benefit.
The study was able to be carried out for such a long period of time that participants' data was collected after the first two years elapsed. This interval removed any short term benefits from the exercise itself and so researchers were able to look at really long term benefits.
Yeah but!
And there's always a "but" the most benefit, naturally accrued to the least active person. It makes sense:- a marathon runner is not going to be benefitting in any meaningful way from a few thousand extra steps.
Every step counts - the good news
Walking out to the letterbox, going to class, even a gentle class is more than 3,000 steps. Also aqua aerobics counts. You can even sneak in a few steps while waiting for the bus, standing in one place, just shift your weight from one foot to the other. No one will even notice.
Here's the rub. We can't afford not to exercise
Exercise trends come and go, exercise theories come and go, but the benefits are real and measurable for the individual and for society.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)