New Brain Health Roadmap Announced

On June 10th something wonderful happened, and the media hasn't paid much attention yet. On that day, the National Public health Road Map to Maintaining Cognitive health was released by the CDC and the Alzheimer's Association. The authors proposed a set of 44 actions to reach a lofty goal: To maintain or improve the cognitive performance of all adults across America. This is great timing, given all the research and media attention that this field is getting, and the aging of the baby boomer population.

I want to first share with you the 10 top actions proposed by this report, and then provide a quick glossary to explain the key words that you will hear more and more when discussing brain health.

Top recommendations:

1) To determine how diverse audiences think about cognitive health and its associations with lifestyle factors. This work has all-ready yielded in a phenomenal report on Baby boomers' current opinion of Brain health and fitness, that you can find in the website of the MetLife Foundation.

2) To disseminate the latest science to increase public understanding of cognitive health and to dispel common misconceptions. The discovery of lifelong neuroplasticity and neurogenesis (see glossary below) has given us a new positive view upon the human brain - This is still a concept not many know of. "Use it or lose it" and "Use It and Get More of It" needs to reach all people.

3) Help people understand the connection between risk and protective factors and cognitive health. Protective factors were well summarized in the MacArthur study of successful aging: good nutrition, mental and physical exercise, stress management and social engagement.

4) Assess the literature on risk factors (vascular risk and physical inactivity) and related interventions for relationships with cognitive health. As Dr. Marilyn S. Albert at John Hopkins points it out: All the things that we know are bad for your heart turn out to be bad for your brain.

5) More clinical trials will be conducted to determine the effect of reducing vascular risk factors on lowering the risk of cognitive decline and improving cognitive function. Recent findings presented at International conference on Prevention of Dementia are one big step in the right direction.

6) Further, more research will be conducted on other areas potentially affecting cognitive health such as nutrition, mental activity, and social engagement.

7) The last research focus is on determining the effect of physical activity on reducing the risk of cognitive decline and improving cognitive function.

8) The government will develop a population-based surveillance system to measure the public health burden of cognitive impairment in the United States.

9) Initiate policy changes at the federal, state, and local levels to promote cognitive health by engaging public officials.

10) Brain fitness will be included in Healthy People 2020, a set of health objectives for the nation that will serve as the foundation for state and community public health plans.

This initiative will help people of all ages take more control of our brain health in the same way we care about our nutrition and body health.

Now let's review some of the most relevant concepts in this field. This vocabulary will become familiar to all of us during the next years::

Brain fitness: the general state of good, sharp, brain and mind, especially as the result of mental and physical exercise and proper nutrition.

Brain fitness program: structured set of brain exercises, usually computer-based, designed to train specific brain areas and functions in targeted ways, and measured by brain fitness assessments.

Chronic stress: ongoing, long-term stress. Continued physiological arousal where stressors block the formation of new neurons and negatively impact the immune system's defenses.

Cognitive training: variety of brain exercises designed to help work out specific "mental muscles". The principle underlying cognitive training is to help improve "core" abilities, such as attention, memory, problem-solving, which many people consider as fixed.

Cognitive Reserve: theory that addresses the fact that individuals vary considerably in the severity of cognitive aging and clinical dementia. Mental stimulation, education and occupational level are believed to be major active components of building a cognitive reserve that can help resist the attacks of mental disease.

fMRI: functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a non-invasive neuroimaging technique that enables researchers see images of changing blood flow in the brain associated with neural activity. This allows images to be generated that reflect which structures are activated (and how) during performance of different tasks.

Mindfulness-Based stress reduction (MBSR): yoga and meditation practices designed to enable effective responses to stress, pain, and illness.

Neurogenesis: the process by which neurons are created all throughout our lives.

Neuroplasticity: the brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new connections throughout life.

Exciting times ahead! We should all be looking forward what science will bring us to help develop and grow gracefully as we age.

Alvaro Fernandez is the CEO and Co-Founder of SharpBrains, http://www.sharpbrains.com which provides the latest science-based information for Brain health and Brain exercise, and reviews programs such as MindFit, Posit Science, emWave, IntelliGym, Cogmed, and more. Dozens of publications, such as Scientific American Mind, CBS, Forbes, MSNBC, seattle times, New York Post, have highlighted SharpBrains website and information. Check http://www.sharpbrains.com/hottopics

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Belly Fat: Enough of That! One Probable Cause of Excess Abdominal Fat

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor; nor do I play one on TV. As a matter of fact, I don't even watch the actors, who play the doctors on TV. I am a researcher, extraordinaire. I research, "the research."

health statements made by this writer have not been evaluated by the food and drug Administration. They are not intended to diagnose, treat, mitigate, cure or prevent any disease. Nor are they intended as medical advice and should not be used for the purpose of self-diagnosis. Consult your personal physician regarding all medical problems and concerns...

There's more fat around the bellies of American men women and children now, then there was 20 years back.

What's up with that?

The truth is, there are a multitude of theories and reasons which address our battle with the belly. My aim is to focus on one, probable cause; and then share one, dynamic solution.

Let's begin with a review of Anatomy 101. The colon. The colon is also known as the large intestine. It is a long, muscular tube, about six feet in length that orchestrates the digestive process. As you chew your food, your body releases enzymes that help with digestion. When your food reaches the stomach, the process continues and, the body's digestive juices break it down even more. after about an hour or so of this, the stomach deposits your food into the small intestine.

after several hours of being in the small intestine, the undigested waste, is transported into the last section of the colon where it is eventually eliminated.

most adolescents have little problems eliminating waste from the colon. This is because there is very little undigested waste sticking along the lining of the colon walls. However, the typical American diet is loaded in fats and enormous amounts of protein which have a propensity to deposit left behind, waste in the colon. As such, it's during your post-adolescent years that the interior of the colon walls gradually become smaller and smaller.

Imagine a pipe accumulating years of interior rust. This causes a narrowing of its original diameter. Well, this is pretty much what happens to your colon over time. That is why there may be more force required to eliminate fecal matter. Elimination is supposed to require little effort. However, because your colon's walls are lined with debris, you strain. "Straining" is indicative of a blocked colon.

A blocked colon leaves food behind to rot in the digestive tract: Therefore, the final process of digestion is not completed. The debris then rots and candida albicans, bacteria and toxins take residence. Food which is undigested in the colon contributes to colon cancer. John Wayne, the world famous western actor, died from complications of colon cancer. It is said that he had more than 40 pounds of undigested food in his colon.

Mucoid plaque consists of the layers of mucous and rotting food which compact themselves year after year along the entire length of the digestive tract (Anderson). But here's the thing, this plaque forms in the intestine and continues to produce mucous as a normal response to the undigested food. Food is not supposed to just sit there and rot. Our body is designed to store three meals at any given time (Jensen), but most Americans are storing six to twelve! Mucous is not powerful enough to move the toxic, enzyme-free sludge left behind from fake, chemically-laced and high-processed foods such as, "wieners," "supreme burritos," and double orders of chili fries.

However, as a natural defense mechanism, your body continues to produce more and more mucous. This causes the colon to grow in diameter and create the appearance of belly fat. So, if you are doing dozens of crunches and other "ab work" and can't seem to lose the belly fat, it's probable that you have undigested food rotting in your colon.

In his book, Cleanse and Purify, Dr. Richard Anderson documents what another medical doctor (who requested anonymity) shared at a seminar:

"I have spent twelve years working in the field of post-mortem diagnosis. I have seen many thousands of dissected cadavers. What Rich is telling you is the absolute truth. Everybody has it in there. We have a way of attaching a hose to the upper intestines and with the aid of powerful chemicals, we literally blow the stuff right out of the intestines. I have seen the heavy 'beer belly' and so called fat people lose all that bulk in five minutes. It wasn't fat. It was the mucoid layer that Rich was talking about. And, in that filthy substance we see all sorts of worms, bacteria, fungi, and many unidentifiable things. It is almost unbelievable that people can live with that filth in them. All these people were dead of course, and it wasn't hard to see why" (Anderson p2-46)

Unbelievable!

A VIABLE SOLUTION FOR A PROBABLE CAUSE

Colon hydrotherapy- is a powerful enema performed by a licensed professional. It has an immediate affect and flushes out old, putrefied food and debris from the colon. Many doctors have stated that rotten food can be removed with this hydro-cleanse.

Maintenance:

Reduce or completely eliminate white dressings, ice cream, processed sugar, candy and creamy soups.

Increase the fiber in your diet. Make broccoli, beans, fruits and nuts the norm.

And finally, exercise and drink plenty of clean, fresh water throughout the day.

It won't be long before you begin saying:

"What happened to my belly fat? Oh, I had enough of that!"

References

Jensen, Bernard ---Empty Harvest

Guyton, AC, MD ---Textbook of Medical Physiology

Martin, Simon --- Intestinal Permeability

Anderson, Richard, MD --- Cleanse and Purify

Fran Briggs is an author and motivational speaker. She is also the President of The Fran Briggs Companies, an organization dedicated to the personal and professional development of individuals and groups around the globe. The company's personal development website offers a free, exciting twice-monthly newsletter that helps you live a happier, healthier and wealthier life. Please visit http://www.franbriggs.com and http://www.dwjd.info for more information.

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