If Not Now, When?

THIS ISSUE: Keeping Your Brain Young

Table of Contents:

1) Editor's Note
2) Food for Thought
3) Feature Article: Keeping Your Brain Young
4) Teleclasses
5) Question & Answer
6) Our Services

Editor's Note

Hi,

“The best laid plans of mice and men . . .” That's a quote from some famous classic that I can't remember the name of right now. But the meaning isn't lost on me. I mentioned two things last month in my editor's note that caused me to think of that adage now. I said that with the warmer weather I was planning on exercising outside more. I also said that I'd be getting the results of the MRI's I had done on both of my knees. Well the results are in, and I'm not too thrilled. My doctor informed me that I need surgery on both of my knees to deal with torn cartilage in each one. As a matter of fact, by the time you are reading this (if you read it as soon as I publish it)I will be at the hospital undergoing my first of two surgeries. I have to recoup for about six to eight weeks and then have the other one done. Doesn't that sound like fun?

I asked the doc if all these knee injuries (this will be my second and third surgeries) are due to my 45 years of martial arts practice and 30 plus years of running, etc. He says no. He believes it is a combination of heredity (my mom had severe arthritis), getting older, AND all of the punishment I've put on my joints over the years. Oh well, I can't do anything about my heredity or my age. I guess I may have to look at my physical activities to see how they might be modified to keep this from becoming a recurring event every few years.

You'll notice I didn't say that I'm going to stop my physical activities. For me, my aerobic exercise and strength training are not optional items in order for me to be healthy (knees apparently being the exception). And my martial arts practice is an important part of my mental well being. I may consider giving up my active participation in karate, but I hope I never have to stop practicing and teaching aikido.

Anyway. This month my main article has to do with ways to keep your brain young and healthy. Not surprisingly, exercise plays an important part.

Good luck, keep exercising, and remember – "If not now, when?".

Best Wishes,

Tom Manfredi


Send any comments you may have to tom@fitness-after-50.com

My site fitness-after-50.com

Food for Thought

Feature Article - Keeping Your Brain Young

Terms like dementia, memory loss, and Alzheimer's, are of more concern to most of us as we age. Is there anything we can do to reduce the risk or reverse some of the symptoms? Yes, there are several things you can do to try to help keep the brain's wiring working properly past middle age.

It looks like aerobic exercise is probably a good way to help maintain and even increase brain function. A study at the University of Illinois showed that people who did regular aerobic exercise (walking 30 – 60 minutes a day) did better on memory tests than those who walked less than 40 minutes per week. The results of the study indicate that 6 months of regular aerobic exercise can give a person 2 – 3 years of more normal brain functioning. Additionally, regular aerobic exercise can also help protect your brain by cutting your risk of other illnesses that might diminish your memory, such as; diabetes, hypertension, and stroke. There's really no down side to doing regular aerobic exercise.

What about that spare tire around your middle? Researchers studying a group of 6,500 men for 36 years from a Kaiser Permanente managed health care organization found that the risk of dementia was triple for those who had larger middles in middle age. And apparently it's not overall obesity, but belly fat that's the problem.

Why belly fat? It seems that the deeper layer of fat in bigger bellies helps produce hormones that can cause higher levels of insulin. And too much insulin in your body is very closely linked to dementia.

High blood pressure in midlife is also considered to be a risk factor for dementia. How does high blood pressure contribute to harming the brain? It can cause strokes. And even tiny strokes can be responsible for killing off brain cells by cutting off their supply of oxygen.

Staying socially and mentally engaged can help you to stave off memory problems. It's really just a matter of “exercising” you brain more. Even though the brain isn't a muscle, in some ways it responds similarly. Interacting with people on a regular basis and keeping your mind active by reading and doing puzzles or math can help to keep your brain “moving” so it won't become stagnant.

All of the things that have been mentioned are issues that deal directly with many aspects of our health. They are things that we should all be aware of and we should attempt to incorporate activities that will help with these concerns as a regular part of our daily life. Remember that more of the things that cause us health problems are related to what we do (actions or lack of actions) than who we are (heredity).

(c)2005 - 2009 Thomas D. Manfredi, MS

Teleclasses

I will be announcing upcoming teleclasses in this section in the future.

If you have a topic that you would be interested in hearing about in a teleclass, send an e-mail to teleclasses@fitness-after-50.com

Questions and Answers

Answer - Grazing is better than eating just three meals a day. Research shows that eating six mini-meals throughout the day can effectively keep you satisfied and reduce your chances of “snacking”. Make sure that the foods you select are healthy and the total amount of calories for the day doesn't exceed the amount need to maintain or lose weight.


To get more information on various fitness and health issues, please go to my site – www.fitness-after-50.com


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If you have a fitness or nutrition question you would like me to consider answering here in the newsletter, just send your question, along with your first name and city, in an e-mail to quesandansw@fitness-after-50.com

Obviously, I can't answer every question submitted. I will choose one question each month to answer here.

About Our Services

On line fitness coach Tom Manfredi is the creator of the site "fitness-after-50". This site is designed with the mature adult in mind. There is a lot of information available on the site for anyone looking to start or restart a sensible exercise program. Learn more by going to www.fitness-after-50.com



Tom Manfredi, 1218 Easy St., Ste 101, Wickenburg, AZ 85390

Other Services and Information

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