Health

This Is Your Brain

March 14, 2012 at 12:45 pm , by Amelia Harnish

Remember that out-there PSA where the guy holds up an egg (your brain) and cracks it into a pan? Then, as the egg fries, he says: “This is your brain on drugs.” Well, it may be time for another “your brain on…” PSA, but this time it would be about how to make your “egg” healthier.

Experts used to think that there was no way to prevent dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. But a slew of research from the past two years is starting to chip away at that, according to renowned Baltimore neurologist Majid Fotuhi, M.D., a member of our Medical Advisory Board. This week, he published a review in the prestigious journal Nature that covers what you can do to protect your brain from aging and dementia.

“It turns out your brain is not a fixed structure like your nose or ears,” Dr. Fotuhi says. “There are lots of things people can do to expand the size of their brain, and especially the part of their brain responsible for memory, called the hippocampus.”

It almost sounds too simple, but when it comes to your brain, bigger is actually better. Brain shrinkage is one of the main symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, and several studies show having a large hippocampus improves your memory and protects you from dementia. So what works? Here are a few things that can change your brain—in a good way.

Exercise
Just three months of aerobic exercise can increase the size of your hippocampus enough that it can be seen by the naked eye on a brain scan, according to one study. Walk a mile a day or do 45 minutes of more vigorous aerobic activity three times a week.

Meditation
Stress and depression can shrink your brain, but meditation may protect you from it. Studies show that people who practice mindful meditation techniques can grow their hippocampus in as little as eight weeks, according to the review.

Learning
“Your brain cells are like your muscle cells. Use them or lose them,” Dr. Fotuhi says. By building new connections, your brain gets stronger and stays in shape longer. Take a class in a foreign language, learn to play chess or start reading up on a complicated topic.

For more on Alzheimer’s, read Lauren Bernstein’s darkly funny essay about worrying that every little memory lapse is a sign of impending dementia. How does she keep a sunny outlook when her family history puts her at risk?

Photo copyright pressmaster—Fotolia.com

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The New Preventable Epidemic

March 6, 2012 at 2:46 pm , by Julie Bain

I remember my dad saying that one of the few regrets he had in life was not taking better care of his teeth. By his 60s he had lost many of them and hated his dentures. He was typical; in fact, 43 percent of adults 65 and older have lost six or more teeth because of decay or gum disease, according to the CDC.

I have regrets, too. During college and the low-income years as a newbie journalist that followed, I procrastinated on my dental visits, too. The result? Several root canals and a couple of mega-expensive metal implants. Thousands of dollars and quite a bit of pain later, I learned my lesson for good. Now I see my dentist every six months like clockwork—and that definitely saves money in the long run. (Read our award-winning article by Sharlene Johnson on how to save on dental care here.)

But taking care of your teeth and gums saves you more than money—it could even save your life. Gum disease creates a nasty type of bacteria that can travel throughout your body, causing inflammation or infections that may lead to heart disease, stroke, diabetes or pneumonia. In rare cases, oral infections can be fatal. Even in kids.

Yes, kids. And now there’s a new demographic whose teeth we need to worry about: preschoolers. A shocking story on page 1 of The New York Times today by Catherine Saint Louis is a must-read for any parent. In it, she writes that “dentists nationwide say they are seeing more preschoolers at all income levels with 6 to 10 cavities or more. The level of decay, they added, is so severe that they often recommend using general anesthesia because young children are unlikely to sit through such extensive procedure while they’re awake.” (Read it here, including really good advice from dentists.)

My jaw dropped when I read this article. In it, several dentists talk about using general anesthesia on very young kids who needed extensive work, including root canals and crowns. Apparently this has gotten pretty common. The culprit? Endless snacking and juices. And not brushing kids’ teeth. Parents need to step up to the plate on this vital health issue. Using general anesthesia on kids is risky—and really expensive. Dental problems can lead to lifelong health problems and reduced quality of life. And most important, it’s all preventable. You won’t regret it.

Photo copyright soupstock—Fotolia.com

 

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Work Out Like an Olympian In 15 Minutes or Less

February 29, 2012 at 11:00 am , by Anna Schonauer

If there is anyone I trust to give me advice about how to stay in shape, it’s an Olympic athlete—after all, it’s their job to keep their bodies in perfect condition. So when I was invited to my first event as an intern for Ladies’ Home Journal, I was thrilled I’d be hearing four-time Gold Medalist and Olympic swimmer Janet Evans talk about how she stays healthy. Remember her? That’s her with her medals, which earned her the nickname “Miss Perpetual Motion.” Now at 40, Evans is still going strong, training for her fourth Olympic Games.

Since her last appearance in the 1996 games in Atlanta, Evans’ main focus has been her husband and two children, Jack and Sydney. (She’s also partnered with Metamucil to teach women about the importance of getting enough fiber in their diets—something we should all do). Now she’s pushing herself harder than ever—spending five hours in the pool every day, and usually starting by 5:30 in the morning. “You don’t have to work out like me—that’d be crazy! But even just 15 minutes a day can be really good for you,” she said.

As a busy student, I know that after I’ve spent 8 to 10 hours of my day at work, class, or sometimes both, it’s hard to motivate myself to get to the gym. But guess what? You really don’t have to! She recommends doing basic planks, squats and lunges at home or outside. After hearing Evans’ encouragement (she should really consider coaching), her Olympian-approved exercises seem really doable. Planks are great for working your core muscles, she says. And for your lower body, squats and lunges always get the job done. “Even I still get sore from those,” she adds. (That’s me, below left, with the Journal‘s health editorial assistant Amelia Harnish practicing our lunges. How’s our form?)

Planks

• Lie on your stomach with your elbows close to your sides and directly under your shoulders, with your palms down and fingers facing forward.
• Slowly lift your torso and thighs off the floor. Be sure to keep your torso and legs rigid. Your shoulders should be directly over your elbows. Try holding this position for 5 seconds or more.
• Keeping your torso and legs stiff, slowly lower your body back toward the floor.

Squats

• Begin standing with your feet positioned slightly wider than hip-width. Your hands should be by your side with your palms facing inward.
• Slowly hinge at the hips, shifting them back and down. Your hips and knees should bend simultaneously. Continue to lower yourself until your thighs are almost parallel to the floor.
• Return to start position by slowly pushing your feet into the floor through your heels. Start with 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps and try to increase that as you get stronger.

Lunges

• Stand with your feet together. Lift one foot off the floor and find your balance on the standing leg. Step forward, landing on the heel first. Slowly shift your weight onto your front foot.
• Continue lowering your body to a comfortable position or until your thigh is parallel with the floor.
• Push off with your front leg to return to the upright starting position. Repeat with your other leg. Do 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps, alternating each leg, and work up from there as it gets easier.

For more simple exercises you can do at home, check out the American Council on Exercise’s collection here.

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Get-Fit Clicks

February 28, 2012 at 12:22 pm , by jbrown

* Could yoga become an Olympic sport? The organizers of next month’s National Yoga Asana Championship hope so; other practitioners aren’t so enthused. (MSNBC)

* The dilemma: You know you need your omega-3s but you’re not a big fan of fish (one of the best sources of those crucial fatty acids.) The solution: Get ‘em from these 8 vegetarian sources. (HuffPo)

* True or false: Agave is a healthier alternative to sugar. (Greatist)

* Tone your thighs with these squat- and lunge-free fitness moves. (FitSugar)

* Bored with your workout DVDs? Our friends at Fitness rounded up a slew of new reader-tested options. (Fitness)

 

Image via Shutterstock.

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We Love Our High Heels

February 23, 2012 at 10:26 am , by Julie Bain

At the Saks flagship store shoe sale recently (yes, its shoe department really is big enough to have its own zip code!), I was mesmerized by table after table loaded with five-, six- and even seven-inch heels—all marked down. “So this must mean that the giant platform high-heel craze is on the wane?” I asked the dapper salesguy standing nearby.

“Not at all,” he replied. “You should see the styles that are just coming in!” So okay, I bought the five-inch pair above.

Our fashion editor, Sue Erneta, agrees that shoes aren’t coming down to earth quite yet. “We’re still seeing tons of high, high, high heels,” she says. She loves the platform styles because at 5-foot-1, she says they give her the lift she needs. “And a platform in a high heel is much easier to walk in—especially if it has a chunkier heel for stability,” she says (although her leopard-print pumps, left, don’t have that). She pulls one off and demonstrates how to subtract the platform height (an inch) from the heel height (four inches) to get the adjusted actual lift (a mere three). Sue’s Algorithm: Is this the new math?

There is also a return to the more classic, ladylike pump without a platform, she says (like the one my fellow healthlady, Jessica, is wearing, below). Some of them are super-pointy, too. Those can really mess up your feet! “I don’t wear anything I find uncomfortable,” says Sue. Hmm. Fashion editors may have a different pain threshold than us mere mortals.

Still, we have to admit, we love our high heels. That’s why we created our story “Killer Heels” in the March issue, with everything you need to know about skyscrapers and the foot problems they can cause. We know you can’t give them up completely. Neither can we. Hey, we believe that with sexy shoes—as with all things chocolate—moderation is the key.

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Get-Fit Clicks

February 21, 2012 at 12:38 pm , by jbrown

* If you’re as klutzy as I am—which is very—you might want to try one of these spill-proof reusable water bottles. (FitSugar)

* Trying to drop a few pounds? Here’s how to shed the fat without losing muscle. (HuffPo)

* Why many people who buy gluten-free foods are wasting their money. (MSNBC)

* EatingWell ranks the healthiest and unhealthiest Girl Scout cookies. Naturally all my favorites are in the “worst” category. (EatingWell)

 

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Worth Celebrating: Your Heart!

February 9, 2012 at 11:24 am , by Amelia Harnish

When I think of February, I think of red—lots of it. Not because of all the cheesy (but fun) Valentine’s Day stuff, but because it’s American Heart Month. February doesn’t really start until that first Friday when we celebrate National Wear Red Day.

Did you participate last week? (We did! That’s us, the @lhjHealthLadies on Twitter, above.) This year, Go Red for Women is hosting a challenge on its Facebook page to spotlight its most spirited supporters. All you have to do is submit a photo of you and your coworkers or friends (or pet!) wearing red. Then, until February 23 people can vote via “Likes” on their faves. Winners will be announced February 25.

Here at the Journal we start gearing up for February way in advance, when we plan our heart health coverage for the magazine. Yes, some of it can be glamorous—like the beautiful photos we shot of a model hooked up to an EKG (below) for this year’s story. But the real reason we devote pages to cholesterol, blood pressure and the myths and realities of heart disease is that unfortunately, it is still the number one killer of American women. And women between the ages of 35 to 54 appear to be dying from it at an increasing rate, despite decreasing rates among other groups. This year, we also learned that nearly half of women say they wouldn’t call 911 immediately if they thought they were having a heart attack. That’s crazy! Women are also less likely to be diagnosed correctly, making them less likely to receive life-saving therapy right away.

All of this is why we sent one of our over-stressed writers with all the wrong risk factors to see a cardiologist and report back. And why we decided to interview a heart attack survivor turned blogger about why doctors dismissed her symptoms at first. Sometimes personal stories say it even better than statistics.

But that doesn’t mean stats aren’t useful in their own way. Yesterday, I went to a briefing hosted by the Mayo Clinic, The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and WomenHeart where I picked up a few telling numbers:

• 1 in 2 women will die of heart disease or stroke, versus 1 in 25 who will die of breast cancer.
• 8 million: the number of American women with a history of heart attack or angina.
• Do you smoke? Besides the fact that 30 percent of heart disease deaths are caused by smoking, your risk of heart disease is 25 percent higher than a male smoker’s. (And social smoking counts—you don’t have to smoke a pack a day, or even a pack a month, to hurt your heart.)
• 90 percent of women have at least one risk factor.

But the most important number is this one: 80 percent of heart disease cases are preventable. There are lots of things you can do to keep your heart healthy, and the sooner you start the better. Check out our resources page if you need a little direction.

Happy American Heart Month from the LHJ Health Ladies!

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