Wednesday, August 29, 2012

What Obesity Does to the Brain and the Ability to Think

If you think that body fat and weight gain is just about altering your appearance or physical ailments it is time to think again, while you still can.  Obesity can have serious effects on the brain and cognitive thinking skills. Obesity has been linked to a higher risk of Alzheimer's Disease and dementia. Beyond that, neuroimaging has suggested that more morbidly obese people (BMI higher than 40) are at a greater risk for brain atrophy (shrinkage).

According to a research article from the August 21, 2012 research journal Neurology.  Scientists in Great Britain undertook to learn how obesity affects cognitive function and decline.  Over a 10 year period researchers followed 6,401 adults aged 39-63 years with the purpose of studying how body mass index (BMI) and metabolic status affected the rate of decline in cognitive function.  Participants in the study were divided into six different groups: healthy BMI no metabolic problems, healthy BMI with metabolic problems, overweight BMI no metabolic problems, overweight BMI with metabolic problems, obese BMI no metabolic problems, and obese BMI with metabolic problems.  Metabolic problems, in this study were defined as having two or more of the following problems:

High Triglycerides or healthy levels while taking lipid-lowering medication
Systolic blood pressure above 130 or diastolic BP over 85 or being on medication to control blood pressure
High Glucose levels or being on medicine to control diabetes
High HDL cholesterol levels
Any test subject with two or more of these conditions was classified as having a metabolic problem.

Every two years during the ten year period the participants were given four different scores  assessing cognitive ability.  The first score came from a test was ten minute timed test consisting of 65 math and verbal reasoning questions that increased in difficulty throughout the test.  The second score testing required the memorization and recall of twenty words to assess short-term memory.  The third scoring test required participants to write, in one minute, as many words as possible that began with the letter S.  Finally, to achieve an overall score all three scores were standardized and the averaged to give a ‘big picture’ score of cognitive function.

In analyzing the results the group of healthy BMI no metabolic problems was used to compare to the other groups.  The results of this study showed that there is significant difference in cognitive decline between the groups of metabolic problems and no problems among the obese BMI classification.  The healthy BMI groups, both problematic and not, and the overweight BMI groups declined at approximately the same rate, about 4%. However, there were significant differences in cognitive decline  between the healthy BMI groups and the obese BMI groups.  Each BMI group should some cognitive decline over the ten year period.  The healthy BMI group declined by an average of 3.6%, the overweight group declined at a rate of 4%, and the obese BMI group of no metabolic problems at 4.2%.  The obese BMI metabolic problem group declined at an average of 4.9%.

At first glance this may not seem like that big of a deal.   The difference in cognitive function is only an average of 1.3% over ten years.  But what if this study followed people from age 20 until 70, a fifty year period and found the same rate of decline every ten years during that time.  It would mean that healthy BMI people can expect a total life time decline in cognitive skills of 18% between the age 20 and age 70.  Obese people can expect a total decline of 24.5%.  Translation: maintaining a life-long healthy BMI can actually improve the ability with which the brain will function as an older adult.


Monday, August 27, 2012

FastFitWorkout 82712


Weekly challenge Workout August 27, 2012-Trainer time 27 minutes 48 secs

Equipement Needed:
70lb, 40lb, and 20lb Kettle balls for men (m)
40 lb, 20lb, and 10lb Kettle balls for women (w)
1 set of TRX Bands
1 Jump Rope
10 agility hurdle- 6”
1 Swiss Ball

Set up:

Find an open space.  Attach the TRX band high and adjust handles to chest height.   Set out the agility hurdles in a straight line 18 inches apart.  Place the swiss ball, jump rope and kettle balls off to the side and out of the way.

Instructions:
Complete all rounds of each group of exercises as quickly as possible.  Move from exercise to exercise without resting.  Try not to rest until  completing all exercises in the group for the total number of specified rounds.  After completing all rounds of the group rest exactly one minute before starting the next group of exercises.  Use this one minute rest to set up equipment for the next round.

The Workout:

Round one: Complete three rounds

Kettleball Deadlift-70lbs (m) or 40lbs (w)-12 reps
TRX Pullups-12 reps
Agility Hurdles (there &back)
Side Plank-30 seconds each side

Rest one minute after completing all three rounds

Round two: Complete three rounds

Kettleball snatch-40lbs (m) or 20lbs (w)-6 reps each arm
Jump Rope 1 minute
Swiss Ball rollouts- 12 reps

Rest one Minute after completing all three rounds

Rounds Three: Complete three rounds-lower TRX handles to 12 inches above the floor

Kettleball One-leg squat-20lbs (m) or 10lbs (w)-6 reps each leg
Hip Thrusts-12 reps
TRX pushups-12 reps



Exercise Instructions:

Kettleball Deadlift
This is performed by starting in a squat, with feet shoulder-width apart, stand over top of the kettleball.  Keep the shoulders squared and behind the knees.  Grasp the handle of the KB with both hands.  Brace the core muscles and stand straight up, exhale through the movement.  Reverse the motion returning to the bottom of the squat, inhaling at the same time.


TRX Pullups
Make sure that the handles have been adjusted to chest height.  Grasp a handle in each hand and walk forward so that the body becomes parallel to the floor with the chest directly below the handles.  Keep your feet together and core braced.  Using the muscles of the back and arms pull chest up until it touches the hands.  Pause for one second and reverse the motion.  Remember to stay tight all the way through the movement.

Agility Hurdles
Lead with the right foot and step over the first hurdle, follow with the left.  Do not step over the next hurdle until both feet have crossed the previous hurdle.  Follow this pattern to the end of the line.  Then turn around and return leading with the left foot.  Focus on going a little faster each time.

Side Plank
Start by lying on the side of the body in a straight line. Place the forearm flat along the ground so that the elbow is directly beneath the shoulder and the hand is straight in front.  Keep the feet together with one on top of the other.  Lift the hips off the ground and hold high enough that the body is in a straight line.  Hold this position for 30 seconds than switch sides and repeat.

Kettleball Snatch
Start in the same position as the KB deadlift but grasp the kettleball with only one hand.  Explode upward, bringing the arm up past the shoulder and extending it straight overhead.  The arm should be fully extend by the time the body is standing straight.

Swiss Ball rollouts
Starting on the knees place the ball in front of the body with both hands on top.  Lean forward on the knees and extend the arms forward, pushing the ball.  Continue until the arms are fully extended and the body is straight from fingers to knees with the core braced.  Hold this position for two seconds, then contract the abs and reverse the motion back to the starting position.

Kettleball one-legged squat
Hold the KB with one hand at the shoulder.  Point the elbow out.  Pick up the opposite foot and point out in front of the body.  Drop into a squat.  Reverse the motion and remain standing on one leg.  Complete all reps on one side then switch.

Hip Thursts
Lie flat on the floor on the back.  Place hands out to the sides of the body.  Keeping the legs straight lift the feet until directly above the hips.  Point toes at the ceiling and lift the hips off the floor.  Lower, keep feet up, and repeat.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Dessert for 350 calories-Blackberry cheesecake milkshake

Blackberry cheesecake milkshake- 350 cal, 12g fat, 49g carbs, 16g protein

Prep time: 5 minutes

1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp sliced almonds
2 tsbp ricotta cheese
1/2 cup fresh black berries
1 cup 1% milk
1 tbsp honey
4-6 ice cubes

Mix everything into a blender and blend until smooth.  Place in the freezer for 5 minutes to chill.

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Breakfast under 500 cal-Eggscellent Breakfast sandwich

Eggscellent Breakfast Sandwich- 484 calories, 31g protein, 40g carbs, 22g fat

Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 5-10 min

What you need:
4 eggs
2 slices Orowheat brand Oatnut bread
1/2 tbsp cilantro
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp minced onion
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp salsa

Start by placing 1 tbsp of salsa on each slice of bread.  Toast in the oven until lightly toasted.  Crack the eggs into a skillet, add cilantro, red pepper, onion, and garlic powder.  Stir until evenly mixed.  Cook over low heat as an omelet. Once cooked place between slices of toast and eat as a sandwich.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Meal under 400 cal-salmon cakes and black eye peas

Salmon is the best natural source of Omega-3 fatty acids.  These fatty acids bind cholesterol circulating through the blood stream and remove it from the body.  This will make four salmon patties.
Each salmon patty has 195 calories, 10g of fat, 4.5g carbs, and 23g protein.  Make four cups of black eye peas as a side dish.  One cup of black eye peas has 120 calories, 1g fat, 22g carbs, and 7g of protein.
Total meal nutrition is 315 calories, 11g fat, 27g carbs, 29g protein.

Ingredients
1 lb salmon                           4 cups black eye peas
2 tbsp minced onion              2 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp black pepper                1 tbsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder               1 tsp garlic powder
1 large egg
1/2 tsp salt

Directions
In a 1quart pot mix the black eye peas, cinnamon, paprika, and 1 tsp of garlic powder.  Heat until boiling the reduce to low heat and cook until done.

Cut or grind salmon into small pieces.  In a bowl mix ground salmon, onion, 1 tsp garlic powder, black pepper, egg and salt. After thoroughly mixing form salmon into four patties.  Spray in a skillet using zero calories olive oil spray for four minutes on each side.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

How exercise can affect your cancer risk

This is the second of a two part post discussing cancer risks.  Part one, discussing the diet's influence on cancer risk can be found here. This time we will discuss how exercise can affect risk and survival of cancer.  Again, this information is my medicalese translation of information from the American College of Sports Medicine's Guide to Exercise and Cancersurviorship.  There is quite a bit of information suggesting that there are positive benefits both for preventing and surviving colon, breast, and prostrate cancers. For the purpose of this discussion, if a person were to rate intensity of exercise on a scale of 1-10; one would be so light a person could take a nap and ten would be so intense that to exercise harder might literally kill a person.  Light activity will also refer to a time commitment of less than three hours per week and/or rating of 2-4 in intensity; moderate activity three to six hours per week and/or a rating of 5-7; and vigorous activity as being more than six hours per week and/or an intensity rating of 8 or higher.

It is most evident that exercise can help prevent colon cancer.  Even light activity may reduce the occurrence of colon cancer by 25-30% over inactive people.  One study in particular showed that people who exercised vigorously may reduce risk of occurrence up 49%.  It has been noted that for both prevention of and reducing risk of reoccurence, it is best to engage in 30-60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity per day is best.  It also would appear that those who engage in a lifetime of physical activity are at the lowest risk of colon cancer as it is less common in people who maintain a healthy body weight through a combination of diet and regular activity.  It would seem that regularly moving keeps a person, well, regularly moving.  The more frequent the bowel movements the lower the risk of colon cancer.

Thanks to the efforts of the Susan B Komen foundation, breast cancer is probably the best promoted form of cancer that can be prevented from regular exercise or see a decreased risk of reoccurence and an increased survivor rate.  A review of 73 studies found that on average, physically active women were 25% less likely to develop breast cancer than inactive women.  Again, the more physically active a women is the less likely she is to develop breast cancer.  This is especially true of women who have remained physically active throughout their lives or post-menopause.   In fact, one study has shown that fatality of breast cancer drops by 51% for post-menopausal women. It has also been shown that reoccurence rates were decreased by up to 30% for women who remained physically active for three years or more after diagnosis.


Prostrate cancer is another cancer with some, but not much, information about the effect of exercise.  Of the studies done about one-third show a positive effect of exercise on reducing risk and increasing survival.  Light-to-moderately active men seem to be about 10% less likely to develop prostrate cancer.  The main connection hear is that men with healthy BMIs (a healthy weight to height ratio) are less likely than overweight or obese men to develop it.  One problem that was mentioned in regards to studying exercise effects on prostrate cancer is that compared with other types of cancer; prostrate cancer exhibits fewer obvious signs and symptoms that it exists.  Because of this it is more likely for a man with prostrate cancer to die without diagnosis than from other types of cancer.  This seems to also be influenced by the fact that healthier, active men are more likely to be screened and have prostrate cancer detected in than inactive men. For this reason the accuracy of the numbers of physically active men and prostrate cancer being fatal may not be an accurate representation of the general population.  In other words, exercise probably does more to prevent prostrate cancer than current research can show because healthier men are more likely to get screened.  This may mean that healthier men look like they have a higher risk of fatal prostrate cancer than they actually do when compared the numbers of unhealthy, inactive men diagnosed and those that die before being diagnosed.

In summary, although it is not conclusive, there are strong links that indicate that those who engage in regular exercise are less likely to develop several types of cancer.  If the cancer does develop, people who are active on a regular basis are more likely to survive and avoid reoccurence.  The more exercise is done and the more intense the exercise the better the chances of minimizing the risk of cancer.