Posted by genchan in General, Health, Lifestyle, Social.
An avid supporter of anything that promotes health, I decided to blog a bit on the ways to stay ‘brain active’.
The Alliance for Aging Research, a non-profit citizen advocacy organization based in Washington, offers ten steps to keep our brains healthy. Below are the ten steps as reported in Yahoo! News (1.1.07):
- Eat a Brain-Healthy Diet. A diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids (commonly found in fish), protein, antioxidants, fruits and vegetables and vitamin B; low in trans fats; and with an appropriate level of carbohydrates will help keep your brain healthy.
- Stay Mentally Active. Activities such as learning a new skill or language, working on crossword puzzles, taking classes, and learning how to dance can help challenge and maintain your mental functioning.
- Exercise Regularly. Exercising often can increase circulation, improve coordination, and help prevent conditions that increase the risk of dementia such as heart disease, stroke and diabetes.
- Stay Social. Spending time with friends, volunteering, and traveling can keep your mind active and healthy.
- Get Plenty of Sleep. Not getting enough sleep can have a negative impact on brain health.
- Manage Stress. Participating in yoga, spending time with friends, or doing other stress-relieving activities can help preserve your ability to remember and learn.
- Prevent Brain Injury. Wearing protective head gear and seat belts can help you avoid head injury, which has been associated with an increased risk of dementia.
- Control Other Health Conditions. Maintaining a healthy weight, exercising, eating a well-balanced and nutritious diet, and controlling stress can help reduce your risk of diseases that affect your brain, including diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and hypertension.
- Avoid Unhealthy Habits. Smoking, heavy drinking and use of recreational drugs can increase the risk of dementia and cognitive decline.
- Consider Your Genes. If your family history puts you at risk for developing dementia, work with your doctor to find ways to maintain your brain health to help avoid or slow the progression of cognitive decline.
These ten steps are not extraordinary or uncommon. You have probably heard about them over and over again. They are what your parents have been nagging you when you stay up late watching TV, engage in drinking and smoking, lazing on the sofa the whole day while munching on that favorite french fries, or disliking certain types of veges. While most of them are familiar to all of us, its interesting to note that learning something new be it for work or for leisure has positive implications for the health of our brains which is said to decline with age.
Apart from learning, which is mainly an input activity, it is important to balance it with output, i.e. the ability to express ourselves through words and actions by staying social. Having an active circle of friends could help us to unwind, gain feedback and exchange ideas/thoughts thus training our brain to remain vibrant and fresh.
As the steps clearly show, ensuring our brain health cannot be separated from having a fit body. Yet, there is one thing that is beyond our ability to control (at least at present) and that is what we inherited through our genes. So as long as we stay clear of the last point above, lets get working on the remaining nine steps and prevent cognitive decline.
Posted by genchan in China, General, Social.
Celebrating Prostitute Day? Nope. Its a ‘shame parade’ where about 100 prostitutes together with their male customers get paraded along a busy street watched by thousands of curious onlookers in Shenzhen, a hot-spot for such activities.
Wearing a bright yellow prison t-shirt, their surgical mask weren’t enough to shield their identity as their names, hometowns and dates of birth were made public in addition to 15 days in prison as part of their punishment.
The interesting part is that parading sex criminals is not something new in China. It has been done many times in the past. What’s different this time around is the increasing number of protest and outrage at an act considered too old-fashioned and an insult to women. Certainly, it violates human rights of which China has so often been accused of by the international community. And some critics question why prostitutes and not other crimes like grafts and corruption.
Interestingly, the authorities will be investigating the matter though its hard to see what good it will do since damage has been done.
Reading the mind 