How to Keep your Brain from Shrinking

Exercising_women
Carolyn Rosenblatt of Forbes magazine posted the following article on maintaining brain matter.  Basically, if you exercise, you get to keep your brain.  If you don't like exercise, it shrivels as we age, just like dried fruit.  Click on the following link for the full article, How to Keep Your Brain from Shrinking.

It is important to exercise as part of the 3 legged stool of health and wellness that we teach at Holt Chiropractic and Massage in Port Orchard, WA.  Leg #1 - Have a healthy spine and nerve system.  Leg #2 - Have a well balanced, sensibly portioned diet.  Leg #3 - Exercise.  Without any one of the legs, the stool will topple - all three must be a priority for proper health.  

As far as the type of exercise:  Pick something you enjoy and stick with it.  If you get bored (as I do) with a particular exercise routine, change it.  Whether it is walking, Pilates, P90X, Crossfit, or swimming doesn't matter...as long as you are participating in it.  After all, it will preserve your brain!

Until next time,

Dr. Tom

The New Killers

Developing_country
This is a great article from our friends at Forbes called Pharma Be Aware:  The Next Killers.  The next killers are diseases that, in the opinion of the author, are not getting enough attention on the world stage.  For instance, there are 32 million people in the world today inflicted with HIV/AIDS, but over 300 million suffer from diabetes.  Diabetes, heart disease and cancer are predicted to account for 73% of all deaths by the year 2020 and 19% of deaths in the developing world over the next five years.  The World Economic Forum has determined that these diseases are one of the top four global risks.  Whats more, as processing and centralization of food spreads to other countries, there are a growing number of cases of diabetes in the developing world.

The author implies that it is important that the pharmacological companies take note of the new market for their drugs - that you can live well with diabetes if you receive the right treatment.  He is right - it is important to control diabetes using insulin and other medications as needed.

But at the same time, he has missed the point - the growing epidemic in developing countries can be PREVENTED if the countries in question return to their traditional diets.  Modern diets that are rich in sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and genetically modified foods in combination with a sedentary lifestyle lead to the most common form of diabetes (type II).  As our friends in developing countries prosper, they are adopting some of our nasty habits...and acquiring some of our diseases as a result.

Returning to a traditional diet includes naturally grown, non pesticided, unprocessed, free range, organic foods.  For more information on how to eat a traditional diet please visit the Westin A. Price Foundation website.