Cholesterol

Want the latest on cholesterol?

While some drug companies are pushing to have the cholesterol numbers lowered again, recently, the Mayo clinic did a study to see how lifestyle changes would compete with taking a prescription (statin) to lower cholesterol.  The results . . . there was no competition.

In the study, the first group took 40 mg of a commonly prescribed statin and their “bad cholesterol” number did go down.  The second group was given vitamins and fish oil and placed on a 12 week program of healthy diet and exercise.  They were taught the Mediterranean style diet.  They also learned about saturated fat and were instructed to limit overall fat consumption to under 25% and to reduce sugar and processed carbohydrates.  They worked with an exercise physiologist to gradually increase their exercise to 5-6 times per week for 30-45 minutes per day.

In the end, the medication group did lower their bad cholesterol number.  But the lifestyle group also lowered this number without any medication and reported feeling better, having more energy and losing weight.  Another bonus is that the good (healthy) cholesterol goes up with proper lifestyle and diet and this second group also benefited from lower triglycerides (not seen with the statin group).

Whether watching your cholesterol or not, we all can benefit from a Mediterranean diet, exercise, and omega 3 fatty acids (such as fish oil).  This combination reduces the inflammation in the body that is linked to high cholesterol, heart disease, and virtually every other disease as well.

Health Problems vs. Lifestyle

As a chiropractor, I see all kinds of physical complaints and pains especially involving the back.  I recently heard a speaker ask the question, “Is back pain really a back problem, or is it a health problem?”  The point he was making is that pain is not really the problem.  Pain is a programmed response that the body provides to let us know that there is a problem.  Pain is an electrical signal received in the brain.  You see, pain is like the smoke alarm that tells us there is a fire.  We spend money, time and effort fighting aches and pains without ever uncovering or even looking for the real problem.  We should be looking for cause rather than fighting the symptoms of pain.

The body is designed to heal on its own and when we have pain, especially chronic pain, this is the result of a problem that is failing to heal.  In other words, this is a health problem.  If you’ve been following this column, you know by now that most health problems can be linked to improper choices regarding lifestyle.  For this reason, when someone is having a pain, symptom, or health problem, I like to ask the question, “What is out of balance in your life?”  The common answers to this question include excess emotional stress, lack of exercise, poor diet, dehydration, poor posture, excessive caffeine, reactions to medications, lack of sleep, and all the other things discussed in this column.  The point is that many times the ultimate cause of problems is simple and yet we turn to complicated solutions rather than make changes.  I can’t tell you how many times a person’s pains are the result of a bad chair, pillow or mattress.  If you are dealing with any kind of health problem, please take time to analyze your lifestyle – more often than not the answer is right in front of you.

Brain Builders Week 3

 As promised, this week I will share the final five strategies to maximize mental clarity and keep your brain youthful.

Strategy number 11 from the brain study is to always learn new things.  Ideas include reading books on different subjects, learning new language or taking up a different craft or hobby.  The 12^th strategy is simple, but critical.  If you hope to clear the clutter from your mind, you need to clear the clutter from your life.  Identify your highest priorities and decide what is really important in your life and what may be wasted time and energy.  Get organized and consider a course on goal setting.  Most of all, make your decisions based on your life’s purpose.  When you can filter your priorities through your purpose, making decisions becomes easy.  Thirteen on the list is to practice memory games and repetition exercises.  Number 14 may be one of the most crucial and that is proper rest.  It is recommended that we all get at least seven hours of uninterrupted sleep.  Without this, our hormones and our brain will simply not function right.  Lastly on the list, it turns out an active sex life increases circulation to the brain and produces hormones that improve brain function.  Oxytocin helps your ability to come up with original solutions.  Serotonin and dopamine help creative thinking and decision-making.

To review, the 15 brain builders you can implement are as follows:

1. Physical Exercise

2. Staying Hydrated

3. Stay Stimulated by using aromatherapy and painting your surroundings with vibrant colors.

4. Think Happy Thoughts

5. Play Games 

6. Watching Quality TV

7. Surf the Internet

8. Eat Brain Food

9. Omega 3's like Fish Oil

10. Eat Weeds like Gingko Biloba & Ginseng

11. Learn New Things

12. Clear the Clutter from Your Life

13. Practice Memory Games & Repetition Exercises

14. Proper Rest - Sleep at least 7 hours per night

15. An Active Sex Life

Brain Builders Week 2

Last week we discussed the first 5 of 15 strategies to maintain or increase your brain power and clarity.  Do you remember them?  It’s o.k. if you don’t as I’m going to give you five more from last year’s published list.

Numbers 6 and 7 I regret to admit are “watching quality T.V.” and “surfing the internet.”  Before you get too excited, both of these are qualified by choosing programming that would force you to learn something new or quiz you about something you already know – you know educational T.V.  While I’m not crazy about these, the next three recommendations on the list redeem the study.  The number 8 strategy is to eat brain food rich in protein, vitamins and minerals.  You need vitamins A and C to protect brain cells;  vitamin E to reverse brain deterioration; amino acids, vitamin B, and magnesium to grow nerves; and Zinc to detoxify impurities from the brain.  All of these can be found in vegetables and lean/healthy meats, in particular organic meats.

The 9^th recommendation is to load up on fish oil for omega 3.  Omega 3 promotes dopamine levels (to prevent Parkinson’s and depression) as well as nerve growth of the frontal cortex and circulation in the brain.  The 10^th recommendation is to “eat weeds” in the form of brain-boosting herbs.  The two most important of these are Gingko Biloba and Ginseng which help promote adrenal gland function to adapt better to stress.

I hope this helps – check in next week for the final five strategies!

If you missed last week's tips, find them here: http://rivertownwellness.blogspot.com/

Brain Builders

Do you remember things as well as you used to?  Do you feel as mentally sharp as you did five years ago?  Loss of mental cognition, memory and alertness seems to be an increasingly common complaint.  Fortunately, a study last year identified 15 different solutions to increase your brain power and mental clarity.  I plan to spend the next three weeks reviewing these for you – hope you can remember them!

The first thing on the list is something we’ve discussed.  Physical exercise is exercise for the brain.  The study cites cardiovascular exercise and yoga, but other studies have shown that walking and strength training also benefit.  The second result is staying hydrated with water and they point out that caffeine can constrict the blood vessels limiting blood to the brain.  The third recommendation is to stay stimulated by painting your work and living areas with vibrant colors and using aromatherapy.  The fourth point may be the most important and that is to think happy thoughts.  It turns out that stress affects mental ability so the key is to reduce stress and recognize the positives in your life.  The fifth key to increased clarity is to play games such as word games, puzzles, crosswords, and sudoku.  The brain is like anything else in your body – if you don’t use it, you lose it.

Work on these five and I’ll give you five more brain-builders next week!