Can You Prevent Getting Alzheimer's

The question today is whether you can prevent developing Alzheimer's disease. The answer is a resounding no, but you can decrease the possibility of developing dementia. A recent study published in the JAMA correlated  risk factors for amyloid deposition in the brain with  the actual deposition of amyloid. The deposition of amyloid in the brain is responsible for Alzheimer's disease.

The risk factors were smoking,obesity, hypertension, diabetes and an elevated cholesterol. People who were obese at midlife were twice as likely to have elevated brain amyloid levels compared to those  who were of normal weight. Having two or more of the risk factors tripled the likelihood of developing brain amyloid deposition.

The findings can be summarized like this.. Alzheimer's dementia is a terrible disease. Some day there may be a treatment for it, but until then do everything you can to keep your brain healthy, and pay attention to these risk factors. For more information go to our blog at trienergeticsblog.com.

Here Is Another Reason To Exercise

There are many reasons to exercise, and there is no good reason not to exercise. However, here is a reason to exercise that you may not have thought of. Exercise now and continue to exercise in order to prevent the functional decline that occurs when you get older.

A large study done at Duke University documented the functional  in strength, endurance and balance that occurs from midlife on. To that list I would add mental. Your best weapon to fight the cognitive decline that many experience is exercise. Physical exercise for the body refreshes the brain and mental exercise strengthens it.

Remember the adage "Use it or lose it." This is as true now as it has been for years.

Can You "Cheat A Little" When You Diet?

Here is a question for you. When you go on a diet do you need to toe the line and never deviate? Remember we believe that diets don't work because over 90% of the people who go on a diet regain the weight unless they also change their lifestyle.

With that in mind our advice as stated in our books on health and wellness is that when you diet it is permissible to "cheat" 10 per cent of the time. We were criticized for this outrageous statement. The comments ranged from "what a stupid statement" to something like this. "Hey stupid either you diet or you don''t. There is no mister in between."

Now we are vindicated by an Australian study that shows that having "cheat days" helps you lose weight. This study published in the Journal of Obesity showed that dieters who took cheat days lost more weight than dieters who never deviated from their diet. Knowing this may help you the next time you decide to diet and have a yearning for a forbidden food.

How Much Exercise Do You Need

You might think that it would be easy to answer a simple question like this.  How much exercise do you need? Actually this is a very difficult question that requires careful thought and a clear definition of what your goals are. For those who are exercising to maintain flexibility and good health the answer will be completely different than for someone who is exercising to lose weight or to build more muscle. The tendency for most of us is to exercise more than we need to in order to achieve our goals.

I saw an interesting study recently that illustrates this point  Researchers at Duke University wanted to determine how much brisk walking was needed to improve blood sugar control in people who were pre diabetic. They divided 237 people into 4 groups. the first group reduced their caloric intake and briskly walked 71/2 miles a week. The second group did not control their caloric intake and briskly walked 71/2 mile a week. The third group briskly walked 11`1/2 miles a week. The fourth group jogged 111/2 miles a week.

After six months group1 had the biggest improvement in blood sugar control followed by those in  group three who did a high amount of moderate exercise. The group that jogged 111/2 miles a week did not do as well as the group that walked  71/2 miles a week. This showed that there was no additional benefit from the increased energy expenditure.

Consider this when you set your exercise goals. More is not necessarily better. For more information on healthy exercise go to trienergeticsblog.com.

Diets Do Not Work

For years we have been teaching that diets do not work. In the next series of posts I will begin by taking a look at some common diet myths. A diet myth is a bit of misinformation that is packaged to convince you to accept it as the gospel truth. Diet myths are propaganda carefully crafted by advertising campaigns. Even though they sound convincing they will send you down the wrong road.

Here is the first diet myth.

When you diet you lose weight. Yes you will lose weight when you diet because you are restricting calories. What you are not told is that the weight loss is only temporary if you don;t make lifestyle changes.

A staggering 98% of those who diet will gain the weight back. Exercise is the biggest factor in determining whether a dieter gains the weight back. Those who exercise in addition to changing their diet are far more likely to keep the weight off. 

Do You Love Eating Meat?

Most people love eating meat and those who love it eat eat a lot of it. In our health books we advise our readers to  minimize eating red meat and to avoid processed meat. Now there is new evidence that eating red meat can shorten your life.

An article in the British  Medical Journal reported the results of following more than 500,000 people for an average of 16 years. They found that the people who at the most beef had a 26% higher mortality rate than those who seldom ate beef,

We advise you to pay attention to this study because poor eating habits can literally kill you.This was a large study and although it has flaws the message is clear.

 Go to our blog trienergeticsblog.com for more information on healthy eating.

Nutritional Tips For Eating To Fight Inflammation

You can decrease inflammation in your body by following some simple eating guidelines.

1) Take adequate amounts of omega 3 fatty acids either by eating cold water fish or by taking a fish oil supplement. This should be at lease 2.5 grams of EPA and DHA/

2) Reduce your intake of omega 6 fatty acids. It is difficult to do this in America because we are constantly exposed to and encouraged to eat foods that are high in omega 6 acids. This includes fried fast food, foods cooked in sunflower and vegetable oils,

3) Eat a diet rich in fiber or take a fiber supplement.

4) Reduce your intake of starches. This means white bread, most processed foods and most baked snack foods.

For more information on healthy eating go to trienergeticsblog.com.