What Happens To The Brain As We Age

Ageing is a natural physiological phenomenon. Any living thing on this universe grows old and as we grow old, numerous changes are expected! The changes are just not limited to the external appearance of humans but also applies to the internal organs!!

Here is a brief note on the changes in the brain as age –

• Mass of the brain – Brain mass shrinks especially the frontal lobe and hippocampus
• Cortical density – the  outer ridged surface of the brain thins out thus slowing cognitive function
• White matter – Shrinkage of white matter results in loss of memory
• Neurotransmitter substances – Decreased production of neurotransmitter substances like serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine results in various neurological disorders

These are the common changes in the brain as we age, these changes are responsible for the age-related neurological changes!!

Polio Virus Kills Off Cancer Cells, Stops Tumour Regrowth

The characteristic feature of cancer cells that makes cancer disease dreadful is their ability to proliferate and rapidly spread in the body! Most of the cancer types have the ability to regrow even after complete removal or excision!!

Various studies have been conducted and researchers had been working on to find out if there is a solution to stop the growth of cancer cells or a factor that hinders the regrowth of a tumour!!

Clinical trials or the studies conducted in 2011 reaped the results. The studies found that Poliovirus has the ability to kill off cancer cells and even stop regrowth. The study was conducted on a group of patients suffering from a brain tumour – Recurrent Glioblastoma!!!

Poliovirus kills off the cancer cells by the following mechanism – Poliovirus attaches itself to the cancer cells, as they are rich in CD155 Protein. Once attached, poliovirus starts attacking the malignant cells, thus triggering the release of antigens. Antigens are toxic substances, which are not recognised by the body and thus initiates an immune attack system!! Once started, the process is continuous. The cancer cells continue to be attacked by the poliovirus, thus killing them eventually and even stopping the tumour regrowth!!

This didn’t mark the end of cancer therapy, this needs to be combined with the conventional treatment!!

Studies are still in progress to establish the conclusion!!

Do’s And Don’t’s During Pregnancy

Congratulations!! You are going to be a mommy!! Do any married woman expect a better good news than this?? Definitely not!!! Every woman would be waiting for this special moment in life!! Having the apple of your eye in your hands in 9 months is exciting, is it not??

Well, you would start receiving advice, precautions from every other person you come across and from every nook and corner of your friends and relatives circle!! You would be in dilemma to understand which has to be followed and which needs to be ignored!! Of all the advice you receive, here is the list from our end which demarcates on what to be followed – DO’S and what not – DON’T’S!!

Do’s during pregnancy – It is important to know what are the things ideal to do first than those that have to be avoided, hence first let us know the do’s –

• Do consume a well-balanced nutritious diet
• Do take the multivitamin prescribed by your doctor on a regular basis as advised
• Do sleep whenever your body needs!
• Do workouts, but stick onto only those exercises which are suitable during pregnancy! Sort help from your trainer or doctor if you are not sure
• Do include seafood in your meals
• Do practice yoga which are safe during pregnancy
• Do get your vaccine shots without fail
• Do gain weight smartly
• Do get all the tests as suggested by your doctor and make sure you visit the doctor as advised
• Do get your first child prepared for the sibling

Don’ts during pregnancy – Having understood does it is equally important to know don’ts as well. Skipping a few do’s will not have a toss on your health provided you start them soon but following don’t will harm your baby!! Be sure, you don’t do the following –

• Don’t drink alcohol
• Don’t smoke
• Don’t eat raw foods
• Don’t eat from outside frequently
• Don’t eat smoked, burnt meat
• Don’t consume unpasteurised milk and milk products
• Don’t sit in hot tub
• Don’t drink lot of coffee
• Don’t be with your pets or clean their waste
• Don’t forget seatbelt while driving
• Don’t choose to deliver based on astrology or numerology
• Don’t take over the counter medicines
• Don’t be in close contact with sick and infectious people
• Don’t get exposed to chemicals or dyes of any type
• Don’t use heels or stilettos
• Don’t get exposed to radiations!!

Pregnancy is a special part of your life, it’s the stage where you will be having a life within you! Take a proper and good care and have a healthy and fruitful pregnancy!!

Muscle Building Foods

Everyone thinks of losing weight but at the same time, they love to build muscles and have 6 to 8 packs. Building muscles are not just a man’s job because present generation women are also concentrating on building their muscles and have a heavy and fit body!!

Just hitting a gym and working out for longer hours will help your body is just a myth!! Along with workouts, your body requires certain foods which help in building your muscles. Regular consumption of these foods with workout helps for getting your muscles.

Muscle building foods are –

• Beetroots
• Brown rice
• Oranges
• Cantaloupes
• Eggs
• Cottage cheese
• Milk
• Spinach
• Apples
• Greek Yogurt
• Brown bread
• Dry fruits or nuts in particular
• Milkshakes
• Chickpeas
• Lentils
• Salmon fish
• Flax seeds
• Olive oil
• Broccoli
• Tomatoes
• Carrots
• Spinach
• Wheat germ

Start consuming these foods and have a well-built body with muscle. Just don’t depend on your trainer, involve yourself by consuming right food!!!

How Does Poor Sleep Affect Our Ability To Learn, Study Investigates

Sleep is the mode of relaxation thus offering rest to body and mind!! Sound sleep of about 8 hours is needed for being healthy physically and mentally. Certain changes happen in the brain when we sleep, sound sleep enhances good health and poor sleep affects our overall well-being in multiple ways

Poor sleep affects our ability to learn – reduces our learning ability is known fact but how it impacts our health was not clearly understood! A recent study has shown how our learning ability is affected and here is the brief of the same

During an episode of poor sleep, the synapses do not rest! During day hours, synapses get excited as a response to the stimuli that surround us. During sleep, the synapses rest or normalize, if there are no resting periods, the synapses remain excited for longer hours inhibiting neuroplasticity thus reducing the ability to learn!!

Thus the unrestful state of synapses is the reason behind impaired ability to learn!

This was the first study which revealed the reason behind impaired ability to learn and is accepted worldwide!!

If you are planning to have a fruitful day at work, then make sure you have a sound sleep!!

How Intermittent Fasting Helps To Lose Weight

The only condition for which an individual wouldn’t mind to spend a lot or even skip a meal is to lose weight!! Losing weight was an obsession for women in earlier days but the present generation has brought a change in the trend and even men give equal importance on losing weight and maintaining a fit person and healthy as well!!

As the days pass on and technology improves, even the way of our lives and mode of life improves. The only means to lose weight earlier was either dieting or exercising hard!! But now there is an advancement in dieting and intermittent fasting has taken over!! Intermittent fasting has even shown the promising result in weight loss, here is an overview of intermittent fasting and how it helps to lose weight!!

What is intermittent fasting? It is a way of eating which involves regular short-term fasts! It can be practiced in different ways, the most popular methods are –

• 16/8 method – Skip breakfast every day, eat during 8  hour feeding window between 12 to 8 PM
• Eat stop eat – Do complete fast in between regular meal day
• 5:2 diet – Eat only 500 to 600 calories on 2 days of the week and remaining days normal meals

How intermittent fasting affects the hormones in the body? Hormones work out in the following ways –

• Insulin – when we fast, insulin levels in the body decreases. Lower insulin levels facilitates fat burning
• Human growth hormone – the level of this hormone increases during fast. Increased levels facilitates fat burning and muscle gain
• Norepinephrine – Level increases and even this hormone acts on fat

How intermittent fasting helps with weight loss? Weight loss is aided by the following modes –

• It makes you eat fewer calories
• The hormones released works on fat cells and burn them thus releasing energy
• Aids proper metabolism
• Helps to retain the muscle or even muscle gain
• Increases the production of blood vessel growth factor, which aids in fat burning
• Works on stored fat and thus weight loss is guaranteed!

Intermittent fasting thus works wonder in weight loss!! Studies have proven results that intermittent fasting has reduced about 3 to 4 kg of weight in 3 to 4 weeks!! Talk to your Dietician today, start following Intermittent fasting!!!

How Childhood Trauma Affects The Brain

Childhood is the best part of one’s life!! When you enquire anyone about their childhood, there would be a wide small on their face with a drop of tear in the eyes remembering the time spent!!

Childhood is such a magical period, which anyone would love to explore again though we know it is not possible!! Numerous fights, giggles, falls and injuries are all a part of one’s childhood! Injuries are quite common and can affect any body part like head, legs and what not!!

Have you ever given a thought on the effect of these injuries in the adulthood or the future? Let us know how the brain gets affected by childhood trauma!! Childhood trauma is just not limited to physical trauma and can be mental as well. Here are the affects on the brain –

• Learning difficulties
• Behavioural problems
• Memory problems
• Lack of social skills
• Emotional problems
• Psychological illness
• Poor planning

The conditions associated with childhood trauma that affect brain include –

• Post-traumatic stress disorder
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Impulsivity
• Low self esteem
• Substance abuse

Having understood the affect, you would be wondering how is it affected, read on to understand –

• Decreases white matter
• Myelinated axons get disrupted
• Direct effect on brain areas
• Damages neurons

Avoid your child getting exposed to any sort of trauma. At times physical trauma is always better as they do not harm your child much!!

Childhood is precious, let your child enjoy every moment of the same and not suffer in the future because of the same!!

Children With Pets Have Less Stress

Kids love animals especially when it comes to pets animals, they just love to have them around! Kids love to spend time with the pets, they just forget the world around them when they start playing with the pets!

Most of the parents believe that having a pet animal is not good as they would have read a lot about the ill effects pets have on their kids, in order to understand if pets just harm kids or if they have certain benefits as well, a study was conducted in US and the report was brain struck!

The report was retested and was published by CDC, the result was as follows –

Children who have pets at home was found to have reduced stress levels when compared to those kids who don’t have one  at home! How pets helped to reduce stress in particular anxiety in kids was due to following reasons –

• Pets stimulate conversation, thus alleviates social anxiety in kids and make them speak faster and clearer and better
• Pets in specific dogs are also known to follow human communication, thus helps in emotional attachment
• Kids remain more attached to pets, thus they would be out of separation anxiety and increases attachment feeling in kids. This in turn enhances mental health and reduces the risk of mental health disorders
• Interacting with the pet helps in reduction of cortisol level, thus reducing the physiologic response to stress

A child with less stress levels during childhood is believed to be stronger mentally in adulthood. No doubt, pets are known to affect your child’s health when your kids are exposed beyond the limit!!

Get the pets to home, but be sure your child is just benefited from the pets and doesn’t suffer from pets!!!

5 Reasons Spicy Food Is Insanely Good For You

Most of us don’t believe in mysteries and don’t even know the existence of such!! Mysteries happens and exists in all fields, are you aware of food mysteries?? Yes, there are certain mysteries associated with foods!!

Consumption of spicy foods is always a mystery!! The common saying about spicy food is that it is not good for health and causes the most common problem – Gastritis! But today we are decoding a mystery for you!!

Spicy foods are considered to be healthy and here are the top 5 reasons for considering the consumption of spicy food –

• Assists with weight loss
• Lowers the risk of heart attack and stroke
• Lowers blood pressure
• Prevents cancer
• Fights against depression and stress

Other health benefits are –

• Pain relief
• Aids in long and healthy life
• Improves blood circulation
• Improves digestion
• Fights against common cold
• Kills bacteria and thus infection

As always been stressed upon, anything in excess is dangerous! Spicy foods offers health benefits but when consumed in excess or on regular basis then starts affecting health in negative ways!!

Have a control on your diet!! Consume foods in moderation and in equal proportion, so that you are blessed with benefits from all!!

Unmotivated To Exercise? Dopamine Could Be To Blame

Most of them wish to exercise or workout on regular basis but fail to do so due to unknown reasons!! Regular physical activities have numerous benefits on our health. It is one of the best ways to reduce weight, reduces the risk of Type 2 Diabetes, Hypertension, Heart-related diseases and cancer. Regular physical activities also help to have a good mental health!!

However regular exercising remains as a mission incomplete as there are no ends for tomorrows and various resolutions for the same!! If you are thinking too much about breaking your promise every time you make it, then you need not be blamed!! The reason for the same has been established after thorough study and the result is explained hereunder –

Studies were conducted on mice and it was derived that absence of Dopamine is related to exercise laziness or decreased motivation to exercise!! An absence of Dopamine is also related to obesity!! Thus increase in Dopamine will motivate you to exercise!!

There are a few conditions, wherein willpower overcomes the deficiency and motivates you to exercise on regular basis. The exact correlation between the two is not yet established!!

Thus if you are not able to work out as you planned, then don’t blame yourself; blame your dopamine levels!!