In just the last couple of decades scientists have discovered that aerobic exercise causes the growth of new brain cells. With the assistance of our rodent friends and the advances in MRI technology for research on humans, study after study has shown that neurogenesis (the creation of neurons ... Views: 1966
Exercise is the single most powerful tool we have to maximize our brain function. This is because of the extensive cascade of chemical compounds, including hormones, neurotransmitters and growth factors, that are unleashed in and into the brain when we get in a good workout. A bit of history to ... Views: 2117
The number one secret to getting and staying in shape is to have an upcoming event for which you must be in shape. You could, for example, have a scheduled athletic challenge for which you must be in shape to survive it, enjoy it and do well in it. This is true for most of us, because we need ... Views: 964
Here are seven very-doable New Year Resolutions for 2013. With any one of these simple steps you could easily get in better shape and slow the aging process THIS year for a younger, more vibrant you. Let's see if one or more of these 2013 resolutions appeals to you.
1. The Chewing-Gum ... Views: 2282
Here are the 5 biggest myths of the Holiday Season concerning what this author knows -- Christmas and New Years. Let's see if you agree.
1.It is better to give than to receive. This is tantamount to declaring that, in regards to breathing, it is better to exhale than it is to inhale. In order ... Views: 1175
We have all known individuals who ate all the right foods, exercised relentlessly and had regular checkups and still got the much-dreaded Disease X. This happening has made us feel vulnerable. "If THIS person, who took such good care of himself -- much better than I take care of myself -- can ... Views: 1025
Some of us see turning age 60 as a milestone that marks the beginning of the end and bemoan our lost youth. A big challenge for us -- an adventure even -- is to get across the room to our chair before the paper plate embarrassingly crumples under the weight of our very generous servings of ... Views: 1988
When the question of what's the greatest athletic feat of all time arises, there are many candidates. There is Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point basketball game; baseball's Cal Ripken's 2,632-consecutive-game streak; and swimmer Michael Phelp's record eight Gold Medals at a single Olympics, to name ... Views: 1849
In May of 2007 a 274-pound Susan "SuSu" Jennings, 46 at the time, started yet another weight-loss program. This August, 135 pounds lighter, Susan, now closing in on the big 5-0, ran the equivalent of 15 marathons in 15 days. In just over three years, this very busy home-schooling mom had ... Views: 1236
It turns out that what we put into our mouth is not nearly as important as what we believe about what we put into our mouth. It works like this.
If we truly believe that a food or food group is good for us (i.e., important to maintaining robust health), but we seldom eat it, for whatever ... Views: 989
Everyone knows the importance of exercise, good nutrition and sufficient sleep/rest to stay in shape as we age. Few, however, know the little-known, but critically important real secret to staying fit after age 50. This missing link, which keeps so many from robust well being in the second half ... Views: 1380
It is commonly accepted as an indisputable fact that the human body deteriorates significantly between the ages of 20 and 40 due to the natural aging process, and one cannot expect to have the energy, stamina and durability of a twenty-year-old when in his forties. Just look at how few ... Views: 2664
According to recent studies, most people are not getting the amount of vitamin D needed for optimal health for the long haul. More specifically, researcher Michael Holick, MD, PhD, of Boston University Medical Center found that 64% of the 100 adults he recruited for his study (see June 2010 ... Views: 1168
If you watch the news, you may be as sick of hearing about Lebron James and Lindsay Lohan as I am. Mary Harada, on the other hand, is another story -- one worth hearing about. Her story is actually inspiring; it will lift your spirits. Mary is one of four septuagenarian athletes who have put in ... Views: 2819
Last October, 74-year-old Californian, Harriet Anderson, was the oldest female to complete the ultra-endurance-demanding Ford Ironman Championships in Kona, Hawaii. Making this amazing athletic feat (in which this septuagenarian had to swim 2.4 miles in the ocean, bike 112 miles and THEN ... Views: 2428
Do you appreciate the fact that there are currently 10 trillion working for you -- doing their level best 24/7 to keep you alive and well? Have you taken the time recently to thank them or do you, like most, take them for granted?
We are talking, of course, about the estimated 10 trillion ... Views: 1280
Some folks seem to shine when dealing with and overcoming major adversity, while others of us wilt at just the thought. In my own case, a mere broken fingernail greatly bothers me and rivets my attention until it can be filed down or trimmed smooth again. That some people appear able to deal ... Views: 4639
Baltimore, Maryland's Ernestine "Ernie" Shepherd, at age 73, is a certified personal trainer, professional model and competitive all-natural bodybuilder. In March of 2010, on the stage of a television show in Rome, Italy, she was formally given the title of World's Oldest Performing Female ... Views: 4681
Osteoarthritis (OA), also known as degenerative joint disease, is a chronic condition which involves the destruction of joint cartilage, resulting in stiffness, pain and limited or loss of movement in the affected joint(s). Spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the spinal canal that can be caused by ... Views: 1751
In parts 1 and 2 of Why Some of Us Age Much Faster ... we learned that the larger the gap between our beliefs (read that, EXPECTATIONS) and our desires, the greater the stress that we experience. It is this resultant stress, or self-imposed resistance to our aspirations, that makes us age faster ... Views: 1327
In September of 2009 Montana's Walter Bruening became the verified World's Oldest Man. Through his recent interviews, the speech he gave at his 113th birthday bash, and articles written about Walter, we can now piece together the "secrets" to his longevity and amazingly good health.
While ... Views: 1284
In part 1 of Why Some of Us Age Much Faster..., we discussed how having strong beliefs and desires in opposition to each other produces the long-standing stresses that speed up aging. In order to better align our beliefs and aspirations, reducing the stress/tension/resistance that is aging us, ... Views: 2461
Janesville, Wisconsin's Lois Ann Gilmore overcame two major life-threatening diseases to become the USA Track & Field's Masters Athlete of the Year. For just about everyone her story is truly inspiring, but for those of us who struggle mightily to deal with a crick in our neck or the common ... Views: 1455
You know how some folks appear to be much older than their actual age, while others look, feel and perform more like people decades younger? The experts tell us that only 15 to 30% of this extreme difference in the speed at which people age can be explained by genetics; the vast majority of this ... Views: 4319
Most folks wonder why anyone would willingly run 26.2 miles, never mind doing it BAREFOOT! That's exactly what Ethiopia's Abebe Bikila did at the 1960 Olympics in Rome when he won the Gold Medal in the marathon. Americans viewing this and hearing about it at the time were thoroughly amazed and ... Views: 1457
California's Pax Beale rehabilitated himself from a documented heart cripple to a bodybuilding champion while in his sixties. Although this was obviously an extremely significant and life-changing segment of his life, it is just a small portion of a truly extraordinary life. Pax has managed to ... Views: 3771
Some people live a lifetime of making excuses to justify their virtual inertia. Others, such as Rick Ball, a subway mechanic from Ontario, Canada, forego the excuse making to make World Records -- THREE in 2009, to be exact. And it's not that Rick couldn't have come up with his own list of ... Views: 1178
While we are all getting the same basic information on how to age well, individually we are getting drastically different results. Back in the Fall of 2009, this humble correspondent wrote about Montana's Bob Hayes. Bob had recently run the LeGrizz 50 Miler in 10 hours 47 minutes -- at AGE 83! ... Views: 1175
Back in the early 1950s, through the magic of television, Jack LaLanne was regularly leading tens of thousands of housewives and at least one small boy -- me -- through a series of exercises. By virtue of his long-running (1951-1985) The Jack LaLanne Show, he inspired a whole nation to eat ... Views: 1505
While in her forties, constantly driving her kids to and from water polo and swim team practices, little did Daniela Barnea know that she had found her niche. No, not a career as a chauffeur, but competitive swimming.
As a teen Daniela had enjoyed swimming at the local YWCA, but was not ... Views: 1519
From time to time we all find ourselves in difficult or tough circumstances not of our own choosing. Then there are those who actually opt to put themselves in extremely perilous situations as a way of testing their mettle -- for the challenge of it. Pennsylvania"s Tim Hewitt is such a person. ... Views: 1832
Recently we looked at why most New Year's Resolutions are doomed to failure. Today let's look at a resolution that was stunningly successful and see if we can figure out why.
Let's face it, by the time we hit our forties, many, if not most, of us have had so many failed New Years' Resolutions ... Views: 1093
We set New Year's Resolutions with the best of intentions and then ... how many do we keep? To understand why New Year's Resolutions fail, we need only look at how the brain -- the mind -- works.
New Year's Resolutions and all other goals are set by the conscious mind. Their achievement, ... Views: 1010
Last summer at the Beijing Olympics a 41-year-old swimmer, Dara Torres, stunned the world by winning three Silver Medals in a sport where 25 is considered old. Most would think that at her age, we'd seen the last of her as an elite competitive swimmer, but guess what! She's BACK!
Friday, May ... Views: 1322
At age 46, Bluemont, Virginia's Susan Jennings weighed a health-threatening 274 pounds and "to be able to walk a mile or two" was considered a worthy goal. Less than two years later, in 2009, and 135 pounds lighter, Susan set a goal to run the Icy 8-Hour Adventure Trail Run -- in which she ... Views: 1687
The speed at which one ages varies greatly. Repeatedly reading about and listening to men and women, just like you, who in their 40s, 60s, 80s … are proven to be in better shape, biologically younger, than the great majority of young adults challenges any self-destructive, self-limiting beliefs ... Views: 5841
California's Bill Bell shows us how he transformed himself from ordinary to extraordinary. Bill went from a typical golf-playing executive with some excess poundage and a borderline health problem in his early fifties to an age-group champion Ironman triathlete in his sixties and seventies. ... Views: 2774