TEN TIPS FOR MAINTAINING A HEALTHY BRAIN FROM

Tip 1: Don't smoke.
Smoking represents a major risk factor for cancer, heart disease and stroke. These leading causes of death represent an ongoing concern for all Americans. Nonsmokers might consider taking an empathetic approach to smokers who are trying to quit, and parents might use a "tough love" approach with their children to make sure they don't even start.

 
Tip 2: Follow your physician's advice.
Your relationship with your physician is critical to your health. Remember, though, that as a consumer of health services your doctor is your employee, so establish a good working relationship based on the understanding that you are the boss of your body. We must develop a proactive attitude toward maintaining our health and take responsibility to change those aspects of our lifestyles that are minimizing our longevity potential. Our physicians can help guide this process.

Tip 3: Exercise regularly.
Exercise and physical activity continue to emerge as primary components of a healthy lifestyle at any age. Aerobic exercise, weight training and recreation are critical not just to our cardiovascular health but to our brain health, as well. Every time our heart beats, 25 percent of its output goes to our brains-quite a large market share! Clearly, maintaining efficient blood flow to our brains through regular exercise promotes health. If you don't exercise regularly, start by walking around the block tonight and build from there.

Tip 4: Reduce the overall calories you consume daily.
We Americans tend not to underconsume anything-including food. Yet the leading factor for longevity in animals is caloric restriction. This finding has yet to be demonstrated in humans. However, provided you get your daily nutritional needs from the USDA'S food pyramid, you should pay close attention to how much you eat. Follow the advice two physicians gave me: N ever go to bed stuffed, and eat only 80 percent of what you intend to consume at every meal.

Tip 5: Socialize and have fun.

We Americans specialize in stress, with little understanding of how to have fun. We need more time to socialize, celebrate and laugh! Some of us have walls around us that keep other people away. As humans, though, we need to be engaged and to be social. Kofi Annan, the secretary general of the United Nations, once stated that every time "we lose an elder from our village, we lose a library." If we begin to think of everyone as a library, it becomes clear that we can learn from others.

Tip 6: Develop your spirituality.

Evidence continues to emerge that prayer is a health-promoting behavior and that attendance at formalized places of worship may have more significance to our health than we understand. Meditation, yoga, relaxation procedures and prayer have neurophysiological bases. They help to alter our existing homeostasis for the better. Praying or meditating daily can help us combat the stresses of life and focus on the challenges ahead.

Tip 7: Engage in mentally stimulating activities.

"Mental stimulation" refers to the ways our brains respond to stimuli in the environment. Novel and complex stimuli are health-promoting for the brain. New learning translates to neurophysiological growth and to mental stimulation in the same way that aerobics translates to cardiovascular health. We can benefit from being challenged, from learning information and skills that we do not yet understand, and from engaging in pursuits that are initially hard for us!

Tip 8: Maintain your role and sense of purpose.
Retirement as it is presently envisioned in this country is not good for the human brain, which benefits from environments rich in novel and complex stimuli. Retirement by definition reinforces disengagement and passivity. Our nation might consider prioritizing social engagement across the lifespan-from a brain-health perspective. Although it is important to allow elders to choose more passive lifestyles, many may benefit from an understanding of the importance of actively participating in society and finding personally relevant roles and senses of purpose.

Tip 9: Seek financial stability.
Research clearly demonstrates that having some money late in life correlates with better health. Therefore, a practical tip for maintaining lifelong health is to hire a financial planner and begin a savings plan that will provide some money late in life. Financial planners do not consider themselves to be health promoters, but they are. We are never too young or too old to begin saving, and the less money we make the faster we need to get started!

Tip 10: Engage family and friends.
Developing and maintaining a social network of relationships is important from a health perspective. Our friends and family help us stay active and involved in the fabric of society. They can provide us with emotional support and can nurture trust. Our roles in life, from child to parent to grandparent, exist within the family; they provide much health and human enrichment across the lifespan. And intimacy, broadly defined, is itself a health-promoting behavior at any age.

10 reasons why you should drink green tea

It’s official that tea is good for your health. So go ahead and relish that hot cup of green tea to realize its power and enjoy its numerous health benefits.

Helps you lose weight

If you want to cut those extra inches around your tummy, switching to green tea could be a simpler way. A new study shows that green tea extract increases the rate of calorie burning by the body. It reduces blood fat, cholesterol, bloated ness, detoxifies the body and suppresses untimely food cravings. Enabled with diuretic properties, it also eliminates excess water and thereby reduces excess weight. So the best way to get rid of that paunch is to have green tea along with the right amount of bodily exercise.

Boosts exercise endurance

According to scientists, antioxidants present in green tea extracts increase body’s ability to burn fat as fuel which accounts for improved muscle endurance. It also enhances energy levels and boosts your metabolism.

Reduces the risk of heart attack

Drinking green tea rapidly improves the health of body cells lining the blood vessels and also helps in lowering one`s risk for heart disease.The flavonoids present in this tea protect the heart by relaxing the blood vessels so blood can flow more easily.So,protect your heart and have green tea on a regular basis.

Fights against various cancers

The antioxidants in tea helps protect against a shipload of cancers, including breast, colon, colorectal, skin, lung, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, pancreas, liver, ovarian, prostate and oral cancers. Green tea extract is reported to induce cancer cell death and starve tumours by curbing the growth of new blood vessels that feed them.

Hydration benefits

If you love drinking green tea then there is good news for you.Contrary to common belief that tea dehydrates,green tea provides hydration benefits similar to water.Tea not only rehydrates as well as water does, it also has many other health benefits.


Protection from harmful ultraviolet rays

The sun’s UV rays in summer act as a constant threat. Green tea is rich in antioxidants that scavenge harmful free radicals in the body according to researches. Also using green tea extracts along with your sunscreen could afford you the greatest level of sun protection.

Keeps Diabetes in check

Green tea can do wonders to a person suffering from diabetes.Green tea apparently helps regulate glucose levels slowing the rise of blood sugar. It also triggers and stimulates insulin production and activates the functioning of pancreas to some extent.Blood sugar level in the body is also normalized and regularized by the use of green tea.

Prevention and treatment of neurological diseases

Polyphenols in green tea may help maintain the parts of brain that regulate learning and memory. So, regular consumption of green tea could help in prevention of degenerative and neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson`s.

Anti- Ageing benefits

Antioxidants found in green tea fight free radicals thereby keeping a check on ageing and promoting longevity.Because it contains high levels of oligomeric proanthocyanidins one of the most powerful antioxidants, Green Tea is thought to help slow down the premature ageing process.

Boosts your immunity

Polyphenols and Flavonoids present in green tea boost the immune system to make the human body stronger in fighting various infections. Also, Vitamin C present in green tea keeps cold and flu away.

How to Take Care of Your Eyes

Diet and regular upkeep are two important factors in taking care of your eyes. Eye exercises can restore your sight. Your eyes are the window to the world. It's important that you take care of them.

1-Eat lots of fruits and veggies! Carrots, loaded with beta carotene are especially helpful in maintaining healthy eyes. That's because beta carotene is an antioxidant that reduces the risk of macular degeneration

• Broccoli, bell peppers, and brussels sprouts are also great for your eyes, containing lots of vitamin C. Okay, they're not the greatest tasting vegetables in the world (or maybe you love them, in which case good for you!) so dip them in hummus or other yummy yogurt spreads to make them palatable.
• Wild salmon and sardines are also healthy options for your eyes. That's because they contain omega-3 fats, which are the good fats for your body. These omega-3s protect tiny blood vessels in the eyes.
• Sweet potatoes and spinach round out the healthy options for maintaining good eyes. Both contain beta carotene, and spinach contains lots of vitamin C, lutein, and zeaxanthin. Make the sweet spuds into home-fries with a bit of olive oil, and make spinach into a tasty side or a delectable dip.

 2-Avoid wearing contact lenses for more than 19 hours. This can cause permanent sight damage as well as extreme discomfort to your eyes. Don't wear glasses too long either. Especially 3-D glasses!

• Never sleep with your contact lenses in unless specifically instructed to do so. Your eyes need regular supplies of oxygen, and lenses block the flow of oxygen to the eyes, especially during sleep. So doctors recommend a normal period of break for your eyes during the night.
• Avoid wearing your contact lenses when swimming. Your lenses could easily slip off your ideas when they come in contact with the surface area of the water. If you are wearing goggles, your contact lenses may be used while swimming.

3-Use allergen-reducing eye drops sparingly. Using an allergen-reducing eye drop during allergy season to 'get the red out' and sooth itchiness may help on a limited basis, but chronic daily use can actually make the problem worse.

• Allergen-reducing eye drops work by constricting the blood flow to the cornea, thereby depriving it of oxygen. So while your eyes don't feel inflamed and itchy anymore, they're actually not getting any oxygen from blood. That's not ideal.
• Using redness-relieving eye drops chronically will cause more redness in your eyes. Your body gets so accustomed to the chemicals in the eye drops that they no longer work effectively.
• Read the labels of eye drops carefully; many drops cannot be used while wearing contacts  

4-Use cucumber on your eyelids. Press cold cucumber slices gently against eyelids 10 minutes before going to sleep at night to prevent puffiness.

• Cucumbers contain asorbic acid and caffeic acid, which prevent water retention. These compounds help explain why cucumbers are used throughout the world to treat inflammation and dermatitis.
• Green tea bag may also help prevent puffiness if applied to the eyes. Soak the tea bag in cold water for a few minutes and place over eyes for 15-20 minutes. The tannins in the tea should help reduce inflammation.

5-Wear UV protective sunglasses. Get polarized lenses, NOT just darker lenses. The lenses that only make the world darker will just make your pupils dilate and don't do a thing to stop the UV rays.

• Prolonged exposure to UV rays can harm your eyesight, protection in youth can help prevent loss of eyesight in later years. Exposure to UV rays has been linked to cataracts, macular degeneration, pingueculae and pterygia, harmful conditions for the eyes. 
• Since the damage to eyes from UV rays builds up over a lifetime, it's important to shield children from harmful rays. Make sure your children wear hats and protective glasses when they are out in the sunlight for prolonged periods.
• Be sure to wear sunglasses even if you're in the shade. Even though shade lessens UV and HEV exposure significantly, you're still exposing your eyes to UV rays reflected off of buildings and other structures.

6-Try not to spend so much time looking at your computer screen. (As a matter of fact, now would be a good time to give your eyes a break, since you're not doing anything too important.)

• While science hasn't yet proven that looking at computer screens causes permanent eye damage, it may cause eye strain and dry eyes. The glare from computer screens causes muscle fatigue in the eyes, either from being too bright or too dark.
• People blink less when they're looking at a screen, causing drier eyes. Make a conscious effort to blink every 30 seconds when you're sitting down and looking at your computer screen to combat dry eyes.

7-Wear goggles when appropriate. Be sure to wear goggles or other eye protective wear when working with chemicals or any place with harmful airborne particulates.

• Minimize the transmission of harmful particulate matter into eye region.

8-Exercise your eyes, and also be sure to relax them.

• Try focusing your eyes on objects that are near to you, then objects that are far away. Repeat this process multiple times.
• Sit down, place your elbows on your hips, close your eyes and bring your closed eyes down, resting them on your palms. Keep your palms covering your eyes for 10 seconds. Open your eyes and repeat as necessary.
• Stretch your arm out and place your thumb in the hitchhiker position. Focus your vision on your thumb while you slowly bring your outstretched arm closer to your body, until your thumb is about five inches from your face. Slowly zoom the thumb back to its original position, focusing on it with your eyes all the while.

9-Do not read in dim light. Reading in dim light can cause eye strain but will not damage your eyes. If your eyes feel tired, stop for a while and take a break.

10-Do not look at a bright light directly. Never focus your eyes on the sun directly, as it can damage your eyes.

 

What is Autism? What Causes Autism?

Autism is known as a complex developmental disability. Experts believe that Autism presents itself during the first three years of a person's life. The condition is the result of a neurological disorder that has an effect on normal brain function, affecting development of the person's communication and social interaction skills.
People with autism have issues with non-verbal communication, a wide range of social interactions, and activities that include an element of play and/or banter.

What is ASD?

ASD stands for Autism Spectrum Disorder and can sometimes be referred to as Autistic Spectrum Disorder. In this text Autism and ASD mean the same. ASDs are any developmental disabilities that have been caused by a brain abnormality. A person with an ASD typically has difficulty with social and communication skills.
A person with ASD will typically also prefer to stick to a set of behaviors and will resist any major (and many minor) changes to daily activities. Several relatives and friends of people with ASDs have commented that if the person knows a change is coming in advance, and has time to prepare for it; the resistance to the change is either gone completely or is much lower.

Autism is a wide-spectrum disorder

Autism (or ASD) is a wide-spectrum disorder. This means that no two people with autism will have exactly the same symptoms. As well as experiencing varying combinations of symptoms, some people will have mild symptoms while others will have severe ones. Below is a list of the most commonly found characteristics identified among people with an ASD.

Social skills

The way in which a person with an ASD interacts with another individual is quite different compared to how the rest of the population behaves. If the symptoms are not severe, the person with ASD may seem socially clumsy, sometimes offensive in his/her comments, or out of synch with everyone else. If the symptoms are more severe, the person may seem not to be interested in other people at all.

It is common for relatives, friends and people who interact with someone with an ASD to comment that the ASD sufferer makes very little eye contact. However, as health care professionals, teachers and others are improving their ability to detect signs of autism at an earlier age than before, eye contact among people with autism is improving. In many cases, if the symptoms are not severe, the person can be taught that eye contact is important for most people and he/she will remember to look people in the eye.
A person with autism may often miss the cues we give each other when we want to catch somebody's attention. The person with ASD might not know that somebody is trying to talk to them. They may also be very interested in talking to a particular person or group of people, but does not have the same skills as others to become fully involved. To put it more simply, they lack the necessary playing and talking skills.

Empathy - Understanding and being aware of the feelings of others

A person with autism will find it much harder to understand the feelings of other people. His/her ability to instinctively empathize with others is much weaker than other people's. However, if they are frequently reminded of this, the ability to take other people's feelings into account improves tremendously. In some cases - as a result of frequent practice - empathy does improve, and some of it becomes natural rather than intellectual. Even so, empathy never comes as naturally for a person with autism as it does to others.
Having a conversation with a person with autism may feel very much like a one-way trip. The person with ASD might give the impression that he is talking at people, rather than with or to them. He may love a theme, and talk about it a lot. However, there will be much less exchanging of ideas, thoughts, and feelings than there might be in a conversation with a person who does not have autism.
Almost everybody on this planet prefers to talk about himself/herself more than other people; it is human nature. The person with autism will usually do so even more.

Physical contact

 

16 Health Benefits of Lemons

1. Lemons are alkalizing for the body: Lemons are acidic to begin with but they are alkaline-forming on body fluids helping to restore balance to the body’s pH.

2. Lemons are rich in vitamin C and flavonoids that work against infections like the flu and colds.

3. Your liver loves lemons: “The lemon is a wonderful stimulant to the liver and is a dissolvent of uric acid and other poisons, liquefies the bile,” says Jethro Kloss in his book Back to Eden. Fresh lemon juice added to a large glass of water in the morning is a great liver detoxifier.

4. Cleans your bowels: Lemons increase peristalsis in the bowels, helping to create a bowel movement thus eliminating waste and helping with regularity. Add the juice of one lemon to warm water and drink first thing in the morning.

5. Scurvy is treated by giving one to two ounces of lemon juice diluted with water every two to four hours. In 1747, a naval surgeon named James Lind cured scurvy with fresh lemons. To this day, the British Navy requires ships to carry enough lemons so that every sailor could have one ounce of juice a day. In the past, lemons were replaced with limes; this is where the English got their nickname “limeys.” Watch this video: “Scurvy Pirates and the Lemon of Love”

6. The citric acid in lemon juice helps to dissolve gallstones, calcium deposits, and kidney stones.

7. Vitamin C in lemons helps to neutralize free radicals linked to aging and most types of disease.

8. The lemon peel contains the potent phytonutrient tangeretin, which has been proven to be effective for brain disorders like Parkinson’s disease.

9. In India, Ayurveda medicine values the lemon as a fruit and for its properties. It is sour, warm, promoter of gastric fire, light, good for vision, pungent and astringent.

10. It destroys intestinal worms.

11. When there is insufficient oxygen and difficulty in breathing (such as when mountain climbing) lemons are very helpful. The first man to reach the top of Mt. Everest, Edmund Hillary, said that his success on Mt. Everest was greatly due to lemons.

12. Lemons have powerful antibacterial properties; experiments have found the juice of lemons destroy the bacteria of malaria, cholera, diphtheria, typhoid and other deadly diseases.

13. Blood vessels are strengthened by the vitamin P (bioflavinoids) in lemon thus prevents internal hemorrhage. Also, making it useful in treating high blood pressure.

14. The symptoms of eye disorders, including diabetic retinopathy have been shown in research to improve due to the rutin, found in lemons.

15. Lemons contain 22 anti-cancer compounds, including naturally occurring limonene; oil which slows or halts the growth of cancer tumors in animals and flavonol glycosides which stop cell division in cancer cells.

16. According to The Reams Biological Ionization Theory (RBTI), the lemon is the ONLY food in the world that is anionic (an ion with a negative charge). All other foods are cationic (the ion has a positive charge.) This makes it extremely useful to health as it is the interaction between anions and cations that ultimately provides all cell energy.

Reference-----

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/16-health-benefits-of-lemons.html

Benefits of White Fruits and Vegetables

While there aren’t many types of white fruits and vegetables, they may already be common in your diet, as onions, potatoes, mushrooms, bananas, cauliflower, pears and garlic are all included in this group. Since white colored plants are grouped by their lack of pigment, rather than by a unifying color, they all have very different advantages.
The Benefits of Garlic and Onions
Garlic contains allicin, which is the compound responsible for this root vegetable’s strong odor. Allicin has been shown to have some antioxidant activity, which means it can help prevent cancer and heart disease. Allicin may have other positive effects on heart disease, including lowering blood pressure, and reducing fat deposits in arteries. Garlic is good for helping to prevent colds and infections and may help to stabilize blood sugar levels. Drinking milk with garlic can help to reduce the bad breath it can produce.
Onions have not been as extensively studied, but are believed to be beneficial to women by helping to prevent osteoporosis. Onions also contain antioxidants, which means they have the potential to mop up free radicals. These cause cell damage that can lead to wrinkles as well as cancer and heart disease.
The Benefits of Potatoes and Parsnips
Potatoes are one of the most widely grown and eaten vegetables in the world. Unfortunately, they are often peeled, which deprives them of many nutrients. With the skin, a single potato provides you with almost half your daily vitamin C, as well as potassium, B vitamins and dietary fiber. Cooling potatoes before eating them produces more “resistant starch,” which is digested more slowly than ordinary starch, and has benefits similar to dietary fiber. Parsnips are related to carrots and can provide you with an excellent amount of potassium and dietary fiber.
The Benefits of Cauliflower
Cauliflower has many benefits. It is highly nutritious, with large amounts of fiber, vitamin C, folate and other nutrients. It also contains several anti-cancer compounds, which repair DNA and stop cancer from growing. It seems particularly effective on digestive and reproductive system cancers. Cauliflower is best stir-fried, sauteed or steamed, because boiling can reduce the amounts of beneficial compounds it contains.
The Benefits of White Fruits
Pears are a good source of vitamin C and their skins contain insoluble fiber, which means they can be used as a gentle laxative. They are mildly anti-inflammatory, and may also help to lower blood pressure. Peaches and nectarines are different cultivars of the same fruit. White fleshed peaches are low in acid, so you may be able to eat them even if you suffer from heartburn or stomach ulcers. They contain vitamin C and fiber.
Bananas are very high in potassium and are often recommended to people suffering from potassium deficiency. They are associated with lower risk for colon and breast cancer and also work as a natural antacid. Eating bananas can improve your body’s ability to absorb calcium, which can lead to stronger bones.
While white fruits and vegetables don’t have a common pigment with health benefits, they have many individual nutritious qualities. Eat a wide variety of white fruits and vegetables to benefit from all their unique advantages.

Amazing, Strange and Funny Eyes Facts

The human eye blinks an average of 4,200,000 times a year.
It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.
Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing.
Blinking helps to wash tears over our eyeballs. That keeps them clean and moist. Also, if something is about to hit our eye, we will blink automatically.
Our body has some natural protection for our eyes. Our eyelashes help to keep dirt out of our eyes. Our eyebrows are made to keep sweat from running into our eyes.
The shark cornea has been used in eye surgery, since its cornea is similar to a human cornea.
The number one cause of blindness in adults is diabetes.
The eyeball of a human weighs approximately 28 grams.
The eye of a human can distinguish 500 shades of the gray.
The cornea is the only living tissue in the human body that does not contain any blood vessels.
Sailors once thought that wearing a gold earring would improve their eyesight.
Research has indicated that a tie that is on too tight cam increase the risk of glaucoma in men.
People generally read 25% slower from a computer screen compared to paper.
Men are able to read fine print better than women can.
All babies are colour blind when they are born.
Babies' eyes do not produce tears until the baby is approximately six to eight weeks old.
The reason why your nose gets runny when you are crying is because the tears from the eyes drain into the nose.
The most common injury caused by cosmetics is to the eye by a mascara wand.
Some people start to sneeze if they are exposed to sunlight or have a light shined into their eye.
Around the pupil is a colored muscle called the "iris." Our eyes may be BLUE, BROWN, GREEN, GRAY OR BLACK, because that is the color of the iris.
Our eyes have many parts. The black part on the front of our eye is called the "pupil." It is really a little hole that opens into the back part of our eyes.