Mental Fitness is as Important as Physical Fitness!

Hi everyone! The funniest thing happened to me the other day when I was visiting my family in Houston. We were all sitting in a restaurant having lunch when out of nowhere a woman came up to our table and greeted me warmly. "Hi Nancy! How are you girl?" I stared at her and drew a blank. I was completely mortified because she obviously knew me very well. My unease was apparent so she quickly told me who she was. Turns out she was a teller at my local bank back home in my little town who just happened to be visiting friends in Houston.  Even though this happened several days ago, I still feel so badly for this woman because I felt I was being rude for not recalling her name when she approached.  I also still feel the tinge of humiliation for being unable to recall her name. The truth is that as we get older our mental acuity is not as sharp as when we were young. Mental fitness is like physical fitness. Just as we should walk, bike, swim, etc. for our physical self we should practice exercising our minds as well. Growing older does not automatically mean you will lose your ability to think clearly, remember facts or be able to reason, but most people find that their memory slows down a bit as they age. Very often, however, the memory loss is related to stress, depression, medications, poor nutrition, changes in life such as retirement or even at times, grief. Research indicates that eating foods rich in antioxidants such as fruits and vegetables may help prevent the natural decline in brain function that comes with age. Research also indicates that exercise is one of the keys to keeping your mind sharp as you age. It helps to preserve the blood supply to the brain.  Regular exercise can help us all maintain quick reaction times and improve our brain power. The old adage is absolutely true, if your don't use it you lose it! Some suggestions for keeping your memory sharp are:

• Build routines into your day. Having a routine helps you remember more!
• Make lists. This helps your mind stay free of clutter. I keep a notepad by my bed to clear my mind before going to sleep.
• Do crossword puzzles or play on-line games with friends. I play Words with Friends daily on my computer or iPad. I have a first generation iPad, but am really looking forward to the new one coming soon. Recently, Apple unveiled its third generation iPad, which has been simply named "new iPad." It boasts remarkable features like Retina display and packs 4G LTE technology, which will enable faster streaming and downloads and should make playing games and working on-line crosswords much easier for all of us.
• Try making associations, especially visual connections, between what you are trying to learn and what you know.  Experts say the more ridiculous the associations, the better the chances of recalling things.

I hope what happened to me never happens again since it was so embarrassing! I plan to follow my own advice to keep my mind sharp in the future and hope you do too! Have a happy and healthy week everyone!

Miracle Pill to Stop Aging? - Try L-Carnosine!

Hi everyone! You know ever since I became more proactive in looking better and being healthy I have also started investigating ways to look younger! Naturally, as an almost 55 year old woman I start noticing how my body is aging. Starting this blog has made me become more aware of things that I can do to improve not only the way I feel, but also the way I look....and who doesn't want to look good? Recently, in another blog post I mentioned to you the advantages of taking GTF Chromium supplements to stop wrinkles and help the elasticity of the skin and Black Currant Oil for thinning hair. Well, yesterday I heard about a magic little pill called L-Carnosine on the Dr. Oz show. I just love that man! I definitely want to buy this! From what I read,  L-Carnosine was first discovered in 1900 in Russia, but it's just recently been seriously recognized in research around the world for its incredible properties. What is L-Carnosine? Well from what I can gather it is  a combination of 2 important amino acids called beta-alanine and L-histidine. It occurs naturally in the muscles of the body. Carnosine is easily broken down into these 2 amino acids, but they work miracles when they are combined to form L-Carnosine. When put together, they are have the fantastic ability to rejuvenate cells, and we all know that the erosion of cells is what ages us. According to the Oz show you will feel so much better and younger in many ways! From my review of this I understand that clinical research has now confirmed that Carnosine (and its derivatives) show marked improvements in the following conditions:

• Arthritis and bone health.
• High blood pressure AND low blood pressure!
• Regulates blood clotting and eases resultant conditions.
• Ulcers.
• Wounds and skin health.
• Cancer.
• Increased lifespan and anti-aging.
• Cataracts and other eye disorders.
• Muscular conditions.
• Improve learning and special awareness (ADHD and autism).
• Conditions linked to poor memory and confusion.
• Increases the body's own stem cell production. Stem cells have the remarkable potential to develop into many different cell types in the body and serve as a natural repair system.

 This is very interesting! I am posting the link below to the show from the website so you can hear for yourself how this pill works. I'm curious, have you ever tried it? If so, have you noticed any improvement in your appearance, memory, etc? Please let me know your thoughts!
Check it out here:
http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/miracle-pill-stop-aging