Different Parts of Our Body Age At Different Times

WE all accept that getting older is inevitable, and now leading clinicians have revealed the exact age when different body parts start to decline, most alarming being the brain and lungs.

French doctors have found that the quality of men's' sperm starts to deteriorate by 35, so that by the time a man is 45 a third of pregnancies end in miscarriage. Here, with the help of leading clinicians, Angela Epstein tells the Daily Mail the ages when different parts of the body start to lose their battle with time.

BRAIN - Starts aging at 20
As we get older, the number of nerve cells - or neurons - in the brain decrease. We start with around 100 billion, but in our 20s this number starts to decline. By 40, we could be losing up to 10,000 per day, affecting memory, co-ordination and brain function.

GUT - Starts aging at 55.
A healthy gut has a good balance between harmful and 'friendly' bacteria. But levels of friendly bacteria in the gut drop significantly after 55, particularly in the large intestine, says Tom MacDonald, professor of immunology at Barts And The London medical school. As a result, we suffer from poor digestion and an increased risk of gut disease. Constipation is more likely as we age, as the flow of digestive juices from the stomach, liver, pancreas and small intestine slows down.

BREASTS - Start aging at 35
BY their mid-30s, woman's breasts start losing tissue and fat, reducing size and fullness. Sagging starts properly at 40 and the aureole (the area surrounding the nipple) can shrink considerably.

BLADDER - Starts aging at 65
Loss of bladder control is more likely when you hit 65. Women are more vulnerable to bladder problems as, after the menopause, declining estrogen levels make tissues in the urethra - the tube through which urine passes - thinner and weaker, reducing bladder support. Bladder capacity in an older adult generally is about half that of a younger person - about two cups in a 30-year-old and one cup in a 70-year-old. ...

LUNGS - Start aging at 20
Lung capacity slowly starts to decrease from the age of 20. By the age of 40, some people are already experiencing breathlessness. This is partly because the muscles and the rib cage which control breathing stiffen up.

VOICE - Starts aging at 65
Our voices become quieter and hoarser with age. The soft tissues in the voice box (larynx) weaken, affecting the pitch, loudness and quality of the voice. A woman's voice may become huskier and lower in pitch, whereas a man's might become thinner and higher.

EYES - Start aging at 40
Glasses are the norm for many over-40s as failing eyesight kicks in - usually long-sightedness, affecting our ability to see objects up close.

HEART - Starts aging at 40
The heart pumps blood less effectively around the body as we get older. This is because blood vessels become less elastic, while arteries can harden or become blocked because of fatty deposits forming on the coronary arteries - caused by eating too much saturated fat. The blood supply to the heart is then reduced, resulting in painful angina. Men over 45 and women over 55 are at greater risk of a heart attack.

LIVER - Starts aging at 70
This is the only organ in the body which seems to defy the aging process.

KIDNEYS - Starts aging at 50
With kidneys, the number of filtering units (nephrons) that remove waste from the bloodstream starts to reduce in middle age.

PROSTATE - Starts aging at 50
The prostate often becomes enlarged with age, leading to problems such as increased need to urinate, says Professor Roger Kirby, director of the Prostate Centre in London . This is known as benign prostatic hyperplasia and affects half of men over 50, but rarely those under 40. It occurs when the prostate absorbs large amounts of the male sex hormone testosterone, which increases the growth of cells in the prostate. A normal prostate is the size of a walnut, but the condition can increase this to the size of a tangerine.

BONES - Start aging at 35
'Throughout our life, old bone is broken down by cells called osteoclasts and replaced by bone-building cells called osteoblasts - a process called bone turnover,' explains Robert Moots, professor of rheumatology at Aintree University Hospital in Liverpool . Children's bone growth is rapid - the skeleton takes just two years to renew itself completely. In adults, this can take ten years. Until our mid-20s, bone density is still increasing. But at 35 bone loss begins as part of the natural ageing process.

TEETH - Start aging at 40
As we age, we produce less saliva, which washes away bacteria, so teeth and gums are more vulnerable to decay. Receding gums - when tissue is lost from gums around the teeth - is common in adults over 40.

MUSCLES - Start aging at 30
Muscle is constantly being built up and broken down, a process which is well balanced in young adults. However, by the time we're 30, breakdown is greater than buildup, explains Professor Robert Moots. Once adults reach 40, they start to lose between 0.5 and 2 per cent of their muscle each year. Regular exercise can help prevent this.

HEARING - Starts aging mid-50s
More than half of people over 60 lose hearing because of their age, according to the Royal National Institute for the Deaf.

SKIN - Starts aging mid-20s
The skin starts to age naturally in your mid-20s.

TASTE AND SMELL - Start aging at 60
We start out in life with about 10,000 taste buds scattered on the tongue. This number can halve later in life. After we turn 60, taste and smell gradually decline, partly as a result of the normal ageing process.

FERTILITY - Starts aging at 35
Female fertility begins to decline after 35, as the number and quality of eggs in the ovaries start to fall. The lining of the womb may become thinner, making it less likely for a fertilised egg to take, and also creating an environment hostile to sperm.

HAIR - Starts aging at 30
Male hair loss usually begins in the 30s. Hair is made in tiny pouches just under the skin's surface, known as follices. A hair normally grows from each follicle for about three years, is then shed, and a new hair grows. Most people will have some grey hair by the age of 35. When we are young, our hair is coloured by the pigments produced by cells in the hair follicle known as melanocytes.

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Does Walking Help You Lose Weight?

Does Walking Help You Lose Weight?

Let me start by answering this question directly. Does Walking Help You Lose Weight? YES! Walking help you lose weight. When we are walking, we are currently burning calories. But mind you, it's not that much calorie that you burned while running or while doing certain home exercises. When we are walking, we burned some % of the calorie inside our body. Either you walked 1mile everyday or 10miles everyday, as far as you are walking, you are burning that calories inside your body.

Now that the Q has been answered. Let me tell you something regarding walking and losing weight at the same time. This might not be the best idea that I am sharing, but honestly, these things worked for me. So, without further ado, let me start it with the following topics.

Walking:
For me, walking would be the best exercise among the rest of exercises out there. I consider this as the best exercises since, when we are walking we don't gradually see or noticed that we are losing weight. It will likely helps us with our overall fitness. And the best thing is? It's cost-free. There are some pointers to consider also when you walk. First thing is, you need to walk slowly. Don't rush. When losing weight, we need through walking we need to do it one step at a time. We should take it slowly and surely. Never overdo walking if it is your first time. Walking 5miles for your first time walk would be hilarious. It will not do any good to your body. If it's your first time, I would suggest that you need to take atleast 1mile for a better start. then, 1.5miles on the next day and so on. Until the time that you will be used to walking, then, that's the time you need to walk farther and faster. The farther distance you walk, the more calories you burned. You can also invite some friends to join you for a walking session everyday.

Here's the thing, while walking you need to enjoy yourself. Walking for about 10minutes will not do any good. If you expect results in a week or two. You need to walk for about 30minutes to 45 minutes a day or every other day. The more time you do it, the faster you will see the result. But then again, never overdo it. Walking for 45minutes while listening to your favorite music or talking to a colleague, 45minutes of walking will be over.

When to walk:
The best time to do your walking session or routine is before breakfast. We all know that we don't need any additional gears or anything so that we can walk. All we need is our feet. And in addition, we all know that walking early in the morning will be the best time since when we walk, we don't need that high intesity level to make us walk. Not like when we run or do some workouts on the gym to help us lose weight. Also, when we do it before we eat in the morning, the energy that we are using by that time is the fat that was stored in our body for energy. We should make sure that we can avoid using the food that we eat during breakfast. That's the main reason why we should walk before eating.

We should always put in mind that if we want to lose weight fast, we need to put some extra effort on our exercises. Walking at the same pace and same distance will do no good in us. Once our body is used to that pace, the fats that will be burned will be the same. So, if we want to lose more weight, we need to put extra effort on it. We need to walk farther and fast. We need to have our arms engaged while walking. As what I have mentioned with my first article regarding running schedule to lose weight, we need to walk for atleast 45minutes. I have read some articles that  when we are doing our exercise, we are not using the fats that are stored in our body for the first 30minutes of workout. That means, we are using our calories as energy for the first 30minutes of workout. Sure, their may be fats that will be burned during that period, but I don't think that it's enough for our target weight loss for that specific day. Always remember that, the first 30minutes of workout, we are using the calories as energy and the rest will be the fats that is stored in our body. Thus, we need to walk atleast 45minutes  a day or every other day. Lastly, to lose more weight through walking, we need to change the pacing of our walk and take longer distance to lose more weight. By then, after 3weeks of doing the same thing, we will be shocked with the result. Now, if you are still asking does walking help you lose weight. You can answer it yourself.

Let me ask you this. Have you seen those people with the curve of a super model flaunting their body in the beach, but still you don't want to have those figure? or wearing some sexy dress that could drop everybodys' jaw? If your answer is NO, then you don't need this tips to help you lose weight. But if your answer is YES, then see more best at home exercises on this page.

Running Schedule To Lose Weight

Running Schedule To Lose Weight

Hello everyone. I just got back from my daily running routine. Anyway, just recently as I was searching on the web (I was searching for some answers with my friends question). I saw that their are a lot of topics or articles that if you look at it or read them through, you will not see any answers that you are looking for. By the way, my friend asked me this question, "What is the best running schedule to lose weight?". I was shocked and have to think about it for a while. I really don't know what to say to him, since I only jogged during my free time, or if the schedule is not really that busy. So, as I was browsing through the internet to see some specific answer to this question, I found out that some or mostly professional writers are not giving you on what you are looking for. So, here's the thing. I will make an article based on my experience on what would be the best running schedule to lose weight. Continue reading below to find out.

Motivation and Patience:
My friend is an Air Force applicant. He wanted to lose weight for up to 25lbs. He is currently doing the best that he can to drop his weight to pass the Air Force weight requirements. I told him that he should have the motivation and patience before he starts doing these things. You will not drop from 300lbs to 150lbs in one night. You need to be patience and help motivate yourself to achieve your target. Refer below some guidelines that I made for my friend.

Foods:
- Start eating healthy foods. Stay away from those tempting junk foods for they will not do any good into your body. They will only provide minimum nutrition requirements but will offer more calories or fats that would cause you to gain more weight, instead of losing extra pounds.
- Try to avoid soda, if possible stay away from those sweetie foods.
- If you can't handle not to eat bread, then you need to replace it with wheat bread. It will provide you with more protein.
- Eat only skinless chicken(breast and thigh part), they are good provider of protein, as well as eat fresh fruits and vegetables.

Daily Exercises:
- You need to do some Push Ups.
- You also need to do Sit Ups.
- Include Leg Raise
- Jump Rope
- Cardio Exercises (for more information regarding cardio exercises you can click here)

Running Schedule:
- The best running schedule to lose weight for me, I think is when you do it early in the morning. The reason for that is, when you jog/run in the morning. Your body is still fresh. You already have slept for 6hrs - 8hrs, so when you wake up early in the morning your body is already refreshed from strains and fatigues. Thus, when you are running early morning, you can spend more time on it. You will not get tired easily. You can spend atleast 1hr of non-stop running.
- You can also run during early sunset. During this time, your body will drain all those stress coming from work. One disadvantage that I think would often do you is that, you will easily get tired when doing your jog early sunset.

Running everyday will make you lose that unwanted calories and achieve the weight that you've want. I guess that's all that I can share when it comes to running. I sometimes do my running routine during sunset, but most of the time, I run at sunrise. The rays of the sun feels great when it touches your sweaty skin. And it will gives you more energy to do your routine. You can also match running with some best at home exercises that I have provided.

Did you know?
- Running will help us strengthen our heart as well as our bones and muscles. When running, our hearts will pump faster which will allow our body to have a smooth flow of our blood into our veins.

Lose weight, stay healthy and be fit.

Strange Wonders Of The World

Sailing Stones

The mysterious moving stones of the packed-mud desert of Death Valley have been a center of scientific controversy for decades.Rocks weighing up to hundreds of pounds have been known to move up to hundreds of yards at a time. Some scientists have proposed that a combination of strong winds and surface ice account for these movements.

However, this theory does not explain evidence of different rocks starting side by side and moving at different rates and in disparate directions.

Moreover, the physics calculations do not fully support this theory as wind speeds of hundreds of miles per hour would be needed to move some of the stones.

Columnar Basalt

When a thick lava flow cools, it contracts vertically but cracks perpendicular to its directional flow with remarkable geometric regularity- in most cases forming a regular grid of remarkable hexagonal extrusions
that almost appear to be made by man.

One of the most famous such examples is the Giant's Causeway on the coast of Ireland (shown above),
though the largest and most widely recognized would be Devil's Tower in Wyoming. Basalt also forms different but equally fascinating ways when eruptions are exposed to air or water.

Blue Holes

 Blue holes are giant and sudden drops in underwater elevation that get their name from the dark and foreboding blue tone they exhibit when viewed from above in relationship to surrounding waters. They can be hundreds of feet deep and while divers are able to explore some of them they are largely devoid of oxygen that would support sea life due to poor water circulation - leaving them eerily empty. Some blue holes, however, contain ancient fossil remains that have been discovered, preserved in their depths.

Red Tides

 Red tides are also known as algal blooms - sudden influxes of massive amounts of colored single-cell algae that can convert entire areas of an ocean or beach into a blood red color. While some of these can be relatively harmless, others can be harbingers of deadly toxins that cause the deaths of fish, birds and marine mammals. In some cases, even humans have been harmed by red tides though no human exposure are known to have been fatal. While they can be fatal, the constituent phytoplankton in ride tides are not harmful in small numbers.

Ice Circles

While many see these apparently perfect ice circles as worthy of conspiracy theorizing, scientists generally accept that they are formed by eddies in the water that spin a sizable piece of ice in a circular motion. As a result of this rotation, other pieces of ice and flotsam wear relatively evenly at the edges of the ice until it slowly forms into an essentially ideal circle. Ice circles have been seen with diameters of over 500 feet
and can also at times be found in clusters and groups of different sizes as shown above.

Mammatus Clouds

True to their ominous appearance, mammatus clouds are often harbingers of a coming storm or other extreme weather system. Typically composed primarily of ice, they can extend for hundreds of miles in each direction
and individual formations can remain visibly static for ten to fifteen minutes at a time. While they may appear foreboding they are merely the messengers- appearing around, before or even after severe weather.

Fire Rainbows

A circumhorizontal fire rainbow arc occurs at a rare confluence of right time and right place for the sun and certain clouds. Crystals within the clouds refract light into the various visible waves of the spectrum but only if they are arrayed correctly relative to the ground below. Due to the rarity with which all of these events happen in conjunction with one another, there are relatively few remarkable photos of this phenomena.

Sinkholes

Sinkholes are one of the world's scariest natural phenomena. Over time, water erodes the soil under the planet's surface until in some cases, quite suddenly, the land above gives way and collapses into the earth. Many sinkholes occur naturally while others are the result of human intervention. Displacing groundwater can open cavities while broken pipes can erode otherwise stable subterranean sediments. Urban sinkholes, up to hundreds of feet deep have formed and consumed parts of city blocks, sidewalks and even entire buildings.

Penitentes

 Named after peak-hooded New Mexican monks (lower right above), penitentes are dazzling naturally-forming ice blades that stick up at sharp angles toward the sun. Rarely found except at high altitudes,
they can grow up taller than a human and form in vast fields. As ice melts in particular patterns, 'valleys' formed by initial melts leave 'mountains' in their wake. Strangely, these formations ultimately slow the melting process as the peaks cast shadows on the deeper surfaces below and allow for winds to blow over the peaks, cooling them.

Lenticular Clouds

 Ever wonder the truth about UFOs? Avoided by traditional pilots but loved by sailplane aviators, lenticular clouds are masses of cloud with strong internal uplift that can drive a motorless flyer to high elevations. Their shape is quite often mistaken for a mysterious flying object or the artificial cover for one. Generally, lenticular clouds are formed as wind speeds up while moving around a large land object such as a mountain.

Light Pillars

Light pillars appear as eerily upright luminous columns in the sky, beacons cast into the air above without an apparent source. These are visible when light reflects just right off of ice crystals from either the sun (as in the two top images above) or from artificial ground sources such as street or park lights. Despite their appearance as near-solid columns of light, the effect is entirely created by our own relative viewpoint.

Sundogs

Like light pillars, sundogs are the product of light passing through crystals. The particular shape and orientation of the crystals can have a drastic visual impact for the viewer, producing a longer tail and changing the range of colors one sees. The relative height of the sun in the sky shifts the distance the sundogs appear to be on either side of the sun. Varying climactic conditions on other planets in our solar system produce halos with up to four sundogs from those planets' perspectives. Sundogs have been speculated about and discussed since ancient times and written records describing the various attributes of our sun date back the Egyptians and Greeks.

Fire Whirls

Fire whirls (also known as fire devils or tornadoes) appear in or around raging fires when the right combination of climactic conditions is present. Fire whirls can be spawned by other natural events such as earthquakes and thunderstorms, and can be incredibly dangerous, in some cases spinning well out of the zone of a fire itself to cause devastation and death in a radius not even reached by heat or flame. Fire whirls have been known to be nearly a mile high, have wind speeds of over 100 miles per hour and to last for 20 or more minutes.

Orange Moons

This last phenomena is something most people have seen before - beautiful orange moon hanging low in the sky. But what causes this phenomena - and, for that matter, does the moon have a color at all?

When the moon appears lower on the horizon, rays of light bouncing off it have to pass through a great deal more of our atmosphere which slowly strips away everything but yellows, oranges and reds. The bottommost image above is true to the hues of the moon but has enhanced colors to more clearly show the differences in shade that illustrate the mixed topography and minerology that tell the story of the moon's surface. Looking at the colors in combination with the craters one can start to trace the history of impacts and consequent material movements across the face of our mysterious moon.

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LOS MENOS CONOCIDOS TRASTORNOS DE LA CONDUCTA ALIMENTARIA

Cuando escuchamos hablar de trastornos de la conducta alimentaria, quizás lo primero que se nos viene a la mente es la anorexia y, tal vez, la bulimia.

Si bien es cierto que estos dos desordenes son los más conocidos y los más prevalentes en la población, de un tiempo a esta parte se está produciendo un enorme crecimiento de otros trastornos relacionados con la alimentación, menos conocidos, pero igualmente peligrosos. La meta de artículo de hoy es presentaros brevemente cuatro de estos desordenes del comportamiento alimentario más minoritarios:

VIGOREXIA: es un trastorno caracterizado por la obsesión de verse musculoso. Son personas, mayoritariamente hombres, que se miran constantemente al espejo, visitan frecuentemente la báscula y dedican casi todo su tiempo a ir al gimnasio, con lo que abandonan sus actividades sociales. Estas personas acostumbran a llevar una dieta muy rica en proteínas y a consumir gran cantidad de suplementos nutricionales con objetivo de aumentar la masa muscular. Un riesgo asociado a este desorden es el posible consumo de anabolizantes, hormonas de crecimiento y demás sustancias dopantes. Por más entrenamientos que realicen, o musculatura que consigan, siempre se ven débiles, enclenques y carentes de cualquier atractivo.

  

ORTOREXIA: consiste en una obsesión por los alimentos “biológicamente puros”. Las personas afectas sufren una excesiva preocupación por la comida sana, que llega a ser el objetivo principal de su vida. Suelen descartar de su dieta carnes, grasas, alimentos cultivados con pesticidas, transgénicos y hasta cualquier alimento que haya sufrido algún procesado. Estos enfermos esperan obtener todo tipo de beneficios físicos, psíquicos y morales con su dieta, lo que les lleva a tener una dependencia parecida a las drogas. Estas personas dedican gran parte del día a pensar y planificar su dieta para que sea lo más “sana” posible. Paradójicamente suelen presentar deficiencias nutricionales derivadas de una alimentación desequilibrada.

 

BINGE EATING O TRASTORNO POR ATRACÓN: se caracteriza por atracones de comida recurrentes en ausencia de la conducta compensatoria típica de la bulimia nerviosa (autoinducción al vómito, abusos de laxantes u otros fármacos, ayuno y ejercicio físico excesivo). Durante estos episodios, la persona afectada ingiere de forma incontrolada grandes cantidades de comida, generalmente en menos de dos horas, pudiéndose llegar a tomar en estos atracones hasta 20.000 calorías. Estas personas pierden totalmente el control y comen hasta quedar-se desagradablemente llenos aunque no tengan hambre, lo que les hace sentir tremendamente culpables después del atracón. Estas personas están más predispuestas a sufrir obesidad, problemas digestivos, diabetes, colesterol, hipertensión, problemas cardíacos…

MEGAREXIA: el trastorno más recientemente definido y probablemente el más desconocido. Los megaréxicos son personas obesas que sufren una alteración de la percepción de la realidad y que al verse al espejo se ven delgadas. Sería una patología totalmente opuesta a la anorexia. Estas personas acostumbran a llevar una alimentación rica en grasas, azúcares y comida basura, no obstante, se creen que están perfectamente saludables. La sociedad no es conocedora de este desorden, lo que dificulta su diagnóstico, prevención y tratamiento. Se desconoce el porcentaje de persones afectadas, pero al parecer puede ser mucho más extendida de lo que cabría esperar.

Si os ha interesado el presente artículo, y queréis conocer más acerca de estas alteraciones alimentarias, os invito a visualizar una ponencia titulada “De la obesidad a la anorexia. La virtud del equilibrio.” 

Random things that make me smile

Our chihuahua had 6 adorable puppies and we finally sold them all except the one that no body wanted. She was the only girl with the 5 brothers. She has an under bite and lots of freckles. We are keeping her and think she is special. Her name is Princess Freckles. Cookie and Princess are happy together and we love both of them. (It was hard to give up the other puppies though)

I cleaned the kitchen pantry and found weevils. Yuk! So, glad to have them gone.

Larry and I went to Saturday night Conference together and got motivated and inspired to continue on and move forward. We also saw a video of Christian and Stephanie Nielson, my nephew and his wife, and how they are accepting their new life and are moving on after the plane crash and terrible burns.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHDvxPjsm8E&feature=player_embedded

I got a phone call today from Arline Parker,up in Tremonton, Utah.
She and Boyd are some of our dearest friends and it was great to hear her voice today. They were full time missionaries that rented from us and we grew to be very good friends. We are looking forward to visiting them in July.

I love going swimming most every morning at my sister's house. She has salt water treatment without the high chlorine. My son, James, takes care of her pool. It's sparkling clean and I love having that time alone in the early mornings to swim and look up at the sky and meditate. It's such a beautiful world and I love their trees and flowers and gorgeous pool. It's great exercise, especially for the lymph system.

We enjoyed having my brothers and sisters and their spouses over (well many of them) for a barbecue and talking about good times together. What a great family I've been blessed with. For the first time, the chicken was sooo good and tender. We learned how to do it by basting it in oil and vinegar salad dressing and Red Devil Cayenne Pepper Sauce. Yum!! Thanks to the LeSueur's who gave us the recipe.

I survived Girls Camp and had a good time. Actually I had a touch of the flu while there. But, we had fun making bubble gum necklaces, putting on a skit, doing Singing trees, early morning exercises, and having yummy food. I'm so glad I could go this year.

Now I get to go to bed. Good night.

Improve your Brain Power - Memory

Everyone can take steps to improve their memory, and with time and practice most people can gain the ability to memorize seemingly impossible amounts of information. Whether you want to win the World Memory Championships, ace your history test, or simply remember where you put your keys, this article can get you started. Scientists believe that exercising your brain can create a ‘cognitive reserve' that will help you stay sharp as you age.

1. Convince yourself that you do have a good memory that will improve. Too many people get stuck here and convince themselves that their memory is bad, that they are just not good with names, that numbers just slip out of their minds for some reason. Erase those thoughts and vow to improve your memory. Commit yourself to the task and bask in your achievements — it's hard to keep motivated if you beat yourself down every time you make a little bit of progress.

2. Keep your brain active. The brain is not a muscle, but regularly “exercising” the brain actually does keep it growing and spurs the development of new nerve connections that can help improve memory. By developing new mental skills—especially complex ones such as learning a new language or learning to play a new musical instrument—and challenging your brain with puzzles and games you can keep your brain active and improve its physiological functioning.

3. Exercise daily. Regular aerobic exercise improves circulation and efficiency throughout the body, including in the brain, and can help ward off the memory loss that comes with aging. Exercise also makes you more alert and relaxed, and can thereby improve your memory uptake, allowing you to take better mental “pictures.”

4. Reduce stress. Chronic stress, although it does not physically damage the brain, can make remembering much more difficult. Even temporary stresses can make it more difficult to effectively focus on concepts and observe things. Try to relax, regularly practice yoga or other stretching exercises, and see a doctor if you have severe chronic stress.

5. Eat well and eat right. There are a lot of herbal supplements on the market that claim to improve memory, but none have yet been shown to be effective in clinical tests (although small studies have shown some promising results for ginkgo biloba and phosphatidylserine) . A healthy diet, however, contributes to a healthy brain, and foods containing antioxidants— broccoli, blueberries, spinach, and berries, for example—and Omega-3 fatty acids appear to promote healthy brain functioning. Feed your brain with such supplements as Thiamine, Vitamin E, Niacin and Vitamin B-6. Grazing, eating 5 or 6 small meals throughout the day instead of 3 large meals, also seems to improve mental functioning (including memory) by limiting dips in blood sugar, which may negatively affect the brain.

6. Take better pictures. Often we forget things not because our memory is bad, but rather because our observational skills need work. One common situation where this occurs (and which almost everyone can relate to) is meeting new people. Often we don't really learn people's names at first because we aren't really concentrating on remembering them. You'll find that if you make a conscious effort to remember such things, you'll do much better. One way to train yourself to be more observant is to look at an unfamiliar photograph for a few seconds and then turn the photograph over and describe or write down as many details as you can about the photograph. Try closing your eyes and picturing the photo in your mind. Use a new photograph each time you try this exercise, and with regular practice you will find you're able to remember more details with even shorter glimpses of the photos.

7. Give yourself time to form a memory. Memories are very fragile in the short-term, and distractions can make you quickly forget something as simple as a phone number. The key to avoid losing memories before you can even form them is to be able to focus on the thing to be remembered for a while without thinking about other things, so when you're trying to remember something, avoid distractions and complicated tasks for a few minutes.

8. Create vivid, memorable images. You remember information more easily if you can visualize it. If you want to associate a child with a book, try not to visualize the child reading the book – that's too simple and forgettable. Instead, come up with something more jarring, something that sticks, like the book chasing the child, or the child eating the book. It's your mind – make the images as shocking and emotional as possible to keep the associations strong.

9. Repeat things you need to learn. The more times you hear, see, or think about something, the more surely you'll remember it, right? It's a no-brainer. When you want to remember something, be it your new coworker's name or your best friend's birthday, repeat it, either out loud or silently. Try writing it down; think about it.

10. Group things you need to remember. Random lists of things (a shopping list, for example) can be especially difficult to remember. To make it easier, try categorizing the individual things from the list. If you can remember that, among other things, you wanted to buy four different kinds of vegetables, you'll find it easier to remember all four.

11. Organize your life. Keep items that you frequently need, such as keys and eyeglasses, in the same place every time. Use an electronic organizer or daily planner to keep track of appointments, due dates for bills, and other tasks. Keep phone numbers and addresses in an address book or enter them into your computer or cell phone. Improved organization can help free up your powers of concentration so that you can remember less routine things. Even if being organized doesn't improve your memory, you'll receive a lot of the same benefits (i.e. you won't have to search for your keys anymore).

12. Try meditation. Research now suggests that people who regularly practice “mindfulness” meditation are able to focus better and may have better memories. Mindfulness (also known as awareness or insight meditation) is the type commonly practiced in Western countries and is easy to learn. Studies at Massachusetts General Hospital show that regular meditation thickens the cerebral cortex in the brain by increasing the blood flow to that region. Some researchers believe this can enhance attention span, focus, and memory.

13. Sleep well. The amount of sleep we get affects the brain's ability to recall recently learned information. Getting a good night's sleep – a minimum of seven hours a night – may improve your short-term memory and long-term relational memory, according to recent studies conducted at the Harvard Medical School.

14. Build your memorization arsenal. Learn pegs, memory palaces, and the Dominic System. These techniques form the foundation for mnemonic techniques, and will visibly improve your memory.

15. Venture out and learn from your mistakes. Go ahead and take a stab at memorizing the first one hundred digits of pi, or, if you've done that already, the first one thousand. Memorize the monarchs of England through your memory palaces, or your grocery list through visualization. Through diligent effort you will eventually master the art of memorization.

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Cyclodextrin Results in Mice May Help Shape Clinical Trial for NPC

Wall Street Journal Health Blog Article

In an article by Amy Dockser Marcus, the Wall Street Journal's Health Blog reported on a paper recently published in the Journal of Neuroscience on the use of cyclodextrin to treat NPC in mice. The paper's authors, led by Dr. John M. Dietschy of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, report that the treatment not only kept the mice alive, but prevented the cognitive decline of NPC.

From the WSJ blog: " “It will be a very influential paper in the field,” scientist Daniel Ory [Chair of the NNPDF's Scientific Advisory Board] tells the Health Blog. Ory ought to know: he is the principal investigator on an NIH grant focused on getting cyclodextrin from the lab into NPC patients. He’s also working closely with NIH’s Therapeutics for Rare and Neglected Diseases program, which selected NPC and cyclodextrin as one of its pilot projects to attempt to repurpose drugs for use in rare diseases."

The NNPDF hosted a conference call on May 2 which addressed plans for an upcoming clinical trial using cyclodextrin in NPC patients. In addition to Dr. Ory, the conference call included information about the clinical trial from Dr. Forbes "Denny" Porter of the National Institutes of Health. To read the text of the conference call, visit this page on NPC research updates.

For a link to the WSJ Health Blog article, visit the NNPDF's NewsLine page.

Fantastic Colors of Sri Lanka

School children descend the steps as they return after a visit to the rock fortress in Sigiriya. Sigiriya (Lion's rock), an ancient rock fortress and palace ruin situated in central Sri Lanka is a World Heritage Site.

A child holds an oil lamp in front of the Sri Dalada Maligawa (Temple of the Tooth) as they take part in a procession during the Esala Perahera festival in the ancient hill capital of Kandy. The festival features a nightly procession of Kandyan dancers, fire twirlers, traditional musicians and elephants and draws thousands of spectators from around the country.

Sri Lankan officer cadets march at a ceremony for 281 new army officers' graduation at the central hill town of Diyatalawa.

Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan bowls at a practice session ahead of the second one-day international cricket match between Sri Lanka and Pakistan, in Dambulla.

A fisherman prepares his net for the night at Kandalama Lake, near Dambulla.

A visitor looks at frescoes on a rock face at the rock fortress in Sigiriya. Sigiriya (Lion's rock) is a popular tourist destination renowned for its ancient fresco paintings.

The shadow of the rock fortress is seen on the forest canopies below, in Sigiriya.

Kandyan dancers perform in front of the Sri Dalada Maligawa (Temple of the Tooth) as they take part in a procession during the Esala Perahera festival in the ancient hill capital of Kandy

A man displays a 3-day-old green turtle hatchling before releasing it into the ocean at a turtle hatchery in Kosgoda, north of Galle. Of the world's eight turtle species, Sri Lanka is home to five. Turtle hatcheries along the coast provide a way of earning a living for the people running them and also help combat the poaching of turtle eggs.

Three elephants, including one carrying a casket believed to contain a Buddha tooth relic (center), stand in front of the Sri Dalada Maligawa (Temple of the Tooth) as they take part in a procession during the Esala Perahera festival in Kandy

An elephant feeds at an elephant orphanage in Pinnawala The elephant orphanage aims to take care of orphaned or abandoned elephants in the jungles of Sri Lanka. The mahouts, or elephant keepers, feed the elephants and take them twice a day to a nearby river for bathing and drinking water.

An elephant herd bathes at a river near an elephant orphanage in Pinnawala

A Buddha statue is reflected in a lake at the Tsumani Honganji Vihara in Peraliya, north of Galle. The statue at the Vihara, along the coast, was built with Japanese assistance after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

People sit on the edge of a lookout on the walls of a 16th century Dutch fort as the sun sets in Galle.

Sri Lankan fishermen, also known locally as stick fishermen, sit perched on stilts fixed into the ocean floor as they fish in Koggala area, south of Galle

A Sri Lankan fisherman avoids a wave as he wades into the water to take his place on stilts, south of Galle

A Sri Lankan girl peeps from her window as the train rolls out from the railway station in Galle

Sri Lankan torch bearers wait for festivities to begin on opening night of the annual Kandy Esala Perahera festival Kandy.

Hindu devotees take part in a procession of chariots during the annual Chariot Festival in Wellawattha

A monkey rests on a wall as another grooms it at the rock fortress ruins in Sigiriya, near Dambulla

Sri Lankan traditional dancers from Budawatta Dance Troupe perform during the launch of "Meet in Sri Lanka" campaign, in New Delhi, India, Friday, July 31, 2009. The campaign is launched by Sri Lankan Tourism Ministry and Sri Lankan airlines to attract tour operators and Indian tourists.

Christian priest holds a small idol of Our Lady of Good Voyage as her main idol lies covered in floral tributes and decorations, right, atop a fishing boat, at a fishing port in Negambo, Sri Lanka, Sunday, July 19, 2009. Fishermen of the Christian community take out a traditional annual procession of the Lady of Good Voyage from a local church by foot and then later by boat to the ocean, as an expression of thanks for what the community considers her blessings for safe voyage.

Fishermen push their boat ashore as they use the waves to help them get it onto the beach in Unawatuna.

A Sri Lankan fisherman walks into the water in the Koggala area, Sri Lanka.

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How to Create filter in YAHOO and GMAIL - Informative

No doubt the mails circulated in various group are in huge numbers and they do mix up with our official/personal mails. Just to avoid all this please use the filters.

The procedure to create filter is as mentioned below:

Open your ID. Go to Options > Filters > Add. Now give the filter name as XXXX Group and in the subject line write/copy paste (so that you dont make mistake) ditto XXXX and then Move the message to ' To new folder. Give the name of new folder as XXXX. Save.

This way all the group mails will automatically go in this folder leaving your inbox free for your personal/official mails.

No doubt the mails circulated in various group are in huge numbers and they do mix up with our official/personal mails. Just to avoid all this please use the filters.

The procedure to create filter in GMAIL is as mentioned below:

Open your ID. Go to Settings > Filters >Create New Filter. In the subject carefully write XXXX. Now click 'next step . select the boxes 'skip the inbox archive it'. and apply the label. From choose label click new. Now give the label name as XXXX. Now select the box apply filter to conversations. Now click create filter. This way all the group mails will automatically go in this filter leaving your inbox free for ur personal/official mails.

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