Dental Hygiene- The way it should be…

By: Dr. Fahad Afzal 

There are plenty of good reasons to be physically active. Big ones include reducing the odds of developing heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. Maybe you want to lose weight, lower your blood pressure, prevent depression, or just look better. Here’s another one, which especially applies to those of us (including me) experiencing the brain fog that comes with age: exercise changes the brain in ways that protect memory and thinking skills.

In a study done at the University of British Columbia, researchers found that regular aerobic exercise, the kind that gets your heart and your sweat glands pumping, appears to boost the size of the hippocampus, the brain area involved in verbal memory and learning. Resistance training, balance and muscle toning exercises did not have the same results.

The finding comes at a critical time. Researchers say one new case of dementia is detected every four seconds globally. They estimate that by the year 2050, more than 115 million people will have dementia worldwide.

Exercise and the brain

Exercise helps memory and thinking through both direct and indirect means. The benefits of exercise come directly from its ability to reduce insulin resistance, reduce inflammation, and stimulate the release of growth factors—chemicals in the brain that affect the health of brain cells, the growth of new blood vessels in the brain, and even the abundance and survival of new brain cells.

Indirectly, exercise improves mood and sleep, and reduces stress and anxiety. Problems in these areas frequently cause or contribute to cognitive impairment.

Many studies have suggested that the parts of the brain that control thinking and memory (the prefrontal cortex and medial temporal cortex) have greater volume in people who exercise versus people who don’t. “Even more exciting is the finding that engaging in a program of regular exercise of moderate intensity over six months or a year is associated with an increase in the volume of selected brain regions,” says Dr. Scott McGinnis, a neurologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and an instructor in neurology at Harvard Medical School.

Put it to the test

So what should you do? Start exercising! We don’t know exactly which exercise is best. Almost all of the research has looked at walking, including the latest study. “It’s likely that other forms of aerobic exercise that get your heart pumping might yield similar benefits,” says Dr. McGinnis.

How much exercise is required to improve memory? These study participants walked briskly for one hour, twice a week. That’s 120 minutes of moderate intensity exercise a week. Standard recommendations advise half an hour of moderate physical activity most days of the week, or 150 minutes a week. If that seems daunting, start with a few minutes a day, and increase the amount you exercise by five or 10 minutes every week until you reach your goal.

If you don’t want to walk, consider other moderate-intensity exercises, such as swimming, stair climbing, tennis, squash, or dancing. Don’t forget that household activities can count as well, such as intense floor mopping, raking leaves, or anything that gets your heart pumping so much that you break out in a light sweat.

Don’t have the discipline to do it on your own? Try any or all of these ideas:

• Join a class or work out with a friend who’ll hold you accountable.
• Track your progress, which encourages you to reach a goal.
• If you’re able, hire a personal trainer. (Paying an expert is good motivation.)

Whatever exercise and motivators you choose, commit to establishing exercise as a habit, almost like taking a prescription medication. After all, they say that exercise is medicine, and that can go on the top of anyone’s list of reasons to work out.

By: Dr. Khursheed Faridi, MBBS, MD, DA, FIPM 

Those hard frames underneath your skin plays an important part in your body’s overall function. Aside from being the foundation, bones protect your vital organs, and aid in producing the blood that’s circulated in your body. Whenever you walk or do the slightest movement with your finger, it’s because your muscles are aided by bones.

One of the building blocks of strong bones is calcium, making calcium intake for bone health important at every age. Drinking milk daily’s probably one of the first few health lessons we get while growing up. Milk, being a good source of calcium, helps in the prevention of bones from weakening. Eating calcium rich food regularly is a good practice as our bones are always being broken down and rebuilt. Most dairy products such as milk, cheese, and yogurt are good sources of calcium. Tofu, Almonds, and fish like Sardines and Salmon are good sources of calcium as well. Aside from calcium, your bones also need vitamin D in order to absorb calcium efficiently. So even if you’re taking in enough calcium, it just going down the drain if you’re vitamin D deficient.

Why is Calcium necessary for bone health?

Characterized by decrease of bone mass, Osteoporosis is a silent disease commonly affecting elderlies; signifying the importance of calcium nutrition and bone health in the elderly. Getting optimum calcium intake for bone health is important not just for older folks but for the younger ones as well. Our bodies continue building bone mass until mid-20s. No matter your age, taking care of your bones should be at the top of our list.

Going the Extra Mile in Bone Care

So, you might be religiously eating calcium-rich foods, and maybe even taking up a doctor’s prescribed calcium supplement. But those practices might not be good enough. Some of the things you chew on or drink influence how much calcium seeps into your bones, and how much (literally) gets flushed away. To get the balances tip in your favor, here’s a short run down of calcium-depleting foods.

Salt from the bag of chips you ate, to that can of corned beef in your pantry, to that dash you added while cooking tops our list. Yes, it gets flushed out of your body. But it does its best to drag down calcium with it as you pee.

Sodas can surely ease you on a hot day. But no bottle of cold soda is good for your health.  Containing phosphoric acid, these drinks increase calcium excretion over time.

Caffeine, much like the prior ones, leaches calcium from your body. Despite the proclaimed health benefits, the phytochemicals in caffeinated drinks flow in your blood stream and into your calcium rich bones, setting other chemicals up for the leaching action.

Alcohol consumption doesn’t only affect your liver. Osteoblasts, your body’s bone building cells, are prevented from doing their job whenever you drink booze. It’s literally a bone breaker as it blocks all the calcium nutrients that’s supposed to be in your body.

Sugary snacks are always the easiest thing to grab whenever your tummy grumbles. There are really no proven links to sugar and bone health but whenever you get heightened sugar intake, it’s possible overlook on getting enough nutrient-rich food that you need.

Legumes such as navy beans and peas are high in phytates which interfere with the body’s ability to absorb the calcium. On the contrary, these food items also contain magnesium, fiber, and other nutrients that help your body’s fight against osteoporosis so you don’t have to avoid them altogether.

Everything in Moderation

 It’s not easy to switch food lifestyles in an instant. The trick here is to manage your consumption. As they always say, too much of anything is bad for you. Consuming less than two cups of coffee, and less than a bottle of cola a day is a good start. But if you can manage to cut these out altogether, that’s even better!

Conclusion

Calcium, along with vitamin D, sets a good foundation for our bodily functions. It’s no wonder why calcium is good for bone health. There are many ways we can consume calcium-rich foods such as milk, yogurt, cheese, kale, broccoli and many more. For better bone health and protection against other diseases, remember to maintain a balanced diet rich in calcium and vitamin D through food and supplements.