Eating or consuming food is natural.

Food gives energy, and it is how we can carry out our everyday activities like walking and cooking.

However, there can be extra energy left from the food we eat.

Although a small part is stored as carbohydrates (glycogen) in the muscles and liver, the bulk of the excess energy is stored as fat.

This fat can be stored in different parts of the body: if it is stored in the chest, waist, hips and buttock region, it is called subcutaneous fat; while if it is stored between the internal organs in the abdomen, it is referred to as “visceral fat” or more popularly as “belly fat.”

There are several factors that determine where excess fat is stored in the body, some of which includes heredity and hormones.

Subcutaneous fat has little to no adverse effect on a person’s health and lifespan; belly fat, on the other hand, leads to major implications and is closely related to morbidity and mortality than body weight or body mass index (BMI).

Abdominal or central Obesity occurs when there is an excess storage of belly fat.

Abdominal Obesity which is also referred to as “potbelly” or “beer belly” is strongly associated with a lot of illness and diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, abnormal lipids (elevated bad cholesterol and triglycerides), fatty liver, cardiovascular diseases (including heart attacks), stroke, dementia, and cancer.

Abdominal Obesity can be measured manually by measuring the waist circumference or more accurately by x-ray and magnetic imaging (DXA, CT, or MRI).

Body weight as a measure of body fat – BMI

BMI (Body Mass Index) is also known as weight/height ratio and is the official standard for measuring total body fat and is widely used by health professionals to advise about the health risks of overweight and Obesity.

However, BMI has several flaws, one of which is that BMI reflects body fat without showing how it is distributed in the body.

For example, an athlete who is fit might have little body fat, but because of he or she is muscular, the BMI would be high which does not truly reflect the amount of excess body fat in the body.

There are people in the normal BMI range with an excess of abdominal fat (aka as TOFI, thin-outside fat-inside), whose health risks are similar to those of obese people.

BIA or BMI?

BIA (Body Impedance Analysis) is another method used for estimating body fat.

The principle BIA uses is that since muscle tissue retain lots of water when compared to fat tissues, which contain little water.

So, a person with more muscle than fat will contain more water and will thus be less resistant to electricity as water is a great conductor of electric current.

BIA sends a weak electrical current through the body of the person to measured, and an estimation of the body fat percentage is made based on the body’s resistance to the electric current.

BIA has been integrated into more modern digital scales, which shows a person’s body fat percentage. Some of the more sophisticated scales can even offer a compartmental fat assessment, including visceral and subcutaneous fat percentages.

In summary, reducing belly fat is more important that barely checking body weight, as a person’s weight does not totally show the amount of excess body fat he or she has. It is thus best to calculate the BMI and also measure your body fat separately.

How to measure belly fat yourself

The easiest method of measuring belly fat involves simply using a flexible (stretch-resistant) tape measure.

Steps to measure your Waist Circumference (WC)

This technique requires that you measure the circumference of your “tummy” around the widest part of your belly.

The process is as follows:

• Step 1: Stand with your arms at the sides, feet positioned close together, and weight evenly distributed across your feet.
• Step 2: Wear little or no clothes so that your measurements are as close to your skin as possible.
• Step 3: Align the tape measure to the level of the belly button and circle the entire route around the body.
• Step 4: The tape measure should be placed gently on the skin and held at a level parallel to the floor.
• Step 5: Relax and avoid contracting any abdominal muscle.
• Step 6: Position the tape measure correctly, breathe in, exhale, and then take the measurement.

It is recommended to measure at the midpoint between the lowest rib and the top of the hip bone.

The number that indicates abdominal Obesity for a man and woman is different.

For a man, the ideal size is 37 inches (=94 cm) and below, while a woman is 31.5 inches (=80 cm) and below.

A man with abdominal Obesity will have a waist measurement greater than 40 inches (= 102 cm), while that of a woman is anything greater than 35 inches (= 89 cm).

Waist to Hip Ratio (WHR)

Abdominal Obesity can also be measured by comparing the abdominal and buttocks circumference.

To calculate your waist to hip ratio, you’ll start by measuring your abdominal circumference.

Then measure your hips circumference around their widest part. Now divide your waist size by your hip size to get your waist to hip ratio.

Men with WHR above 0.95 are said to have abdominal Obesity or pot belly, while for women, the number is 0.85.

How to lose belly fat

Losing weight is the best way to lose belly fat.

However, by going on a low-calorie diet, you cannot determine the exact part of the body the weight loss will occur.

It is thus important to not only diet but also include exercise in your weight loss routine.

Structured exercises like visiting the gym and being physically active are more important than dieting.

Also, a combination of cardio and strength training is the best approach as opposed to specifically exercising the abdominal muscles to reduce fat.

Sandy McGrath, Personal Trainer for the National Institute on Aging, produced THIS 20-minute home workout which we feel is a great way to get you up and about each day.

Why not try it for yourself? Click on the video below and get moving!

We hope these tips provide you with some insights and assistance to living your most brain healthy life.

If you enjoyed reading this blog, and want to see more of our articles relating to nutrition and brain healthy foods, check out the links to some of our other articles below:

• Healthy Bodies Make Healthy Minds
• How Iron and B Vitamins Improve Brain Activity
• A Daily Nutrition Booster
• The Great Benefits of Yoga

Be sure to hit the SUBSCRIBE button below so we can send you videos, blogs, and articles just like this one, as we release them.

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If you would like us to feature a particular topic or interest in one of our upcoming articles or videos, leave a comment below with the details or alternatively, send us an email to info@brainfitresorts.com.

We’d love to hear what’s on your mind.

Lastly, if you know someone who may benefit from this article or any of our other features, please SHARE this article with them using the icons below and help us to better enrich the lives of those who need it.

Until next time… Live Strong. Live Well. Live BrainFit.

From the myriad of information that exists out there, a lot of confusion exists around diets, supplements, and lifestyle.

My answer and there is no question about it, the number one strategy is… physical activity.

Physical activity has been conclusively shown to not only prevent cognitive decline but even improve cognition.

Truly, “what is good for the heart is also good for the brain”.

Where’s the link between physical health and brain health?

There are actually numerous reports, which show a strong connection between cardiovascular health and brain health.

The better the shape of our cardiovascular health, the better our brains operate.

On the opposing side, cardiovascular disease has been shown to be a risk factor for Dementia, as there is an association between cardiac output, regional brain blood flow, and cognitive impairment.

You see, our brains have an elaborate network of blood vessels that are integral to brain function.

These networks supply oxygen and nutrients to brain cells and remove waste products and toxins.

Thus, through increased physical activity, resulting in more blood pumping throughout our bodies, our brain’s networks can push in more oxygen and nutrients and push out more waste products and toxins.

Physical exercise also protects against Dementia by decreasing other chronic diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, and hypertension.

All of which, are commonly associated with being leading factors in developing Dementia and Alzheimer’s in later years.

Both animal and human studies have shown, that physical exercise induces brain growth factors (BDNF, brain-derived neurotrophic factor and IGF1, insulin-like growth factor 1)

These promote the formation of new blood vessels, nerve cells (neurons) and nerve cell connections (synapses), which play a crucial role in our neuroplasticity and protection.

In other words, as we exercise, our brains actually GROW and develop connections.

This is especially important for people entering their Golden Years.

Studies have proven that those who exercise regularly, have increased brain grey-matter volume in regions associated with general intelligence and executive functions.

These include everything from attention to planning and problem-solving skills.

What am I basing this on?

Well, for starters, several studies which followed healthy adults from midlife (mean 45) to old age (mean 80), have shown that high levels of physical fitness at midlife were associated with a 6-10 times lower chance of developing dementia, compared to those who had low or very low cardio-vascular fitness level¹.

A recent review of 39 interventional studies², which randomized adults older than 50 years to an aerobic exercise group (tai chi, or resistance and/or aerobic training) or a control group (just stretching and toning), showed significant improvements in cognitive function after 6-12 months in the aerobic exercise group compared to controls.

The review concluded, that an exercise program with components of both aerobic and resistance-type training, of at least moderate intensity, and for at least 45 min per session, on as many days of the week as possible, is beneficial to cognitive function in adults aged >50 years.

Another recent review³ of interventional studies, which examined the optimal exercise dose for better cognition, concluded that a minimum of 52 total hours over 6 months (2-3 one-hour sessions per week) of any type of physical  activity (cardiovascular exercise, resistance training, and mind-body exercises, or a combination) is associated with improved cognitive performance in older adults.

So, how can we integrate physical activity in our everyday life?

We have used here the terms physical activity and exercise interchangeably, but let’s examine how they differ.

Physical activity is any activity that gets your body moving such as gardening, walking the dog, raking leaves, and taking the stairs instead of the elevator.

An exercise is a form of physical activity that is specifically planned, structured, and repetitive such as weight training, tai chi, or an aerobics class.

We have no reason to believe that they differ in their effects on the brain, but obviously the former is less well quantified and studied.

However, if you can engage in an active lifestyle, which combines both, you will reap tons of benefits to your body health, cognition and mood.

You just need to make it a habit.

If you would like to find out just what kind of physical activity, exercises and habits, you can integrate into living a more active lifestyle, take a look at some of our previous Blog posts.

Click on the links below:

• The Great Benefits Of Yoga
• Why Body Fitness Not Brain Fitness?

Have you seen our Videos?

We publish great new content every week, so be sure to check out our latest videos by clicking the link below, and SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel for updates as soon as new videos are posted.

• BrainFit Resorts YouTube Channel

If you would like us to feature a particular topic, or have any questions for us, please leave a comment below, or on our Facebook Page HERE

Until next time… Live Strong, Live Well, Live BrainFit.

REFERENCES – LINKS

1. Midlife cardiovascular fitness and dementia: A 44-year longitudinal population study in women. Neurology. 2018 Apr 10;90(15):e1298-e1305. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29540588
2. Exercise interventions for cognitive function in adults older than 50: a systematic review with meta-analysis. Br J Sports Med. 2018 Feb;52(3):154-160. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28438770
3. Exercise for cognitive brain health in aging: A systematic review for an evaluation of dose. Neurol Clin Pract. 2018 Jun;8(3):257-265.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30105166

It is a total mind-body workout that combines strengthening and stretching poses with deep breathing and meditation or relaxation.

Over the years, Yoga has accumulated a vast amount of evidence indicating its health benefits for both body and mind.

Yoga has been shown to help lower blood pressure, lower the risk of heart disease, promote strength and flexibility and improve bones density.

In fact, it has a number of benefits that can support us aging well, healthily and can protect our brain.

What Are The Other Benefits Of Yoga?

Yoga is highly therapeutic.

Some of the ailments that can be relieved through the practice of Yoga include:

• Allergies
• Alzheimer’s Disease
• Stress and Anxiety
• Arthritis
• Back pain
• Bronchitis
• Carpal Tunnel syndrome
• The Common Cold
• Constipation
• Depression
• Gastrointestinal disorders
• Headaches and Migraines
• High blood pressure
• Hypertension
• Weak immune system
• Menstrual cramps
• Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

We know that there are a number of risk factors for our aging minds that increase the risk of cognitive decline.

These may include, stress, anxiety and depression, medical risk factors like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and sedentary and socially isolated lifestyles.

Yoga can help address many of these issues.

Attending classes can help with reducing sedentary tendencies and offer opportunities for social engagement, as well as the health benefits described above.

Below are three reasons why Yoga can be a protection towards some of the risk factors for aging poorly.

Slow breathing is helpful for stress and relaxation, anxiety and depression

Recent studies have indicated that a risk factor for Dementia is the experience of mental health issues like anxiety, depression, and Yoga has been shown to be helpful in the reduction of their symptoms.

How?

There are possibly many answers but one explanation could relate to learning to breathe well.

Central to the practice of Yoga is attention to the breath. Breathing exercises (both in yoga and in clinical psychology therapeutic practices) are helpful in aiding people to reduce stress levels and alleviate the flight fight response when it is triggered.

When we slow down the breath we send a signal to our brain that says “everything is fine” “I am safe”. This calms the body (releases muscle tension, slows down the heart rate) and the mind,

Balance

Yoga also helps with the practice of balance (a skill that declines with aging).

Balance is a component of many yoga poses like the Warrior, the Triangle, and the Tree Pose.

Balance is a very important and often overlooked skill, which is essential for everyday activities.

To keep our balance we use sensory input from vision and space location, process it in the brain and quickly activate our muscles to change our posture accordingly.

As we age this process may slow down and become less responsive. Practicing balance not only prevents possible accidental falls but also stimulates the brain with new learning, which improves health and contributes to neuroplasticity.

The ongoing practice of Yoga as we age will not only prevent balance-related issues like accidental falls, but it will also stimulate the brain and promote neuroplasticity, which keeps our brain young and adaptive.

Mindfulness and Concentration

Finally, yoga helps us focus on the present by providing both physical and mental anchors to the here and now during our practice.

Mindfulness is the act of paying attention to the present moment with awareness and without judgment.  During the practice of yoga, we are encouraged to notice our postures, our movements, and our breath, bringing mindfulness to the whole experience.

These activities strengthen our memory and improve concentration, cognitive skills that may decline with aging.

A fantastic plus is that Yoga has been shown to release endorphins in our brains; these are “feel good” chemicals that are released when a person is happy.

Yoga and Scoliosis

By combining the yoga postures with breathing awareness, one can also develop symmetrical alignment of the body.

This is accomplished by stretching muscles that have tightened and have become weak from asymmetrical imbalance.

With good structural balance, the body will create a more effortless posture using the bone structure, rather than overworking the muscles to hold itself up.

As a result, yoga practitioners also claim that the practice of the ancient exercise system is good therapy for Scoliosis.

Through Yoga, one can find that balance point which allows the scoliosis curve to coexist with gravity and activates the body’s natural plumb line.

The result for most people is better posture and less pain.

What IS Scoliosis?

Scoliosis is a medical term taken from a Greek word meaning ‘curvature.’

This disease often develops during childhood and causes the spine to curve laterally (to the side) to the left or right.

The spine’s normal curves occur at the cervical (neck), thoracic (chest), and lumbar regions (lower back).

These natural curves position the head over the pelvis and work as shock absorbers to distribute mechanical stress during movement.

Scoliosis only affects a small percentage of the population or approximately two percent (2%) of the entire U.S. population.

However, it has been found that scoliosis may be hereditary.

If someone in the family has scoliosis, the likelihood of an incidence of another case in another family member is approximately 20 percent.

Scoliosis Treatment Options

The traditional medical management of scoliosis is determined by the severity of the curvature, skeletal maturity, and likelihood of progression.

The conventional options are initially through observation, followed by bracing and surgery, and these procedures cost a lot.

Although many exercises help in reducing the scoliosis-related problems, yoga immediately helps improve the problem of uneven curves and is now considered to be the best scoliosis exercise.

Yoga postures are helpful for providing relief from scoliosis because they enable us to stretch our body and help regain the normal shape of the spine.

Yoga Benefits Everyone.

In any application, doing yoga is very empowering.

It gives hope that we can do something to improve our condition and our quality of living.

At BrainFit Resorts, yoga practice forms a large part of our programs.

We create an environment of peace and tranquility for seasoned practitioners and first-timers alike, to really feel the benefits of this age-old practice.

To give them the tools they need to return home and continue to build on the foundations of balance, stability, strength, and clear mental state.

Click HERE to find out more about our program.

We hope these tips provide you with some insights and assistance to living your most brain healthy life.

If you enjoyed reading this blog, and want to see more of our articles relating to physical activity, check out the links to some of our other articles and videos below:

• Healthy Bodies Make Healthy Minds
• Cognitive Decline: Can It Be Prevented? – Video
• Brain Aging… Can We Slow It Down? – Video

Be sure to hit the SUBSCRIBE button below so we can send you new feature articles and videos just like this one, as we release them.

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If you would like us to feature a particular topic or interest in one of our upcoming articles or videos, leave a comment below with the details or alternatively, send us an email to info@brainfitresorts.com.

We’d love to hear what’s on your mind.

Finally, if you know someone who may benefit from this article or any of our other features, please SHARE this article with them using the icons below, and help us to better enrich the lives of those who need it.

Until next time… Live Strong. Live Well. Live BrainFit.

Just look around you at the development of technologies, economies, experiences, and interactions that could not have existed even 20 years ago.

We create things. Develop things. Turn concepts into reality.

We seek ways to improve our livelihoods and environments for the better of mankind… for the most part.

However, as we age, it becomes critically important to exercise this giant muscle sitting atop our heads, in order for it not to fail us.

The need to train our brains

Just like we need to train our bodies through physical activity, so that it doesn’t fail us, we need to be cognizant of the fact that our minds also have a “use it or lose it” quality.

In the same way, we use a treadmill or go for a brisk walk outdoors we are exercising our bodies, each time we read a book, newspaper or have to apply thought to solve problems, we are exercising our minds.

However, in the world of on-demand entertainment services like YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, etc. and the significant increase in social media platforms like Facebook, we are actively “dumbing down” the required brain power we need to exercise each day.

Real world benefits

Numerous studies have shown that cognitive stimulation in older adults, for example, reading or playing board games and other thinking games, can prevent the decline in the mental function we tend to experience.

This includes both normal age-related cognitive decline, as well as the abnormal decline of Dementia.

With all of these great reasons to keep our brain nice and sharp, we’ve listed out our Top 5 Ways To Train Your Brain, which you can implement into your daily routines and start doing TODAY!

1. Embrace Repetition

   What is the simplest way to help yourself remember what you see?

   Repetition.
   
   For example, let’s say that you’ve just met someone for the first time:

   “Hi, my name is John”

   Don’t just respond with, “Nice to meet you”. Instead, say, “Nice to meet you, John.”
   

   This simple act of repeating John’s name will significantly increase your chance of committing it to memory.
   You can even add in an interesting feature that you notice to increase your memory recall about John.

   For example, maybe John has a nice pair of shoes. Or a big smile. Or a striking eye color.

   Looking for certain physical features or other attributes will also help your mind record this information as belonging to John, and associating them with John on the next recall.

2. Aim to do the same old things in different ways

   This can put some people out of their comfort zones, but imagine wearing your watch on your right arm instead of your left, or swapping your hands when using cutlery.

   It will seem strange at first, but in doing seemingly mundane, everyday tasks in a different way, your reengineering your neural pathways to find a new method of success in your task.

3. Seek out new information to learn

   While we may have accumulated significant information, education, skills and for some even mastery of certain knowledge in our lifetimes, the sheer volume of things that we consciously know that we “don’t know” is a much, much larger piece.

   Maybe start learning a new language. Take a vacation to somewhere you’ve never been. Preferably on the other side of the world. Where the spoken language is different from that of your own.

   OK, admittedly these examples are a little extreme.

   But, simply by being open to learning new things, seeking out new knowledge and experiences, and enjoying the process of doing so, it means we are constantly forcing our brains to be malleable and adaptable, resulting in ongoing higher brain activity.

4. Exercise.

   We’ve spoken earlier in this post about needing to work our minds as well as our bodies, but the two work harmoniously.

   Engaging in consistent physical activity of more than 20 minutes per day will increase blood flow to all your vital organs, and, subsequently, produce wonders for your brain.

   Consistency is key here, as exercising for 20 minutes two days per week will not help you, either physically or mentally.
   Our bodies are rhythmic machines, which is why so many people “get into a routine” when it comes to exercise.

   We train our bodies and our minds together, so both know when it’s time to get up and get moving.

   Studies show that consistent physical activity improves brain function, memory recall, creative thinking and at a neurological level, helps in the destruction to the buildup of plaques in the brain that cause cell damage.

5. More social, less media

   Engaging in social gatherings, or even just more regular conversations with friends and loved ones will not only increase your emotional baseline but engage your mind in all aspects.

   Humans are social beings. It’s baked into our DNA. The act of being together with the people we love and care for not only strengthens these relationships but requires us to utilize our brain functions faster.

   Thus, the more social we are, the more brain activity we see.

   This DOES NOT, however, extend to “liking” a photo of someone on Facebook or commenting on a shared post.

   We need to make a conscious effort to get off our screens and tablets and use our “smartphones” for what they were originally designed for.

   Phone calls.
   (And yes, we see the irony in the fact you’re reading this article from your screen or tablet now.)

Brain Training Through Technology

These days we are blessed to have multi-faceted resources, allowing us to combine the ongoing support of a community, with modern tools such as computerized brain training products.

Such tools have been shown to significantly improve cognitive skills such as attention, processing speed, visual-spatial memory, and self-reported measures of everyday function.

In fact, several recent reviews reinforce the benefits of computerized brain training products in promoting healthy brain aging (1,2)

Furthermore, in people with a higher risk of Dementia (mild cognitive impairment, MCI), this type of training improves overall attention as well as working memory, learning and even psychosocial functioning (3).

We have incorporated specific brain training systems into our “Brain Gym” here at BrainFit Resorts, and through our ProtectMyBrain Program, participants experience a personalized brain training regime that has been proven to increase cognitive skills over time.

If you would like to find out more about cognitive training, and whether the ProtectMyBrain Program is right for you, click on the link below for more details.

Click HERE to find out more about the ProtectMyBrain Dementia Prevention Program by BrainFit Resorts.

Final thoughts

Do you agree with our list? Is there anything else that you do regularly that helps you to keep your mind sharp?

Why not leave us a comment below with your best-kept secret, or write to us at info@brainfitresorts.com

We hope these tips provide you with some insights and assistance to living your most brain healthy life.

If you enjoyed reading this blog, and want to see more of our articles relating to cognitive skills and training, check out the links to some of our other articles below:

• How Can To Improve Cognitive Skills
• Cognitive Decline: Can It Be Prevented? – VIDEO
• Memory Loss… Is It Normal Or Abnormal? – VIDEO

Be sure to hit the SUBSCRIBE button below so we can send you new feature articles and videos just like this one, as we release them.

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If you would like us to feature a particular topic or interest in one of our upcoming articles or videos, leave a comment below with the details or alternatively, send us an email to info@brainfitresorts.com.

We’d love to hear what’s on your mind.

Finally, if you know someone who may benefit from this article or any of our other features, please SHARE this article with them using the icons below, and help us to better enrich the lives of those who need it.

Until next time… Live Strong. Live Well. Live BrainFit.

References:

1. Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis of Commercially Available Computerized Cognitive Training Among Older Adults. J Cogn Enhanc 2017
2. Enhancing Cognitive Functioning in Healthly Older Adults: a Systematic Review of the Clinical Significance of Commercially Available Computerized Cognitive Training in Preventing Cognitive Decline. Neuropsychol Rev (2017) 27:62–80
3. Hill NT, Mowszowski L, Naismith SL, Chadwick VL, Valenzuela M, Lampit A. Computerized cognitive training in older adults with mild cognitive impairment or dementia: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Psychiatry. 2016 Nov 14. [Epub ahead of print]