Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia which affects an estimated 26 million people worldwide. Brain cells are slowly killed off in those afflicted, and there is presently no cure for this disease. However, activities like walking have been shown to build brain volume.

The University of Pittsburgh study – published on Wednesday in the journal “Neurology” – began in 1995 and involved 299 volunteers who were free of dementia and who were asked to keep track of how much they walked. Nine years later, their brains were scanned to measure brain volume. Four years after that, researchers tested the volunteers for any dementia or cognitive impairment. They found that the risk of developing memory problems was halved in those who walked roughly 9.7km to 14.5km a week.

Researcher Dr. Kirk Erickson said: “Brain size shrinks in late adulthood, which can cause memory problems. Our results should encourage well-designed trials of physical exercise in older adults as a promising approach for preventing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease”.

Prevention is always better than cure, so put on your walking shoes!

Besides eating healthily, regular exercise is an absolute must if you want to lose weight and keep it off. Twice each day, I walk my dog Ginger for a minimum of 25 minutes each time. I like to walk briskly, which helps to burn calories as well as keep muscles, joints and other parts of the body well-oiled. At least every other day, I try to fit in another walk in-between of at least 25 minutes duration. Fortunately, there are several shopping malls just 10 to 20 minutes walking distance away from where I live, and there’s also a scenic river just across the road. Finding incentives to go for a walk is easy.

Don’t get the wrong idea, I don’t have iron-clad willpower. I still snack daily, and my nibbles include naughty things like chocolate, ice-cream and cookies besides healthier stuff like dried fruit, nuts and seeds. Hey, you’ve got to have quality of life! Of course, I’m particular about the quality of my snacks and go for top-quality ingredients with nothing artificial added, as far as possible. You can still lose weight without depriving yourself. Just be discerning about what you eat and exercise, exercise, exercise.

Being overweight causes all kinds of health problems, such as high cholesterol, high-blood pressure, cardiovascular ailments, diabetes and joint problems. It can also be a factor in cancer. Maintaining a good healthy weight is plain common sense, if you’d like to live long and well.

My next target is to lose another kilogram by Christmas, which is less than a month away. Wish me well!

My life has become so dependant on my computer, the internet and other technological aspects of modern living that I often long for a much simpler life. Wouldn’t it be nice to not have to care about checking emails, or writing reports and articles, or even responding to the cellphone for that matter? We’d probably also be much healthier without constant exposure to radiation and other hazards from computers, mobile phones, microwave ovens, television and various urban devices.  My eyesight would probably improve if I spend less time staring at a computer or TV screen and more time gazing at some distant view.

I’ve been trying to simplify my life and get back to basics. Instead of spending hours glued to the computer or the TV – like many modern humans – I try to get out more for long walks and fresh air. Rather than rely on convenience foods or eating out, I take my time to prepare fresh food from scratch. For the past three months, for instance, lunch has been a large, fresh, green salad with home-made dressing. The result? I’ve lost some weight and I’m hardly ever sick these days. I used to get coughs and colds frequently.

When life was simpler and before personal computers became commonplace, people used to actually write letters and send real Christmas cards. When was the last time you wrote or received a hand-written letter or card? Emails and e-cards may be convenient, but don’t you think they’re rather soul-less?

Getting back to basics is good for the body, mind and spirit. Billy, my cat, is sitting behind my computer monitor, swiping at my hands as I type on the keyboard. He wants me to know that he’s lonely and he wants me to play with him. Time for me to turn off this computer, spend some quality time with Billy and  then take my dog Ginger out for a nice, long walk.

When I visit the largest cancer center here, I can’t help but notice that most patients are Chinese, Malay, European or some other group, but I rarely ever see any Indians. Now, people the world over like to go on about how the traditional Japanese or Oriental diet seems to protect against cancer, but increasing numbers of Oriental Asians are getting cancer. This trend seems to go hand in hand with the adoption of a Westernised diet and lifestyle.

Cancer rates have risen dramatically in all Asian countries which have adopted a Westernised diet and lifestyle. Traditionally, Asians rarely ate meat and life was hard, so there was plenty of daily physical activity eg. manual work, walking everywhere. Regular exercise was a part of life. Now modern Asians eat chemical-tainted meat and other foods – including convenience / refined / processed foods – in EVERY meal, and we drive or are driven everywhere. We hardly even take the stairs, as we have elevators, escalators and travellators everywhere. Our air and environment is contaminated with chemicals.

Interestingly, Indians in my country have a very low incidence of cancer. Indians, on the whole, still prefer their traditional diet, which is characterised by lentils, beans, vegetables, lots of spices and -gasp! – lots of dairy products. They love milk, cheese, yoghurt, ghee (clarified butter) etc. in their savory dishes as well as their desserts, and their desserts use plenty of sugar. Non-vegetarian Indians like to eat unhealthy meats like mutton. Unlike Oriental Asians, their diet does not include any soy foods or seaweed, which are generally viewed as anti-cancer foods.

While Indians here may have low cancer rates, they tend to suffer from diabetes and cardiovascular problems. Like many other modern Asians, they have also become sedentary and more Westernised in their lifestyle. Nevertheless, there are elements in the traditional Indian diet which protect against cancer. I suspect it is the heavy consumption of legumes, lentils, beans, vegetables (including tomatoes, onions and cruciferous veggies like cauliflower), spices, and fermented dairy like yoghurt. Many of the foods listed here are known to be anti-estrogenic, aromatase inhibitors or, at worst, phytoestrogens.

Unfortunately, with urbanization, modern Indians are eating more meat and more foods tainted with chemicals, more convenience foods, more processed foods and more refined foods. They are eating more unnatural or fake foods, just like the Westerners, and they are exposed to more harmful chemicals in their environment, personal care products and household cleaning products. And they are nowhere near as physically active as their forefathers were. So cancer, along with other diseases, is on the rise amongst modern Indians.

The rising cancer statistics worldwide cannot simply be blamed on single factors like meat or dairy consumption, although commercially-farmed meats and dairy foods are certainly unhealthy. Dairy foods and even meat need not be harmful as along as they are not pumped full of hormones, antibiotics and other chemicals. Think about the Eskimos and the Mongolians. They had little access to plant food, if at all, so they had to rely on animal food – including dairy in the case of the Mongolians – for survival. The food they ate was clean and free from chemical contaminants. Everything was natural, unrefined and unprocessed.  Bear in mind that their traditional way of life was also very labor-intensive (EXERCISE, EXERCISE, EXERCISE!) and had virtually no exposure to chemicals. Cancer was virtually unknown in their traditional societies.

Obviously, the answer to being cancer-free lies in more than just diet, but that’s a good place to start. For me, I try to eat as naturally as possible. My diet is rich in vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds and legumes and I avoid refined and processed foods. Animal protein is mostly fish. I seldom eat meat. I do eat small quantities of dairy foods occasionally, and I do admit to sometimes having cookies or cakes. If I use sweeteners, I prefer it natural, like raw honey or maple syrup. The trick is to cut DOWN as far as possible, if you have difficulty cutting out certain foods completely. If I could afford it, I would eat organic all the way. I do what I can.

As for harmful chemicals in my personal care products and household care products, I’ve replaced whatever I can with products which are free from known carcinogens and other harmful ingredients. I get most of my products from Neways International as they have one of the widest ranges I’ve ever seen.

Oh, and I walk twice a day or more.

To keep cancer at bay, we need to get back to our roots and eat and live as naturally and cleanly as possible. Make a decision today to take a step in the right direction.

This feline is such a character. He likes to knead his paws on my tummy (ouch!) and he loves to get under the covers with me. When I take out the ironing board, he leaps on it before I can start ironing because, for some reason, he thinks it’s a place for massage and I’m his personal masseuse. So I have to massage him before he’ll get off, leaving fine kitty fur all over the board.

Billy also enjoys ambushing Ginger, my sweet-natured doggy who found him when he was barely a month old. You should see him lying in wait, flicking his tail and wriggling his posterior as he gets ready to pounce on poor unsuspecting Ginger. Ginger puts up with Billy. She thinks that he’s always trying to steal her food, which is really hilarious as she’s 10 times bigger than Billy is, and her kibble is more than Billy can manage. She probably thinks that way because she’s stolen Billy’s food many times. Those two furballs are a riot and they provide me with endless hours of amusement, companionship and love.

Keeping a pet is good for your health. Their therapeutic powers range from helping to keep the blood pressure in check (unless they poop on the carpet, of course), providing comfort during depression and improving physical fitness levels. Pets, even cranky ones like Billy, are natural mood enhancers. They always look up to you – except maybe for cats who can be snotty – and make you feel good.

Generally, spending time with your pets will reduce your levels of cortisol, the hormone associated with stress. Serotonin levels (a chemical associated with well-being) rise. Too much stress is harmful while rest is healing. It’s elementary.

Having a dog who needs to be walked twice a day forces you to get some exercise, a good thing for urban-living sedentary types. If your pooch is anything like Ginger, who has a mind of her own and is constantly in a tug-of-war with me, you’ll also benefit from weight bearing activity which strengthens your muscles and bones. Walking your dog is a healthy and inexpensive way of preventing osteoporosis.

For some great true stories about cats and dogs who helped their guardians through breast cancer treatment, check out:

The true story of kitty-cat Luke and her guardian Karen who had Stage III triple negative breast cancer
AND
The true story of Great Dane Kenya and her guardian “lifegoeson” who had Stage IV breast cancer

If you don’t have a pet, why not adopt one from the animal shelter? You’ll be saving more than just the animal’s life – you could be saving YOURS as well.

Recently, in a series of studies, scientists found that when people leave their concrete surroundings to spend a few hours in a more natural environment – forests, parks and places with plenty of trees – they experience increased immune system function.

Several factors play a part. One is stress reduction. The other appears to be airborne chemicals called phytoncides which plants emit to protect themselves against rotting and insects. A study found an increase in white blood cells, which lasted a week, in women exposed to phytoncides in forest air. A 2007 study showed that men who took two-hour walks in a forest over two days had a 50% spike in levels of white blood cells.

A study published in January this year included data on 280 healthy people in Japan. On one day, some people walked through the city for a few hours while another group of people walked through the forest. On the second day, they traded places. Scientists found that being among plants produced “lower concentration of cortisol, lower pulse rate, and lower blood pressure”.

Various studies have shown that visiting parks and forests seem to raise levels of white blood cells, which help to fight infection. Interestingly, in Japan which has one of the world’s highest life expectancy, its people enjoy visiting nature parks for its therapeutic effects. This practice is called “Shinrin-yoku”, which means forest bathing.

Think about it, people who live in rural areas and walk everywhere are known to have lower incidences of diseases like cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular problems. Ultimately, the best way to stay healthy and well is to have a strong immune system which functions properly. Medicine can only do so much. Time for me to go forest bathing.

1. They eat foods native to their territory, whether it be plant or animal in origin. Don’t forget that the Mongolians and Eskimos eat a predominantly meat and fat based diet, with hardly any plant food. The Mongolians, in addition, eat plenty of dairy foods. Many traditional European, Middle-Eastern and Indian diets also feature dairy products and meats.

2. Each native group obviously adapted to their respective diets, eating whatever was naturally available in order to stay alive. This is why a diet abundant in meat and fat was not harmful to the Eskimos or the Mongolians. In fact, it was protective for them, living in their harsh, wintry environments.

3. The foods they ate and beverages they drank were organic, unprocessed, unrefined and free from artificial additives like chemicals, hormones and antibiotics. Meat and dairy were completely natural and uncontaminated.

4. Foods were generally eaten fresh, freshly harvested or freshly killed. Any food preservation or storage was usually limited to salting, fermenting, drying or pickling. Modern societies tend to eat food which has been canned, packaged in some way or frozen for quite some time.

5. Cooking methods were completely natural. Nothing strange like microwaving or “nuking” in any way.

6. Kitchen utensils, cookware and materials used were also completely natural (clay, leaves, wood etc). Certainly no plastic.

7. Condiments, spices and flavorings were kept simple and natural. Nothing artificial.

8. In Asia, if oil was used for cooking, it was what was indigenous to the territory eg. peanut oil, coconut oil, soya bean oil, ghee (clarified butter), or lard (made from animal fat). “Healthy” fats like olive oil or grapeseed oil were unheard of.

9. If a sweetener was used, it was natural eg. cane sugar, palm sugar or honey.

10. Carbohydrates were fine and even essential, but they were usually natural, unrefined and free from artificial additives eg. tapioca, sweet potatoes, corn, beans, nuts, seeds, potatoes and other tubers.

11. No leftover food was kept. Everything was made fresh and finished in one sitting, so food did not have a chance to deteriorate further.

12. Usually, native people ate only what they needed, or even starved at times for a while. Excess was a luxury, and generally reserved for special occasions. Modern people are literally indulging themselves to death.

13. With the exception of people living in harsh environments like the Mongolians and Eskimos – where meat and fat was more readily available than plant foods – most native diets are dominated by plant foods. Meat was considered a luxury item to be eaten sparingly or reserved for special occasions. If seafood was available, that was eaten more often than meat. Modern societies consume far more meat than our forefathers did, and the meat we eat today is mostly adulterated and contaminated.

14. Almost all native societies have some fermented foods. These foods are rich in anti-cancer properties. Think sauerkraut, kimchi, miso, tempeh and yoghurt.

15. Almost all native societies have a rich tradition of using herbs for food, healing and beauty. The Chinese, for instance, have a vast variety of herbal teas, using herbs, flowers, roots, tree bark, fungi etc. I grew up drinking herbal teas and soups, but switched to Western concoctions and drugs and soda pop from my early teens. Now that I’m older and (hopefully) wiser, I’m beginning to rediscover Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and learning how to use traditional herbs at home.

16.The true native lifestyle is physically active, even rigorous, on a daily basis. Exercise was a way of life. People living in urban societies are very sedentary, and obesity has become an epidemic.

17 The environment and air was clean and pure. There was no exposure to modern contaminants like chemicals, radiation, electrical currents, vehicle and industrial emissions etc.

18. Furniture, building materials, fabrics etc was all organic.

19. There was no obsession with cleaning or enhancing body or home with products saturated with chemicals, unlike today.

20. People slept early and woke up early. Their sleeping environments were completely dark and quiet, except perhaps for the sounds of nature. No night lights, street lights, blinking lights, TV etc. Perfect for melatonin production.

These are just a few of my observations. As I said in my opening paragraph, the people who adulterate this “formula” are the ones who start getting all kinds of sicknesses, including cancer. Of course, observing a strict native diet and way of life is challenging in an urban society. But I believe we need to try our level best, in order to be cancer-free, even if it means re-locating. Major miracles often require major changes.

So, should we consume green tea, or soy, or turmeric, or flaxseed, or berries, or cruciferous vegetables, or iodine, or dark chocolate etc. or load up on more supplements? I think we know by now that each in itself CANNOT defeat cancer. Diet alone won’t cut it. Even vegetarians and exercise fanatics get cancer, right? A radical, holistic approach is required, and this may include some medical intervention. To keep cancer and other diseases at bay, it’s back to basics, back to our roots.

GO NATIVE, as far as it makes sense. In other words, if you’re a Mongolian working in a nice, cushy office in New York, the traditional Mongolian diet may not be healthy for you in this context. Adapt it to your present living environment, eliminating elements which are harmful (eg. unnatural foods, high-fat diet, chemicals, being sedentary) and adding those which are protective (eg. daily exercise, lots of plant foods, natural foods, fresh foods, safe personal care and household care products, conducive sleeping environment and times).

As long as your foods are natural and your way of life is as native as possible, a little dairy food or meat or dessert once in a while is not going to kill you. Just make sure it is pure, unrefined, unprocessed and fresh. Food which has travelled a long way to get to you is often “preserved” in some way to make it last the journey and storage. They also lose their nutritional value with each passing day.

Avoid anything artificial or unnatural, eat fresh, don’t over-indulge, lose weight, learn how to use herbs for everything, eat some fermented foods regularly, live in a pure and uncontaminated environment, sleep well and exercise everyday. GO NATIVE!

Call me restless, but sitting still throughout a TV show is a challenge for me, let alone indulging in TV marathons. The minute the commercial break comes on, I like to get up to do something active and productive, such as washing the dishes and tidying up. Given a choice between watching TV and going for a walk, I choose the walk every time. Unless the program is really educational or inspiring, it seems like such a waste of life to spend hours in front of the television set.

I had a really nice walk yesterday when I visited my sister-in-law’s resort home. While everybody else stayed indoors to – you guessed it – watch TV, I enjoyed a lovely, invigorating walk along the coastline. The weather was cool and the sea breeze was refreshing. There were many interesting plants, trees and flowers to discover along the way, as well as beautiful homes to admire. Of course, I sometimes stopped to pat the occasional cat or dog. Gazing across the sea into the distance was a good break for my eyes, accustomed as they are to near-sight activities like reading and working on the computer. The setting sun also gave me my daily dose of Vitamin D as well as therapeutic far infrared rays. What a wonderful, rejuvenating walk that was!

In January, a six-year Australian study reported that living a sedentary lifestyle can shorten your life. Surprise, surprise. Researchers from the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute in the state of Victoria traced the lifestyle habits of 8,800 adults aged 25 and older. They found that each hour spent in front of the TV daily increased the risk of dying earlier from cardiovascular disease. Published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, the study found every hour in front of the TV was associated with an 11% increased risk of death from all causes, a 9% higher risk of cancer death, and an 18% increased risk of death related to cardiovascular disease (CVD).

The researchers said: “Compared with people who watched less than two hours of television daily, those who watched more than four hours a day had a 46% higher risk of death from all causes and an 80% increased risk of CVD-related death”. They said this association held regardless of other independent and common CVD risk factors, including smoking, high blood pressure and cholesterol, unhealthy diet, excessive waist circumference and leisure exercises.

The findings suggested that any prolonged sedentary behavior, such as sitting at a desk, may pose a health risk. Said researcher Professor David Dunstan, head of the institute’s physical activity laboratory in the division of metabolism and obesity: “The human body was designed to move, not sit for extended periods of time. For many people, on a daily basis, they simply shift from one chair to another – from the chair in the car to the chair in the office to the chair in front of the television set.”

These findings applied not only to the overweight but also to those of a healthy weight: “Even if someone has a healthy body weight, sitting for long periods of time still has an unhealthy influence on their blood sugar and blood fats. In addition to doing regular exercise, avoid sitting for prolonged periods and keep in mind to ‘move more, more often’. Too mush sitting is bad for health.”

I’m off to walk my dog now!

There are more cleaning and other household products available today which are safer for people as well as the environment, such as Neways household products range. If, for some reason, you do not have these safer cleaning products at hand, here are some home made cleaning products you can rustle up yourself.

Multi-Purpose Cleaner
Mix 1 cup of white vinegar and I cup of water in a spray bottle. Spray on surfaces like sinks and kitchen countertops and wipe clean.

Tile Cleaner
Use a damp sponge to rub in bicarbonate of soda, then rinse. For tougher stains, wipe surfaces with vinegar first, then follow up with bicarbonate of soda.

Furniture Polish
Mix two parts olive oil to one part lemon juice. Put a small amount on a clean cloth or paper towel and apply evenly over furniture surface. Polish with a dry cloth.

Toilet Bowl Cleaner
Sprinkle bicarbonate of soda into the toilet bowl then add a small amount of vinegar. Leave for at least 15 minutes before scrubbing. To clean the rim, spray undiluted vinegar directly on it.

Window, Glass and Mirror Cleaner
If the glass is not too dirty, rubbing it with a crumpled up ball of newspaper may be sufficient. Otherwise, mix 2 teaspoons of white vinegar with 1 liter of warm water. Dip crumpled newspaper into the solution and wipe the glass. Use another sheet of newspaper to wipe dry.

Chopping Board Cleaner & Disinfectant
Pour boiling water over the board to kill the germs. You can also rub a slice of lemon or pour some vinegar over the chopping board. For tougher stains, squeeze some of the lemon juice onto the spot, let sit for 10 minutes, then wipe. Alternatively, soak the board in vinegar for 5-10 minutes.

Odor Remover
A classic trick is to put a small bowl of bicarbonate of soda in the refrigerator or cupboard. To remove stale smells from food containers, soak the container overnight in a mixture of baking soda and water.

Carpet & Rug Deodoriser
Mix together 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 1/2 cup flour and 3/4 cup bicarbonate of soda. Sprinkle the mixture on the carpet, rub in lightly, and let it stand for 15 minutes before vacuuming.

A team led by Professor Ernest Abel of Wayne State University in Michigan studied 230 photographs of United States major league baseball players who started playing before 1950 and grouped them by their smiles, as follows:

No Smile
Players who looked deadpan at thee camera

Partial Smile
Only the muscles round the mouth were involved in their grin

Full Smile
Both mouth and eyes were smiling and cheeks were raised

The players’ photographs were taken from the 1952 Baseball Register, a listing of professional baseball players that is packed with statistics such as year of birth, body mass index, marital status and career length, which reflects physical fitness.

As of June 1 2009, of the players who had passed away, those in the “No Smile” category lived for an average of 72.9 years. Those in the “Partial Smile” category died at age 75, while the “Full Smile” players lived up to 79.9 years. The study concluded that:

“To the extent that smile intensity reflects an underlying emotional disposition, the results of this study are congruent with those of other studies demonstrating that emotions have an positive relationship with mental health, physical health and longevity”.

All you sour pusses who go through life with a dark cloud perpetually hanging over you, BE WARNED! Lighten up, give thanks for the blessings in your life, live to be a blessing to others. Laugh and love much. Stop being a grouch. Brush off the chip on your shoulder. Get away from people, places and other elements which have a negative effect on you. Feed your mind, body and spirit with good things which will nourish you, not poison you. Live well, and leave behind happy memories. Decide today to really LIVE!