I got this emailed to me from TriVita and just wanted to share in its entirety, as I think it's valuable stuff...

Keeping Your Memory Sharp

OK, I will admit it if you will – I have forgotten the names of people while talking to them! I have lost my car keys, misplaced my glasses and turned the wrong way on my drive home.

How about you? Does it seem like your memory is playing tricks on you as you age? Well, there are reasons for that and very few of the reasons are related to diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer’s.

How to make a memory
Your memory is an amazing miracle. Each second, your brain processes billions of bits of information from your five senses. You may consciously perceive only a very small percentage of this information because one function of your brain is to filter out unimportant information. The things you remember will usually be advantageous to you, such as remembering your wedding anniversary date as well as where the speed trap is on your drive home.

Memory is divided into two basic groups:

1. Short-term memory
2. Long-term memory

Short-term memories are quickly forgotten when they are no longer important. Practicing or rehearsing can improve your memory by moving more information into the long-term category. For instance, when I am distracted by stress I may not be able to remember where I left my car keys. That information was deleted from my short-term memory. However, if I consciously say, “I am hanging my car keys on the hook,” I am far more likely to remember where they are.

How to keep a memory

Reduce stress
Stress kills your memory. The stress system is designed to ensure survival. It helps us fight off a snarling dog or flee from a menacing bear. As important as that is, humans do more every day than merely survive. If you want to have a good, healthy memory, do all you can to reduce the need for fight or flight stress responses.

Learn something new
As I mentioned earlier, practicing or rehearsing something enhances memory. So does learning something new. You see, memory is facilitated through the billions of neurons and synapses in your brain by patterns: retracing old patterns as well as creating new patterns. The more new things we master, the more connections we create and the better our overall memory will be.

If you want to remember your anniversary, start learning a foreign language. If you want to remember important names, learn how to play a musical instrument. The more you learn – and the more you connect the old with the new – the better your overall memory will be.

How to nourish a memory
Certain nutrients help the memory remain sharp. These nutrients fall into two basic categories: those that create brain structure and those that nourish brain function.

Your brain is made mostly of fat. And the majority of that fat is an Omega-3 fatty acid called DHA. So, to have a healthy brain we need healthy fats like OmegaPrime. Your nerve cells convert some fats into functional nerve proteins called myelin. Formation of myelin requires dietary protein and Vitamin B-12. So, for healthy brain structure and function we need Omega-3 fats, healthy dietary protein and Vitamin B-12.

When the memory is activated it creates heat in the brain. To fuel the memory, quench the heat, and repair the daily wear and tear on your brain, you need antioxidants. Certain antioxidants specifically target brain function. A recent study at Arizona State University demonstrated that the antioxidants found in Optima4 not only helped golfers perform better on the course, but they also significantly improved their memory.

What do you remember?
To recap: Occasional memory lapses usually indicate you are distracted by stress. Rehearsing things you want to remember will help and practicing new things that you have learned will help as well. Because new behaviors create new pathways in your brain, learning something new such as a foreign language or musical instrument can improve your overall memory.

Stress kills your memory. Nutrients such as Omega-3, Vitamin B-12 and brain-specific antioxidants such as those found in Optima4 help rebuild and restore your ability to remember. With all of these tools at your disposal you have access to the power of a healthy memory.

Take Control of Your Health

• Reduce stress
• Increase physical and mental activity
• Learn something new
• Rehearse before an important event
• Practice and review the things you want to remember
• Nourish your memory with
  • OmegaPrime
  • Super Sublingual B-12
  • Optima4

Some Children Must Work Too Hard To Learn

I received this via email from the Home School Legal Defense Association, but it has great information for anyone who struggles in school or with learning...

It is always puzzling to a parent when one of their children doesn’t learn to read or write as quickly as their siblings. Sometimes parents find that giving the child more time to mature works well. Other times the child struggles with the learning process in spite of being given more time.

Maybe you are a parent who has recently taken your child out of the school setting because he was not learning well, despite an Individual Education Plan and special reading and writing classes. Your child is likely suffering from a block in one or more of his “learning gates.” One of the main learning gates is the “writing learning gate,” and consequently is the most common to be blocked by a glitch in learning.

Writing Gate Blocked—When Copying Doesn’t Work

God designed our left brain hemisphere to concentrate on new tasks, such as driving a car, or riding a bike. After concentrated practice, that task is then transferred over the corpus callosum (the brain midline), to the right brain, which is responsible for automaticity of processes. If we imagine the left brain hemisphere as the “thinking (concentrating) brain” and the right hemisphere as the “doing (automatic) brain,” we can see how this transfer allows us to “think and do” at the same time. Then we can think and drive at the same time, or think and ride our bike at the same time.

Generally, when we teach a child how to write, after six months of practice that writing is expected to cross over from the “concentrating brain” to the “automatic brain” so the child can now “think and write” at the same time. For many children, this transfer does not easily occur. Thus, they have to give energy, or a level of concentration, to a task that other children do not have to do...

This often solves the mystery of why many children learn their spelling words easily by writing them in a workbook, or writing them five times each, while other children can write words hundreds of times and still not store the spelling word in their long-term memory. Now we realize that these struggling children have to use their “batteries” just for the writing process, so that the learning process cannot occur. Thus, the method of copying to learn is totally ineffective for these children. We need to help them open up their writing gates.

These children are very commonly thought of as “lazy, sloppy or unmotivated.” We, unknowingly, make them re-copy work that is sloppy, not realizing that they have a bona fide writing block. The majority of the time, when a child who loves to listen to mom read stories, but says that he doesn’t like or even “hates” schoolwork, he is struggling with a blocked writing gate.

Characteristics

Let’s look at some of the symptoms children who have blocked writing gates present to us daily:

• Frequent or occasional reversals in letters or numbers (after age 7)
• Letters made from bottom to top (vertical reversals)
• Writing is very labor intensive
• Copying takes a long time
• Math problems solved mentally to avoid writing them down
• Writing appears sloppy and child is often considered lazy
• Oral recitation of stories is excellent, but writing is minimal
• Capital and small letters mixed in writing
• In math, lining up numbers in multiplication or division is difficult

No child has all of these characteristics, but if your child has several, you may consider this an area he or she is struggling in. If a child has many of the characteristics, or is over age 9 and still writes reversals, they may be labeled with dysgraphia. Many times these children are considered “gifted with a glitch.” They are excellent in verbal expression, but way behind in written expression. Writing paragraphs and longer papers are something that they take great pains to avoid. They give one-word answers whenever possible.

Compensation

When a parent recognizes that their child has a blocked learning gate, and is not just being sloppy or resistant to writing without a reason, then steps can be taken to alleviate some of the writing burden on the child, until the problem can be corrected.

• Reduce the amount of writing a child needs to do during the day. Do more answers for chapter questions orally. Limit the amount of writing in workbooks.
• Reduce or eliminate copying for 3-6 months. Save the child’s “battery energy” for writing paragraphs, or a paper once a week.
• Use another method of learning spelling words that does not include writing multiple times. Resources include Sequential Spelling or Right Brain Spelling.
• Teach the child keyboarding for some writing projects (However, most children who have dysgraphia, or a writing glitch, also find keyboarding quite labor-intensive also.)

Correction

There are various methods that can be used to take the stress out of a child’s writing system, and make the whole writing process more fluent. Here are a few:

• NILD has a private therapy program that incorporates “Rhythmic Writing” to help reduce the stress in the writing system.
• “The Source for Dyslexia and Dysgraphia,” from LinguiSystems contains ideas on how to correct writing problems.
• The “Brain Integration Therapy Manual” by Dianne Craft, contains a daily “Writing Eight Exercise,” that opens the child’s writing gate and eliminates reversals.
• “Handwriting Without Tears” is a writing program that works well after a child has a strong midline.

Conclusion

A child can have a learning glitch, or block in a learning gate, that causes him to struggle everyday with schoolwork, without the parents’ knowledge. Using some simple checklists, the parent can identify this problem and design the school day to be less frustrating. More importantly, the parent can avail herself of all the wonderful corrective techniques, so that the child does not need to struggle with the burden of having to work so hard at writing, or with a dysgraphia. God has wonderful answers for us. He leads us in so many ways, and we are ever grateful!

For more information on the Four Learning Gates, and how they can be affecting your child’s daily learning, visit the HSLDA Struggling Learners website. This site is designed to help parents both identify and correct many of the everyday learning challenges that children experience. Of particular interest is the “Smart Kids Who Hate to Write” article on that website.

Life Is Difficult

Read Job 1:1--12

Life is difficult. That blunt, three-word statement is an accurate appraisal of our existence on this earth. When the writer of the biblical book named Job picked up his stylus to write his story, he could have begun with a similar-sounding and equally blunt sentence, "Life is unfair."

No one could argue the point that life is punctuated with hardship, heartaches, and headaches. Most of us have learned to face the reality that life is difficult. But unfair? Something kicks in, deep within most of us, making it almost intolerable for us to accept and cope with what's unfair. Our drive for justice overrides our patience with pain.

Life is not just difficult, it's downright unfair. Welcome to Job's world.

Job was a man of unparalleled and genuine piety. He was also a man of well-deserved prosperity. He was a godly gentleman, extremely wealthy, a fine husband, and a faithful father. In a quick and brutal sweep of back-to-back calamities, Job was reduced to a twisted mass of brokenness and grief. The extraordinary accumulation of disasters that hit him would have been enough to finish off any one of us today.

Job is left bankrupt, homeless, helpless, and childless. He's left standing beside the ten fresh graves of his now-dead children in a windswept valley. His wife is heaving deep sobs of grief as she kneels beside him, having just heard him say, "Whether our God gives to us or takes everything from us, we will follow Him." She leans over and secretly whispers, "Why don't you just curse God and die?"

His misery turns to mystery with God's silence. If the words of his so-called friends are hard to hear, the silence of God becomes downright intolerable. Not until the thirty-eighth chapter of the book does God finally break the silence, however long that took. Even if it were just a few months, try to imagine. You've become the object of your alleged friends' accusations, and the heavens are brass as you plead for answers from the Almighty, who remains mysteriously mute. Nothing comes to you by way of comfort. It's all so unfair; you've done nothing to deserve such anguish.

Pause and ponder their grief---and remember that Job had done nothing to deserve such unbearable pain. If it had been you, how would you have responded?

Day by Day, Charles Swindoll, July 2005, Thomas Nelson, inc., Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved. Purchase "Day by Day" here.

World Alzheimer’s Day

Did you know?

• World Alzheimer’s day is commemorated every year on September 21.
• 6 out of 10 Alzheimer's patients wander away from home. Of those, 70% will wander more than once.
• It is estimated that more than 5 million people have Alzheimer's or another form of dementia.

Alzheimer’s disease, a progressive, degenerative condition, is characterized by worsening symptoms which, in advanced stages, include confusion, memory loss, disorientation, dementia and the inability to communicate. People with these advanced symptoms often require continuing supervision to prevent them from harming themselves or wandering away from home. Advanced symptoms may be mistaken for drunkenness or mental illness.

This was sent to me by MedicAlert, and they had some amazing stories of how their bracelets have helped keep individuals with Alzheimer's safe. Worth checking out...

Quiet Strength

INTRODUCING...

Tony Dungy on Winning with Quiet Strength DVD In this engaging and revealing DVD presentation, Coach Tony Dungy encourages us to look beyond life's struggles and disappointments and learn to live with a sense of purpose and significance. Anyone who loves sports and desires a winning life will enjoy this candidlook at how one man used his quiet strength to rise to the top despite overwhelming personal and professional obstacles. The DVD can be viewed in 10 segments for small group study along with study material supplied as a PDF or as one presentation. AFA Online Store is offering this DVD while the supply lasts. Don’t miss your opportunity to own this DVD.

Success

"I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position one has reached in life as by the obstacles he has overcome trying to succeed."

- Booker T. Washington

Share?

Anyone have any great info on their blog, website, or somewhere else that they'd like to share about struggles and successes? Let me know - I'd love to have lots of great resources on here!!

The Basic Building Blocks of Healthy Aging

I received this email from TriVita today and thought it was a great one about aging well.

“None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.” - Henry David Thoreau

Healthy aging is an important topic for me as I age, and I am sure it is an important topic for you as well; no one wants to be sick as they enter their “wisdom years.” This article is about living long and maintaining optimum health.

Is that possible? Yes, it is! Even though some of our longevity depends on genetics, even more depends on the choices we make every day. Health only comes from healthy living, based on healthy choices. The best possible choices for healthy living today will give us the best chance for healthy aging – and a life filled with vitality instead of disability.

What is aging?

Look around at the wide variety of people you know. Look at the health status of each of them and you will see people of the same chronological age that are far different in their biological age.

We see seniors such as John Glenn who went into space at age 77 and former President George Herbert Walker Bush who went skydiving at age 75 and then again at age 80. Unfortunately, these remarkable people may be the exception to the rule. All you have to do is look around you and see people your own age (and younger) who are already disabled or suffering. Many chronic health concerns may be prevented with just a little care!

So, chronological aging is about the calendar and has nothing to do with our health and vitality. Biological aging is about how healthy we are and how energetic we feel. Whereas we cannot literally “turn the clock back” on chronology, we can often repair and rejuvenate our biology and reduce the speed at which we age.

Learning life’s lessons

If we are observant we can learn from people around us. For instance, don’t you see that non-smokers live longer and healthier (in general) than people who smoke? And don’t you see that people with a strong sense of community are happier and more engaged than people who tend to isolate themselves? So, it is easy for us to learn some of the lessons we need for healthy aging just through observation and common sense.

Other lessons are a little more challenging and we need to look to science and medicine for a healthy perspective. For instance, after decades of admonishing people to “just eat a balanced diet” (whatever that may be), we are now told that everyone should be taking a multiple vitamin. Why? Because science and medicine have observed that the people following the practice of nutrient supplementation are healthier than those who don’t.

So, be quick to learn the lesson of nutrients and nurturing from people around you and from your own experience. Also, set aside time to keep up on current information concerning health and aging.

Healthy aging nutrients

Multiple vitamin

Let’s start with a good, food-based multiple vitamin and mineral supplement. Everyone needs one! We need it because even if we eat a perfectly balanced diet, the foods we eat are grown in depleted soil. They simply don’t have the nutrients in them that they once did.

Vitamin B-12

We also need Vitamin B-12 in a form that is readily usable by the body. Vitamin B-12 deficiency is the most common vitamin deficiency in people over 50. Vitamin B-12 deficiency may cause everything from fatigue and grumpiness, to mental confusion and mental exhaustion.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C deficiency is the second most common vitamin deficiency among people over 50. It’s also something you should take every day, because your body can’t store Vitamin C. Results of Vitamin C deficiency include a sluggish immune system, poor dental health and easy bruising. Vitamin C helps your skin, bones and blood vessels.

Omega essential fatty acids

The most common cause of death in North America is cardiovascular disease. The American Heart Association tells us that Omega essential fatty acids can help delay or prevent many heart and vascular diseases. So, Omega oils round out the basic recommendations for healthy aging.

A body deprived of the proper nutrients and nurturing will be more prone to disease and premature aging. Practicing the 10 Essentials for Health and Wellness gives us the healthy habits we need for healthy aging. And supplementing with the right nutrients helps us get what we need to facilitate the replacement of old cells with new healthy cells.

So, the choice is always yours. But remember, the clock is ticking...

A Refreshing View

“I’m looking at him right now, and I see perfection. Yeah, he has an extra chromosome. I keep thinking, in our world, what is normal and what is perfect?”

Sarah Palin on the birth of her son, Trig, who has Down Syndrome. No matter what your political stance, you have to admit that this is a refreshing view. I like it.

Lactose Intolerance: Separating Myth From Reality

Another great article from Meals Matter...

Do you think you might have lactose intolerance, or do you know someone who does? If so, you are likely getting advice from a wide range of people on what you should and shouldn't be eating.

In reality, many people who say they have trouble digesting milk have actually never been diagnosed as lactose intolerant by a health professional.

Unfortunately, there is a large amount of misinformation on lactose intolerance that may place people at risk for serious nutritional deficiencies and a number of chronic diseases.

The following common questions and answers about lactose intolerance will help you separate the myth from reality.

What is lactose intolerance?

Lactose intolerance refers to digestive disturbances caused by not having enough intestinal lactase, the enzyme needed to break down lactose--the sugar found naturally in milk and milk products.

If lactose is not digested, it can cause gas and stomach cramps. While no treatment exists to improve the body's ability to produce lactase, symptoms can be controlled through diet.

Drinking milk gives me gas and makes me feel bloated. Does that mean I am allergic to milk?

Milk allergies can cause stomach discomfort similar to that of lactose intolerance but with milk allergies the body may react more quickly and/or include skin reactions and breathing difficulty.

True milk allergies are very uncommon. Only about 2 to 3% of children experience cow's milk allergy and they usually outgrow this by age three. In adults, the incidence is even lower.

Chances are you are not allergic to milk but may have some degree of lactose intolerance. Try consuming smaller amounts to see what your "threshold" is for digesting lactose. Using the tips below will help to ensure that you are getting enough of the important nutrients in dairy foods without experiencing symptoms.

Tips for eating dairy foods if you are diagnosed with lactose intolerance:

Drink milk with meals or snacks. Symptoms are generally milder if milk is consumed with other foods. Consume dairy products in smaller amounts - if one cup of milk makes you uncomfortable, try one-half cup. Try chocolate milk - it may be better tolerated and is nutritionally comparable to regular milk. Buy lactose-reduced or lactose-free milk. Eat yogurt and hard cheeses (cheddar, Monterey Jack and mozzarella) - these have as much calcium but less lactose than softer cheeses and milk.

Increase your consumption of milk products gradually. Your body will slowly build up the enzyme it needs to digest the lactose. If you've been avoiding dairy products due to a recent bout of stomach flu or other virus, gradually introduce them back into your diet after you've fully recovered. You may consider taking lactase enzymes. These come in the form of drops to add with milk and in capsules to have before a meal. Include other good food sources of calcium in your diet, such as broccoli, kale, almonds and fortified foods.

Are certain ethnic groups more likely to be lactose intolerant?

Some ethnic groups such as African Americans, Asian Americans, American Indians and Latinos have a higher chance of developing lactose intolerance. The condition is least common among persons of northern European descent.

Does lactose intolerance mean I should avoid all milk and dairy products?

No. Avoiding dairy products altogether makes it difficult to get the calcium you need. Dairy products are an excellent source of calcium, which is needed to develop and maintain strong bones, as well as a host of other nutrients.

Often people with lactose intolerance can comfortably consume smaller amounts of dairy products throughout the day. A recent study showed that most people with lactose intolerance can consume up to 2 cups of milk per day, one in the morning and one at night, without experiencing symptoms. Others may be able to manage ice cream and aged cheeses, such as cheddar and Swiss.

Dietary control of lactose intolerance depends on each person learning through trial and error how much lactose they can handle.

People who give up dairy products consume far less calcium than they need, putting themselves at risk for chronic diseases such as osteoporosis, hypertension and certain types of cancer.

If you have an extreme case of lactose intolerance, talk to a registered dietitian about how to get enough of these nutrients from other sources.

If I can get my calcium through supplements and fortified foods like orange juice, why should I even bother with milk products?

Calcium-fortified foods may be a good way to boost your calcium intake if your intake is low. However, fortified foods do not always provide the same combination of nutrients as found in nature (for example, milk provides calcium and other bone-building nutrients protein, vitamin D and vitamin A). In addition, the calcium from fortified foods may be less completely absorbed than calcium found naturally in foods.

In addition, new research shows that there may be a number of other components in milk and milk products that are beneficial to health. Fortified foods and supplements don't come close to providing this unique "package of nutrients" available only through dairy products.

Take a few minutes to check your diet with the Calcium Quiz and see if you are getting enough of this important nutrient.

Prevent Osteoporosis: How to keep your bones strong

A great article from Meals Matter....

Prevent Osteoporosis: How to keep your bones strong

Everyone needs strong bones. Osteoporosis is a disease in which bones become brittle and are more likely to break. If not prevented or if left untreated, osteoporosis can progress painlessly until a bone breaks. Osteoporosis leads to an increase risk of bone fractures typically in the wrist, hip, and spine. A broken hip almost always requires hospitalization and major surgery. It can impair a person's ability to walk unassisted and may cause long-term or permanent disability or even death. Contrary to popular belief, osteoporosis is not a natural part of aging and is preventable in most people. You can improve your bone health through weight-bearing exercise and adequate intake of calcium and vitamin D. Activity is important for maintaining strong bones. Any exercise that puts weight on your bones will help your bones stay strong. Walking is a good "bone exercise" and is ideal because it can be done anywhere and can easily fit into your day. Jogging, dancing, stair climbing, tennis, yoga and weight training are also good examples of weight-bearing exercise. The Role of Calcium Calcium is one of the minerals that helps build strong bones, especially during childhood and young adult years. We all lose bone mass as we age, but if you've built up bone mass early in life, the loss is less likely to cause devastating problems as you age. What is your calcium IQ? Strong bones depend on many things. How many yes answers do you have to the following questions? Are you female? Do you have a family history of osteoporosis (sibling, parent or grandparent) or broken hips? Do you diet to lose weight much of the time? Do you do weight-bearing activities (running, walking, weight training) less than three times a week? Do you get less than 15 minutes of sun exposure (without sunscreen) daily? Have you gone through menopause without taking estrogen replacement therapy? Do you eat less than 3 servings of calcium-rich foods every day? (One serving = 1 cup of milk, yogurt or calcium-fortified orange juice, 1½ oz. of cheddar cheese) The more you answered "yes," the more your bones are at risk. Some of these things you cannot change, but others you can - for example, getting enough calcium from the foods you eat and drink every day. The foundation for a lifetime of strong bones is built during the teen and young adult years until about age 30. This represents your peak bone mass. This is the strongest your bones will ever be. The trick is to keep them that way the rest of your life. Women are at increased risk because their bones are less dense to start with and after menopause, bone loss is accelerated due to hormone changes. This is a time when women need to be particularly attentive to bone health. How much calcium do you need? Although calcium alone cannot prevent or cure osteoporosis, it plays an important role in the prevention and treatment of the disease. The Current Calcium Recommendations Group (years) Calcium mg/day 1-3 500 4-8 800 9-18 1300 19-50 1000 51-70 1200 70+ 1200 The upper limit level is 2500 mg/day for all age groups. The best natural food sources of calcium are milk and dairy foods, which provide about 75% of the calcium in the American diet. However, calcium is only one of the nutrients you need for bone health. Vitamin D also plays an important role in healthy bone development. Vitamin D helps in the absorption of calcium (this is why milk is fortified with vitamin D). Others include vitamin A, magnesium, zinc, phosphorus and protein. Foods often provide unique nutrient packages. Milk, for example, is a nearly perfect package of bone-building nutrients. Other food sources of calcium include broccoli, almonds, tofu and beans. Quick and easy ways to add calcium to your diet Use yogurt as a dip for vegetables Add a slice of cheese to sandwiches Grate cheese in salads and soups Add kidney beans to your chili or white beans to pasta dishes Make a smoothie with fruit, yogurt and juice Eat yogurt for a mid-afternoon snack Eat a bean and cheese burrito for lunch Add milk to soups, sauces and hot cocoa mix instead of water Order a latte instead of plain coffee Eat almonds as a snack