Ingredients:
1 packet tempeh (8 ounces), simmer for 5 minutes (optional)2 tablespoon olive oil or vegetable broth
1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 stalks celery, sliced (about ¼ cup)
2 medium carrots, sliced into ½-inch coins (about 1 cup)
Dash of salt, plus more for seasoning
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
3 cups vegetable broth
3 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, chopped into ¾-inch pieces
½ cup green or brown lentils
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
2 bay leaves
1 can diced tomatoes (14 ounces)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (vegan Annie’s)
1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Cardio exercise can strengthen your brain in the same way that it strengthens your muscles.
Cardiovascular exercise, which stimulates the heart, muscles, and sweat glands, is one of the most beneficial medicines for overall health. And what is beneficial to the body is also beneficial to the brain.
"There is no one-size-fits-all medical intervention that can prevent the onset of dementia and other memory problems," says Dr. Julie Brody Magid, Clinical Director of the Memory Disorders Assessment Clinic at Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital. "When symptoms manifest, certain medications may help slow mental decline. However, cardio exercise has consistently been shown to help protect the brain from cognitive decline and, in some cases, to improve cognitive functioning.
Popular theories
How does cardio help your brain function better? Numerous theories exist. The research has concentrated on how it can strengthen the heart, improve artery health, increase blood flow to the brain, combat inflammation, and boost key chemicals that promote new brain cell growth.
Cardiovascular exercise, for example, activates a molecule known as a brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). BDNF aids in the repair of brain cells and the formation of new ones. Additionally, it has been linked to a larger hippocampus, the brain region responsible for memory storage and retrieval.
The hormone irisin, which is produced by muscles during exercise, was found to protect mice against brain inflammation, according to a study published online on Aug. 20, 2021, in Nature Metabolism.
Additionally, the study suggested that increasing irisin levels through exercise may help alleviate the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. (While this was an animal study, the researchers speculated that the effect might be applicable to humans based on previous research.)
While a nutritious diet and regular exercise are critical for overall health, a good night's sleep is just as critical! Unfortunately, many people are getting less sleep than ever before as a result of hectic work and school schedules. Before you stay up late watching television, consider the following top 5 reasons why sleep is vital to your health:
1. Increased Focus and Productivity
Another reason why sleep is critical for your health is that it aids in brain health improvement! A restful night's sleep can improve concentration, problem-solving abilities, and productivity, whereas insufficient sleep has been shown to impair brain function. A lack of sleep can have the same detrimental effect on certain aspects of your brain function as alcohol intoxication.
2. Maintaining a healthy weight
Weight loss through exercise and a balanced diet
A restful night's sleep is critical for weight maintenance, as sleep deprivation has been shown to disrupt daily fluctuations in appetite hormones. As a result, when you're sleep-deprived, you're more likely to experience an increased appetite and consume more calories. Sleep deprivation has been strongly associated with weight gain and is one of the strongest risk factors for obesity. Whether you're trying to lose weight or simply maintain your current weight, getting a good night's sleep is critical!
3. Strengthens the Immune System
By sleeping at least eight hours each night, you can boost your immune system and aid in the fight against the common cold. Even a slight reduction in sleep has been found to have a negative impact on immune function. Indeed, those who sleep less than 7 hours per night are nearly three times as likely to develop a cold as those who sleep 8 hours or more!
Yoga for weight loss: Benefits that go beyond calorie burning
If you are having difficulty losing weight despite your best efforts, this is because obesity is a complicated disease with numerous contributing factors. A family history of weight problems can increase the likelihood that you will face similar difficulties managing your weight. Sedentary behavior and a diet high in ultra-processed foods, sugar, and fat also contribute to weight gain. Stress and mental health struggles, including medication to treat certain mental health conditions, insufficient sleep, and hormonal changes all contribute to weight gain.
There are numerous strategies for overcoming obesity, but there is no one-size-fits-all approach. If you're looking to lose or maintain weight, you might want to give yoga a try. Yoga has been shown in research to help people manage stress, improve their mood, curb emotional eating, and build a community of support, all of which can aid in weight loss and maintenance.
Yoga can also help you lose weight and build muscle mass and tone. Yoga may help alleviate joint pain, allowing you to exercise more and participate in more daily activities. These are just a few of yoga's numerous benefits.
Exercise may help reduce the progression of prostate cancer.
Men who are on active surveillance for prostate cancer may benefit from high-intensity interval training (HIIT). The researchers assigned 52 men (average age 63) to either a 12-week supervised treadmill HIIT program or to their usual exercise routine that did not involve high-intensity exercise.
HIIT involves performing a brief burst of activity at a near-maximum effort followed by a brief recovery time. After that, you repeat the sequence a certain number of times. The exercises consisted of two minutes of exercise at 85 to 95 percent of a person's VO2 max (the highest amount of oxygen the body can use during exercise), followed by two minutes of recovery at 40% VO2 max. Five to eight times, the pattern was repeated.
The researchers discovered that as compared to participants who performed their normal lower-intensity exercise, those in the HIIT group had lower PSA levels, lower PSA velocities (the rate at which PSA levels vary over time), and slower prostate cancer cell growth. Additionally, they possessed increased cardiovascular fitness. According to the study, men on active monitoring have a threefold increased risk of dying from cardiovascular disease than from prostate cancer. JAMA Oncology published the findings online on Aug. 19, 2021.
Pexel photo
Prostatitis is a common inflammatory condition that accounts for over two million doctor visits in the United States each year, but it receives little attention. Certain types of infections are caused by bacteria that are easily detectable and treatable with antibiotics. However, over 90% of the time, prostatitis symptoms (painful urination and ejaculation, pelvic pain, and sexual dysfunction) have no obvious cause. This condition is referred to as chronic nonbacterial prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome, abbreviated as CP/CPPS. Treatments are numerous. Antibiotics are sometimes prescribed first if the condition was preceded by a urinary tract infection. Additionally, they may recommend anti-inflammatory pain medications, stress-reduction techniques, pelvic floor exercises, and occasionally, drugs such as alpha-blockers, which relax the prostate and bladder muscles.
Acupuncture is another treatment option for some men. According to a 2018 review article, acupuncture has the potential to alleviate CP/CPPS symptoms without the side effects associated with drug treatments.
Now, results from a recently published clinical trial demonstrate that acupuncture-induced symptom relief is long-lasting. The findings, which were published in the prestigious journal Annals of Internal Medicine, are encouraging for people who suffer from CP/CPPS.
Acupuncture is a treatment that involves inserting single-use needles into "acupoints" throughout the body and manipulating them manually, with heat, or with electrical stimulation. The researchers at ten institutions in China randomly assigned 440 men with prostatitis to receive either real acupuncture or a control sham procedure in which the needles were inserted away from traditional acupoints for twenty sessions (over eight weeks).
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