Month: October 2019

🍎 Health Hack: Improving Cognitive Health

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Two Keys To Improving Cognitive Health

  1. Regular physical activity — any activity, for at least 150 minutes per week, is number one on the list of evidence-based actions you can take. Exercise clearly lowers the risk of dementia, even Alzheimer’s. Studies show that people who exercise more are less likely to develop dementia of any kind, and this stands even for adults with mild cognitive impairment.

  2. Eating a plant-based diet is crucial. There is substantial research evidence showing that eating a diet high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats, and seafood is associated with a significantly lower risk of cognitive decline and dementia. This approach to eating is often referred to as the Mediterranean-style diet, but it can be adapted to any culture or cuisine.

HarvardHealthBlog

✒️ Writers’ Wisdom: Don’t Stop Writing

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“Write a short story every week. It’s not possible to write 52 bad short stories in a row.” ~ Ray Bradbury

📖 Writer’s Tip: Know Yourself

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Spend an hour writing your thoughts on these questions:

What makes you quail? Disease, poverty, a spider over your bed, meeting new people, space-based nukes, a plugged drain, heights, defying your parents? Make a full list. Delve into the feelings those things inspire. What exactly does the fear feel like?

Turn to a fresh page. What does your wild side look like? (If you’re not sure you have much of one, think of it this way: When you were a kid, what did you like to do for fun?) Is it happy, or is it listless and neglected? Listen to it. What is it asking for?

Read over your fears, then read about your wild side. Which makes you feel better? Remember: Fears are only thoughts, but the world is thrillingly real.

Writer’s Digest

Today’s Smile 😀

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A doctor accidentally prescribes his patient a laxative instead of a coughing syrup.

Three days later the patient comes for a check-up and the doctor asks: “Well? Are you still coughing?”

The patient replies: “No. I’m afraid to.” 

Source

Today’s Smile 😀

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My old aunts would come and tease me at weddings, “Well Sarah? Do you think you’ll be next?”

We’ve settled this quickly – I’ve started doing the same to them at funerals.

Source

🍎 Health Hack: It’s All About the Fiber

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Fiber is Your Friend

In a recent research study published in The Lancet, investigators pooled the results from 243 studies looking at health effects of dietary fiber. They excluded any studies about fiber supplements — this was all about fiber from food. They ended up with data from over 4,600 people, and found a very strong relationship between higher dietary fiber intake and better health outcomes. Basically, intake of at least 25 grams of food fiber a day is associated with a lower weight, blood pressure, blood sugars, cholesterol, as well as lower risk of developing (or dying from) diabetes, heart disease, strokes, and breast or colon cancer. Study results were extremely consistent, and the dose-response curve was very linear, meaning the more fiber, the better the outcomes. This makes us believe the results are very real and not due to some other factor related to study participants’ diet or lifestyle.

HarvardHealthBlog

✨ Inspiring Quote: You’re Stronger Than Your Storms

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“Never lose hope. Storms make people stronger and never last forever.”
― Roy T. Bennett,

✒️ Writers’ Wisdom: Telling versus Describing

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“Be sure not to discuss your hero’s state of mind. Make it clear from his actions.” ~ Anton Chekhov

Goodreads

📖 Writer’s Tip: Write What You Love

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When you write what you love, you bring passion to the work. You focus on the writing, not the sales numbers. You put your heart and soul into it, not to mention a fair amount of blood, sweat, and tears. And you do it because you love it, not because it pays the bills. You’re proud of what you do, because doing it makes you happy.

When you write what you love, you also tend to write more words, more often (see tip #2). You will become a better writer in that genre. And maybe someday your dedication to writing what you love will pay off. 

Writer’s Digest

Today’s Poem ~ Loss and Gain

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Loss and Gain

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

When I compare
What I have lost with what I have gained,
What I have missed with what attained,
Little room do I find for pride.

I am aware
How many days have been idly spent;
How like an arrow the good intent
Has fallen short or been turned aside.

But who shall dare
To measure loss and gain in this wise?
Defeat may be victory in disguise;
The lowest ebb is the turn of the tide.

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