⭑ Keeping dementia at bay ✔ How to enjoy years of good living All strength to Ukraine 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦 Hello,I trust you're well and keeping active. Xmas is upon us! I'll be taking a break and then back with your next newsletter 3 weeks from now. Wishing you and your loved ones a safe and happy festive season. Item #1 is my take on an article in the Washington Post on how a doctor coped with his own dementia. It's a positive story and raises hope for how to get the most out of life while living with Alzheimer's. I'm always disturbed when doctors and dietitians cast doubt on the value of fruit because of its "sugar" content - as you may have noticed. The food matrix in which natural sugar is bound is the fundamental reason it has excellent nutritional value, unlike industrially processed sugar - see item #2. In item #3 I continue my advice about eating fruit with practical suggestions and the scientific support for my recommendations. I have a "shopping channel"-type blue plastic "yoga balance board" which I use daily. It's a good investment of a small amount of time for a great return - a stronger lower body and better balance - see item #4. // 01 A Neurologist's Personal Dementia AdviceThis article (Washington Post subscription required) caught my eye because it narrates the progression of Alzheimer’s from the first-person experience of a neurologist. It's a positive story. We tend to regard Alzheimer's as a rapidly progressive condition, but Daniel Gibbs, a retired neurologist, offers a different perspective based on his personal experience. After discovering he carries two copies of the APOE-4 allele, he faced the daunting reality of potentially developing Alzheimer’s. However, his journey has revealed that the disease may be more manageable than we think. Gibbs’ noticed his first symptom—a gradual loss of smell—years before any cognitive impairment, highlighting that Alzheimer's can develop silently over decades. With beta-amyloid plaques appearing up to 20 years before cognitive changes, understanding this timeline is one part of understanding that we should and can take early steps to mitigate the decline. Gibb's other point is that, one noticed, you can take positive action to slow down the progression of the disease. ⇒ The most unexpected insight from his experience is that mild cognitive impairment can be held in check for many years, allowing us to maintain our daily activities and even work (if we allow for the fact that we might not be as sharp as when younger). What this means for you: If you or someone you know is at risk or experiencing mild cognitive symptoms, here are the proactive steps that worked for Daniel Gibbs:
By addressing lifestyle factors early, there’s potential to slow down cognitive decline and enhance quality of life. ⇒ It's very easy to go into denial about early signs of dementia, despite us logically knowing that we would better off to take action. Seek help to get you through the emotional journey and on the path to action. Related: The Surprising Benefits of Black Tea Daily // 02 How Sugars Ain't Sugars - Don't Be FooledThis article from WebMD "12 Ways Too Much Sugar Harms Your Body" surprised me because it did not group all sugars as bad sugars. Whereas 99% of doctors and dieticians giving advice to diabetics do, resulting in poor nutritional advice. I smiled when I read the opening paragraph as I thought "finally, some common sense": "Sugar is sweet, but too much of it can sour your health. Whole foods like fruits, veggies, dairy, and grains have natural sugars. Your body digests those carbs slowly so your cells get a steady supply of energy. Added sugars, on the other hand, come in packaged foods and drinks. Your body does not need any added sugars." The article did not further explain why sugar in real foods is different, in the way your body processes it, from industrial sugar. Dieticians and doctors often justify their poor advice by referring to the ultimate molecular structure of sugars. The ultimate structure is the same, but the journey to releasing the structure into our bloodstream is different. The difference is the FOOD MATRIX within which natural sugars are bound. The food matrix refers to the structural organisation of nutrients and bioactive compounds within a food, influencing how these components are digested, absorbed, and metabolised in our body. ⇒ This concept is vital for understanding the health impact of whole foods compared to isolated nutrients or processed foods. What this means for you: Understanding the role of the food matrix within which natural sugars are bound will help you make better food choices in general, e.g. adding fresh mango to your ice cream dessert will slow down the sugar absorption not accelerate it, and in particular if you are looking to lose weight or are diabetic. Here's what you need to know. In natural foods like fruits, sugars are embedded in a complex food matrix that includes:
⇒ Rather than avoiding fruits, diabetics should focus on portion control and measuring their individual response to different fruit as part of a balanced diet. See Part 2, next item. Related: Why I Eat The Whole Orange - Here's Why You Should Too @Medium - Follow me on Medium ↗, covering ⭑food, ⭑brain, ⭑body, ⭑life // 03 Practical Advice About Fruit And SugarFollowing on from Item 2 above, let's review fruit sugar versus processed sugar, scientific support, and practical examples. This will equip you to make informed choices. Common advice oversimplifies the impact of natural sugars in the context of the food matrix, as we can see below: Natural Sugars in Whole Fruits
Processed Sugars
What this means for you: Use the following scientific support and the practical examples as a guide to better choices about eating fruit. As I mentioned above, they contain beneficial fibre, vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants that are hard to replicate in other sources. Scientific Support
Good luck, enjoy your fruit, as I do. Related: As You Age Pistachios Can Help You Sleep Better // 04 Twisting Your Way To Ab Strength and Better BalanceOur exercise of the week is ... regularly using a balance board. Despite its "fad" reputation, the Simply Fit Board—and similar balance boards—offer undeniable benefits. I use mine every day. The most obvious effect from the board's twisting is the engagement of our abdominal and lower back muscles, thus improving core stability. However the big deal for us is how the board challenges balance and stimulates our body's proprioceptors—the specialised sensory receptors that provide feedback on body position and movement. This is particularly beneficial for our ankles, which play a critical role in maintaining stability and preventing falls. The subtle, continuous adjustments required during board exercises also strengthen the small stabilising muscles around our ankles and improve coordination between our brain and lower limbs. ⇒ In other words, regular use of these simple devices activates and strengthens neuromuscular pathways from our brain to feet, improving coordination, stability, and core strength. What this means for you: I just do the most basic simple twist each day, in a pattern of 100 small twists, 50 one way and then reverse direction for another 50 small twist movements. This YouTube video has 6 minutes of useful Simply Fit Board exercises. Choose a favourite or two, or even do them all every day. You'll soon notice the difference in your balance and lower body strength. Related: Keep Your Tendons Healthy And Your Balance Will Look After Itself Thanks for reading! P.S. If you are not yet subscribed to my free exercise app, try now ↓↓↓ Free forever. Opt-out any time. Opt-in by CLICKING HERE PLEASE SEND ME THE EXERCISES. NOTE: YOU ONLY NEED TO SUBSCRIBE ONE TIME. >> My Latest Blog Post: Energise Your Golden Years: Boosting Your Desire to Exercise with Gut-Healthy Foods About the newsletter: Do you think it can be improved? Have a story idea? Want to share about the time you met Chris Hemsworth, or your questions about how to live longer better? Send those thoughts and more to me at walter@bodyagebuster.com '4 Most Valuable' is a weekly newsletter from Walter Adamson. If you like it, please forward to a like-minded soul. Someone forward this to you? You can subscribe from this page. Each of these weekly emails has 4MV in the subject line to help you filter them and search for previous ones. |
"I empower mid-life men and women to make the choice to live as actively and as independently as they can, for as long as they can", Walter Adamson Get access to my weekly research that I don’t share elsewhere. “My wife and I both read your articles each week, and I have to say there is so much confusing data out there, but yours is a great source, well researched, scientific and always relevant.” — Steve Ridgway, subscriber.
⭑ Ibuprofen damages out gut lining ✔ There are few alternatives⭑ Paw paw - the gut health underdog that I eat daily ✔ ⭑ We should all stretch more ✔ But let's be realistic⭑ A practical weekly stretching routine 3X and 9 minutes each ✔ All strength to Ukraine 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦 Hello, I trust you're well and keeping active. Yesterday I had my latest Covid shot, the Pfizer JN.1 which targets Omicron, as Covid cases have been rising in Australia. I feel a little dopey but otherwise fine. An...
⭑ Doing to much too soon will derail your exercise program ✔ Take a step back⭑ Skipping warm-up and cool-down stresses your joints ✔ Allow time⭑ Plateaus are natural, longer when you're older ✔ Learn to love them⭑ Good posture and controlled movements get you the best return on exercise ✔ All strength to Ukraine 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦 Hello, I trust you're well and staying active. The newsletter is a different format today, just one item, with 10 hints to avoid mistakes that can reduce your gains...
⭑ Maintaining muscle health is one key to healthspan ✔ Three tips⭑ Inflammaging - what is it and how to tame it ✔ Gets worse as we age⭑ You can track your body's capacity to resolve stress ✔ I find it interesting⭑ Healthier back shoulders and biceps with the dumbbell row ✔ All strength to Ukraine 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦 Hello, I trust you're well and keeping active. Summer's here down under. We’ve had some weird nights with the highest temperature for the day at 5 am! Perhaps that's why my...