Showing posts with label we. Show all posts
Showing posts with label we. Show all posts
Folic Acid and Vitamin B12 Improve Memory and Cognition as we Age
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Researchers from the Australian National University have shown that essential B vitamins combat stress that results in a loss of memory and normal thought patterns that cause abnormal brain aging. Publishingin The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, scientists found that long-term supplementation of daily folic acid and vitamin B-12 promotes improvement in cognitive functioning after a period of two years, particularly in immediate and delayed memory performance.
B vitamins are crucial for nerve transmission and are needed in higher amounts as your stress level increases. Health-minded adults will want to ensure that they obtain an optimal daily dose of these important vitamins from diet or supplemental sources.
Folic Acid and Vitamin B-12 Fight Brain Stress and Inflammation in the Elderly
The study leader, Dr. Janine Walker and her team conducted a two year intervention among elderly participants confined in a community-dwelling environment. All participants exhibited symptoms of depression and were under moderate stress due to environmental and lifestyle conditions. The study was designed to determine if nutritional intervention could prevent cognitive decline under randomized and controlled conditions.
Researchers supplemented one group of studyvolunteers with an oral dosage of 400 micrograms of folic acid and 100 micrograms of vitamin B-12 daily. This group was compared against a control set of participants that received a placebo. The results were measured at twelve and twenty-four month intervals using the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status Standardized Test and the Brief Test of Adult Cognition by Telephone (to determine processing speed). An Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly was administered at two years to provide a final analysis of cognitive function.
B Vitamin Duo Synergistically Improves Memory Performance in Aging Adults
The study authors found that the group receiving the supplemental B-vitaminsexperienced significantly better memory function when compared to the control subjects. The research team determined that stress results in inflammation to neuron structures in the brain and inhibits electrical and chemical transmissions between nerves that are required to form new memories and maintain a healthy degree of cognitive function. The body uses B-vitamins, especially folic acid and vitamin B-12 to fight brain inflammation and ensure proper brain communications.
After the two year study period, Dr. Walker concluded“Long-term supplementation of daily oral 400 mcg folic acid and 100 mcg vitamin B-12 promotes improvement in cognitive functioning after 24 months, particularly in immediate and delayed memory performance.” The entire family of B-vitamins has been shown to lower the impact of brain stress and inflammation. Health-conscious adults will want to combine a daily supply of B-vitamins with the Omega-3 fats EPA and DHA to dramatically lower the risk of memory loss and cognitive decline.
Need a Weekly Meal Planner a Grocery List or Price Books We Have 36 of ‘em
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
As with war, politics, and solving a Scooby Doo mystery, when it comes to saving cash and eating well, nothing is more important than having a plan. Grocery lists keep you from blowing dough on extraneous stuff. Price books give you the best possible food costs. Menu planners ensure you’re not scrambling to put dinner on the table, thus preventing dangerous bouts of crazy.
My own time-tested system combines a half-baked price book, hastily scrawled grocery lists, and yelling, “HON?! What are you in the mood for?” It works for now, but I’m thinking of going the pen-and-paper route. It’s working for Leigh, after all.
Fortunately, there are gazillions of downloadable menu planners, grocery lists, and price books all over the web. Unfortunately, many aren’t free, and involve some kind of weird sign-up or registration. Unless it’s for health insurance or Idol voting (Bowersox 4-evs), I hate doing that.
So, for your organizing pleasure, here are 36 free templates that’ll get you cooking. To know:
Readers, if you know of any good templates/spreadsheets/whatever I missed, add ‘em in the comment section. Prettified ones will receive extra bonus points. (Meaning: a quiet “yay” in my small Brooklyn apartment.)
MULTIPLE RESOURCES
These websites include many different kinds of templates.
Better Budgeting
Basic weekly menu planner and weekly dinner planner, along with a grocery list organized by aisle.
Free Printable Grocery List
Dozens of grocery lists and menu planners, both blank and with pre-formatted checklists. Some have cute (but minimal) designs. Click on the sidebar and start printin’.
I’m an Organizing Junkie
Grocery list and weekly menu planner/grocery list combo. Formatted in boxes. A twist!
Keep and Share
Nice compilation of grocery lists for diet restrictions, including gluten-free, kosher, diabetic, lactose-free. Includes a pair of massive two-pagers, as well.
Mom’s Budget
Weekly and monthly meal planners, price logs, pantry inventories, and grocery lists in blue, green, orange, pink, and purple.
Money Saving Mom
Fourteen free downloads, including weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly menu planners as well as a master prep, ingredient, and shopping lists.
COMBINATIONS
Each of these single documents will do double-duty as say, a menu planner AND grocery list.
*A Feathered Nest
Menu planner/grocery list combo that’s super cute without being twee.
About.com
Weekly menu planner and shopping list.
*Carina Gardner
Anthropologie-esque weekly menu planner with a grocery list on the bottom. Nice! (Its the one pictured at the top.)
*Design Sponge
A weekly menu planner/grocery list combo, as well as blank and checklist-style grocery lists. Cute!
Organized Home
Weekly menu planner and shopping list
*The Project Girl
Menu planner and shopping list, with the best design out of everything here. Very pretty!
Saving Your Cents
Weekly menu planner and shopping list. Simple and clean. Use #1. (The others are already on this list.)
PRICE BOOKS
Excel documents unless otherwise noted.
Cheap Cooking
You have to do a little deleting here, but it should work otherwise.
It’s Your Money
A larger file requiring unzipping.
No Credit Needed
Uncomplicated and easy to figure out. My favorite of these options.
Organized Home
This one’s not an Excel spreadsheet. It’s a fill-in-the-blank-with-your-own-pen-style price book.
MENU PLANNERS
Busy Bee Lifestyle
Weekly planner with separate columns for kids and adults. With a picture of a bee! (Note: I like bees.)
*Disney Family Fun
Dinner planner only, but with a cute, kid-oriented design.
*From the Kitchen of…
Super fun weekly planner. Be aware that it’s a big file, and has to be unzipped. I don’t know why, but it reminds me a little of a Lynda Barry cartoon.
Home Life Weekly
Rainbow colored weekly planner.
The Home School Mom
Has one with a weekly activity planner on the side, and one without. Pretty basic.
Main Street Mom
Super, super basic design. But effective.
Meal Planning Mommies
Weekly plan with “I’m a meal planning mommy!” written across the top. Helpful if you forget who you are, not helpful if youre male.
Organized Home
Weekly menu planner made especially for notebooks.
*Petit Elefant
This one involves some re-sizing, but has a totally cute format and design.
Unclutterer
Available in spreadsheet or PDF form. Clean and efficient.
Vertex 42
Basic weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly menu planners in both portrait and landscape print styles.
GROCERY LISTS
Excel Template
Three printable spreadsheets of varying sizes, for general-to-specific shopping.
Mom Ready
Simple and straightforward checklist for your weekly trip.
Painted Gold
Simple blank list organized by department.
Pike’s Pickles
PDF files with both a blank list and formatted checklist.
Split Coast Stampers
Another checklist-style Excel spreadsheet. Also in PDF format if you scroll down a little further
Squawkfox
Landscape-style one-page checklist with many attractive boxes. Pretty thorough.
The Ultimatest Grocery List
Huge single-page checklist, with a massive bonus list for vegetarians! Maybe the best option if you’re looking for this kind of thing.
Vertex 42
Blank template organized by category. Handy.
Readers, whatchoo got? The comments are open!
~~~
If you like this article, you might also enjoy:
My own time-tested system combines a half-baked price book, hastily scrawled grocery lists, and yelling, “HON?! What are you in the mood for?” It works for now, but I’m thinking of going the pen-and-paper route. It’s working for Leigh, after all.Fortunately, there are gazillions of downloadable menu planners, grocery lists, and price books all over the web. Unfortunately, many aren’t free, and involve some kind of weird sign-up or registration. Unless it’s for health insurance or Idol voting (Bowersox 4-evs), I hate doing that.
So, for your organizing pleasure, here are 36 free templates that’ll get you cooking. To know:
- There are no memberships or sign-ups required.
- All files are printable images, PDFs, or Excel spreadsheets.
- To make sure the sites were kosher, I downloaded/opened at least one form from each page. My computer has not virusized yet. (KNOCK ON WOOD.) Still, use at your own risk.
- Again: free.
Readers, if you know of any good templates/spreadsheets/whatever I missed, add ‘em in the comment section. Prettified ones will receive extra bonus points. (Meaning: a quiet “yay” in my small Brooklyn apartment.)
MULTIPLE RESOURCES
These websites include many different kinds of templates.
Better Budgeting
Basic weekly menu planner and weekly dinner planner, along with a grocery list organized by aisle.
Free Printable Grocery List
Dozens of grocery lists and menu planners, both blank and with pre-formatted checklists. Some have cute (but minimal) designs. Click on the sidebar and start printin’.
I’m an Organizing Junkie
Grocery list and weekly menu planner/grocery list combo. Formatted in boxes. A twist!
Keep and Share
Nice compilation of grocery lists for diet restrictions, including gluten-free, kosher, diabetic, lactose-free. Includes a pair of massive two-pagers, as well.
Mom’s Budget
Weekly and monthly meal planners, price logs, pantry inventories, and grocery lists in blue, green, orange, pink, and purple.
Money Saving Mom
Fourteen free downloads, including weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly menu planners as well as a master prep, ingredient, and shopping lists.
COMBINATIONS
Each of these single documents will do double-duty as say, a menu planner AND grocery list.
*A Feathered Nest
Menu planner/grocery list combo that’s super cute without being twee.
About.com
Weekly menu planner and shopping list.
*Carina Gardner
Anthropologie-esque weekly menu planner with a grocery list on the bottom. Nice! (Its the one pictured at the top.)
*Design Sponge
A weekly menu planner/grocery list combo, as well as blank and checklist-style grocery lists. Cute!
Organized Home
Weekly menu planner and shopping list
*The Project Girl
Menu planner and shopping list, with the best design out of everything here. Very pretty!
Saving Your Cents
Weekly menu planner and shopping list. Simple and clean. Use #1. (The others are already on this list.)
PRICE BOOKS
Excel documents unless otherwise noted.
Cheap Cooking
You have to do a little deleting here, but it should work otherwise.
It’s Your Money
A larger file requiring unzipping.
No Credit Needed
Uncomplicated and easy to figure out. My favorite of these options.
Organized Home
This one’s not an Excel spreadsheet. It’s a fill-in-the-blank-with-your-own-pen-style price book.
MENU PLANNERS
Busy Bee Lifestyle
Weekly planner with separate columns for kids and adults. With a picture of a bee! (Note: I like bees.)
*Disney Family Fun
Dinner planner only, but with a cute, kid-oriented design.
*From the Kitchen of…
Super fun weekly planner. Be aware that it’s a big file, and has to be unzipped. I don’t know why, but it reminds me a little of a Lynda Barry cartoon.
Home Life Weekly
Rainbow colored weekly planner.
The Home School Mom
Has one with a weekly activity planner on the side, and one without. Pretty basic.
Main Street Mom
Super, super basic design. But effective.
Meal Planning Mommies
Weekly plan with “I’m a meal planning mommy!” written across the top. Helpful if you forget who you are, not helpful if youre male.
Organized Home
Weekly menu planner made especially for notebooks.
*Petit Elefant
This one involves some re-sizing, but has a totally cute format and design.
Unclutterer
Available in spreadsheet or PDF form. Clean and efficient.
Vertex 42
Basic weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly menu planners in both portrait and landscape print styles.
GROCERY LISTS
Excel Template
Three printable spreadsheets of varying sizes, for general-to-specific shopping.
Mom Ready
Simple and straightforward checklist for your weekly trip.
Painted Gold
Simple blank list organized by department.
Pike’s Pickles
PDF files with both a blank list and formatted checklist.
Split Coast Stampers
Another checklist-style Excel spreadsheet. Also in PDF format if you scroll down a little further
Squawkfox
Landscape-style one-page checklist with many attractive boxes. Pretty thorough.
The Ultimatest Grocery List
Huge single-page checklist, with a massive bonus list for vegetarians! Maybe the best option if you’re looking for this kind of thing.
Vertex 42
Blank template organized by category. Handy.
Readers, whatchoo got? The comments are open!
~~~
If you like this article, you might also enjoy:
- Cheap Healthy Good’s Ultimate Guide to Kitchen Equipment
- Information Central: 32 Free Food Charts, Checklists, and Wallet-Sized Guides
- Pantry of the Gods
Green Tea Helps Maintain Cognitive Ability as We Age
Monday, May 19, 2014
Green tea has long been hailed as a cardio-protective beverage due to its ability to lower levels of oxidized LDL cholesterol, an established heart disease risk factor. It has also been shown to promote brain health because the active compound, EGCG (Epigallocatechin gallate) freely crosses the blood-brain barrier to provide antioxidant support and lower damaging levels of brain inflammation.
Researchers from Japan reporting in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition demonstrate that regular green tea consumption lowers the risk of developing functional disabilities that lead to problems with daily chores and activities, such as bathing or dressing. Drinking up to five cups of green tea each day can lower the risk of developing functional disabilities as we age by nearly one half.
Daily Green Tea Consumption Significantly Lowers Risk of Functional Decline
Prior studies have determined that consuming green tea lowers the risk of diseases associated with functional disability, such as osteoporosis, cognitive impairment and stroke. To date, no formal studies have been conducted to confirm the impact of green tea consumption on functional ability. Researchers from Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan modeled this study to affirm the positive results associated in the past with drinking green tea.
To design this research work, scientists handed out questionnaires to nearly 14,000 respondents aged 65 or older. The participants answered questions about general diet, green tea consumption and lifestyle. After a period of five years, researchers were able to find a close inverse link between functional disability risk and the consumption of green tea. Higher intake of green tea was associated with a dramatically lower risk of functional disability in the group studied.
Green Tea Drinking Lowers Risk of Functional Disability in the Elderly
The research team concluded that nearly13% of the participants consuming the lowest amount of green tea (one cup or less each day) developed moderate to severe degrees of functional disability. By contrast, only 7% of those consuming the highest amount of green tea (5 cups or more each day) were classified with any degree of functional decline. The highest level of green tea consumption was shown to cut the risk of functional and cognitive decline by close to one-half.
The researchers noted that those consuming five or more cups of green tea each day also ate more fruit and vegetables, consumed more fish, were less likely to smoke, had fewer strokes or heart attacks, and tended to have a higher level of education. Improved dietary and lifestyle considerations are synergistic factors that compliment green tea consumption and likely contribute to the positive results in this study. Health-minded individuals already follow strict dietary principles to maintain brain health and functional abilities. Drinking 5 or more cups of green tea each day are shown to boost the healthy benefits associated with proper nutrition and lifestyle.
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