High Performance Living

Exercise and brain cells

A new study confirms that exercise helps reduce a decline in neural stems cells in the hippocampus that happens to mice in middle age.  This tends to happen because nerve growth factors decline as the mouse ages, and exercise slows that decline. 

Pay attention to the older folks that you know, and their wit.  This may be good inspiration to keep your brain working at top form as you age...

http://jap.physiology.org/cgi/content/abstract/105/5/1585

Exercise Reduces Brain Shrinkage

The body is a whole, and nothing you do or eat or take affects only one part.  One false dualism that many people have is brain/body. 

What affects the body does affect the brain as well, including exercise.  A new study found that people with early Alzheimer's had significantly less brain shrinkage the more they exercised.  There's a lot to be learned still, but their are indications that exercise helps reduce production of beta-amaloid, the protein that aggregates in the brains of those with Alzheimer's.  Many scientists also believe that exercise causes the release of nerve growth factors in the protein, contributing to the growth of healthy brain cells. 

So its really pretty simple.  The core building blocks of the High Performance Living program for optimum health and functioning of the body and brain are:

    1.  Eat a Paleo diet.  See www.ThePaleoDiet.com.

    2.  Exercise

There's of course much more, but these two items, in the order above, are the most critical.