Our inner microbiome (gut) affects our total wellbeing, from hunger pangs to chronic illnesses, stress and sadness.
It is now well known that gut health is crucial to our overall wellbeing. It is also connected to everything that happens in our bodies. The trillions of bacteria that live in our gut affect our health, our mood and our weight. In a way these microbes work together to form what can be regarded as an extra internal organ and play a huge role in our health.
“Your gut is the centre of your being – it digests and assimilates nutrients from the food you eat”, says wellness expert Robyn Youkilis
Most of your immune system actually resides in your gut and the gut plays an important role in your mood. Robyn had discovered in her practice as a health coach, that healing the gut resolved many of her clients’ health issues, even the most stubborn.
Poor gut health can lead to digestive issues, such as abdominal pain, bloating, reflux and flatulence and other complaints. including fatigue, joint pain, headaches and even skin problems. Robyn says depression, anxiety, mood swings, irritability and poor concentration are now also being linked to the gut’s microbiome. Other more serious illnesses and chronic illnesses such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease and even cancer have been linked to an imbalanced microbiome .
Mental connection
The gut has also even been referred to as a “second brain” because it contains millions of neurones which are sensitive to emotion. Our brain and our gut are, in fact, connected by an extensive network of neurones, chemicals and hormones that constantly provide feedback to and from the brain. These signals carry information about how hungry we are, stress, sadness or even anger. Have you ever felt a sinking feeling in your gut when something happens that you were dreading? That’s the brain – gut connection in action. The emotion is triggering a reaction in your gut.
The connection can be a two-way street as tummy troubles will impact on our mood and happiness. Serotonin is responsible for good mood and it is estimated that 90% of your serotonin is made in your digestive track and reduction of this important chemical is reliant on healthy gut bacteria.
Weight Control
Research suggests that gut bacteria can alter the way that our bodies store fat as well as our response to hormones, making us feel hungry or full. Contrary to popular opinion, it’s not what you eat, or the number of calories you consume, that’s important, but how your body is using what you eat. You might be eating nutritious whole foods most of the time, but still feel foggy, uninspired and generally less than your sparkling best. This is probably because your gut is not in good shape… not properly absorbing all the vitamins and nutrients from your food.
This means that your cells don’t have the fuel they need to carry out their role in absorbing and assimilating nutrients from your food.
Improving memory is a goal that many people share, and there are several things you can do when you know how to improve your memory.
Here are a few tips to help improve your memory:
Stay mentally active: Engage in mentally stimulating activities such as reading, puzzles, and learning a new skill or language. This helps keep your brain active and strengthens your memory.
Exercise regularly: Regular exercise improves blood flow to the brain, which can help improve memory and cognitive function.
Get enough sleep: Sleep is crucial for consolidating memories and improving cognitive function. Aim for at least 7-8 hours of sleep each night.
Eat a healthy diet: Eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins can provide the necessary nutrients for brain health.
Reduce stress: Chronic stress can affect memory and cognitive function. Try relaxation techniques such as meditation, yoga, or deep breathing exercises to reduce stress levels.
Stay socially engaged: Social interaction can help improve memory and cognitive function. Spend time with friends and family, join a social group, or volunteer in your community.
Use mnemonic devices: Mnemonic devices are techniques that can help you remember information more easily. Examples include acronyms, rhymes, and visualization.
Remember, memory is a complex process, and some factors that affect memory are beyond your control. However, by adopting healthy habits and staying mentally active, you can help improve your memory and overall cognitive function.
As we age, many of us may think that our mental ability must necessarily decline. But new evidence shows that this is not neccesarily the case.
Many older people think that by regularly
completing crosswords or sudoku, they will enhance their brain power.
However, this is probably not true. At
best, it will do no more than improve their ability to do crosswords and
sudoku. Unfortunately, there is very
little evidence that these activities, along with the myriad of phone apps
available to improve brain function, achieve anything at all.
According to Melbourne neuroscientist Dr Jared
Cooney Horvath, the secret to keeping your brain fresh is continuing to do
something unpredictable. Recent
research has shown that keeping your brain functioning well is not about repeating
the same activities over and over, rather it is about undertaking new thinking
patterns. Dr Horvath maintains that
there are twelve scientific principles controlling the way that we learn and
remember. He says that the idea that we can use tools to boost brain function
is not supported by current evidence. In actual fact, there is very little that
is known about ways that we can help our brains to function better.
If we understand the way that our brain works, we
will have a better chance of adopting habits and behaviours that will benefit
us to the extent that we can develop a “super-efficient” brain. As we learn, the brain starts to develop an
automatic prediction mechanism. The secret is “you have to keep doing
something unpredictable”.
Learn Something New
Many people, after they retire, will start doing
cross-words and playing golf and and may become very good at these activities,
simply by virtue of repetition and practice. However, if they were to take up something new,
such as learning an instrument or another language or playing a new sport or
even doing something outlandish, the brain will respond and new thought
patterns will develop, thus improving brain function.
The conclusion is that any decline in normal brain
function is not inevitable as we age. In
fact, if any decline occurs, it is most likely not due to any biological
process, but rather sociological effects.
So, the bottom line, according to Dr Horvath,
is… “force yourself to engage in something new and once you get good at it,
do something new again”. If you have
never done a crossword, it will help your brain by starting to do them. But once you get good at it, learn to do something
else, such as a cryptic crossword or solitaire. Keep on stretching your brain to
function outside of its comfort zone.
In essence, the secret to keeping the brain fresh
is continual learning. If you want a well-functioning brain, you
need to feed it new skills all the time.
THREE WAYS TO BOOST BRAIN POWER
1 Follow the Mediterranean Diet
We have long known that exercise, sleep
and stress management are all essential for our brain to function at its
optimum. But in addition to these three things, we can improve our brain health
when we eat a Mediterranean Diet. The Mediterranean diet helps improve
our short term or working memory.
In essence, the Mediterranean dietconsists of eating lots of fruits and vegetables, along with fish, nuts and salads topped off with olive oils. Diets based on these foods have been shown to greatly improve vascular and brain health. These foods can make up a very healthy lunch or dinner with olives, spinach, goat’s cheese, tomatoes, fish, nuts and extra virgin olive oil.
2 Learn Something New
Learning an instrument or learning a new language
can help improve our intellectual skills. As well as this, new sensory and motor
skills can greatly boost the brain function. Reading about new things also
increases our vocabulary and working memory
3 Go out and connect with Nature
Time spent exploring the countryside is time well spent. Go for drives and explore nature. Meditate in nature, relax and have a picnic. Appreciate nature… the sea, the countryside or bush land. Being outdoors gets you out and walking, breathing fresh air. This all broadens your perspective of the world at large around you and your appreciation of nature… bird life and animals.
So slow down, get off the computer or phone and take a picnic and explore nature. Not only will you improve your brain function, you will feel more connected with the outdoors, the people you meet and you will feel more relaxed and calm.
We recently returned from a driving tour visiting the cities, towns and villages of France.
In all of our time in that country we saw not one person who could be described as overweight. On our return to Australia, the contrast was staggering.
Where are the people in our home country who have discovered the secrets to being trim, taut and terrific?
Muscular strengthening exercises help maintain the muscles’ ability to endure against constant or increasing levels of force and pressure, strengthening and improving muscular endurance levels. Muscular endurance exercises keep the muscles strong, flexible, toned and in good shape.
Muscular strength training improves the body’s blood flow, keeping the heart strong and healthy. Everyday activities such as climbing stairs, carrying heavy objects, or playing in a team sport, are all so much easier when doing regular muscular strengthening exercises.
Muscular Endurance Program
Muscular endurance sports program for athletes (such as marathon runners)
To avoid fatigue or injury, marathon runners must perform more exercises for muscular endurance… to repeatedly maintain their stride again and again for long periods.
A daily muscular strength and endurance program
However, for the average person, exercises for muscular endurance can be obtained through a simple program that can realise the benefits of push-ups every day. Doing these repeated movements until fatigued will reap the long-term benefits of exercise.
When engaging in regular muscle strengthening exercises, following a flexibility exercise program, you will greatly increase your strength and muscular endurance levels. This will not only improve your overall health and wellbeing, but you will also sleep better, and your mood will improve.
……………………………………………………
THE BENEFITS OF EXERCISE
To gain the full benefits of exercise, the best way to start is with a walking-for-weight-loss plan.
You could start with an 8-week walking plan for weight loss. You could measure your progress using a detailed walking to lose weight chart for reminding you to get out of the bed in the morning, as this is the best time for walking to lose weight. Working out in the morning benefits the whole body as it helps get you motivated to start for the day, as well being more accountable.
A walking for weight loss calculator or wrist watch Fitbit can measure your heart rate and walking steps to get the full benefits of exercise.
It is important to note that 20 -30 minutes per day doing muscle strengthening exercises could get you noticeable results very quickly. When following a daily flexibility exercise program, you will soon realize the many benefits of exercise.
Vary your Program
Vary your muscular strength endurance program by alternating with a different flexibility exercise every 2 days to avoid overworking a muscle. To gain the benefits of warm ups, it is important to warm up and stretch the muscles, limbs, and joints beforehand to loosen and lightly stretch the muscles. Walk, jog, or run with a friend as the social benefits of exercise are enormous for your mind, body, and mood. But the main benefits of warm ups will be to avoid injury.
What are the benefits of Muscular Endurance Activities?
The five best muscular strength activities…
1 PUSHUPS
The benefits of pushups include that it is one of the best muscular strength and endurance exercises.
Pushups
Pushups are regarded as a great exercise for muscular endurance. They are one of the best muscle strengthening exercises you can do every day. However, always check with your doctor before starting a routine flexibility exercise program.
pushups
When done properly, pushups gradually build upper body strength, working the shoulder muscles, the triceps, and the pectoral muscles. This is one of the top benefits of pushups.
Pushups also strengthen the abdominal muscles by gradually pulling in the stomach muscles strengthening the core along with the lower back muscles.
Pushups can be done at a full stretch or, if they prove difficult, work on your knees and on your forearms at first.
The benefits of pushups will be noticed gradually after working up from 5 to 10 to start with – then 20 to 30 – adding a few each day. This slowly builds physical strength and fitness levels.
Simply following a flexibility exercise program will enable you to get the required results and gain the full benefits of push-ups fairly quickly.
2 SQUATS
Squats benefits
Squatting
Squats are a great exercise for muscular endurance and strength training.
Squatting strengthens both the calves and thigh muscles
Squats benefit many different muscles in the body, enabling ease of movement. Squats benefit the lower body muscles, as it is important that they remain strong. Strengthening them allows them to move more freely. This helps to maintain balance and posture.
Squats are seen as both strength and flexibility exercise that train important muscles such as the calves, thighs, glutes, hamstrings, and quadriceps, enabling you to perform everyday tasks with ease.
Squats also strengthen the core muscles in the body. This is why they are regarded as one of the best muscle strengthening exercises.
Benefits of box squats
A box sets the bottom of each of the box squats and determines how low they are going. On the return of each of the box squats, the muscles strengthen, when forced to return to a standing position, building muscular endurance.
Squats benefit athletes as they gradually gain strength with each of their box squats. The benefits of box squats are that they enable both beginners and new athletes to build muscle strength.
Front squats are much easier on the knees and back. The benefits of front squats are valuable as they are another excellent muscular endurance and strength builder that helps builds strong core strength. Maintaining a strong upright position strengthens the glutes and quads.
3 PLANKING
Planking is a strengthening exercise for muscular endurance that encompasses the shoulders, back and core muscles. It works many of the upper and lower major muscle groups.
What muscles do planks work?
The main planking benefit is strengthening of your core muscles
Planking
The plank activates the core muscles that include the…
Transversus abdominis.
Rectus abdominis.
Internal oblique.
External oblique muscles.
Planking, like pushups, increases your muscular endurance as well as helping to improve your balance.
Planking or plank leg raise exercise is aptly named because, when done correctly, your entire body is kept straight and rigid just like a plank of wood. Planking puts all your weight on to your forearms, elbows, and toes by keeping your body straight from your head to your toes, while breathing normally. This position needs to be held from 10 to 60 seconds or longer. By holding the position for as long as possible, the muscular strength benefits of planking will be realized.
How to do a plank
As you don’t need any equipment, beginners can start with elbow plank legs press, then progress to the straight arm plank. Beginners start with the arm elbow down plank using clenched fists, then progress to the straight arm plank, leg raise to gain the full planking benefit.
Legs press with elbows down
Experienced plankers can progress to the plank pushup variation, alternate from elbow-clenched fist position to a straight-arm position, all the while keeping back straight and the core tight.
The body needs to be straight, taking normal breaths, keeping the shoulders straight and arms resting at a right angle with a clenched fist, while keeping the neck up. The forearms should be pointing straight ahead. It’s important to breathe in and out easily. This strengthens the abdominal muscles. The pectoral, abs, back, glutes and quads are all strengthened.
The chest is slightly away from the floor, keeping the legs together and quads tight. Take full breaths in and out towards the stomach.
Planking
Try planking every day for a month as these are excellent muscle strengthening exercises that help improve and build core muscle strength. All these mid-section muscles aid the limbs to increase effectiveness of movement when strengthened.
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4 WALKING
The main benefit of walking is that it is a good flexibility exercise.
Walking
What are the benefits of walking 30 minutes a day?
Another of the benefits of walking is that it’s an endorphin release exercise which helps improve mood, sleep, and wellbeing.
The long-term effects of exercise, especially walking 30 minutes per day, are that it has many different health benefits for every age group. Frequent walking keeps the body moving and it may even increase longevity and help prevent the onset of certain diseases.
There are many social benefits of exercise. Walking groups get you out of the house, meeting new people and are an excellent light exercise for muscular endurance.
The benefit of lunges when walking
You can vary your walk each day by gaining the benefits of warm ups and walking lunges… by taking larger strides and dropping the body down towards the ground with each step.
Join a walk to weight loss group or walking club as it will help you walk faster, burn calories, and lose belly fat. A frequent 30-minute calorie burn can trim the body of excess kilos quite quickly, keeping you trim and supple. It’s recommended to always take advantage of the benefits of warm ups. Doing single leg raises are a good flexibility exercise before a 30-minute calorie-burn walk.
Cooling down after exercise is important, to allow for relaxation of the muscles.
5 JUMP ROPING (Skipping)
Jump roping
Jump rope to build fitness
One of the most effective exercises for burning calories, building endurance & strength is jumping rope. You can increase your fitness level in as little as 20 minutes.
This is the best-kept secret in fitness. You don’t need a lot of space or equipment, and you can do workouts wherever you go.
Compared to other activities, it offers one of the most effective cardio workouts. Research has shown that you can burn over 1000 calories per hour jumping rope.
