U.S. News & World Report | Find Me A Cure

U.S. News & World Report reveals five ways that exercise can enhance your brainpower and mood:

1.It reverses the detrimental effects of stress. Exercise boosts levels of soothing brain chemicals like serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. Exercise may actually work on a cellular level to reverse stress’s toll on your aging process.

2.It lifts depression. Sustained, sweat-inducing activity can reduce symptoms of depression about as effectively as antidepressants.

3.It improves learning. Exercise increases the level of brain chemicals called growth factors that help make new brain cells.

4.It builds self-esteem and improves body image. Even simply seeing fitness improvements, like running a faster mile or lifting more weight, can improve your self-esteem and body image.

5.It leaves you feeling euphoric. High-intensity exercise can leave you with a feeling of euphoria. Try running, biking, or swimming as fast as you can for 30 to 40 seconds and then reduce your speed to a gentle pace for five minutes before sprinting again.

Further, a new study by researchers at Northwestern University‘s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago have revealed impressive insights into why exercise is so good for your brain. In short, it appears that exercise lowers the activity of bone-morphogenetic protein or BMP, which slows the production of new brain cells.

At the same time, exercise increases Noggin, a brain protein that acts as a BMP antagonist.

According to NYTimes.com:

“The more Noggin in your brain, the less BMP activity exists and the more stem cell divisions and neurogenesis [production of new brain cells] you experience.”

Resources:
U.S. News & World Report June 30, 2010
NYTimes.com July 7, 2010

Exercise Boosts Your Brain – Here’s How (singularityhub.com)
Exercise Boosts Your Brain – Here’s How | Singularity Hub (danielmiessler.com)
Phys Ed: Your Brain on Exercise (well.blogs.nytimes.com)
Get Smart! (laf.ee)
RAPatton: Phys Ed: Your Brain on Exercise – Well Blog – NYTimes.com (well.blogs.nytimes.com)
Get on your bike and use your noggin, say scientists (telegraph.co.uk)
5 Mind-Blowing Benefits of Exercise (health.usnews.com)
How exercise stimulates brain nerve cell growth (mindblog.dericbownds.net)
Your Brain On Exercise (well.blogs.nytimes.com)

5 Ways to Reduce Children’s Pesticide Exposure

U.S. News & World Report recommends the following steps:

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1.Buy organic fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables most likely to be grown using pesticides, if they are not organic, include celery, peaches, strawberries, apples, and blueberries.

2.Detoxify your lawn. If you have a lawn care service, make sure they are not using the organophosphate pesticide trichlorfon.

3.Clean out your shed. The pesticide diazinon (sold under the brand names Diazinon or Spectracide) has been banned from residential, but there might be some left in your old garden shed.

4.Use natural cures for a lice infection. Malathion is used for treatment of head lice. Don’t put a neurotoxin on your child’s head.

5.Check your school’s pest control policy. If they have not already done so, encourage your school district to move to Integrated Pest Management, which uses less toxic alternatives.

Resources:
U.S. News & World Report May 17, 2010
MSNBC May 16, 2010

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