Exercise Fueling the Brain

From the NYTimes an article on how exercise improves brain functioning. This could be part of the anti-aging aspect to exercise. (More info on my practice here.)

How Exercise Fuels the Brain
By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS
Moving the body demands a lot from the brain...
This increase in brain activity naturally increases the brain’s need for nutrients, but until recently, scientists hadn’t fully understood how neurons fuel themselves during exercise. Now a series of animal studies from Japan suggest that the exercising brain has unique methods of keeping itself fueled. What’s more, the finely honed energy balance that occurs in the brain appears to have implications not only for how well the brain functions during exercise, but also for how well our thinking and memory work the rest of the time...
But about 10 years ago, some neuroscientists found that specialized cells in the brain, known as astrocytes, that act as support cells for neurons actually contained small stores of glycogen, or stored carbohydrates. And glycogen, as it turns out, is critical for the health of cells throughout the brain.

While a brain with more fuel reserves is potentially a brain that can sustain and direct movement longer, it also “may be a key mechanism underlying exercise-enhanced cognitive function,” says Hideaki Soya, a professor of exercise biochemistry at the University of Tsukuba and senior author of the studies, since supercompensation occurs most strikingly in the parts of the brain that allow us better to think and to remember. As a result, Dr. Soya says, “it is tempting to suggest that increased storage and utility of brain glycogen in the cortex and hippocampus might be involved in the development” of a better, sharper brain...
He and his colleagues have found that “glycogen supercompensation in some brain loci” is “enhanced in rats receiving carbohydrates immediately after exhaustive exercise.” So for people, that might mean that after a run or other exercise that is prolonged or strenuous enough to leave you tired, a bottle of chocolate milk or a banana might be just the thing your brain is needing.

Longevity, Jing, Dr. Mao, and Munger's Models

This is another quote from Dr. Mao Shing Ni's book "Secrets of Longevity." It concerns one of the key concepts in Chinese Medicine, jing. The topic of jing is a Chinese Medicine mental model that, in part, echoes the Munger model of "inverting" or avoiding what you don't want to get what you want.

Ancient Formula Strengthens Your Essence
According to Chinese longevity philosophy, jing, or essence is the basic substance of life. Innate essence is inherited from parentage and can be refined through practices such as tai chi, qigong, and meditation, while a second kind of jing acquired during your life can be replenished through diet, nutrition and longevity herbs. A formula for enduring youth passed down in our family medical tradition contains such essence-building herbs as Chinese wild yam, ligustri fruit, schizandra berry, sesame seed, eucommia bark, he shou wu root and cistanches root. Studies of all these plants confirm their positive effects on the hormonal, immune and metabolic systems.

What he doesn't mention are the things that can harm your jing, childbirth without sufficient rest, drugs, excessive alcohol, illness. So avoiding these are over half the battle against aging. The crucial aspect of jing is that it can be supported throughout life with wise and balanced living, but once destroyed is extremely difficult to replace. This fits nicely with the Munger model, that in avoiding destructive habits or avoiding "where you are going to die so you don't go there" is a key concept in Chinese Medicine.
The formula I recommend for longevity and an overall health tonic is Astra Essence from Health Concerns. The "Astra" in "Astra Essence" is for astragalus an herb that nourishes the lung function and, indeed, can keep you from getting ill, especially with respiratory illnesses, colds, flu etc... It has been studied in conjunction with telomeres and has been shown to decrease cellular aging also.
For info on my practice please click here.

Longevity: Live Long Without Arthritis

I've been meaning to incorporate some of my reading into the blog for awhile, so here's my first attempt. This is from a book called "Secrets of Longevity" by Dr. Mao Shin Ni.

More than 40 million Americans, one out of six, have some form of arthritis- but you don't have to be one of them. Recent studies show that osteoarthritis is not an inevitable part of the aging process. Here's your program: maintain an ideal wight; get regular low-impact exercise; eat a diet rick in antioxidants such as viatamins C, A, and E; get some sun for vitamin D; eat lots of enzyme-rick foods containing bromelain, like papaya and pineapples; take supplements such as glucosamine and chrondroitin that support joing and cartilage health. and use the herbs ginger, turmeric, and cinnamon, all of wihich can help reduce inflammation and increase circulation. Additionally, some people may find it helful to avoid foods from the night shade family , which contain a plant alkaloid called solanine. These include tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, and bell peppers.

I don't necessarily endorse all of these suggestions (I was planning on making "escalivada" for dinner with roasted potatoes...) I haven't been convinced by the studies on glucosamine and chontroitin. I was at a conference where a rheumatologist quipped, "Eating glucosamine and chondroitin for your joints is like eating brains to get smart." But studies don't always tell the full story.
I would also add that Meir Schneider, a movement specialist in San Francisco says that where there is flexibility, there is no arthritis, submitted for your consideration.
Info on my practice here.

Dutch Study: Patients whose GP knows Complementary Medicine Have Lower Costs and Live Longer

To be filed in the "First, Do No Harm" category...
Eur J Health Econ. 2011 Jun 22.
Patients whose GP knows complementary medicine tend to have lower costs and live longer.
Kooreman P, Baars EW
Department of Economics, Tilburg University, Warandelaan 2, 5037 AB, Tilburg, The Netherlands, p.kooreman@uvt.nl.
Abstract
BACKGROUND:

Health economists have largely ignored complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) as an area of research, although both clinical experiences and several empirical studies suggest cost-effectiveness of CAM.
OBJECTIVE:

To explore the cost-effectiveness of CAM compared with conventional medicine.
METHODS:

A dataset from a Dutch health insurer was used containing quarterly information on healthcare costs (care by general practitioner (GP), hospital care, pharmaceutical care, and paramedic care), dates of birth and death, gender and 6-digit postcode of all approximately 150,000 insurees, for the years 2006-2009. Data from 1913 conventional GPs were compared with data from 79 GPs with additional CAM training in acupuncture (25), homeopathy (28), and anthroposophic medicine (26).
RESULTS:

Patients whose GP has additional CAM training have 0-30% lower healthcare costs and mortality rates, depending on age groups and type of CAM. The lower costs result from fewer hospital stays and fewer prescription drugs.
DISCUSSION:

Since the differences are obtained while controlling for confounders including neighborhood specific fixed effects at a highly detailed level, the lower costs and longer lives are unlikely to be related to differences in socioeconomic status. Possible explanations include selection (e.g. people with a low taste for medical interventions might be more likely to choose CAM) and better practices (e.g. less overtreatment, more focus on preventive and curative health promotion) by GPs with knowledge of complementary medicine. ...