6 Ways to Boost Your Brain Power - AND - CDC: Chickens Cause Urinary Infections

Many scientists have been surprised to discover that the brain is much more malleable than they thought, constantly adapting and establishing new connections. They have discovered that six behavioral and environmental changes can improve brain function — even in old age — and give your brain a boost. Exercise your body. Physical activity can trigger new connections between neurons and create new brain cells, Art Kramer, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Illinois, told the Associated Press. Studies have shown that exercise improves brain function and creativity in people of all ages. Animal research at the Salk Institute found that running increased brain cells in both normal adult mice and in elderly mice. Running also increased brain cells in mice genetically programmed to be slow learners. Zap stress. Chronic stress damages the brain, interfering with everything from emotion and impulse control to analytical thinking, according to researchers at Yale University. Long-term stress inundates the brain with an enzyme (protein kinase C) that breaks down neurons. But the damage can be reversed if stress is avoided, and the brain can actually repair itself. Reduce stress by getting exercise and cutting down on life's stresses you have control over. SPECIAL: How One Deck of Cards Has Shown to Improve Memory Healthy diet. Meals high in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and low in saturated fats will not only keep your brain sharp, but will also help protect you from heart disease, cancer, and other diseases of aging. Healthy diets also include heart-healthy fats such as omega-3 fatty acids (found in tuna, sardines, and mackerel) that help maintain brain function throughout life. Have a drink. Moderate social drinking (two drinks a day for men and one drink a day for women) reduces the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia by 23 percent, according to researchers at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. However, heavy drinking (more than three drinks a day) is associated with a higher risk of dementia and cognitive impairment (the ability to think, concentrate, reason, and remember). Supplement. B vitamins, especially B-6, B-12, and folic acid reduce blood levels of the toxic amino acid homocysteine which has been connected with dementia. British researchers found that seniors who took a combination of the three B vitamins for two years did 70 percent better on memory tests than those who took a placebo. Antioxidants vitamin C, vitamin E, and beta carotene fight free radicals which damage brain cells. And a Dutch study found that people over the age of 50 who had the highest blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids scored significantly better on cognitive tests than those who had low levels. Omega-3s also protect against Alzheimer's. A study reported in the journal Archives of Neurology found that people who ate fish at least once a week reduced their odds of developing Alzheimer's by 60 percent when compared with those who rarely or never ate fish. Exercise your brain. Researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York found that seniors who remained mentally active with activities such as reading, doing crossword puzzles, and playing a musical instrument, reduced their risk of dementia by up to 75 percent. ************************************************************************************* ____________________________________________________________________________________ ************************************************************************************* _____________________________________________________________________________________ ************************************************************************************* Most urinary tract infections in the U.S. may be caused by chicken meat, according to a surprising new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Urinary infections were long believed to be tied to E. coli bacteria in a person’s own gut. But a new CDC examination of the bacterial strains in women diagnosed with urinary infections found they closely matched those of E. coli found in retail chicken meat. What’s more, the bacteria in the meat was not a result of contamination, but appeared to come from the chickens themselves. CDC researchers said strains of E. coli from beef and pork, which they also analyzed, were less likely to match the strains that cause infections. “The management of UTIs [urinary tract infections], which was previously straightforward, has become more complicated,” the CDC said, in reporting the findings on its Website. “The risks for treatment failure are higher, and the cost of UTI treatment is increasing.” UTIs are typically the result of bacteria entering the body’s urinary system, which is composed of the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra. Canadian researchers at McGill University have previously reported that E. coli, the most common cause of UTIs, can originate in food and that chicken is the most likely culprit. For the new study, CDC researchers tested bacterial strains from 320 samples of chicken, beef and pork and compared them to those supplied by 475 women with UTIs. “The results suggest that potential [E. coli] transmission from food animal sources is likely to be implicated in human infections and that chicken is a major reservoir,” they wrote. “The possibility that [E. coli] causing UTIs and other extraintestinal infections in humans could originate from a food animal reservoir raises public health concern. New interventions may be needed to reduce the level of food contamination and risk for transmission.”