The exact cause of PCOS remains a mystery to doctors and researchers. However, the symptoms are clear and some researchers believe that it is closely linked to an over active sympathetic nervous system. This system is what controls involuntary bodily functions such as the dilation of pupils.

A group of Swedish researchers conducted a study recently, wherein women with PCOS were divided into three groups. The first group underwent electro-acupuncture (a weak electric current is passed through the needles). The second group underwent a guided exercise routine (at least three times a week). The third group had no additional treatment or instructions. The findings? The activity of the sympathetic nervous system of the first two groups was considerably lower and the women who had acupuncture had a plus: more regulated menstruation. More than this, they also had lower levels of testosterone.

If you have PCOS or know anyone with PCOS, you might want to consider acupuncture.

A new research conducted in Australia has found out that age related memory loss could be treated by exercise, at least to a certain degree. What the researchers did was to study 138 people who were 50 years old and above. The people were experiencing memory problems but were not classified as being at risk for dementia. The group was divided into two – the exercise group and the control group. The people in the exercise group were asked to engage in physical activity for 150 minutes per week. This meant three 50-minute sessions within the week.

Their findings? Dr. Nicola T. Lautenschlager relates:

The benefits of physical activity were apparent after six months and persisted for at least another 12 months after the intervention had been discontinued. The average improvement of 0.69 points on the ADAS-Cog score compared with the usual care group at 18 months is small but potentially important when one considers the relatively modest amount of physical activity undertaken by participants in the study. Unlike medication, which was found to have no significant effect on mild cognitive impairment at 36 months, physical activity has the advantage of health benefits that are not confined to cognitive function alone, as suggested by findings on depression, quality of life, falls, cardiovascular function, and disability.

So, if you are getting on in your years and you want to help resolve those memory problems, move!

You’re probably thinking – now where did this come from? It’s just that the weekend has been a hectic one for me, in social terms. We started partying on Friday night and continued for the next two nights. Naturally, this morning has not been kind to me. It got me thinking about the various effects that alcohol can have on the body.

Anyway, I looked it up and found material wherein someone actually sent in a very similar question: Will wine make me fat?

So what was the columnist’s answer? Yes, it can make you fat. This is due to the simple reason that wine – and many alcoholic drinks – contain calories, lots of them to be exact. So imagine drinking 4 or 5 units of alcohol a night. If you do this several times a week, without really exercising and eating healthily, those calories can easily accumulate and make you gain weight.

As a matter of fact, fitness experts and nutritionists have gone as far as to say that if you consume large amounts of alcohol on a regular basis and then if you cut down to one or two units a week, you would most certainly see an effect on your weight! What this means to us is simple – watching your alcohol intake can make a difference to your weight loss program.

Bottom line: stress is NOT good. Too much of it can mess up your life so bad you’d wish you were never born!

The good news is that stress can be managed – for real. Even the busiest and richest person in this world can keep his stress levels down. Here are some things which can help you get started.

Get off your butt! Yep, good old exercise can do the trick. We all know this in theory but until you actually do it, you won’t feel the effects. You don’t have to go to the gym and do hardcore routines. Even a mere 30-minute walk or swim will do the trick. Get those endorphins flowing and you’ll breeze through your work day!

Fend off negative talk. It’s simple: stop joining office bitching sessions. When something’s not right at work – and there’s always something! – people tend to make it worse by getting together and venting. Venting is good – don’t get me wrong. Getting it off your chest is a great way to de-stress. But if you do it over and over again over the same little things, you just fan the flames. And guess who’s at the losing end?

Keep it simple. When you feel yourself becoming overwhelmed, simplify things. Break huge tasks down into more manageable pieces. Take things one step at a time. You’ll get there eventually.

The feeling of deprivation is never good. Sadly, this is one common factor in a lot of weight loss programs. Individuals are restricted severely when it comes to food intake, resulting in the feeling of deprivation. Naturally, human instinct makes one want to get rid of that feeling; hence the problem of yoyo dieting.

The solution? Lessen your food intake but do not go to the point that you feel that you are depriving yourself too much. Crash diets, cracker diets, water diets, and so on – all of these things will only add to the feeling of deprivation. Avoid unhealthy food but do not stop yourself from eating here and there.

Crash diets do work temporarily. You’d notice, though, that you can’t seem to get past that plateau after losing a few pounds. Why? The answer is simple: effective and lasting weight loss is not achieved through diet alone. The second and vital component of weight loss is exercise. The basic principle is to burn more calories than you consume. If you stop eating suddenly, your body will go into starvation mode and burn even fewer calories. It is easy to see that you need to cut back on your calorie intake AND get moving to burn more calories and shed those pounds.

Simple enough, isn’t it? Now you need to get these ideas into your head and DO SOMETHING about it. In a couple of months, you’ll definitely see results.

Photo courtesy of http://www.womensportreport.com/

The gym should be near where you live or work. If its location is too inconvenient for you, you might not be motivated to workout regularly. Try to look for a Southampton gym that is at most 15 minutes commuting distance.

Next, check out the gym’s equipment. There should be plenty of variation to accommodate different weights, sizes and needs of people. A gym with only benches and dumbells is not a good place to workout. It doesn’t matter if they offer attractive pricing. Your health is more important. Check out the cardio machines. They should have enough because these are the frequently used equipment.

Going to the gym should be fun. Look for gyms in Southampton that offers free classes such as Dance, Yoga or Spinning. These healthy yet fun activities can break the monotony of working out with the machines. If you like group workout and interaction, then you definitely have to find a gym that offers a variety of class. Make sure that these classes are included in the membership fee.

The LA Fitness gym in Southampton provides free classes to all its members. The free classes include Dance Fusion, BodyPump, Step, Yoga, Spin, and so much more. But the best part is that they also have Crew Classes where you can learn how to properly use the equipment to suit your fitness regimen.

I think so. I believe that getting the proper exercise that we all need is a matter of finding something that you actually like doing. How do you think those people who go to the gym on a regular basis keep it up? They probably like what they are doing. Of course there will always be those people who do it because they have to and they have the willpower to do so – but not everyone is like them.

Anyway, how can you make your work out sessions fun? Again, find something that you enjoy. Is there any sport that you like playing? Basketball? Baseball? Volleyball? Tennis? Table tennis? Any sport will do. The trick is for you to spend time playing that sport even for just one day a week.

It doesn’t even have to be a sport. How about leisurely activities that actually get you out of the house and on your feet? Hiking maybe? Swimming? Anything that can help you become more active and at the same time allow you to have fun will do.

So, what do you think? Let’s bring the fun back to exercise!

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The good news is that the health of our brain often is impacted by the very same things that affect our bodies:  the food we eat, exercise, etc.  But our brains are also different:  they get exercised through mental activities as well.  So it is important keep your brain healthy in both ways.

Here are 10 tips to keep your brain healthy and minimize headaches:

1.   Drink lots of water throughout the day to stay hyrdrated

2.   Increase your protein intake, while minimizing empty processed foods

3.   Take three 10-20 minutes walks in the middle of your work day

4.   Go to bed early.  Get an extra hour or two of sleep each night.

5.   Play brain games.  I’m sure you’ve heard of Brain Age.  Old fashioned crossword puzzles work too

6.   Eat fish on a weekly basis for fatty acids.

7.   Commit to learning a new skill once a month

8.   Turn off the TV and read a book

9.   Decrease caffeine and alcohol intake

10.  Spend at least 1 full hour a week riding a bike or taking a jog

Richard Mitchell from the University of Glasgow, together with his co-researchers, released their findings recently. CBC News Canada ran this feature story:

Green spaces like parks and forests help narrow health gaps between the rich and poor living in cities, say researchers who are urging urban planners to invest in greenery.

In Saturday’s issue of the Lancet, Richard Mitchell of the University of Glasgow and his colleagues looked at mortality records, income data and the amount of green areas for more than 366,000 people in England who were below retirement age in 2001 to 2005.
In general, studies show that people living in poorer areas tend to be more unhealthy and die earlier because of differences in diet, lifestyle and access to medical care.

Living near open, undeveloped land such as parks, forests, playing fields and river corridors seemed to help reduce this gap, according to the latest study.

Again, it does not take a rocket scientist to figure this out. Still, common sense, when backed up by scientific studies carry more weight to some people. Perhaps if you think that your city needs more parks, you can come up with a petition citing this study.