Statistics gathered from extensive research do point toward a higher risk of developing AD if you had a close relative with AD – as much as 50%, but that has less to do with genes and more to do with following their lifestyle patterns. If for example, your parents were smokers who rarely exercised, you may have developed some of the same destructive habits.

What can you do to break the cycle and prevent AD? Take action and take control today. Even if you are in your 60s or 70s you can reverse some of the damage done to your brain through poor diet, inactivity, or damaging lifestyle choices. Scientists have discovered very recently that the brain has the ability to repair cells and neurotransmitters and improve cognitive function and memory.

It’s Not Too Late to Make A Difference: Start the 5 Steps Today

1. Eat Right. It seems so simple, yet too many people just don’t get enough of the mind preserving antioxidants found in fresh fruits and vegetables. A well-balanced diet, free of diary products and using low fat sources of protein will protect both heart and mind.

2. Supplement where necessary. Many diets lack the nutrients proven to promote brain health. These include sources of essential fatty acids found in fish and specific herbs and minerals that can enhance cognitive function.

3. Exercise. Originally it was thought that exercise increases blood flow and oxygen to the brain cells. This is still true, but a report prepared for the National Institutes of Health states that exercise can also stimulate the production growth factors, which are molecules produced by the body to repair and maintain nerves.

4. Lower Your Cholesterol. Many people with early dementia or AD symptoms may have actually experienced small strokes that damaged the brain’s neurotransmitters. By keeping cholesterol levels in check, the arteries are free and clear of plaque that can cause stroke.

5. Do your Mental Exercises. Keeping up with current events, working puzzles each day, learning and memorizing new information all work to keeping a mind strong and alert. It is normal for people to sometimes forget a name or date, but the more practice recalling such information the greater the brain’s ability to do this throughout old age. In the case of mental challenges, the more you do the more you can push back the clock on cognitive decline.

Five easy steps, when you think about it, can do much to make aging an event to celebrate instead of dread. With age there comes experience and wisdom, and we should all do whatever is within our power to be able to pass that on to the next generation.

Below are some of the ways on how to manage your stress while at the office. The beauty of this is, you can do this even while sitting at your desk and doing your desk work. Read on and let these techniques help you.

1. Head turning exercise
One of the best ways to relieve your stress is to relax the source: the muscles. You can do this by stretching your muscles and turning your head and arm from side to side. You can do this while you are standing or even by sitting down.

2. Comfortable chairs to sit on
One of the best ways to manage stress is to prevent it from coming or at least lessen it. You can do this by making sure that your work area is comfortable to work on. Start with your chair. Can you relax when you are sitting on it or do your muscles get stiff? Why is it not comfortable? Once you determine what makes the chair uncomfortable to use, it will be easier for you to solve the problem. Often, pillows and some cushions will answer your need. Other times, especially when the chair is already broken, you will need to completely replace the chair. Remember that working with a bad posture heightens the stress that we feel in the muscle areas.

3. manage your time
Managing your time properly and not cramming can spell a whole lot of difference in your stress levels. Start doing your work ahead of time. Don’t wait for the last seconds to do that report. Start the research. This will make you more prepare and more able to deal with potential stress incidents such as your boss asking for that report way ahead of schedule. At least, if you have started on it on time, you will be able to at least give him some notes.
Also, managing your time well will mean that you won’t have to go against the clock. You can work at a leisurely pace knowing that you have enough time to finish the job. Besides little stresses like this can build up and lead to a heightened stress level.

4. take a break
Taking time out from your work will help you a lot when in decreasing that stress level. As much as you can, take short minute break and just close your eyes. Resting the eyes and closing out your senses for a second helps a lot in centering your spirit and in bringing back the energy.

5. laugh
The best way to lose the stress is to loosen up. Don’t be too serious with that job. Laugh with friends at the office and join in on the fun. If you can’t do that, laugh all by yourself by reading some funny comics or books. The important thing is smile! Smiling relaxes the muscles. In fact, it uses far less muscles than frowning.

These are only the beginning of the many things that you will be able to do with your iPhone. In fact, you can even personalize your iPhone to your preferences by adding some of the cool applications available for iPhone. All you need to do is download it from the internet and install it in your iPhone. You can download the applications from iTunes or you can search for what you want in other iPhone application download websites.

If you are concerned about your health, you will see that there are quite a lot of applications that you can install and use in your iPhone. With these applications, you will be able to monitor your health and even your weight if you are on a diet or you are working out.

One type of application that will be able to let you know about your health is called the PointsCalc. This application will be able to allow you to estimate nutritional value. All you need to do is enter the calories, fat, fiber and other nutritional value of a particular food and it will tell you about its nutritional value. The great thing about it is that you don’t have to go online to find out about the nutritional value of a food.

Another great application is called 2Fat. This application will allow you to estimate body fat as well as your body mass index. All you need to do is put in your weight, gender and waist measurement and the application will be able to calculate and estimate the amount of body fat you have in your body as well as your body mass.

Epocrates Rx is another interesting application that you can install in your iPhone. This particular application will allow you to get information about 300 different types of medication and also its dosing, its pharmacology, as well as its adverse reaction. You can even look up its price. With this application, you will be able to identify any medication that you may have forgotten about as it will have pictures of the medication in order for you to further identify it. This is very useful in order for you or your family members to avoid dangerous combination of different drugs.

The Weight Tracker is another iPhone application for the health conscious. This particular application does what it’s named. It will allow you to keep track of your weight and can serve as a tool for motivation for you to lose weight. This application will also allow you to send the information to a website in order for you to see your progress in the gym as well as your dieting.

Another iPhone application that will help you with your dieting is the Restaurant Nutrition. The results may scare you but you will be better informed about what you are eating especially if you eat fast food.

As with all symptoms of pregnancy there is a reason for constipation.  When you are pregnant your body creates progesterone which in turns relaxes the muscles of the bowels and causes your digestive tracks to work much slower.  Your digestive track works slower to make sure your body absorbs the nutrients from your food for your baby.  This can create constipation, which if it not kept under control, can lead to hemorrhoids.

There are some ways you can help avoid constipation throughout your pregnancy.  Make sure you included plenty of fiber in your diet.  Fiber absorbs water and can help to soften your stools and speed their passage.  Eat plenty of high fiber foods like whole grain cereal and oatmeal.  Instead of eating white bread with your sandwiches, eat whole grain breads.  Add some oat bran to your cereals or yogurt.

Fresh fruits are also an excellent way to get your fiber in.  Melons and plums have a high amount of fiber in them as wells as dried fruits like figs, raisins, apricots and of course the well known favorite prunes.  Prunes and prune juice have a like laxative effect and will help keep things moving properly in your body.  Aim to eat at least 25 to 30 grams of fiber a day.  You can tell you are getting enough fiber if your stools are large and soft and you aren’t straining to pass them.  Keep in mind though that too much fiber can lead to diarrhea which can lead to dehydration so do not over do the fiber in your diet.

Also, drinking plenty of fluid will help you combat constipation.  Fluids help keep digestive products moving through your system so it is very important for you to drink at least six to eight glasses of water a day.   Keeping up with your fluids is important especially if you are increasing your intake of fiber.   Your body needs to water to soak up the fiber otherwise it can cause more constipation.

Also, make sure you are eating your yogurt if you can.  Yogurt has a bacteria called acidophilus that helps stimulate the intestinal bacteria to break down food better.  Look at your prenatal.  Some of the prenatal that women take contain a lot of iron and iron can play a big part in constipation.  Talk to your doctor to see if you can switch for a while to a different prenatal that contains less iron or at least stay off of the prenatal for a while until your constipation is under control.

Avoid foods that can lead to constipation.  White bread and some cereals such as corn flakes can lead to constipation as well as white rice and bananas.  If all this fails, give your doctor a call to see if there is something you can take to help keep you regulated.  Most doctors will allow you to take Metamucil to help keep things moving.

Constipation is never pleasant but during pregnancy it can be even extra uncomfortable.  Make sure you take the steps to avoid constipation.  It will help make your pregnancy that much more enjoyable.

Your hair transplant will not heal unless you keep the newly operated-on skin out of the sunlight.  The surgery will make the skin especially sensitive.  If you protect the skin on your scalp after getting a scalp hair transplant, you will help the wounds heal much faster.

You can start out by getting some kind of hat.  It does not matter what kind of hat it is, as long as it is fairly loose-fitting so that it does not rub on your new hair transplant grafts.  You should not have to put up with this for long.  After a couple of weeks, you can replace the cap with sunscreen.  It should have an SPF of at least 30.

Having just the right amount of blood flow to the hair transplant sites will make a big difference in how fast they heal.  For example, you need to make sure you get enough blood flow during the night.  You can do this by sleeping on pillows to elevate your head.  Your usual pillows can be used, or you can buy wedge-shaped pillows made for this purpose.

On the other hand, you do not want too much blood flow.  You should get plenty of rest after your hair transplant surgery.  For the first few weeks it is not wise to engage in any physically demanding activities.  Then, the blood flow will be too much.  Your transplants may start to bleed.

It is important to clean your hair just as your doctor recommends after hair transplant surgery.  You will be given a special shampoo to use and specific instructions on how and when to use it.  It is necessary to clean gently but thoroughly.  At first, you may find yourself rinsing your hair many times a day.  Just be sure that you do not bother the hair transplant site by scratching or rubbing it.

Your hair transplant doctor will want you to come in for a check of your transplants about a week after your surgery.  Be sure to be at that appointment on time.  If you have any questions about how to care for your hair, bring them up at that time.

Ask your doctor when you will be ready to use a comb on your new hair.  You might be surprised at how soon you can use one.  Then, your doctor will schedule other check-ups, which you should also attend.

At first it may seem as if you have to be very careful with your hair – and you do!  It does not make sense to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars having your hair transplant surgery and then not follow through with good care.  However, in no time at all, you will be treating this new hair just as you treated the hair you once had there.

1. The first thing you have to do is create the right atmosphere or ambiance. This means finding a cozy, quiet and warm room. You can even use aroma-therapy oil or light a scented candle to make the place smell good. It is best to close the curtains so nobody will see that you are giving a massage.

2. You then prepare the massage oil. The best one to use is Jojoba oil but since this is too expensive, you can try almond oil or lavender instead.

3. The best place to give a massage if you don’t have the massaging bed is on the floor. So it is not too hard to lie on, you should spread linen and then cover it over with a blanket.

4. When the room is ready, you tell the person to take off their clothes and lie in between the blanket. If the person is shy, it is okay and let them just lie down in their underwear. Make sure to cover them up to keep them warm.

5. The proper way of giving a massage is by working from right to left. So, you should sit on the right side of your partner on the thigh or between the legs.

6. You then use your flat hands to smoothly slide from the foot to the bottom on top of the back of the right leg and slide again down. Knead the right leg from the bottom to the top in 3 parts by working inwards then outward and then start over. When you are done, the same thing will be done to the opposite leg.

7. Once you are done with the legs, it is time to work on the back by placing yourself at the head facing the legs. Again, you use your flat hands to smoothly slide from head to the bottom with each hand close to the spine. Slide over the edge of the bottom to the side and then slide on the sides upwards just underneath the scapulars, you slide back and move the rest back up to the beginning of the shoulders. This should be done 3 times.

8. You then move over to one side and then use your left hand to do a full circle on their back. With your right hand, you do a half circle beginning away from your left going clockwise. This should be done very slowly, smoothly and sensitively starting at the bottom and then moving all the way up to the shoulders and the back again.

9. Now that you have finished working on the back, it is time to work on the front by letting the person lie down on their back. But before you do that, the steps taken to massage the legs should also be done on the left and right arms.

10. Next, you rub your hands and then place these slowly over your partner’s eyes. This must be placed inches away from the face for about 1 to 2 minutes before you slide your thumbs from the part between the eyebrows to the point where the hair starts.

11. You place the thumbs a bit higher then move it apart. This should be repeated until you reach the beginning of the ear then you move on to the nose, cheeks, upper and lower lip. 

The secret of how to give a soothing massage should come from your hands and not your eyes. If the person wants less or more pressure, be ready to respond so they get the best out of what you are giving them.