Fish really is brain food for children, boosting their intelligence and helping them sleep better, scientists say. US researchers found that children aged nine to 11 who ate fish at least once a week scored almost five points higher in IQ tests compared to those who “seldom” did. Fish is considered an important part of a healthy diet, being both low in saturated fat and rich in protein, vitamins and minerals. Oily fish, such as salmon and mackerel, is also a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential for brain development and also thought to reduce inflammation of the brain, cardiovascular system and other cells. The study of more than 500 children asked how often they had consumed fish in the past month. They then took part in…
Researchers have determined that 52 hours of exercise over 6 months is the minimum amount needed to improve cognition in older adults. Total exercise time was the most important factor linked to improved processing speed and attention, executive function, and global cognition in a systematic review of 98 randomised controlled trials. This finding suggests that cognitive improvements associated with exercise act on the same constructs affected by cognitive ageing. Exercising in approximately 1-hour sessions to reach this total was associated with improved cognitive performance in older healthy adults, those with mild cognitive impairment, and others with dementia. Interestingly, researchers report that cardiovascular exercise, resistance training, and mind-body exercises, or a combination of these, were still advantageous. Running might work for some people, but patients with a bad hip or bad knee could…
By Daniel Nalborczyk - Tyack Health Chiropractor At first glance, it almost seems counterintuitive that desk workers have a high incidence of musculoskeletal complaints and injuries. After all, sitting in front of a computer is hardly cross-fit right? However, statistics show that sedentary work can elevate your risk of suffering from a wide variety of musculoskeletal and general health disorders in many cases more than physical work. In the following series of articles, I would like to address the top 5 most common complaints that require treatment. First and foremost, we need to discuss a concept that underpins the development of pain and injury. Strangely enough, it is also critical to recovery. So let’s talk about adaptation. Simply stated, the tissues and organs in your body do their best to adapt to…
Excerpt from article by By Jenny Anderson on Quartz As parents, it’s often hard to imagine what careers will still be available and good for our children given how rapidly some industries are changing. As the world progressively becomes more automated with the marvel of technology advancement there is less need for workers to do what smart computing and robotics will soon be able to do. To overcome this threat to how our children will financially support themselves in the future we need to cultivate the very skills that robots can’t replace – creativity, dexterity, compassion, and complexity. Outside play is fundamental to the way that we learn to understand and experience the world around us. It stands to reason that parents need to grasp the importance of outside play in…
Dervla graduated from the University of Ulster, Jordanstown, Ireland in 2007. She has a friendly and motivating personality with a passion for working within the musculoskeletal setting and working with clients to achieve their treatment goals using hands on treatment and exercise prescription to help prevent reoccurrence.
Alanna studied speech pathology at the University of Queensland in Brisbane. She has worked across health, education, community and private clinics, but particularly enjoys supporting children to achieve goals that are important to them and their families.
Rhys has a passion for medicine, finding it a privilege to be included in a patients health journey. Rhys has developed special interests in Paediatrics, Mental Health and Obstetrics and enjoys the opportunity General Practice gives him to help people learn about their health and their bodies, and to motivate them to strive to be as healthy as they can.
Dan utilises Diversified adjusting, Active Release Techniques, Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Manipulation, Myofascial techniques, Acupuncture and rehabilitative exercise in the treatment of accident related injury, musculoskeletal pain and restrictions, and athletes.
Middle-aged adults who follow a healthy diet and achieve a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9kg/m2, exercise regularly (30 minutes or more of vigorous physical activity each day), don't smoke, drink moderate amounts of alcohol, and maintain a healthy weight could live more than a decade longer than those who don't do any of these things, a new study suggests. The study by Yanping Li, MD, PhD, from the Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, was published online April 30 in Circulation. "Each single lifestyle change you make will help you live longer and better," Jean-Pierre Després, PhD, cardiology research director at the Quebec Heart and Lung Institute. – Med Scape Online …
The most commonly consumed vitamin and mineral supplements provide no consistent health benefit or harm, suggests a new study led by researchers at St. Michael's Hospital and the University of Toronto. Multivitamins, vitamin D, calcium and vitamin C - the most common supplements - showed no advantage or added risk in the prevention of cardiovascular disease, heart attack, stroke or premature death. "We were surprised to find so few positive effects of the most common supplements that people consume," said Dr. David Jenkins, the study's lead author. "Our review found that if you want to use multivitamins, vitamin D, calcium or vitamin C, it does no harm - but there is no apparent advantage either." "These findings suggest that people should be conscious of the supplements they're taking and ensure they're applicable to…
We all forget things, so why is the biggest fear for most baby boomers cognitive decline? It is natural for cognitive performance to gradually decline with age. However, if we neglect exercise, good nutrition, sleep, and using our brains productively, more severe cognitive issues can threaten our independence and quality of life in older age. None of us wants to think we might be heading for dementia, yet ignoring early warning signs will not change the outcome, and we lose the early intervention advantage to slow or even halt any further decline. According to the experts, most people experience some cognitive loss by age 60, with widespread declines by age 75 (Schaie, Willis, & Caskie, 2004). The great news is there is now a fun interactive way we can assess our cognitive…
A team of researchers in 1986 from the University of the West Indies undertook an experiment that has changed our thinking about how to help children succeed. Poor Jamaican families with infants and toddlers were divided into groups. One group received hour-long home visits once a week from a trained researcher who encouraged the parents to spend more time playing actively with their children: reading picture books, singing songs, playing peekaboo. Another group of children received a kilogram of a milk-based nutritional supplement each week. The third control group received nothing. The interventions ended after two years, however the researchers continued to follow the children ever since. The results were surprising in that the added nutrition did not make the biggest difference; it was the encouragement of the parents to play.…
The value of feeling that we matter and make a difference should not be downplayed. Even if our careers and family life do not give us a sense of making a difference there are opportunities and great causes in our local area that will help us experience that feeling again. National Volunteer Week (21- 27 May 2018) has just passed. It was a week-long celebration to acknowledge the 6 million Australians who give of their time and skills to help others. Volunteering has been shown to have many positive benefits that go beyond mental and social health. A growing body of evidence suggests that people who give their time to others might also be rewarded with better physical health—including lower blood pressure, reduced stress and a longer lifespan. Volunteering regularly for the right reason,…
The Courier Mail recently reported on some research, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry that showed exercising hard for a minimum of one hour a week can reduce your risk of depression by a staggering 44%. Sweat turns out to be the best happy pill you can take!
The elderly are now being urged to eat their greens, with leafy vegetables in your daily diet said to ward off memory loss. US researchers found a daily serving of greens could make the brain function as if it were 11 years younger. A study of adults aged 58 to 99 showed those who regularly ate greens had a slower decline in memory tests and thinking skills. The vegetables have nutrients thought to protect the brain, including vitamins that block the build-up of proteins that lead to Alzheimer’s. Courier Mail 22/12/17…
Most Australian parents are confused over what constitutes healthy or unhealthy food, with treats now everyday snacks for toddlers and vegetables scarce on dinner plates. The latest Royal Children’s Hospital National Child Health Poll, a quarterly survey of almost 2000 households, has found that with processed foods now the norm, parents are struggling to decipher labels and ingredients, understand how much sugar is added, and appreciate the harm of high-fat, high-sugar foods on the developing brain and body. “It’s not all about parents being too lazy or kids being too fussy, this is showing that it’s actually really challenging to form healthy habits,” poll director and RCH paediatrician Dr Anthea Rhodes said. The survey of 3700 children found that a quarter of parents think fruit drinks are healthier than water;…
Excerpt from Cyndi O’Meara’s article on Wellness Daily website Scientific knowledge and understanding is expanding at an exciting pace. The connection between what we eat and its effect on what we think is no longer in question, yet there is so much more to learn, understand and implement from this emerging field of Gut- Brain connection. You most likely have experienced nervous butterflies at the start of a race or just thinking about speaking in front of a large audience. You have probably also eaten and drunk too much and had brain fog the next day. These everyday examples of the gut-brain connection working in both directions can be familiar to us. Cyndi O’Meara explains that, Stress, inflammation, a sluggish vagus nerve in your enteric nervous system and the microbiome in the gut…
Excerpts from Srini Pillay, MD article on Harvard Health Publishing Most of us recognise the benefits of getting fit, losing excess weight, reducing our stress levels and maintaining a healthy balanced diet. Despite our best intentions, it can be hard to maintain our efforts to improve these areas long term. Unfortunately just picturing ourselves as fitter, slimmer, less stressed and eating well only produces a limited amount of motivational force to actually constantly do something about it. If we think of our motivation level like money in a bank account, when we first decide we must get fit the motivation level tends to be high, so our account is high. Each day we draw some from our account to say, get up early and go exercise. Just imagine how much motivation…
If your child has just started Prep this year, you will have most likely been introduced to the stress of School Lunch! I must admit, I can’t remember it being such a big deal all those years ago when I was at school. It was pretty standard, a vegemite or peanut butter sandwich, a piece of fruit, a square of cheese and a fruit juice popper. Mum didn’t think too much more about it, and I was hungry so I ate it. Mostly we were too busy playing at little lunch so I was more than ready for big lunch. I didn’t have a brain break, mum didn’t have to worry about peanut allergy nor too many sugary drinks, and I certainly didn’t have one of those whizz-bang lunch boxes. Today, school…
