20 benefits of the ketogenic diet

1. Weight loss: The keto diet can help you lose weight by reducing your overall calorie intake and promoting fat burning.

2.  Increased energy: Many people report feeling more energetic     and mentally alert while following a keto diet.

3. Better blood sugar control: The keto diet may help improve blood sugar control, which can be particularly beneficial for people with type 2 diabetes.
4. Lowered blood pressure: The keto diet may help lower blood pressure, which can help reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke.
5. Reduced inflammation: Some studies suggest that the keto diet may help reduce inflammation throughout the body, which is associated with numerous health problems.
6. Better cholesterol levels: Following a keto diet may help improve cholesterol levels by reducing triglycerides and increasing HDL (good) cholesterol.
7. Reduced appetite: Many people report feeling less hungry and more satisfied while following a keto diet.
8. Reduced risk of seizures: The keto diet has been shown to be effective at reducing the frequency and severity of seizures in people with epilepsy.
9. Improved brain function: Some studies suggest that the keto diet may help improve cognitive function and memory.
10. Reduced risk of certain cancers: Some studies have suggested that the keto diet may help reduce the risk of certain types of cancer, such as brain tumors.
11. Reduced risk of heart disease: The keto diet may help reduce the risk of heart disease by lowering blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and inflammation.
12. Improved insulin sensitivity: Following a keto diet may help improve insulin sensitivity, which is important for maintaining healthy blood sugar levels.
13. Reduced risk of fatty liver disease: The keto diet may help reduce the risk of developing fatty liver disease, which is associated with obesity and metabolic syndrome.
14. Improved sleep: Some people report improved sleep quality while following a keto diet.
15. Reduced acne: The keto diet may help reduce the frequency and severity of acne breakouts.
16. Improved gut health: The keto diet may help improve gut health by promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria and reducing inflammation.
17. Reduced migraines: Some studies suggest that the keto diet may help reduce the frequency and severity of migraines.
18. Improved athletic performance: Some athletes report improved performance and endurance while following a keto diet.
19. Reduced symptoms of PCOS: The keto diet may help reduce the symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), such as irregular periods and insulin resistance.
20. Reduced symptoms of Parkinson’s disease: Some studies have suggested that the keto diet may help reduce the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.                                                                                      

Exercises to Improve Your Balance

Balance or stability might not be the most common reason people go to the gym or start an exercise routine. It’s a lot more common to hear people go to the gym and exercise so they can lose some weight, get healthier, or become stronger, but rarely do we hear people say, “I exercise to work on my balance or stability.”

Balance is one of the most important and also among the greatest benefits people can get from exercise. However, the reality is that it isn’t given as much focus. Or at least, it’s not as commonly acknowledged as other fitness goals like developing strength, endurance, or flexibility.

What Are Balancing Exercises For?

Balancing exercises mainly work to improve our core muscles. As the core is our body’s main balance center, having a strong core allows us to gain more control over our body, maintain a good body posture, and overall, increase our body’s movement capabilities.

On a very practical level, improved stability or sense of body balance can aid us in our daily activities, from carrying loads of items, walking, going up and down the stairs, as well as running and making other athletic activities easier.

Having a good balance also helps improve our fitness level and health, generally speaking. A good sense of balance can help prevent or minimize the risk of injury, or the tendency to experience a bad fall; this one is especially crucial amongst older adults.

Who Can Benefit From Balancing Exercises?

Knowing how balance works and how important it can really be for us, it’s easy to see why balance is very important amongst older people. Balance minimizes the risk of injuries and helps prevent accidents such as a bad fall. But older people are not the only ones who can truly benefit and improve their balance or stability; it is definitely advantageous in daily life for everyone.

Balance is just as important for young kids. It can help them develop and gain more body awareness. It can also be a fun learning activity for children when integrated into some forms of learning such as whenever they’re learning new vocabularies or understanding and practicing their mathematical skills.

Balance is especially important for people with an athletic lifestyle, as it can enable them to have better control over their bodies. Gaining coordination and fluidity in movement matters a lot and helps prevent injuries while engaging in an active and mobile lifestyle. Balance is also very essential for those stricken with an illness like Parkinson’s disease, as it helps them maintain mobility, independence, and good quality of life, in spite of the illness.5 Exercises That Can Help Improve Balance

1. Balancing on One Leg

This is one of the most common balancing exercises and something that almost anyone can do. It involves standing with your feet apart and your hands on your hips for balance. Then lift one foot off the floor. Don’t lift it straight out in front of you. Slightly bend your knee so your foot is behind you. Once in this position, hold steady in place for at least 30 seconds. Return to the starting position and repeat the same movement with the opposite leg. If you need more challenge, balance with your leg on an unstable surface such as a pillow. When it comes to balancing, anything that challenges your center of gravity will improve your balance.

2. Bean Bag Balancing

Put a bean bag or any similar item on your shoulder or on top of your head. Then walking in a straight line, a zig-zag, or a circle, trying to maintain your posture and keep your balance while holding the bean bag secure. Also try walking backward and stepping side to side, similarly keeping the bean bag from falling.

3. Tightrope or Plank Walk

Find something to help you walk in a very straight line. Then hold your arms out on both sides. Walk from one end to the next, while staying on the line. Prevent yourself from stepping to the side. Make at least 15 steps.

4. Musical Statues

Balancing is great for anyone of all ages, including kids. Musical statues is a great exercise to develop it. Play some music and encourage the kids to dance and move along with it. When the music stops, they should freeze in place no matter their position. Stop the music abruptly and hold it for a few seconds to encourage them to stay in place, freezing in a balancing pose.

5. Weight Shifts

Weight shifts can be done by standing with your feet apart, and your weight equally distributed on both legs. Then shift your weight on the right side, lifting your left foot slightly off the floor. Hold this position for at least 30 seconds. Once done, return to the starting position and repeat the same movements on the opposite side.

How To Speed Up Your Abdominal Fat Loss

How To Speed Up Your Abdominal Fat Loss

It seems that everybody focuses on abdominal fat loss. The size of a person’s stomach seems to represent their overall health. Even people who are fairly thin everywhere else who might have a pot belly look unhealthy to us. And the person with the pot belly no doubt feels unhealthy because of it.

There’s good news and bad news when it comes to belly fat loss. The good news is it’s achievable. No matter how big your belly is and how long you’ve been overweight, you can lose that belly fat and get into much better shape.

The bad news is that there’s really no secret or trick to doing it. You’ve been hearing the right way of losing abdominal fat for years. Maybe you’ve tried different things, like different diets and exercise plans, and the results weren’t fast enough for you or you just didn’t stick with the plan.

The bad news is you were probably on the right track and gave up. Any healthy eating plan combined with an exercise program can help you lose that abdominal fat. It might not be exciting or pretty, but it’s there for you to try. The hardest part is finding a plan that works for you as an individual.

The diet that works for your neighbor and the people you work with might not work for you. Everybody’s different. If one plan worked for everyone there wouldn’t so many different diets that so many different people can lose weight with. There’d be one plan for everybody and it would work without fail as long as you stick to it.

But instead there are low-carb and low-fat and low-calorie, and diets that focus on vegetables. There are hundreds of different particular diets out there. This time, don’t go on a diet. Decide to simply eat healthier and take in fewer calories than you have been. This will step up your fat loss and soon you’ll have far less abdominal fat.

This alone can help you lose abdominal fat just as it can help you lose fat everywhere. If you take in fewer calories than you burn, you lose fat, period. But if you’re simply shaped differently and you have a larger belly, it might appear this is the last place you lose that fat.

Do exercises that target that area to slim it down and make it look like you’ve had a great amount of abdominal fat losses. Strength training exercises that focus on the thigh muscles will help you burn fat faster everywhere. That’s because these are your largest muscle groups and making them work more efficiently increases your metabolism.

Also focus on the abdominal area with some crunches, and maybe exercises like yoga and Pilates. These types of exercises will tighten those muscles and make your entire belly area smaller. Start small so you don’t hurt yourself, and then build up.

Doing all these things can help you achieve your abdominal fat loss goals faster than ever before, and soon you’ll have a nice tight stomach with all the fat melting away.

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What Is A ‘Super Ager’?

Ageing is often associated with an array of negative side effects, including mental health problems such as memory loss, and a decline in physical health and mobility. We all understand that our brain and physiological functions may decline as we age, and for many of us, we have accepted this as a fact of life.

However, there are some people who are well into their 80s and beyond who can show you that this is not necessarily your fate. They are living testament that poor mental and physical health among folks their age can be avoided. They are the people who we can call ‘super-agers’.

Experts in the field of aging and memory loss have begun to use the term ‘super-agers’ when referring to people 80 years of age and older who display cognitive and physical attributes that are commonly found in people much younger. Super-agers can physically and cognitively rival those who are years or even decades younger than themselves.

What Is A ‘Super Ager’?

Two Types of Super-Agers – Cognitive and Physical

Cognitive super-agers are people who have better memory retention compared to their peers, in part because their brains have shown to have minimal cell loss. This explains why super-agers can retain and recall memories easier than other people of their own age.

Physical super-agers have physical attributes, particularly aerobic capacity, that are similar to people younger than they are. Aerobic capacity, or the amount of oxygen a person takes in and distributes throughout the tissues in their body per minute, determines the level of physical activities a person can perform.

The higher the aerobic capacity, the more high-intensity exercises a person can do. As a person ages, their lung capacity can be affected. If they stoop, for example, their lungs cannot expand as they once did when they stood straight and tall. If you can take deep breaths, as super-agers can, you can be more physically active and able.

Apart from athletic performance, a high aerobic capacity can help reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and also dementia.

What Puts Someone In The ‘Super Ager’ Group?

While it seems that super-agers are the ‘lucky ones’, they were not born that way. These are the people who have developed their own super-ager traits through years of observing healthy habits. They looked after themselves while they were young, and instead of abusing their mind and body, they developed them and cared for them.

They would have been open to new mental challenges, which is important in maintaining healthy cognitive function, including attention span and memory. Engaging in new activities that challenge mental capacity strengthens the brain while actively avoiding cell loss, which can lead to decreased brain function. New cognitive activities that challenge the brain can reduce plaque in the brain, which is consistent among people with dementia.

Physical super-agers are known to practice healthy physical activities, such as exercising in high intensity for 20 to 45 minutes a day. Regular exercise, especially cardiovascular exercise, increases aerobic capacity significantly. Plus, other added benefits are that the frequent use of muscles through exercise prevents muscle atrophy and decreased mobility.

The upshot is that super-agers have cultivated years of healthy mental and physical habits that have enabled them to be in tip-top shape despite their advanced years.

What Is A ‘Super Ager’?

Who Can Be a Super-Ager?

Anyone can become a super ager, especially if you are young now! You can start by exercising your mind and body. Mental challenges, such as crossword puzzles, sudoku, and games that involve linguistic or mathematical abilities are easy and affordable ways to become more mentally agile. Do whatever mentally stimulates you, such as reading or learning a new skill. Are you creative? You could try learning a new musical instrument or writing short stories or poetry. You could also draw or paint and further develop your creative mind.

To become a physical super-ager, start an exercise routine if you haven’t already started yet. You definitely need to get rid of the sedentary lifestyle and work on having a more active existence. Your exercise routine doesn’t have to be one where you are dressed in a leotard, it can be a physical activity that you enjoy, such as dancing, walking, or playing a sport. Whatever it is, gradually increase the intensity and duration of your exercise as you get more comfortable. That way, you are constantly challenging yourself as you improve your aerobic capacity.

Of course, aside from performing mental and physical activities, your habits have to be healthy ones, which means quitting the habits that will reduce your efforts toward becoming a super-ager. Smoking is detrimental to your lungs and is linked to higher risks of life-threatening diseases, such as heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease. You should also watch your diet to keep your heart healthy.

If you want to become a super-ager, it is never too late to start!

Is Exercise Good for Your Brain Health?

 We all know that exercising is good for the body, but it can also boost mental function and mood. There are many reasons why people decide to exercise, and most of the time, it is related to physical health. However, you can also develop a sharper memory, better cognitive abilities, and a more positive disposition.

New studies reveal that our brain greatly benefits from exercise the same way our heart, lungs, and muscles do. So what’s the connection between doing squats and brain health?

Brain Benefits of Exercising

Several research studies show that exercising has several positive effects linked to the brain and mental health. Here are some of the findings.

Better Focus and Mental Sharpness

If you get easily distracted at work, you might want to give exercising a try. Regularly exercising can make the brain more receptive to new information. That is because the increase in oxygen to the brain from exercising can promote brain plasticity. As a result, new connections in the brain are formed faster.

In a study done in Holland, university students were asked to do quick aerobic exercises in between long lectures. The exercise helped students concentrate better and even allowed them to be better at multi-tasking.

Improves Memory

Performing aerobic exercises, or exercises that increase heart rate, not only improve heart health but has been found to be beneficial for our memory. The increase in oxygen supply to the brain also increases the size of the hippocampus which is the part of the brain that is related to memory and verbal aptitude.

A number of studies also revealed that people who regularly exercise with moderate intensity for six months increased the volume of the different regions in their brains that are associated with thinking and memory, particularly the prefrontal cortex and the medial temporal cortex.

Boosts Mood

Time and again runners and fitness enthusiasts alike love talking about the high they experience during and/or after a workout session, and it’s a real thing. Studies show that a good aerobic session where your heart is constantly working at an increased heart rate can boost endorphins levels or what is often referred to as the “happy” hormones. Aerobic exercise can produce an anti-depressant effect as stress hormones drop the more we exercise. Moreover, exercise can also improve sleep which can make us feel more energized in the morning, both physically and mentally.

Slows Down Cognitive Decline

Regular physical activity can not just slow down physical degeneration, but it can also help slow down a person’s cognitive decline. Exercising can improve the brain’s function and can also protect our brain from memory loss. The workout itself does not even have to be strenuous. Health experts recommend a minimum of 30 minutes of brisk walking at least three times a week to slow down the effects of dementia.

Helps With Creativity

Many artists and writers say that taking a brief walk outdoors helps them whenever they hit a creativity block. Well, there is a scientific reason behind their claim. Aside from the fact that nature and some fresh air are good for you, walking and other moderate exercises can boost creativity, according to studies.

Exercising is not just a physical activity, it can also become a mental activity. With regular exercise, we can improve our focus, cognitive functions, mood, and it can even help us become more creative. All of these are helpful in our work and other daily tasks. Our entire bodies benefit from exercising, literally from our heads down to our toes. So we are not only building a fit and healthy body but a sound and sharp mind too!