Fitness, childhood IQ may affect old-age brain function

Oct. 9, 2006
Courtesy American Academy of Neurology and World Science staff

How well your mind works in old age de­pends more on your fit­ness than on your IQ as a child, ac­cord­ing to a study in the Oct. 10 is­sue of the re­search jour­nal Neu­rol­o­gy.

Cour­te­sy City of Se­at­tle Ag­ing & Dis­a­bil­i­ty Ser­vic­es

In the re­search, 460 adults took a cog­ni­tive test at age 79 iden­ti­cal to one they had tak­en de­c­ades ago, at age 11, in a study called the Scot­tish Men­tal Sur­vey.

Re­sults showed phys­i­cal fit­ness con­tri­bu­t­ed more than three per­cent of the dif­fer­en­ces in old-age cog­ni­tive abil­i­ty, af­ter ac­count­ing for child­hood test scores, said study au­thor Ian Dea­ry of the Uni­ver­si­ty of Ed­in­burgh in Scot­land.

Fit­ness en­hanced old-age cog­ni­tive abil­i­ty more than child­hood IQ did, he added. “Thus, two peo­ple start­ing out with the same IQ at age 11, the fit­ter per­son at age 79 will, on av­er­age, have bet­ter cog­ni­tive func­tion.”

Fit­ness was de­fined by the time it took to walk six me­ters, grip strength and lung func­tion.

“The oth­er re­mark­a­ble re­sult,” said Dear­y, was that “par­tic­i­pants with a high IQ as a child were more like­ly to have bet­ter lung func­tion at age 79. This could be be­cause peo­ple with higher in­tel­li­gence might re­spond more fa­vor­a­bly to health mes­sages about stay­ing fit.”

Oc­cu­pa­tion and educa­tion were also as­so­ci­at­ed with old-age fit­ness, he added; bet­ter-ed­u­ca­ted peo­ple in more pro­fes­sion­al ca­reers had bet­ter fit­ness and higher men­tal test scores.

Recipes for Mango Lemonade and Cucumber Soup

The following two recipes appear in Vegan Meals for One or Two, http://www.vrg. org/catalog/ oneortwo. htm, by Chef Nancy Berkoff)



Mango Lemonade

(Makes 4 servings)



2 peeled and cubed ripe mangoes or 2 cups thawed, frozen mango cubes

2 cups cold water

1 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup sugar (sweeten to taste)



Place mango in a blender. Cover and process until pureed.

Pour into a pitcher. Add water, lemon juice, and sugar; stir. Allow

lemonade to cool before serving, or pour over ice.



Total Calories per Serving: 131 Total Fat as % of Daily Value: <1%

Protein: 1 gm Fat: <1 gm Carbohydrates: 35 gm Calcium: 15 mg

Iron: <1 mg Sodium: 3 mg Dietary Fiber: 2 gm



Cool-As-A-Cucumber Soup

(Makes 2 servings)



1 cup peeled, chopped cucumber

1/2 cup cold vegetable broth

1/4 cup silken tofu

white pepper to taste (about 1/2

teaspoon)

1/8 cup shredded carrots

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley



Place cucumber, broth, tofu and pepper in a blender. Process

until just smooth. Pour into serving bowls and top with carrots and

parsley. Chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.



Note: This cold soup is a great light summer entree and will last for

up to 2 days in the refrigerator.



Total Calories Per Serving: 36 Total Fat as % of Daily Value: 2%

Protein: 3 gm Fat: 1 gm Carbohydrates: 5 gm Calcium: 28 mg

Iron: 1 mg Sodium: 257 mg Dietary Fiber: 1 gm

Help save Jin Long Si Temple and the biggest and oldest Bodhi Tree in Singapore

Dear Friends,I have just read and signed the online petition:
"Help save Jin Long Si Temple and the biggest and oldest Bodhi Tree in Singapore"
hosted on the web by PetitionOnline.com, the free online petitionservice, at: http://www.PetitionOnline.com/bodhi3/
I personally agree with what this petition says, and I think you mightagree, too.
If you can spare a moment, please take a look, and consider signing yourself.

Did I Marry The Right Person?

During one of our seminars, a woman asked a common question. She said, "How do I know if I married the right person?" I noticed that there was a large man sitting next to her so I said, "It depends. Is that your husband?" In all seriousness, she answered, "How do you know?"

Let me answer this question because the chances are good that it's weighing on your mind.

EVERY relationship has a cycle. In the beginning, you fell in love with your spouse. You anticipated his call, wanted his touch and liked his idiosyncrasies.

Falling in love with your spouse wasn't hard. In fact, it was a completely natural and spontaneous experience. You didn't have to DO anything. That's why it's called "falling" in love.

People in love sometimes say, "I was swept off my feet." Think about the imagery of that _expression. It implies that you were just standing there, doing nothing. Then something came along and happened to you.

Falling is love is easy. It's a passive and spontaneous experience. But after a few years of marriage, the euphoria of love fades. It's the natural cycle of EVERY relationship. Slowly but surely, phone calls become a bother (if they come at all), touch is not always welcome (when it happens) and your spouse's idiosyncrasies, instead of being cute, drive you nuts.

The symptoms of this stage vary with every relationship, but if you think about your marriage, you will notice a dramatic difference between the initial stage when you were in love and a much duller or even angry subsequent stage.

At this point, you and/or your spouse might start asking, "Did I marry the right person?" And as you and your spouse reflect on the euphoria of the love you once had, you may begin to desire that experience with someone else. This is when marriages break down. People blame their spouse for their unhappiness and look outside their marriage for fulfillment.

Extra-marital fulfillment comes in all shapes and sizes. Infidelity is the most obvious. But sometimes people turn to work, church, a hobby, friendship, excessive TV or abusive substances. But the answer to this dilemma does NOT lie outside your marriage. It lies within it. I'm not saying that you couldn't fall in love with someone else. You could. And TEMPORARILY, you'd feel better. But you'd be in the same situation a few years later. Because (listen carefully to this):

The Key To Succeeding In Marriage Is Not Finding The Right Person; It's Learning To Love The Person You Found .

SUSTAINING love is not a passive or spontaneous experience. It'll NEVER just happen to you. You can't "find" LASTING love. You have to "make" it day in and day out. That's why we have the _expression "the labour of love" … because it takes time, effort and energy. And most importantly, it takes WISDOM. You have to know WHAT TO DO to make your marriage work.

Make no mistake about it. Love is NOT a mystery. There are specific things you can do (with or without your spouse) to succeed with your marriage.

Just as there are physical laws of the universe (such as gravity), there are also laws for relationships. Just as the right diet and exercise program makes you physically stronger, certain habits in your relationship WILL make your marriage stronger. It's a direct cause and effect. If you know and apply the laws, the results are predictable... you can "make" love.

Love in marriage is indeed a "decision"... Not just a feeling.

Enjoy Where You Are

There is nothing which is intrinsically enjoyable.
What one person enjoys, another person will despise.
Enjoyment comes from your attitude toward a particular situation, not the situation itself.
Too many people search in vain for enjoyable activities, enjoyable relationships, enjoyable environments, enjoyable entertainment.
A much more successful strategy would be to stop searching and start enjoying.
The enjoyment is not in the activity. The enjoyment is in you. Wherever you are, whatever you're doing, find a way to enjoy it.
Sure, it's great when you aspire to bigger and better things. But don't fool yourself into thinking that they'll come pre-packaged with their own enjoyment.

That is up to you.

Perhaps you didn't choose to be where you are, and it's great that you're committed to getting somewhere else.
Yet while you're here, accept it and enjoy it.
Enjoying where you are right now will take you a long way toward wherever else you wish to go.

relationship problems?

a fren has been talking to me abt relationships.
abt the background, income, education level and age differences.
my take was; true. these factors do play an important part.
the difference is how u weigh them towards your feelings for the other party and whether the other party feels the same way too.
if feelings for each other is affirmative, to me, these factors doesnt matter at all.
and so what if u do find one who match all ur requirements?
i still tink the chemistry plays a BIG part.
I'm a more feeling person. if theres no chemistry i heck care if u r the most beautiful person in the world. (haha)

So what if one party is unsure of his/her feelings? or is afraid to commit?
this will be tougher as one has to give assurance to the other.
nobody likes a brokenheart. so those who had been hurt badly are naturally more defensive.
Its very difficult to make another step out into the unknown (will I be hurt again? Is this person true to me?)
One has to do a lot to regain confidence in them. But I believe slowly and surely it can be done.
Also the hurt one must help themselves to 'stand up' again though its not easy.
Do not be afraid. reach out to the hand tats there to pull u.
even if the two are not meant to be together, so? still can be good frens.
feelings may get diluted over time. but if both stays committed to each other it will work. yes, committment plays an important role. there are many ways to rekindle love lost but it takes 2 hands to clap. If u really find someone worth staying with the rest of ur life with, stay committed.

there. theres my 2 cents worth. :)
something taken from the late Bruce Lee. its meaningful:
-Be like water.-
when u put water in a cup, it becomes the cup.
when u put water in the bottle, it becomes the bottle.
be like water my fren.

CHARITY MOVIE PREMIERE

Golden Village VIVOCITY 7.30pm Friday 20 Oct 2006

Tickets @ $30 in aid of the Singapore Environment Council's

Climate Change Awareness Programme

Booking enquires call 63316062 or truth@sec.org.sg

Al Gore has traveled the world delivering a presentation on the global climate change, proving that humankind must confront global warming now or face devastating consequences--this film captures his journey as a worldwide environmental champion.

What critics are saying:
"In 39 years, I have never written these words in a movie review, but here they are: You owe it to yourself to see this film. If you do not, and you have grandchildren, you should explain to them why you decided not to." Roger Ebert , Chicago Sun-Times

"Truth succeeds at cutting through the clutter surrounding global warming by making a clear, compelling case for how our actions are affecting the planet." Ethan Alter, Premiere Magazine

"If you see only one movie this year, make it An Inconvenient Truth. It may not be the year's best movie, or its most entertaining, but it's certainly the most terrifyingly crucial." Jeffrey M. Anderson , Combustible Celluloid

"It's a mind-boggling disaster epic that draws its special power from the fact that we are both the villains and victims of the story." William Arnold, Seattle Post-Intelligencer."

" It's probably best to ignore the film's political subtext and simply concentrate on the message: global warming is real, we're responsible for it, and we can do something about it without ruining the U.S. economy. But we're running out of time." Robert W Butler, Kansas City Star

Light a candle for the innocent victims of online child abuse.

The innocent victims of Internet child abuse cannot speak for themselves.

But you can.

With your help, we can eradicate this evil trade.

We do not need your money.

We need you to light a candle of support http://www.lightamillioncandles.com

We're aiming to light at least One Million Candles by December 31, 2006.

This petition will be used to encourage governments, politicians, financial institutions, payment organisations, Internet service providers, technology companies and law enforcement agencies to eradicate the commercial viability of online child abuse.

They have the power to work together. You have the power to get them to take action.

Please light your candle at lightamillioncandles.com or send an email of support to light@lightamillioncandles.com.

Together, we can destroy the commercial viability of Internet child abuse sites that are destroying the lives of innocent children.

Kindly forward this email to your friends, relatives and work colleagues so that they can light a candle too.

A Fathers Love For His Son

8/31/2006 - A touching story about a father and his son. Twenty years ago Rick Hoyt ran a 5k while pushing his disabled son in a wheelchair. After the race his son told him that while racing he did not feel disabled. They have since competed in over a hundred triathlons and marathons together.

Sakura by Naotaro Moriyama

blogger has problems with me posting embed clips.
click here to listen to powerful vocal by Naotaro Moriyama