TOTAL RECALL

Keep your memory sharp with these brain boosters. Scientists aren't completely sure where memory resides, but when a brain is damaged by the aging process, the ability to remember can decline significantly. Fortunately, this isn't an inevitable side effect of living a long life. Here is a list of four things that you can do to help you maintain and improve your memory.

1. Keep Fit: If you have a healthier cardiovascular system, you're less likely to manifest memory problems. A study of 1,504 people, published in Circulation Journal of the American Heart Association found that as people get older, cardiovascular fitness seems to protect the brain from shrinking. Regular aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking or more vigorous activity may help keep you fit both mentally and physically.

2. Stay Socially and Mentally Engaged: People who are more socially and mentally active or have an occupation that is more challenging and complex, tend to have less Alzheimer"s disease and fewer problems with their memory and thinking. Spending time with your friends making new ones, doing volunteer work, and having hobbies that are creative and challenging all beat watching television.

3. Continue to Learn: Having more formal education is a good start, but continued learning is equally, if not more important. Learning to play a musical instrument or speak a foreign language are also good choices.

4. Get the Right Nutrients: Key memory boosting nutrients, such as omega 3 fatty acids from fish, nuts, or supplements, and antioxidants. Berries, green tea, concord grape juice, and tropical juices such as acai, are very good antioxidant sources.

REVERSING DIABETES

You can do something to prevent -even reverse -type 2 diabetes. A diagnosis of type 2 diabetes is often met with anger, shock, and , perhaps worst of all, belief that nothing can be done about it. In conventional medical thought, the disease cannot be cured, patients are not generally expected to make significant lifestyle changes, and at best, complications such as kidney disease, blindness,and amputations can only be delayed- not averted. Literature from the American Diabetes Association (ADA) paints a hopeless picture. However according to president Robert Rizza, MD, "If you stay lean and fit, you reduce your chances of getting the disease by 95 percent. Its almost totally preventable. " The same factors that prevent type 2 diabetes can also reverse it. The Big Lie: "Very few health professionals use reverse and diabetes in the same sentence, says Jamie Ritter- Friesen, MPH, a certified diabetes educator (CDE), ands diabetes lifestyle consultant at New Hope Medical Center in Henderson, Nevada. But the idea that diabetes cannot be reversed is, she says "a big lie," one that keeps people dependent on drugs and brings about depression because there seems to be no hope. When faced with physicians, family, and friends who believe deteriorating health is inevitable after a diabetes diagnosis, says Ritter - Friesen, "it:s easier to go into denial then buck the system "But in her 23 years of education people on how to reverse the disease, she says, 'Ive seen a lot of people pull out of it, although it;s not always easy." False ideas can be dangerous. A common one says Ritter Friesen, is the belief that if type 2 diabetes runs in your family, there is nothing that you can do about your own condition. Other harmful beliefs include thinking there is no time to exercise or prepare healthful meals, or that it;s impossible to make changes. "Well -meaning friends and family can sabotage attempts at a healthier lifestyle It takes determination to make lasting lifestyle changes, and people need help to succeed. However , there:s no denying that regular exercise and a truly healthful diet are a good way to beat the disease. Stress plays a major role in all kinds of disease, including diabetes. Many people allow life to run over them like a steamroller says Jamie Ritter Friesen MPH, CDE. "Take your life into your own hands," she advises. Have positive relationships, have some humor in your life, take a spiritual walk and let the sun touch your skin, and breathe some fresh air every day. On a physical level a mostly plant based diet naturally results in weight loss, and along with exercise, can bring blood sugar levels back to normal. At each meal, aim for two- thirds of the plate to be filled with vegetables, whole grains, and beans, with the remaining third with fish or lean animal protein such as chicken, turkey or lean beef. A vegetarian or vegan diet has been shown to be an effective dietary strategy for some with type 2 diabetes. As for exercise, walking is a good start and usually begins to reduce blood sugar immediately.