How exercise could make you smarter

According to an article in the NYT, after running experiments with mice for months studies have concluded that physical exercise could give humans brainpower that thinking does not. Why?

Source: letsmakeahealthiertomorrow.tumblr.com via j jump jennifer on Pinterest

The brain, like all muscles and organs, is a tissue, and its function declines with underuse and age. Beginning in our late 20s, most of us will lose about 1 percent annually of the volume of the hippocampus, a key portion of the brain related to memory and certain types of learning.
Exercise though seems to slow or reverse the brain’s physical decay, much as it does with muscles. [...]

Even more heartening, scientists found that exercise jump-starts neurogenesis. Mice and rats that ran for a few weeks generally had about twice as many new neurons in their hippocampi as sedentary animals. Their brains, like other muscles, were bulking up.

But here is where it gets interesting: the brain cells that are a product of exercise are nimbler than those created by cognitive tasks. In other words, it is true that if you learn new things (say a new language), you reverse the aging process of your brain, but those neurons are fired only when you practice that language. Instead, the neurons you get from exercise can multitask (at least for mice)!

I wonder if this applies only to aerobic exercise; the article mentions that which type of exercise is the one is  "another intriguing issue". It is prove, though, that it does not have to be exhausting; research shoes that going out for long walks regularly has worked for the elderly (I can include my grandma as a personal observation here).

And I was thinking of skipping the gym today... hmm...

A.A. - unos zapatos educados (polite shoes)

Mi prima con su hija de 3 años:

‎-Mi amor, no te pongas esos zapatos, te lastiman y te sacan ampollas.
- Ya no me lastiman mami
- claro que si, hija
- No mami, ya me disculparon!!

Todavía me acuerdo cuando hablaba con mis cosas imaginando que estaban vivas :).

Esto me recuerda a un artículo del NYT que acaba de salir sobre cómo los tacones cambian la estructura musculo-esquelética de quien los usa frecuentemente. En pocas palabras, los gemelos se acortan, los tendones se vuelven menos elásticos y hace que aún cuando no se usan los tacones, la persona sea vuelva muy ineficiente al caminar. También aumentan las posibilidades de lastimarse los tobillos y las rodillas.




Translation


My cousin with her 3-year old daughter:

‎-Darling, don't wear those shoes. They hurt you and get you blisters. - They don't hurt anymore, mommy.- Of course they do, girl.- No mommy, they apologized!! 

 I still remember when I used to talk to my things thinking they were alive :).


Btw, this reminds me of an article recently published in the NYT  about how wearing high heels on a regular basis shortens the calf muscles, changing the position of joints and tendons. This makes the body less efficient at walking and increases the chances of getting injured.


(photo from here)

The Perils of Yoga

My good friend Bar just referred me to this article published a few days ago in the New York Times. It describes all the not-so-well-known bad sides of doing yoga. It's pretty shocking, but I think that if you practice or you are thinking of practicing Yoga (or even Pilates), you should definitely read it.

Here are a couple of excerpts that caught my eye:

In 2009, a New York City team based at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons published an ambitious worldwide survey of yoga teachers, therapists and doctors. The answers to the survey’s central question — What were the most serious yoga-related injuries (disabling and/or of long duration) they had seen? — revealed that the largest number of injuries (231) centered on the lower back. The other main sites were, in declining order of prevalence: the shoulder (219), the knee (174) and the neck (110). Then came stroke. The respondents noted four cases in which yoga’s extreme bending and contortions resulted in some degree of brain damage. The numbers weren’t alarming but the acknowledgment of risk — nearly four decades after Russell first issued his warning — pointed to a decided shift in the perception of the dangers yoga posed.

A quote from an experienced (+40 years) Yoga instructor that had to undergo spinal surgery:

“My message was that ‘Asana is not a panacea or a cure-all. In fact, if you do it with ego or obsession, you’ll end up causing problems.’ A lot of people don’t like to hear that.”

I have recently fell in love with yoga (say, since last summer), but it was only after almost a year of exercising 3 to 4 times a week that I felt comfortable to practice it regularly. I had problems with my lower back back then and I could barely do low lounges (that is a long story itself). Luckily, I got scared (and not obsessed, as I usually tend to do), and didn't go back. I tried a variation of a yoga class a year later that I really liked, and decided to go for a full yoga practice afterwards. No pain. Today I really enjoy it, but it's also true that if I don't exercise regularly, it starts to come back. I never stopped going to my weight-lifting class and I try to run once or twice a week (not more than 25min, or my back/knees hurt). Now I know that I should definitely not quit any of these.

These are my main takeaways:

• Yoga can heal, but it can definitely hurt too.

• It's hard but imperative to know the limits of pain and of your body. 

• You should do yoga only after your body is strong enough, and look for other sources of strengthening exercises to complement and improve your practice. 

Maybe in the end exercise is a bit like agriculture (although I don't really know anything about it : P). We should not plant the same seeds over and over in the same soil if we don't want to exhaust it. We should find a balance between different crops. Especially as we age.

My favorite blend: yoga, Pilates, running, and swimming. What's yours?

UPDATE: My favorite yoga instructor just mentioned the article in our last session. I was thrilled. If there is something about a good instructor, is his or her consciousness about taking as much advantage as you can out from the practice without forgetting how to take care of your body. Kudos to Ann!

NYT: Reach of Mexico's drug cartels

Mexican drug trafficking cartels “represent the greatest organized crime threat to the United States,” according to a recent Justice Department report. The cartels have waged increasingly violent battles with one another, as well as with the Mexican government, which began an aggressive crackdown in 2006. 

The NYT presents, once again, a very instructive interactive map of the main drug cartels, their main areas of control in Mexico (see figure below), and where they are present in the United States. The latter is very impressive. They have at least 3 identified trading points in Hawaii and even 1 in Alaska!! An example of multinational supply chain management...

There is also a related article that goes about analyzing the role of undercover agents that work in Mexico to try to find leads to the cartels' kingpins.