Today, we’re going to discuss ways to radically increase your “brain power.” First, exercise can keep your brain sharp as you age. A new study has demonstrated that a program of exercise can, over the course of a year, increase the size of your hippocampus, the part of the brain that is involved in memory forming, organizing and storing. The hippocampus often shrinks in late adulthood, leading to memory impairment.

Regular exercise can also improve the ability of overweight children to think, plan and even do math. Tests have shown that previously inactive children who start to exercise, experience increased brain activity in the prefrontal cortex, an area associated with complex thinking, decision making and correct social behavior. The more they exercise, the better the result. About two-thirds of all Americans are now overweight or obese, and about one-third of all our children. This alone should motivate people enough to get moving, but the statistical numbers keep going in the wrong direction year after year.

Not only are we as Americans growing larger, we're also suffering more disease and degeneration as a result of this. Nearly 25 percent of adults suffer from type 2 diabetes or pre-diabetes, and type 2 diabetes is now one of the most common chronic conditions affecting children below the age of 20. We can now add a decrease in brain power and brain function to the list of afflictions directly related to the fattening of America. Not only does cognitive function rise in both children and older adults when they stick to an exercise program, but your blood sugar stabilizes and your insulin levels also normalize.

Simply put, normalizing your insulin levels is an important factor for optimizing your overall health and preventing disease of all kinds, from diabetes, to heart disease, to cancer, and everything in between. I actually view exercise as a drug, because of its power to effect beneficial change on a diseased body. While the consensus is no single cause can be blamed for the alarming increase in neurological diseases like Parkinson's, Alzheimer's or age-related dementia, or Attention Deficit Disorder or Autism-spectrum disorders in our children, a sedentary lifestyle now appears to be at least a contributing factor.

There are some suspected contributors to the rise in neurological disorders. First and foremost are some common and widespread man-made chemicals lurking in your food supply, including artificial sweeteners like aspartame, pesticides and MSG. Avoiding these and other synthetic chemicals as much as possible will help to lower your chances of becoming one of the unfortunate people who suffer from a neurological disorder. But one of the best things you can do for your brain as a preventative measure is to keep active through exercise. According to other research, those who said they had engaged in moderate exercise such as brisk walking, aerobics, yoga, strength training or swimming in their 40s, 50s and beyond were less apt to have mild cognitive impairment. As you age, you don't want to find yourself facing cognitive impairment.

New studies show that moderate exercise can reverse normal brain shrinkage by two percent, effectively reversing age-related hippocampus degeneration by one to two years. Also the people in the control group who didn't exercise saw an average of 1.4 percent decrease in hippocampus size. When these researchers say the hippocampus region of the brain increases in size as a response to exercise, they are talking about a powerful tool to fight the onset of Alzheimer's disease. The hippocampus, which is considered the memory center of your brain, is the first region of your brain to suffer shrinkage and impairment at the onset of Alzheimer's disease, leading to memory problems and disorientation..

Besides reversing the normal shrinkage of aging brains, exercise also helps younger brains grow stronger in the first place. Researchers hypothesize that the human brain responds to exercise by increasing growth factors that lead to more blood vessels, more neurons and more connections between the neurons, all of which can lead to a healthier brain. According to these new studies, this lack of exercise in our schools might be producing not only less active brains in our children, but also less developed brain regions that control complex thinking and social behavior. Getting our children moving again might be just what we need to help turn the tide on the alarming rise of attention deficit related disorders currently afflicting our youth.

There are many different types of exercise to let you start immediately, and they all provide benefits that extend well beyond benefitting your brain. When you're planning your exercise routine, try to incorporate the following types of exercise:

• Aerobic: Jogging, using an elliptical machine and walking fast are all examples of aerobic exercise. This is the most common type of exercise being done and the one I would caution people if you are aging and arthritis is a factor. If this is your case get your doctors permission for aerobic exercise.

· Interval training or burst type training, can dramatically improve your cardiovascular fitness and fat-burning capabilities. So, short bursts of activity done at a very high intensity can help you reach your optimal weight and level of fitness, in a shorter amount of time.

· Strength Training: Rounding out your exercise program with a 1-set strength training routine will ensure that you're really optimizing the possible health benefits of a regular exercise program. You need enough repetitions to exhaust your muscles. The weight should be heavy enough that this can be done in fewer than 12 repetitions, yet light enough to do a minimum of four repetitions. It’s also important NOT to exercise the same muscle groups every day. They need at least two days of rest to recover, repair and rebuild.

In closing, you also want to keep your brain active and engaged, because the saying "use it or lose it" really does apply when it comes to keeping your brain fit. An example of keeping your brain engaged is reading a daily newspaper, doing a weekly crossword puzzle, solving Sudoku or other brain teasers..

Your brain is meant to last you a lifetime, but it will degenerate and decay if you fail to take the proper steps to care for it. Getting enough exercise, keeping your brain active and protecting it from the wrong kinds of foods while feeding it the foods it thrives on should keep your brain active and healthy well into your senior years and help you avoid common brain diseases. Exercise can keep your brain sharp as you age.

Regular exercise can also improve the ability of overweight children to think, plan and even do math, according to other recent research. MRIs have shown that previously inactive children who start to exercise experience increased brain activity in the prefrontal cortex, an area associated with complex thinking, decision making and correct social behavior.

The more they exercise, the better the result.

Today, we’re going to talk about one of my favorite subjects – exercise. I’ve discussed exercise before, so we know I enjoy it. I started my sophomore year in high school as a very skinny kid. I wanted to begin exercising to get stronger and gain weight,, which I know is the last thing most people want hear.

Of course, exercise is one reason for maintaining your proper weight. Exercise is important and crucial for weight loss, but this is not only because it helps you to burn calories. About 80 percent of your ability to achieve an ideal body weight is related to your food choices, and new research shows that exercise may make it easier for you to make healthy food choices

Many benefits of exercise include prevention of heart disease, diabetes and depression.

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One of your brain's many responsibilities, or "executive functions," is referred to as "inhibitory control." This is what helps you to keep inappropriate or unhealthy behaviors under control, such as making you think twice before eating a gallon of ice cream for breakfast. Since we are all inundated with temptations around the clock, this function is under constant strain. Plus, it has only limited capacity and will grow fatigued with overuse, similar to your muscles. The end result is reduced will power to control impulsive behaviors, such as binging on junk food.

Exercise significantly affects your brain., Exercise, it turns out, helps to enhance your brain's resources for executive functions like inhibitory control, making it easier for you to resist unhealthy food and instead choose healthy options that will further your weight loss goals. Exercise to your brain is also like food for your stomach. Your brain and body need exercise.

Exercise enhances your brain's control center, making it easier to eat healthy. Often regular exercise and a healthy diet go hand-in-hand, and this may not be a coincidence. I believe once you start exercising and seeing the results it definitely makes you want to continue and see further progress. You won’t be able to do that while eating Big Macs.

I believe that there is not one exercise for everyone. Some people are runners and some people are yoga people and some people are weightlifters. If you just starting out try everything and see what works best for you. I am a firm believer of varying your routine as much as possible just to you work muscles in different ways. For example running twice a week, swimming twice a week and doing yoga twice a week would be a great way to really vary your exercise regimen. There's also helps prevent burnout. People would choose to do one exercise over and over tend to get bored and may not push it is hard as they should. I also recommend varying the intensity of your workouts. For example if you are a runner, take one workout per week and do a tempo workout or sprints. Really get into the high heart rate area and stress that heart and lungs really well. This also works with weight lifting. Take one day per week and lift short repetitions with high weight. This gets your muscles used to very heavy weight and is a good way to varying your workout.

There are several foods that can sabotage your workout efforts. First of all, I want to dispose of the lie that because you exercise doesn't mean you can go out any junk food. So many people think that if you exercise on a regular basis that gives your permission the horrible foods. That is not the case. If you want to see a drastic change in your health make sure your exercising regularly and eating well. Things that sabotage your workout efforts would include junk food, high fructose corn syrup especially drinking soda, excessive sugar, excessive carbohydrates and trans fats. Especially stay away from those energy drinks .Just make sure you’re getting plenty of organic meats, organic fruits and vegetables and a panic nuts and seeds And keep in mind the best thing to drink is plain water.

What you do eat after your workout is crucial to stop the catabolic process in your muscle and shift the recycling process toward repair and growth. If you fail to feed your muscle at the right time after exercise, the catabolic process will go too far and can potentially damage your muscle. So ideally you should EAT within 30 minutes after your workout, and your meal should include fast-assimilating proteins, such as high-quality protein. Your meal after your workout should be the best meal of your day. Make sure your getting high-quality fruits and vegetables and organic protein. Personally, I have an apple, a sandwich with organic turkey and some nuts.

If you really want to be successful in an exercise regimen it is best to find a partner and do it together. This can be a spouse or a friend. Keep in mind you don't have to do every workout together every day but it is best to do a few workouts together each week to keep yourself accountable and keep it fun and interesting. If you look at the show, “The Biggest Loser”. That's one of the ways it makes it so successful. They get many people working out together and actually have weekly contests and challenges that the contestants participate in. This, of course, will be successful in seeing who will lose the most weight during that week.

For more information about diet and weight control, email corbettchiro@gmail.com or contact the office at 507.645.8846.

Today, we’re going to revisit the subject of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. With the tremendous growth in technology, almost everyone is susceptible to carpal tunnel syndrome since we use a computer keyboard, whether it’s at home, at work or both. When we use a keyboard, we receive micro-traumas to our hands and wrists. Vibration and repetitive motions, when combined with spinal problems and other joint dysfunction, can result in carpal tunnel syndrome.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome can be caused by the cumulative damage of repetitive wrist and hand motions. Symptoms include pain, numbness, tingling in the thumb and index finger and middle finger, weakness or a loss of strength in the hands. The major nerve controlling the thumb, index, and parts of the middle, and ring finger is called the median nerve. The median nerve runs from your spine and neck area all the way to your first three digits. Problems can develop in one or more of these areas.

The “carpal tunnel” is formed by bones in the wrist and a ligament. Like a bow and a string. The bones are like the bow and the tendon is like the string. The median nerve, tendons, and blood vessels pass through this opening. If one or more of the bones forming this tunnel should "collapse" this reduces the amount of space in the tunnel and nerve pressure, and painful symptoms can result. Or chronic use of the tendons that go through the tunnel can get inflamed and swell up. This also reduces the amount of space in the tunnel and puts pressure on the median nerve and causes the symptoms as well.

Many people believe that “carpal tunnel” was pain running down the arm as well, but that would not be considered carpal tunnel syndrome. That would most likely means a “double crush injury. This is where the nerve is pinched in more than one area including the neck, shoulder, elbow or wrist.

The diagnosis for carpal tunnel includes A careful consultation, examination, x-rays and possible an MRI scan. Chiropractors are experts in the care of the bones, nerves, muscles and connective tissues that make up about 60 percent of your body. All of the joints in your body are part of this muscular-skeletal system and its optimal function is necessary for overall good health.

To begin a diagnosis, first, I would do a thorough examination. Depending on the findings, I would perform adjustments where needed to help normalize structure and reduce nerve irritation. Other options may include specific spinal adjustments, the Graston technique, cold laser, exercise recommendations, nutritional advice or other conservative methods of care based on your health history, age, current condition and lifestyle. Specific chiropractic adjustments can also help return malfunctioning joints to a more normal motion and position. When given time, conservative chiropractic care has produced excellent results with carpal tunnel problems - without drugs or surgery.