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[P318]Physical And Mental Health

by Brain, Bra

Get Prenatal Care

The number one most important thing you can do to insure you have a healthy baby is to get prenatal care from a reputable doctor. Regular prenatal checkups can detect potential problems early, determine whether a c-section may be needed, determine the sex and just insure things are going smoothly. A prenatal checkup will generally include blood and urine tests to check for bacteria, blood sugar problems, high blood protein levels, iron levels and other typical complications of pregnancy. Your blood pressure and weight will also be checked. Ultrasounds may also be done to check the growth of the baby and its position in the womb.

Eating Right

In addition to prenatal care, it's essential that you eat right. Balanced meals are crucial, as you are now feeding your baby, as well as yourself. A diet with plenty of whole grains, high quality proteins, fruits and vegetables and dairy is usually recommended for most expectant mothers. It is also recommended that you avoid some items like too much caffeine, artificial sweeteners and any raw or not fully cooked foods like eggs, fish or meat. Also not recommended are soft cheeses and unpasteurized dairy products as these can contain bacteria that could cause an infection. Some types of fish contain higher levels of mercury, which should be avoided, these fish include tuna, shark, swordfish and mackerel. Only two or three servings of fish are recommended for most pregnant women. Above all, drink plenty of fluids, especially water, during your pregnancy.

Vitamins & Supplements

In recent years, studies have found that the B vitamin, folic acid, helps to prevent birth defects when taken during pregnancy. Doctors recommend you take 400 mcg every day. Your doctor may also recommend a multivitamin formulated for pregnant women as well. Many women also take other vitamins and supplements during pregnancy, but be sure to let your doctor know what other supplements you're taking. Consulting a nutritionist or naturopath can be beneficial and they can customize a supplement plan for your specific health needs.

Exercise

In general, most pregnant women can do the same types of exercises that they did while they weren't pregnant. Though some types of weight lifting, very strenuous exercise, as well as certain yoga poses and pilates movements aren't recommended for pregnant women. You should do your research to make sure you are doing safe exercises for your baby. Generally, swimming and walking are excellent, lower impact exercises for pregnant women and are therefore most recommended.

Dealing With Morning Sickness

Vomiting and nausea are the two most prevalent symptoms of morning sickness in pregnant women. Some ways to alleviate morning sickness include eating more small meals throughout the day instead of 3 larger ones and also eating less greasy or fatty foods.

Prevention Of Complications

Taking care of yourself from the moment you are pregnant can not only protect the health of yourself and your unborn baby, but it can also prevent post birth health complications, including postpartum depression. Postpartum can be prevented by getting proper physical and mental health care during pregnancy, but if after birth, you still come down with a level of postpartum depression, it can be dealt with by using medication or counseling, including an innovative online counseling method, called eCounseling. eCounseling provides effective counseling services by certified counselors, for treating postpartum depression right in your own home.

Remember to take care of yourself during pregnancy, since you're not just taking care of yourself anymore, but also another living being.

Dr. Arthur Kramer is a Professor in the University of Illinois Department of Psychology, the Campus Neuroscience Program, the Beckman Institute, and the Director of the Biomedical Imaging Center at the University of Illinois.

I am honored to interview him today about recent brain research findings focused on how to maintain a healthy, strong brain.

Alvaro Fernandez (AF): Dr. Kramer, thank you for your time. Let's start by trying to clarify some existing misconceptions and controversies. Based on what we know today, and your recent Nature piece (Note: referenced below), what are the 2-3 key lifestyle habits would you suggest to a person who wants to delay Alzheimer's symptoms and improve overall brain health?

Dr. Kramer (DK): First, Be Active. Do physical exercise. Aerobic exercise, 30 to 60 minutes per day 3 days per week, has been shown to have an impact in a variety of experiments. And you don't need to do something strenuous: even walking has shown that effect. There are many open questions in terms of specific types of exercise, duration, magnitude of effect...but, as we wrote in our recent Nature Reviews Neuroscience article, there is little doubt that leading a sedentary life is bad for our cognitive health. Cardiovascular exercise seems to have a positive effect.

Second, Maintain Lifelong Intellectual Engagement. There is abundant prospective observational research showing that doing more mentally stimulating activities reduces the risk of developing Alzheimer's symptoms.

Let me add, given all media hype, that no "brain game" in particular has been shown to have a long-term impact on Alzheimer's or the maintenance of cognition across extended periods of time. It is too early for that-and consumers should be aware of that fact. It is true that some companies are being more science-based than others but, in my view, the consumer-oriented field is growing faster than the research is.

Ideally, combine both physical and mental stimulation along with social interactions. Why not take a good walk with friends to discuss a book? We lead very busy lives, so the more integrated and interesting activities are, the more likely we will do them.

AF: Great concept: a walking book club! Now, part of the confusion we observe is due to the search of "magic solutions" that work for everyone and everything. We prefer to talk about several pillars of brain health, and different priorities for different individuals. Can you elaborate on what interventions seem to have a positive effect on specific cognitive abilities and individuals?

DK: Perhaps one day we will be able to recommend specific interventions for individuals based on genetic testing, for example, but we don't have a clue today. We are only beginning to understand how the environment interacts with our genome.

But I agree on the premise that there probably won't be a general solution that solves all cognitive problems, but we need a multitude of approaches. And we can't forget, for example, the cognitive benefits from smoking cessation, sleep, pharmacological interventions, nutrition, social engagement.

Physical exercise tends to have rather broad effects on different forms of perception and cognition, as seen in the Colcombe and Kramer, 2003, meta-analysis published in Psychological Science (Note: referenced below).

Cognitive training also works for a multitude of perceptual and cognitive domains - but has shown little transfer beyond trained tasks.

No single type of intervention is sufficient. Today there is no clear research on how those different lifestyle factors may interact. The National Institute on Aging is starting to sponsor research to address precisely that.

AF: To wrap up, what's in your mind the best way to explain the relative benefits of physical vs. cognitive exercise? From a fundamental point of view, it seems clear that physical exercise can help enhance neurogenesis (Note: the creation of new neurons), yet learning/ cognitive exercise contributes to the survival of those neurons by strengthening synapses, so I see more how those two "pillars" are complimentary than "one or the other".

DK: I agree. Given what we know today I would recommend both intellectual engagement and physical exercise. However, we do know, from a multitude of animal studies, that physical exercise has a multitude of effects on brains beyond neurogenesis, including increases in various neurotransmitters, nerve grown factors, and angiogenesis (the formation of new blood vessels).

AF: Dr. Kramer, many thanks for your time.

DK: You are welcome.

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Both Brain & Alvaro Fernandez are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Brain has sinced written about articles on various topics from Depression Cure, Pregnancy Problems and Abortion. Read out . Also check out for. Brain's top article generates over 301000 views. to your Favourites.

Alvaro Fernandez has sinced written about articles on various topics from Aging, Brain and Aspen Travel. Alvaro Fernandez is the CEO and Co-Founder of SharpBrains.com, which reviews resources for brain health such as the. Alvaro Fernandez's top article generates over 201000 views. to your Favourites.