If you value your intelligence, don't 'just Google it'

 

Next time you can’t figure something out; spend a little time thinking about it before going straight to Google. Your brain will thank you. There was a great article in the telegraph recently on what Google (and other search engines) are doing to our brains. The article suggested that using search engines instead of thinking through answers may be harmful to our brains.

According to the findings of some Yale psychologists, the use of search engines gives people a “wildly inaccurate” view of their own intelligence. The Yale study concluded that an inflated sense of personal knowledge may lead to rash decisions.

Article originally appeared here http://bit.ly/1OjVZfQ

What are the health benefits of eating avocados?

Avocados are high in fiber and rich in healthy monounsaturated fats. They also contain a wide variety of vitamins, minerals and micronutrients, among them the antioxidant vitamins C and E; vitamin K, which appears to preserve bone health in the elderly; potassium, which may help regulate blood pressure; lutein, which appears to protect eye health; and folate, an important B vitamin.

Several clinical trials have reported that diets that incorporate avocado may help lower levels of L.D.L., or “bad,” cholesterol, because the fruit contains plant sterols called phytosterols that compete with cholesterol for absorption in the intestines. One small clinical trial found that women with Type 2 diabetes who followed a diet rich in monounsaturated fats, including those from avocados, had lower triglyceride levels. Another small trial suggested avocados may improve vascular health and have anti-inflammatory effects. Some papers have reported that an extract made of avocado and soybean oils may alleviate pain from osteoarthritis, but a 2003 systematic review concluded that the data were mixed.

A 2013 study, funded by the Hass Avocado Board, found that overweight subjects who ate about half an avocado a day felt more sated compared with subjects on an avocado-free diet.

But one drawback to avocados is their high calorie count, about 250 calories per fruit, Dr. Kris-Etherton said, “so people have to be careful – they can’t just add an avocado a day to a bad diet and see health benefits.”

Cycling May Increase Brain’s Density and Connectivity

 

We often talk about the benefits of different physical exercise on the brain, but here’s a new one that’s being studied: cycling. A recent study from the Netherlands found that people who used an exercise bike for 6 months saw an increased density and connectivity in their brain’s white matter. The finding was seen in both people with schizophrenia and people with no clinical diagnosis.

A second study from Taiwan found that people with diabetes or metabolic syndrome who used a stationary bike for 12 weeks experienced an increase of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a brain chemical involved in supporting neural plasticity processes by encouraging the growth and differentiation of new neurons and synapses.
More details on this research can be read in abstracts of the Netherlands study and the Taiwan study.