Healthy World Digest, May, #14

* Exercise to improve thinking

* Coffee for asthma

* Superior option to fish oil supplements

* Interval exercise rules

* Best recovery drink

* Healthy, "meaty" salads

Well, well. April has dissolved into May, summer's right about the corner, or the next corner.

Following are some simple nuggets to help you along.

* Exercise to improve thinking

Researchers at the University of Virginia found brain functioning - reasoning, speed, memory - to begin to worsen at as early as 27 years old.

Their suggestions? Be sure to exercise with vigor. Such exertion helps to boost brain power.

Our site, Healthy Exercise World has explored the nexus between the mind and exercise fairly extensively. Click for our umbrella page on brain exercises

* Coffee for asthma

Yet another herbal benefit attributed to coffee. You remember coffee? That drink that studies supposedly found to result in to all kinds of health sins only a few short years ago. Well, the tide has turned.

Indiana University researchers found that imbibing a few cups of java before exercising, reduces exercise-induced asthma attack as well as a prescription inhaler.

But don't go for decaf. It's the caffeine in coffee that provides the benefit.

* Superior choice to fish oil supplements

Natural krill oil supplements are showing superior benefits to standard fish oil supplements.

Two particular advantages to NKO supplements -> About 1/7 of serving of NKO has same to better health benefits as full dose of ordinary fish oils supplements and NKO has no after taste or that fish burp we all love.

* Interval exercise rules

More on the effects of exercise...

Another study on interval exercise shows it is far superior to traditional cardio workouts. Canada's McMaster University found that 4 - 7, 30 second bursts, followed by 4 minutes rest improved endurance better than run of the mill cardio sessions.

Healthy Exercise World has enthusiastically extolled the benefits of interval exercise. Go to our page in Healthy Exercise World for more on interval training

* Best recovery drink

If you work out pretty hard and wonder how to speed up recovery, here's a neat strategy.

Immediately after an exercise session have an easy to absorb drink that includes antioxidants, vitamins, carbs and protein. Yep, don't neglect the protein. That's the key.

I usually mix a scoop of protein powder, with some fresh fruit, some low sugar ice cream, in approximately twelve ounces of cold water.

My favorite is a scoop of banana flavored protein powder, a banana, a scoop of sugarless vanilla ice cream in twelve ounces of cold water. Another fave is a scoop of strawberry flavored protein powder, about 1/2 dozen strawberries, low sugar strawberry ice cream in a little less than twelve ounces of cold water. (Remember that strawberries are by and large water and don't provide the creaminess that a banana does, so you don't need as much water here.)

Oh, remember to blend protein powder into water first, before adding other ingredients to blend in or powder may not dissolve properly.

Anyway, right after drinking my delicious shake, my occasional brain fog from a good exercise session clears up and I often feel like working out some more. Try some combination that appeals to you.

* Healthy, 'meaty' salads

This is your lucky month. I remembered to include a recipe, sort of.

If you like munching on shrubbery, well good for you. There's no denying that salads are healthy unless you choose to do something to them to subtract their health quotient.

But, I have to admit that they just don't appeal to me as much as a good casserole, or hot sandwich with plenty of marinara sauce. As for a side dish, to me a cold salad just messes up a chicken curry, brisket or good lasagna.

Well here's something for those of you who feel similarly but like me feel the need to get a daily salad into your diet.

To your onion, cucumber, celery, pepper, lettuce and tomato ensemble, you can just add some meat, like chicken or add some cubed cheese.

But my traditional Sicilian family liked adding artichoke hearts (quartered, marinated) and olives, especially fried black ones. Green olives are good too.

Olives and artichoke hearts are low carb, perfect as a medley in a good salad. But they contrast with the crunchy or mealy, high water content of the other ingredients giving the salad a level of satisfaction that's not there without them.

After munching on this, I don't usually immediately crave bread, pasta or potatoes.

Well, that's all she wrote for now. Really, all I wrote for now but look for next months' special summer issue of Healthy World Digest.

tags: exercising brain functioning, herbal benefits, fish oil supplements, interval exercise

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