Stay healthy this exam season, with almonds

Come February, a large number of households across India become preoccupied with exams. Whether it’s a son, daughter, nephew or niece who might be appearing for his or her final school examinations or class 10th or 12th boards, final exams tend to become the focus for a lot of families during the month.

During exam season it’s very easy for students to lose sight of their health and wellness, and get consumed in the preparation. Juggling between the pressures of preparing for exams, ensuring there is adequate time to sleep, regular breaks and doing all this while maintaining his or her health is important. Properly timed meals, scheduled snack breaks and conscious food choices can energize and sustain the body through long exam hours.

One food item that is good for students to have handy during the exam season is almonds! Snacking on almonds during the preparation period, can help make a healthy difference in students’ lives. Ayurveda and Unani texts suggest that consumption of almonds nourishes the brain, nerve tissues and promotes intelligence, which can be useful during the exam time.

A leading Bollywood actress said, “Exams can be a very stressful time for students, and approaching them with a calm mind and planned approach always helps. I remember, during my school days, my mother ensured that she had prepared a meal plan and snacking routine for me during the prep-leaves, so I would be well nourished through the day. Beyond this, she also made sure that she kept a bowlful of almonds on my study table – so I had a healthy snack handy, if I ever felt hungry or exhausted after studying for several hours.”

A fitness enthusiast and Supermodel  said, “During exam season, students tend to neglect their health and fitness. While maintaining a steady exercise schedule is difficult, students can always manage their fitness by taking regular breaks from studying, every half an hour or so. Whether it is a short walk around the house or walking while studying, students must do what they can to stay active. Opting for healthier food and snacks such as almonds is also an important step that will go a long way in building a healthy routine during exams, and may also help in keeping a check on the student’s weight.”

Adding to this, a Dr. said, “I often come across concerned parents seeking diet recommendations for their children especially during exam season. I always suggest to keep nuts like almonds handy as they provide energy which may help in better concentration. Eating almonds may also help in managing the child’s weight, as according to a recent study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, participants who consumed 43 grams of dry, roasted, lightly salted almonds every day experienced reduced hunger and improved dietary vitamin E and monounsaturated (“good”) fat intake without increasing body weight.”

According to a Pilates Expert and Diet & Nutrition Consultant, “For any student preparing for exams, keeping a steady supply of energy throughout the day is important to maintain his/her concentration levels. Daily consumption of almonds keeps you energetic and I definitely recommend students to keep a handful of raw, roasted or spiced almonds in a small tiffin or box nearby, to make sure they can snack on them in between exam prep.”

“During exams, it’s not uncommon for students to feel hungry in between meals, and this leads to a lot of binge eating on unwholesome food. To minimize unhealthy food intake during exam time, parents and teachers can begin by ensuring students have an adequate number of snack breaks in between meals. For these breaks, almonds are an excellent choice of snack as they are easy and quick to flavour and go with just about any Indian masala/spices. Added to that almonds may also have satiating properties that promote feelings of fullness, which may keep the child satiated in between meals, avoiding him or her from reaching out for unhealthy snacks” said a Nutrition and Wellness Consultant.

So plan right, and prepare for exam season on a healthy note – with almonds.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     
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Scientists observe MRI to predict intelligence levels in children

Researchers from the Skoltech Center for Computational and Data-Intensive Science and Engineering (CDISE) took 4th place in the international MRI-based adolescent intelligence prediction competition. The results of their study by the Skoltech scientists were published in the journal Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Neurocognitive Prediction.

In 2013, the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) launched the first grand-scale study of its kind in adolescent brain research, Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development – to see if and how teenagers’ hobbies and habits affect their further brain development.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a common technique used to obtain images of human internal organs and tissues. Scientists wondered whether the intelligence level can be predicted from an MRI brain image. The NIH database contains a total of over 11,000 structural and functional MRI images of children aged 9-10.

NIH scientists launched an international competition, making the enormous NIH database available to a broad community for the first time ever. The participants were given the task of building a predictive model based on brain images.

In their recent study, Skoltech researchers focused on predicting the intelligence level, or the so-called “fluid intelligence”, which characterizes the biological abilities of the nervous system and has little to do with acquired knowledge or skills. Importantly, they made predictions for both the fluid intelligence level and the target variable independent from age, gender, brain size or MRI scanner used.

“Our team develops deep learning methods for computer vision tasks in MRI data analysis, among other things. In this study, we applied ensembles of classifiers to 3D of super precision neural networks: with this approach, one can classify an image as it is, without first reducing its dimension and, therefore, without losing valuable information,” explains CDISE PhD student, Ekaterina Kondratyeva.

The results of the study helped find the correlation between the child’s “fluid intelligence” and brain anatomy. Although the prediction accuracy is less than perfect, the models produced during this competition will help shed light on various aspects of cognitive, social, emotional and physical development of adolescents. This line of research will definitely continue to expand.

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9 Ways to Enhance Your Intelligence

IQ stands for Intelligence Quotient. It’s the score which we can derive from several groups of tests that assess human intelligence capability. But when we talk about our IQ, are we referring to a fixed number, like our date of birth, or can it be changed over time? Yes, it can be changed, and not just the way your age changes - in one direction, for the worse - but changed for the better. Just as a gym workout improves your physical shape and health, a mental workout can do the same for your intelligence. 

So, here are 9 clever ways to boost your mental fitness and break your own IQ personal best!

1. Write Down Your Thoughts

In "Early Mental Traits of Three Hundred Geniuses",a researcher  studied the habits of 300 geniuses (like Newton, Einstein, and Jefferson), and found that they were all "compulsive" journal keepers. They seem to have used diaries as extensions of their brains. By journaling, they were able to refine and develop their ideas.

Scribbling down your thoughts, ideas, and theories has the tremendous power to help you easily solve problems, stay focused, and logically think things through. There’s something about the act of committing your ruminations to paper that gets your attention and forces you to grapple with things without putting them immediately to one side. Plus, it’s a fun way to exercise your mental processes!

What Should I Write?  First of all, you needn't worry about the quality of your English prose style. You are writing for you, and you alone. Journaling is an introspective tool which allows you to develop your ability to express yourself in language. Start by writing out your life's day to day events, the people around you, and your thoughts and feelings. Also, write about the things you want to do and how you could go about achieving your goals. 

2. Focus on Your Breathing

It's been shown that a low level of oxygen in the blood leads to a decrease in brain function. So, because deep breaths send more oxygen through your blood and brain, breathing through your nose can immediately improve your brain functionality.

Focus on your breath and gain control over both your consciousness and sub-consciousness. This simple exercise will provide your brain with a calm meditative silence that will do wonders for your mind power, leading to a gradual IQ improvement.

3. Do Puzzle and Mind Games 

When you play strategic and competitive games like Scrabble, Sudoku, and crosswords, your cognitive thinking is placed to the fore. Certain games like chess and solitaire sharpen your mind and provide a terrific boost to your memory cells’ performance. 

There are a wide selection of quizzes and riddles designed to help increase your memory and processing speeds. It's important to get into the habit of testing yourself. Though you may find it rough going in the beginning, eventually you will see your confidence soar.

4. Starve Your Brain

A great way to keep your brain sharper long-term is to fast from food. This abstinence has been shown to increase the number of neurons in your brain. People who fast often notice that their body reboots itself, sending rivers of new energy coursing through the body as a kind of reaction to alleviate the pain of hunger. The same thing happens to your brain, allowing you to think more clearly than before.

How do I start out fasting?
If you have little or no experience of fasting, the important thing is that you don't go overboard by drastically reducing the amount of food you consume. Start small, for example by skipping one meal a day for about two weeks. We don't recommend eating less than one meal per day for any substantial length of time though. And certainly DO NOT refrain from drinking water regularly.

NOTE: Always consult with your doctor before beginning any kind of fast.

5. Challenge Your Mind

Getting stuck in a monstrous routine deprives you of one of your minds greatest assets: the ability to thrive when challenged by a new situation. Doing new things forces your mind to make new decisions and seek new solutions, testing your mental capabilities to their fullest. So, go and challenge your mind with something new and pull yourself out of that rut! It will exercise parts of your mind that have been neglected for a while, helping you to blow away the cobwebs and boost your IQ.

10 Example of new experiences
1. Visit a part of your town you've never been to or explored much before.
2. Learn 10 phrases in a new language.
3. Listen to a genre of music you haven't tried out before. What about jazz, blues, or classical?
4. Plant some flowers in your garden.
5. Learn to cook a new dish.
6. Watch a classic movie you haven't seen before
7. Invite some friends over for a BBQ.
8. Visit the local library and borrow some weekend books.
9. Greet a neighbor you don't normally talk with.
10. Research information about a different country on the internet.

6. Don’t Over-Rely on Devices and Machines

It can be very tempting to seek an answer to questions from the ubiquitous devices and computers of our ‘information age’. Yet, when the answer is something you could easily figure out yourself, you should always refrain from asking a machine for help. Improve your logical thinking and mental balance by performing arithmetic and solving other puzzles by yourself. Your mind is sure to thank you for the extra exercise.

Retrain yourself to perform mental mathematics How is your mental mathematical skill?Read this brilliant article outlining seven tips for mental mathematics that they SHOULD have taught you in school.

But it's not only arithmetic that you can do by yourself. Every morning you should be able to ask yourself what three things you need to do to have a productive day. Once you've figured this out by yourself, you have all the resources you need to go out and do them - without getting bogged down by machines.

7. Learn How to Play a Musical Instrument

A multitude of studies have shown that children who grow up using musical instruments have stronger IQ scores than those who don’t. Playing instruments requires a high level of hand-eye coordination which greatly improves motor and cognitive skills. It doesn’t matter how old you are though, learning an instrument you’ve always felt an attachment to is an excellent way to exercise your mental resources.

8. Do Physical Activities

A molecular biologist argues that to create the protein BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) we have to be physically active. BDNF builds and nourishes our brain's infrastructure of cell circuitry. Going without exercise can, therefore, lead to a serious deterioration in mental power.

Indeed, it’s an all-too-frequently forgotten truth that exercising not only has good general health effects, but also goes a very long way towards treating ‘mental illnesses’ such as depression, anxiety, and ADHD. Such physical exercise relaxes your brain and provides a kick-start to your memory skills.

There are an endless amount of things you can do to keep active. Even if you don't have the energy and stamina for a game of soccer, what's to stop you from walking, swimming, cycling, or even slow dancing?

9. Connect Your Ideas Together

Holistic thinking is very important for the greatest thinkers. To practice the habit of holistic, connective thinking do the following: when you learn a new topic, relate it as much as you can to things you already know. Making mind maps is a great way to help you visualize this connective process in action. You’ll be amazed how often different bits of info combine and fit with one another.
How to make mind maps - 5 steps
Step 1: Create a central idea, the topic you will explore. Write it in the center of the page, and use an image to represent it. Make the image as personal as you can.
Step 2: Decide what the key themes are for the main idea and add them as branches. You can expand on these by adding child branches to them.
Step 3: Each branch needs to be labeled with a key idea. If you label it simply with one word, you will have more chances to branch out from it.
Step 4: Color code your branches. The colors will aid your mind to form mental shortcuts.
Step 5: Use images. Images convey more information than words do to us and are processed more speedily and efficiently by our brains.
 

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                    PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO  VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                           https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/       
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Different Types Of Meditation Change Different Areas Of The Brain,

There’s been a lot of discussion about what kinds of mental activities are actually capable of changing the brain. Some promises of bolstered IQ and enhanced brain function via specially-designed "brain games" have fizzled out. Meanwhile, meditation and mindfulness training have accumulated some impressive evidence, suggesting that the practices can change not only the structure and function of the brain, but also our behavior and moment-to-moment experience.

A new study finds that three different types of meditation training are linked to changes in corresponding brain regions. The results, have a lot of relevance to schools, businesses and, of course, the general public.

Participants, who were between 20 and 55 years of age, engaged in three different types of training for three months each, totaling a nine-month study period. The first training was dubbed the “Presence” module, and was very similar to focused awareness meditation, an ancient practice that's been studied a lot in recent years. In this study, participants learned to focus their attention, bringing it back when it wandered, and to attend to the breath and to their internal body sensations.

The second training was called “Affect,” which sought to enhance empathy and compassion for others—participants learned “loving-kindness” (metta) meditation, and did work with partners, the goal of which was to enhance one’s compassion and empathy. 

The last was the "Perspective" module, akin to mindfulness or open-monitoring meditation. Here, the focus was on observing one’s own thoughts non-judgmentally and enhancing understanding of the perspectives of others.

The researchers wagered that training in each of these methods would lead to volume increases in corresponding brain areas. And this was largely what they found, as they scanned the participants’ brains at the end of each module and compared groups against one another. Training in Presence was linked to enhanced thickness in the anterior prefrontal cortex (PFC) and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), which are known to be strongly involved in attention. Affect training was linked to increased thickness in regions known to be involved in socially driven emotions like empathy; and Perspective training associated with changes in areas involved in understanding the mental states of others, and, interestingly, inhibiting the perspective of oneself.

The results are exciting in that they offer an even more nuanced look at how meditation can change the brain, and in a relatively short amount of time. Lots of research has found that experienced meditators have significantly altered brain structure and function, but a growing number of studies has also found that relatively brief meditation training in novices (for instance, the well-known eight-week MBSR program) can also shift brain function, improve well-being, and reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety.

And, the authors say, the results may be applicable in a number of settings, for kids and adults alike. “Our findings suggest a potential biological basis for how mindfulness and different aspects of social intelligence could be nurtured."

They add that this kind of sensitivity is especially important nowadays, as our community becomes more global, and understanding of others' experiences more essential.

“With growing globalization, inter-connectedness, and complexity of our societies, ‘soft skills’ have become increasingly important," they say. "Social competences, such as empathy, compassion, and taking the perspective of another person, allow for a better understanding of others’ feelings and different beliefs and are crucial for successful cooperation.”

Meditation, in its different forms, may be a powerful way to boost the types of intelligence that matter most.

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                    PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO  VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                           https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/       
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Scientists Have Found That Intelligence Is Passed From Mothers

This article may anger a couple of dads, but according to a recent genetic study. we probably inherit our log of intelligence from the female X chromosome.

The X chromosome contains a thousand genes, and great number of them have an impact on perception. Until now, most doctors believed that parents contribute equally to their child’s intelligence.This research has been proven both correct and disputable.

Most studies indicate that genetics is a highly complex and demanding field of research. Despite strong disagreement on the subject, it’s best to approach these studies from an objective perspective. So, it’s helpful to present a couple of key facts about how X and Y chromosomes work. A chromosome is a thread-like formation composed of nucleic acids and protein. They store and transfer genetic information. Every person has one pair of chromosomes in each cell of their body. The females have two X chromosomes, the males have one X and one Y chromosome.

As a rule, the genetic characteristic of gender-specific genes, like humans have, are either activated or deactivated depending upon the specific selection and, later on, the genetic properties being affected.The activated genes will have an impact on the genetic development, while deactivated genes will not. So if a single characteristic is affected via the mother, the fatherly genes are deactivated. At the opposite side, if a single feature is affected via the father, the maternal genes are later deactivated. The structure of these gender-specific genes forms the foundation of intelligence research. Women are apparently more likely to have an impact on cognitive abilities, as women possess two X chromosomes, while men carry just one. There is certainly more to this theory of intelligence genetics than just X chromosomes.

This is where gender-specific genes come in. Intelligence is thought to be a highly-gender-specific gene that comes directly from the mother. Scientists used genetically-modified mice to test this theory through a study. They found that embryonic test subjects, which were administered mainly maternal genetic chromosomes, developed an improperly larger skull and brain while developing a much smaller body.

Subjects treated with larger amounts of paternal genetic material developed a larger body, but a smaller skull and brain. In addition to this, researchers made other significant observations, like identifying six areas of the brain what contain exclusively either maternal or paternal genes.

The theory that mothers have an asymmetrically large  influence on a child’s intelligence is not a new one. In 1984, the University of Cambridge studied both brain development and genomic conditioning. The scientists ultimately concluded that maternal genetics provide more material to brain centers. Similar discoveries are being made to this day. In a particularly informative study, researchers from a government agency which followed a group of 12,686 people aged 14 to 22. Each year, researchers interviewed the subjects and monitored how their intelligence developed, taking into account their educational and ethnic backgrounds. They categorically concluded that a mother’s IQ the best indicator of high intelligence.

It’s certain that this theory won’t be widely accepted by everyone, even if it’s unquestionably proven. There is however one certain fact that can be deduced from all this, and that is that mothers have a significant influence on their children’s cognitive capacity. And it’s not just because of genetics, either. Nutrition and nurture influence a child’s intellectual development constantly throughout life.
Even more so, the special bond between a mother and child provides motivation for them to explore the world and solve problems together. Women play a much larger part in the child’s intellectual development,than genetics studies give them credit. All signs show that our mothers give us brainpower.Thanks, Mom!…

 THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                                                                                                                                                                                      PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                           https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/   
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