I know that their has been lots of talk recently about our brain health.  Recently I had the honor of doing a podcast with John Ratey MD, the author of a book entitled ” Spark, The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain.” In our interview together we discuss the many benefits and correlations to exercise and our brain health.

I know that many of us do not think about the “brain muscle” when we are doing our exercise programs, but the fact of the matter is that our exercise program has as much importance to keeping our brains sharp and clear as it does on building the other muscles in our body.

In a landmark study, aerobic exercise was shown to be as effective as antidepressants.  That women who exercise lower their chances of developing dementia by 50%.  Exercise even sparks new brain-cell growth, and it happens on three levels. First, it optimizes your mind-set to improve alertness, attention, and motivation; second, it prepares and encourages nerve cells to bind to one another, which is the cellular basis for logging in new information, and third, it spurs the development of new nerve cells from stem cells in the hippocampus.  The evidence is incontrovertible: aerobic exercise physically transforms our brains for peak performance.

The world seems to be getting more and more stressful these days, and the correlation between exercise and stress reduction is not big news to anyone.  But the importance that the exercise plays in improving our brain function is big news!!!.  The face that we’re much less active than our ancestors only exacerbates matters.  Just keep in mind that the more stress you have, the more your body needs to move to keep your brain running smoothly.

The next time you exercise, or more importantly decide to skip exercising think again.  Your brain really needs you to put in extra hours on the treadmill or biking to perform at peak levels.  If you want to learn more about exercise and your brain you can visit John Ratey’s website by clicking here.  There are many articles and references that I know you will find of value.

I hope you enjoy listening to my interview with author John Ratey MD about ” Spark, The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain.”

Dr. Dacher was born and raised in New York City. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Queens College, C.U.N.Y. and attended medical school at S.U.N.Y. at Buffalo. His post-graduate training was completed at the Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago and on the Harvard Medical Service at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston. He is board certified in Internal Medicine.

In 1975 Dr. Dacher began his medical practice in Washington, D.C. He served as a practicing internist, physician/administrator, and director of wellness and health promotion services for the Kaiser Permanente Health Care Program. In 1984 he established a private medical practice in Virginia. He began exploring and integrating innovative approaches, such as meditation, imagery, yoga, biofeedback, and alternative therapies, into his day-to-day work with patients.

In 1996 he left medical practice to begin an in-depth study of the principles and practices of consciousness and health – an ongoing study of mind/body medicine, integral health, and human flourishing, which he pursued amongst the wisdom traditions of Asia. This unique education in the inner aspects of health and healing led to his most recent book, Aware, Awake, Alive. In this book. Dr. Dacher brings together the wisdom and practices of East and West, introducing the reader to a time-tested, practical, and accessible approach to a far-reaching health and healing.

He is a past fellow at the Institute of Noetic Sciences and a past advisory board member of the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. A frequent presenter and seminar leader, his previous books include: Integral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing (Basic Books, 2006), Whole Healing (Dutton/Plume, 1996), and Intentional Healing (Marlowe, 1996).

Dr. Dacher currently lives in Massachusetts. He has two amazing daughters and two wondrous young grandchildren.

Leigh decided to write this book because after having dealt with cancer , she thought that others just like her might like to learn new ways of dealing with cancer.  Leigh certainly felt supported form forces beyond this world to write and explore the alternative therapies available for patients with cancer.

Leigh writes ” Some of the people I spoke with regained health through alternative protocols; others simply made the decision to get well.  Some gave credit to religion, faith, or spiritual dedication, while others spoke of what can only be known as grace.  Most of them believe a bank of negative emotional turmoil contributed to the cause of their cancer.  Likewise, they attributed much of their healing to creating an inner environment of love and forgiveness.  All of them believe that we can heal ourselves or find effective treatments outside of the conventional medical paradigm.”

No matter what you beliefs about cancer Leigh’s book is an incredible resource.  Every chapter in the book deals with how one can use their own powers and beliefs to better understand cancer, while not resisting the disease.  Leigh covers forgiveness, meaning, authority, energy, belief, gratitude, intuition, fortitude, faith, dedication and trust in her book as the foundation to providing the reader with additional insight into how to deal with the disease.

Leigh writes ” forgiveness is perhaps the most powerful medicine we possess.  It is also the most elusive.” How true this is and cancer gives the patient plenty of reasons to feel angry and victimized.  It may be the diagnosis itself, the painful and debilitating treatment, or the loss of our normal lives.  We may also feel hurt or outrage at the expectation, imposed upon us by others, that we will die.”

If you are dealing with cancer personally, or know of someone who is then I would recommend this wonderful book if you are looking to explore and find alternative ways of dealing with your cancer.  This book is also an amazing resource for family members of a loved one who is working through the diagnosis of cancer.

You can learn more about Leigh’s story through her website. It  is loaded with resources and she is happy to personally answer you email questions.  Please click here to be directed to Leigh’s website.

I hope you enjoy listening to and embracing one amazing woman’s journey with cancer.

Brendan’s professional athletic career began in 1998. Over the course of only a few years, his performance quickly climbed, improving each year in Ironman triathlon racing. At Ironman Canada, in 1999 he finished 21^st, the following year he placed 14^th, then 11^th, followed up by an 8^th place finish in 2002 in Ironman Utah. In 2003 and 2006 Brendan won the National 50km Ultra Marathon Championships. Other results include 3^rd place at the National Long-Course Triathlon Championships and both 3rd and 2nd in consecutive years in the Royal Victoria Marathon.

Towards the end of 2003 Brendan was hit by a car while cycling, as a result could not race in 2004. He took advantage of the extra time on his hands and wrote a book that outlined the successful diet that had helped him improve his athletic performance at an above-average rate. THRIVE: A guide to optimal health and performance through plant-based whole foods (out of print as of 2007.       30, 000 copies sold – replaced with The Thrive Diet, Penguin, 2007) became a Canadian bestseller within five months. Brendan then partnered with a sport nutrition company and produced a commercial replica of his blended drink formula that he had been making for himself for 15 years, one of the reasons for his quick improvements. He called it VEGA. VEGA launched in Canada in late 2004 and became one of the bestselling health food products on the Canadian market. It received the prestigious Nutrition Business Journal merit award. Presented for the first time ever to a product not yet on the US market, VEGA became known in the United States. In 2005 Brendan then launched his 100% raw whole food energy bar, again a commercial replica of what he made to support his intense training. Now in over 1200 Canadian health food stores, VEGA launched in the US in March of 2006, winning the “best in show” award from VegNews Magazine

Nominated in 2006 for the Manning Innovation Award, Canada’s most prestigious award for innovation, Brendan was shortlisted for the formulation of Vega. In 2006, Brendan also was invited to address US Congress on Capitol Hill, where he spoke of the significant social and economic benefits that could be achieved by improving personal health through better diet. The focus of his speech was to draw attention to the role that food plays in the prevention of most chronic diseases currently plaguing North Americans.

In 2007 Brendan returned to Capital Hill to lobby against the Farm Bill and was named one of the most 25 Fascinating Vegetarians by VegNews magazine

Brendan has become a renowned speaker and sought-after presenter throughout North America, helping individuals and businesses thrive by sharing his dietary stress-busting program, The Thrive Diet.  Brendan new book entitled released by Penguin Books September 2011″Thrive Foods: 200 Plant Based Recipes for Peak Health” is his newest book, and it focused on the foods we eat and how they impact our environment.

In Brendan’s new book “Thrive Foods: 200 Plant Based Recipes for Peak Health” Brendan lays out the importance of a plant based diet, and gives the reader great recipes that are nutrient-dense and which have a very low impact on our overall environment.  In my interview with Brendan we speak about what he calls “Nutrient-to-Resource Ratio”.  Brendan refers to this ratio as a proactive form of health insurance and environmental preservation rolled into one.  This ratio reveals the extensive amount of arable land, water, and fossil fuel consumed to produce food, as well as taking into consideration carbon emissions created.

Brendan states that the average American could have a greater impact on the on the environment by switching to the eating suggestions in the book.  That is one person swapped out a Standard American breakfast for a plant-based, nutrient-dense whole food smoothie for one year, it would conserve the same amount of C02 emissions as created by driving a mid-size car from Vancouver to Tijuana, Mexico.  If everyone stopped eating factory farmed beef for one year, it would conserve the equivalent of c02 emissions as over 2 trillion miles being driven in a mid-size car.

Needless to say if we as consumers would think about our choices in food consumption we could have a significant impact on the worlds environment.  A diet based in nutrient-dense, plant based foods not only improves our health but it has a positive impact on our environment.

Brendan’s book is loaded with great recipes that are good and easy to make.  So if you want to improve your diet, loose weight, and help the environment then I highly recommend that you get a copy of Brendan’s new book.  If you would like to learn more about Brendan Brazier please click here to be directed to his website.  He also has a company called Vega that produces plant based products, you can learn more about Vega by clicking here.

Enjoy this great interview with truly a man on a mission to save our environment, as well as increase the life span of millions of people.

As a performance coach and keynote speaker, Heidi has trained thousands of individuals on practical ways to incorporate nutrition, exercise, and positive psychology strategies to improve their health, productivity, and performance. Her vast coaching experience and passionate coaching style help motivate individuals and teams to develop sustainable success at both a personal and professional level. Heidi is CEO and founder of SYNERGY, a coaching and consulting company that specializes in customized health and wellness solutions for individuals and organizations. In the Spring of 2011, Heidi authored her first book, SHARP: Simple strategies to boost your brainpower, and the follow up title, The SHARP Diet: Food for thought.

From 2003 through 2011, Heidi worked as a trainer, coach, keynote speaker and consultant for the The Human Performance Institute in Orlando, Florida. As an experienced speaker, Heidi has been featured at many national and global conferences, including the Fortune Magazine Most Powerful Women in Business Summit and the ESPN Women’s Leadership Summit. Heidi has fundraised, trained, and served as a mentor and nutritionist for several non-profit organizations, including the Leukemia Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training, Livestrong Foundation and the Challenged Athletes Foundation. She also is an advocate and speaker on topics related to eating disorders awareness and prevention, as well as a volunteer speaker for the Alzheimer’s Association.

I personally have been working with author and coach Heidi Hanna PhD over the last three months.  Her new book entitled “SHARP: Simple Strategies to Boost Your Brainpower” is a must read for all my listeners.  If you have ever wondered what are some of the things that you could be doing to assist you in having more energy, improve your focus and mental clarity then Heidi new book is the place to start.

We are all leading very busy lives, with more stimulation coming at us from every direction..cell phones, emails, instant “ON” almost all the time.  Do you ever wonder what all of this is doing to our brains?  Are you beginning to forget or you memory doesn’t seem as  SHARP.  Heidi speaks about these problems and provides practical advice on dealing with these issues.

In her book “SHARP: Simple Strategies to Boost Your Brainpower” readers will: 1) Understand how the demands on your time and energy impact your mental capacity, and learn critical components of brain health that provide a foundation for improved cognitive functioning. 2) How to utilize the power of brain training to stimulate mental energy with exercises that improve learning in areas that have the most impact on performance. 3) How to create an actionable plan for implementing a sustainable brain health training program that can be applied to your everyday life.

Our constant state of busyness has created a chronic level of stress on our brain–so toxic, in fact that experts believe more than 75% of medical visits are stress related. Heidi states that honestly most of us are too busy to notice, and will not realize the devastating impact of stress on our lives until it takes a serious toll on our health, happiness and performance.   Stress is literally making us sicker.

In Heidi’s new book “SHARP: Simple Strategies to Boost Your Brainpower” you will be guided and coached on the proper steps to take to reduce stress, eat healthier and techniques to improve your brains function.  I don’t know about you but my brain is of utmost importance to the proper functioning of my job, and I believe that this is the case with almost all workers in society today.  But just how often do you think about the fitness of your brain—you take it for granted don’t you?  If you listen to, and read what Heidi has been teaching and coaching top executives for years you will really alter many of your current habits that are effecting the functioning of your brain.

If you would like more information about author Heidi Hanna and her new book please click here to be directed to her website.  If you would like to watch a short introduction video, just click here to be directed to her book’s promotional video.  Enjoy this wonderful interview with Heidi Hanna PhD author of “SHARP: Simple Strategies to Boost Your Brainpower“.

Moritz was born in Stuttgart, Germany. He began his career in Europe as an iridologist with special focus on identifying and addressing the root causes of illness. He has also specialized in using fine art as a healing modality. Much of his life’s work has been dedicated to understanding and treating the root causes of illness, and helping the body to naturally heal itself.

In the mid-1990s, he began publishing self-help books on alternative medicine and mind/body/spirit integration. From the age of six, Moritz experienced a number of severe illnesses such as juvenile arthritis, arrhythmia, anemia, abnormally low blood pressure, frequent fainting and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
Although his main fields of interest were architecture, music and athletics, most of his time was spent in trying to understand the causes of his own illnesses. As an adolescent, Moritz began studying diet, nutrition and various approaches to natural healing and well-being.

In 1970, Moritz began to practice meditation and Yoga to treat low blood pressure. By age 19, he had alleviated his symptoms through his practice.

After completing his iridology training under his uncle, Dr. Harry Kirchofer, a leading iridology physician and naturopath in Germany, in 1980 Moritz proceeded to study and perform research on mind/body medicine at Maharishi European Research University (MERU) in Switzerland.

In 1981, as part of his training at MERU, Moritz began his studies of Ayurvedic medicine. To learn from some of the worlds’ most renowned physicians of Ayurveda, including, Dr. V.M. Dwivedi, Dr. Balraj Maharishi and Dr. Brihaspati Dev Triguna, Moritz traveled to New Delhi, India. From 1982-1983 Moritz introduced heads of state and members of governments in Ethiopia and Kenya to more holistic approaches to health care than were available in these impoverished African countries at the time.

In 1988, Moritz graduated in the Japanese healing art of shiatsu at the British School of Shiatsu in London, England. Later in 1991, he finished his Ayurveda training and qualified as a practitioner of Ayurveda (vaidya) in New Zealand.

Moritz lived on the island of Cyprus from 1985-1998. From there he traveled extensively, lecturing and providing alternative healing modalities to governmental leaders who had fallen seriously ill, including the late Prime Minister of Greece, Andreas Papandreou.

In 1998, Moritz immigrated to Minnesota, in the United States, where he married and began to offer his services to the American people. Since taking up residence in the United States in 1999, Andreas has been involved in developing a new and innovative system of healing — called Ener-Chi Art™ — which attempts to target the root cause of chronic illnesses.

Moritz’s other books include, Lifting the Veil of Duality – Your Guide to Living without Judgment, It’s Time to Come Alive; Heart Disease No More!; Simple Steps to Total Health; Diabetes – No More!; Ending the AIDS Myth; Heal Yourself with Sunlight; Feel Great, Lose Weight; Hear the Whispers- Live your Dream; and the newly released title, Vaccine-nation: Poisoning the Population, One Shot at a Time.

Moritz now resides in the Carolinas. More information at www.ener-chi.com