Mile High Natural Awakenings

Can rhythmically tossing and catching  balls in the air help grow the  brain? Researchers from the Universität  Regensburg, in Germany, after studying  two dozen people using brain scans,  say yes. Half were asked to learn to  juggle; the others were given no special  instructions. After three months, the  brains of the jugglers had grown by 3 to  4 percent in the areas that process visual  and motor information; the more skilled  the jugglers became, the greater the  brain growth. No change occurred in the  non-juggling group. The research team says the study proves that new stimuli  can alter the brain’s structure, not just its function. Source: Nature.com

Swimming in an ocean, river or lake  dramatically differs from man-made  pools in obvious ways, but also one that  water lovers may not dwell on. In the  typical, chlorine-laced environment of  most public and private pools, major  emphasis is placed on killing germs  quickly and cheaply; possible side  effects to skin, hair and lungs from exposure  to a toxic chemical are assumed. Nevertheless, safe and refreshing options  are available. Saltwater pools use sodium chloride in a naturally occurring cycle to keep it  clean. Chlorine is present as a byproduct of the off-gassing of the salt, but much  less so than in a conventionally chlorinated pool.  An ionizer not only keeps water sanitized, it makes the water feel silky  smooth to the touch, using copper and sometimes silver ions to maintain cleanliness.  No salt and little or no chlorine are used.  An oxidation system is a chemical-free way to keep pools disinfected using  ultraviolet light or electricity; it requires a generator.

Consider reading labels and avoiding or  restricting foods sweetened with rice  syrup, at least for now. A recent study by  researchers at Dartmouth College, in New  Hampshire, found levels of arsenic in foods  containing rice syrup that exceeded U.S.  standards for bottled water. The sampling of  products included cereal bars, energy shots  (drinks) and baby formulas sweetened with  organic brown rice syrup. Arsenic is toxic and  potentially carcinogenic, and the researchers  are pushing for regulatory limits in food, like  those that protect drinking water.

Giant data centers, known as  “clouds,” that store and transmit data,  photos, emails, songs and streaming  videos every day, have become one  of the fastest-growing consumers of  worldwide electricity. Now, a Greenpeace  International report details the  truth about how much coal is burned  to operate and maintain this virtual,  online cloud of electronic data transmission  worldwide. Every day, tons of asthma-inducing,  climate-destroying coal pollution is  emitted into the air just to keep the Internet  going. The good news is that tech  industry leaders such as Facebook and Google are starting to quit the coal habit;  Apple’s new North Carolina data center will run in part on renewable, biogaspowered  fuel cells and a large array of solar panels. A Greenpeace initiative is working to persuade Microsoft, Amazon and  others to likewise disassociate their brands from the specter of poisoned air  currently damaging the climate. Take action at Tinyurl.com/dirtycloud.

This year, an estimated 52,610 people (38,380 men and 14,230 women) will  develop cancer in the head and neck, leading to an estimated 11,500 deaths  (or just under 22 percent), according to statistics adapted from the American  Cancer Society’s publication, Cancer Facts & Figures 2012. New hope may lie in  an ancient spice. A pilot study conducted at the University of California-Los Angeles Jonsson  Comprehensive Cancer Center has shown that eating curcumin, the main component  in the spice turmeric, works to suppress a cell-signaling pathway that spurs the  growth of malignancies in the head and neck. Further, curcumin reduces pro-inflammatory  cytokines (naturally occurring regulatory  proteins) within saliva. Turmeric is widely used in South Asian  and Middle Eastern cooking (curry, for  example), and has been long valued for its  anti-inflammatory properties. In India,  women have used it for centuries as an  anti-aging agent rubbed into the skin, as a  poultice to promote

Low levels of iron in the blood not  only cause fatigue, but also may  be linked to more serious health risks,  including dangerous blood clots.  Iron deficiency is widespread, and  thought to affect at least 1 billion  people worldwide, mostly women.  Alleviating such deficiencies is a  preventive measure. Source: Imperial College, London