I’m currently reading John Medina‘s excellent book “Brain Rules” and I thought I would share some of the golden nuggets I’ve found over a series of posts. Aerobic exercise is tremendously beneficial to brain function.  Specifically it improves the ability to control oneself (e.g., be politically correct, delay gratification, avoid negative emotional spirals, etc) and [...]

New research shows that a 30% calorie reduction in overweight (but not obese) individuals over three months improved their memory by an amount equal to the difference between memory of those over 50 and memory of those under 30.  Read the article to lean about the obvious caveats to this research.

From the ririanproject (a fitness blog) we get the following brain fitness tips. Meditate Move aerobically Change your routine Read a book Caffeine for short term boost Engage in debate Play video games Subscribe to a daily newsletter Eat curry Play pool Learn an instrament Eat raisins Play golf Yoga Build models

Kimberly Lankford reviews resources for early retirees to get health insurance. COBRA National Association of State Comprehensive Health Insurance Plans Georgetown University Health Policy Institute consumer guides

Econbrowser provides a quick peek at how underfunded local governments are with respect to their promised pensions and health benefits.  The scary part is this is during a bull market.  During the next recession these numbers are going to get much worse.  It wouldn’t surpise me if we see a number of small municipalities declare [...]

Evidence continues to pour in on the importance of moderate exercise as we age. From the Wall Street Journal article: For the first time, scientists have found something that not only halts the brain shrinkage that starts in a person’s 40s, especially in regions responsible for memory and higher cognition, but actually reverses it: aerobic [...]

Here is an update on getting prescriptions filled in Canada. Homeland security has stopped seizing drugs (it is still illegal though). Visit pharmacychecker.com to compare drug prices.

From a presentation given by attorney Tim Nay M.S.W., J.D at the NAPFA West Region Conference. While Alzheimer’s is the leading cause of diminished capacity, there are over 90 other medical conditions that can present similar symptoms with many of them treatable. Unfortunately, diagnosing these other conditions requires an extensive battery of tests that are [...]