LiveSmart Spring 2013

spring 2013 | issue no. 1

think green Where to recycle in Brazos County

local environmental events Celebrate Earth Day, clean up roads

new gps-like technology improves diagnosis of small lung lesions

program helping patients

How to grow your own

vegetables

with dizzy and balance problems

5 6 12 16 8 vegetable 22 gardening

healthy ways to speed up metabolism

new program at st. joseph helping patients with dizzy and balance problems

new gps-like technology helping diagnose small lung lesions

F E AT UR E

local earth day / clean up events

Where to recycle in Brazos County

spring 2013 | issue no. 1

THINK GREEN Where to recycle in Brazos County

LOCAL ENVIRONMENTAL EVENTS Celebrate Earth Day, clean up roads

NEW GPS-LIKE TECHNOLOGY improves diagnosis of small lung lesions

PROGRAM HELPING PATIENTS

How to grow your own

with dizzy and balance problems

VEGETABLES

Next publication: Thursday, June 27, 2013

Advertising Deadline: Thursday, May 24, 2013 To get your advertisement in Bryan-College Station’s most distributed Health and Lifestyles magazine, e-mail livesmart@theeagle.com or call 979.731.4738

1729 Briarcrest, Bryan, Texas 77802 Publisher, Crystal Dupré Director of Sales and Marketing, Ron Prince Display Advertising Manager, Joanne R. Patranella 979.731.4719  joanne.patranella@theeagle.com Creative Services Manager, Jim Bob McKown 979.731.4706  jimbob@theeagle.com Special Projects Editor, Shauna Lewis 979.731.4704  shauna.lewis@theeagle.com Special Section Coordinator, Dawn Goodall 979.731.4738  dawn.goodall@theeagle.com Publication Designer, Courtney Lewellen For questions or comments, please call: 979.731.4738

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CELEBRITY style all about spring

Hair trends S

Ashley Muller Stylist

pringtime is all about fresh starts and re-invention. If you’ve been contemplating a major hair change, a short hairstyle may be your answer. Experience the liberation that comes with a ‘wash and wear’ do that’s not only fun, but versatile too. Styling options are endless: wear it straight or curly, spike it up or slick it down. Play with a variety of looks to find your signature style. Shift the focus to you with any of the hot short hair trends for Spring. Trends this season come in a variety of colors, textures and braids. Take some time to give a new look a try; you may be surprised which will end up your favorite.

The new season presents many new hair innovations to try and master. Many women will seek out a new hairstyle, color or cut. Remember to choose a style that reflects your personal taste, fits your everyday lifestyle, and one that will make you look and feel your very best. Today's hottest trends are sure to get you noticed no matter what age you are.

The braid is making a strong comeback. Have fun with sidebraided hairstyles, braids swept across the crown of your hair and even individual braided hairstyles. Color filled tresses as well as shorter styles are continuing to dominate the beauty world from the pixie cut, to short cropped and angled bobs.

Shorter styles are definitely having a moment. If you're thinking of trying out a shorter look, now is the perfect time to do so. Just make sure your look is achieved and styled by a professional for optimal results.

Shorter styles can also work wonders for any age bracket.

They can help older women appear more youthful, and take years off of your overall appearance. Or they can help someone who's younger, appear a bit older and more polished. This creates a win win situation for women of all ages. Not a fan of short hair - there’s still plenty of hair trends to consult with your stylist about to see what works and looks best for you.

Your perfect hair hue isn’t a whim or a trend. The shade that’ll make your skin glow and your eyes sparkle is rooted in color theory, chemistry and science.

Switching up your hair color is never as simple as pointing at a model in a magazine and proclaiming, “I want that!”

In fact, it’s less about the hair color you like and more about what hair color your skin likes. The perfect hair color will not only complement your skin tone and make your best facial features pop, it can also help you look years younger. “The biggest rule of thumb is that your natural hair color is the shade range that you should stay within; go too far outside of it and you’re likely to wind up with hair that is not only damaged and dull, but fake looking against your skin tone. Get it wrong and you could end up looking washed out, tired, unnatural, so make sure to schedule a consultation with a professional before making a cut or color change.

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the eagle • theeagle.com

How old is your skin?

METRO CREATIVE CONNECTION

A

s the age-old adage says, an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. That certainly applies to skincare.

Skin has different needs depending on whether you’re in your twenties, thirties, or on either side of menopause.

Although the skin’s main aging factor is genetic, pollution and unprotected exposure to the sun can prematurely age it. If it hasn’t been cared for properly, your skin can make you look even twenty years older than you really are!

Skin is at its best condition around the age of 20. At this age it produces lots of collagen and elastin, and cells are being renewed at a vigorous rate.

Thorough cleaning followed by a moisturizer is all the care a young person’s skin requires.

Small wrinkles caused by facial expressions will creep up on you

in your thirties. A wrinkle can take up to 10 years to form, but don’t panic. Just use antioxidants and serums containing vitamins C and E, and exfoliate your skin twice a week to encourage the formation of new cells.

Because of fluctuating hormone levels during the forties and fifties, the skin tends to become thinner. It is advisable to combine a polyphenol- and collagen- based day cream, which will encourage cell renewal, with a liposome-based night cream that will nourish and hydrate the skin. At this stage an eye cream is also useful in the fight against wrinkles.

No matter what your age, it goes without saying that a healthy diet and at least two litres of water per day will help you to maintain a glowing complexion.

Most important of all, be sure to protect facial skin from sun exposure. Use sunscreen before going outdoors in any season.

Healthy ways to speed up your metabolism

METRO CREATIVE CONNECTION

D

ieters are often aware of metabolism and its effect on an individual’s weight. Metabolism is a process that serves a host of important functions, including converting food and drink into energy and using energy to construct certain components of cells.

For the perpetual dieter, metabolism can be a natural-born enemy, a process that simply isn’t fast enough for dieters to lose weight.

Even more frustrating, a person’s metabolism can hinge on genetics and gender. People may inherit a speedy or slow metabolism. Gender plays a large role considering men have a tendency to burn more calories than women, even while resting. Those who inherited a speedy metabolism are often the people who can seemingly eat whatever they choose without gaining a pound.

But gaining a faster metabolism isn’t just for men or those who inherited a speedier metabolism at birth. In fact, there are several healthy ways to speed up metabolism.

Pack on some muscle. People with more muscle tend to have a higher resting metabolic rate. That’s because muscle burns more calories than fat. According to the American Council on Exercise, each pound of fat burns just two calories per day, while various estimates suggest each pound of muscle burns between 35 to 50 calories per day. Those figures might seem insignificant, but they add up over time and someone with significant muscle can burn considerably more calories than someone

without. Employ resistance training to build muscle, as such training activates muscles all over the body, increasing your daily metabolic rate as a result.

Emphasize intensity. Daily exercise is great, but high-intensity daily exercise will prove more effective at speeding up your metabolism.

Low- or moderate-intensity workouts don’t pack the same punch as high-intensity workouts, which produce a longer increase in resting metabolic rate. Sign up for a Zumba® or spin class at your gym, both of which are the kind of high-intensity cardiovascular workout that can speed up your metabolism.

Embrace grazing. Grazing is a dietary philosophy in which individuals eat five to six smaller meals every three to four hours instead of three large meals each day. Eating this way helps keep your metabolism going, and the result is you will burn more calories throughout the day than you would if you ate a more traditional diet. Of course, what you eat when grazing is important, too. Choose low-fat, high-nutrient foods, and snack on fruits and vegetables instead of more popular snacks like potato chips. Grazing on unhealthy foods won’t lead to weight loss and may even cause weight gain.

Eat more protein. Protein can serve many purposes for people trying to lose weight.

Protein has a tendency to make you feel full when you eat it, reducing the likelihood that you will overeat. In addition, the body burns more calories when digesting protein than it does while digesting fats or carbohydrates.

Turkey, low-fat dairy products, fish, nuts and beans are great sources of protein, which should not be all you eat but can be used as a periodic replacement for other foods that may slow down your metabolism.

Stay hydrated. Your metabolism will likely slow down if you allow yourself to get dehydrated. When the body does not have enough water, several of its functions, including its ability to burn calories, slow down. Muscles are roughly 70 percent water, so if they are not fully hydrated they cannot generate energy, affecting your metabolism.

In addition, the body is not as effective at using fat as fuel when it is dehydrated, further slowing your metabolism. Staying hydrated is

as easy as drinking enough water throughout the day. How much water an individual needs to stay hydrated is open to debate among medical professionals, but one study found that adults who drink eight or more glasses of water per day burned more calories than those who drank four glasses of water per day.

Many people feel they were either gifted at birth with a fast metabolism or doomed from the start with a slow metabolism. But an individual’s metabolism is not set in stone, and there are a host of healthy ways men and women can speed up their metabolism.

Lifting weights and staying hydrated are two ways to speed up your metabolism.

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spring 2013 issue no. 1

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New local program C

By SHAUNA LEWIS The Eagle

Helping patients with dizzy and balance problems ollege Station resident Edward Burns, 86, has fallen several times -- including at the mall, in his front yard and in a bamboo patch – but his participation since January in St. Joseph’s Dizzy and Balance Program has helped to keep him upright.

The St. Joseph Health System began the program in August, at St. Joseph’s Creekside Medical Office Building, 2803 Earl Rudder Freeway, Suite 101 in College Station. Physical therapists Jennifer Hudspeth and Devorah Yarbrough, who both have master’s degrees in physical therapy, treat patients in the program.

Hudspeth became certified as a vestibular rehabilitation therapist by the American Physical Therapy Association in March, after a weeklong training through Emory University in Atlanta, Ga. “We just feel like this is an area that’s missing in our community,” Hudspeth said.

There are a couple similar programs in the area. However, dizziness and balance issues affect people of all ages and for a variety of reasons, Hudspeth said. Usually patients are referred to the program by their primary physicians or ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialists, she said. Dizziness and balance disorders can be frustrating and limit driving, recreational activities, walking and getting out of bed, according to St. Joseph. The goal of the program is to find the cause of the problem and a treatment that works.

“Dizziness can happen to anyone at any age,” Hudspeth said.

Some patients have dealt with dizzy or balance problems for a while, she said. Hudspeth said a big concern with older patients is falling and breaking a hip.

“Some have gone to several doctors or just sit at home and think they have to deal with it,” Hudspeth said.

Burns, who turned out to have weakness in one leg, was one of those people. He said he often fell and couldn’t get up, but trips to several doctors to find the reason were unsuccessful before being referred to the Dizzy and Balance Program.

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Dizziness and balance problems Dizziness can be a term used to describe a sensation of lightheadedness, faintness or unsteadiness. Some people have vertigo, which includes a spinning sensation, or disequilibrium, characterized by unsteadiness, imbalance or a loss of equilibrium that is often accompanied by spatial disorientation – not knowing where one’s body is in relation to horizontal and vertical planes, according to the Vestibular Disorders Association.

The body maintains balance with sensory information from three systems: vision, propioception (touch sensors in the feet, trunk and spine) and the vestibular system (inner ear), according to the association. Sensory input from the three systems is combined and processed by the brainstem, and in response, feedback messages are sent to the eyes to help maintain steady vision and to the muscles to help maintain posture and balance.

Mixed signals from vision or propioception can usually be tolerated, according to the association, but compensating for vestibular system abnormalities is more problematic. The vestibular system resolves conflicting forms of sensory information, but when the vestibular system malfunctions, it can no longer do so, resulting in symptoms such as dizziness, vertigo and disequilibrium.

Problems with the vestibular system are commonly caused by head injury, aging and viral infection, but can also be related to genetic or environmental factors, according to the association.

One of the main causes of dizziness related to vestibular system problems, out of many, is Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV), Hudspeth said. BPPV results from loose debris that collects in the inner ear, and can occur because of degeneration of innerear hair cells during aging, according to the association. Hudspeth said people with BPPV often have an issue of feeling like the room is spinning when they go from lying down to sitting up.

The second main vestibular issue is Vestibular

the eagle • theeagle.com

Neuritis, inflammation of the inner ear, she said. Inflammation can be caused by a viral infection. According to the Mayo Clinic, symptoms can include intense, constant vertigo that may last several days, as well as nausea, vomiting and trouble with balance.

Non-vestibular causes of dizzy and balance problems can include trauma from something such as a car accident, a fall, medications such as blood pressure medicine or blood pressure issues, Hudspeth said. Other causes, according to the Vestibular Disorders Association, can be dehydration, hyperventilation, osteoarthritis, vision disturbances, stress, tension or fatigue.

“Quite frequently these people will end up in the ER because they don’t know what’s going on,” she said.

Dizzy and Balance Program Physical therapists work with audiologists, ENT physicians and other physicians to develop an appropriate individualized program for each patient, based on testing and evaluations. Diagnostic equipment, including computerized balance testing and videonystagmography (technology for testing inner ear and central motor functions) is used to measure a patient’s baseline and progress.

Fall risk assessments are also performed to help determine a patient’s safety and risk of falling.

One goal of therapy is to increase strength and balance to improve walking, daily function and decrease the risk of falls. Another goal is to optimize symmetry, which will improve postural strategies, increase levels of motor control and improve vestibular ocular reflex.

Hudspeth said some treatments include different head tilts, eye exercises or exercises that help with strength and fall prevention.

She and Yarbrough work in the program about 16 hours a week each, and recently had about eight patients apiece. Most patients range from ages 24 to 86.

Burns Burns, with weakness in one leg, had a tendency to fall to one side. Many elderly people tend to fall to one side or backward, Hudspeth said, and when they start to fall, don’t know what to do to stop the fall.

“It’s a matter of being more aware of where he was in space,” she said.

Burns said he started falling about 15 years ago, but it had progressively gotten worse. He said he felt mild dizziness, and his feet got “all tangled up.” He went to several doctors, who couldn’t pin down the reason.

“I tried a set of x-rays, which was real

NEW Building Coming this July!

Jennifer Hudspeth, a vestibular rehabilitation therapist, recently uses video goggles to inspect nystagmus on a student with St. Joseph’s Dizzy and Balance Program.

expensive,” he said about one of the more recent attempts at diagnosis. “Another one said maybe I was just old.”

One fall landed him on his front yard, so he scooted to his front doorstep, wearing out the seat of his pants in the process, he said. Burns’ last fall in a bamboo patch behind his home prompted a visit to his general doctor, who referred him to St. Joseph’s Dizzy and Balance Program. Burns was lying in the bamboo, wondering what to do, when a curious neighbor asked him what he was doing and then helped him up.

Burns started physical therapy once a week, and after six weeks, said he was doing much better and his leg was stronger. He hadn’t fallen since starting therapy, and he stopped having to use a walking stick. Burns said he had been dragging his feet, but Hudspeth had taught him how to walk correctly, and showed him how to do exercises that he could do at home.

“I’m certainly grateful, and we’re still making

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improvements,” Burns said. “I’m sure better off than I was.”

For more information on the program, call Hudspeth at 979-731-5271. For more details on dizzy and balance problems, visit http:// vestibular.org or www.mayoclinic.com.

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spring 2013 issue no. 1

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Vegetable

gardening

Grow your own food in beds or containers

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the eagle • theeagle.com

By Charla Anthony Special to The Eagle

W

hile vegetable gardening never went out of style, it is once again making headlines.

Renewed interest in growing your own food is understandable, particularly to those who have grown vegetables for years.

Gardening can be fun and good exercise. It is a great way to slow down and unwind.

Homegrown vegetables are fresh, flavorful and healthy. Each gardening season is unique, providing the opportunity to start over or try something new.

Seasoned gardeners have years of experience to draw from, and most of them have shelves lined with books on the subject. But, if you are just getting started or perhaps new to gardening in Texas, follow these simple steps and you can have a garden growing in no time.

Where, oh where can my garden be?

Sunlight is important. Vegetables need at least six, preferably eight hours of it each day.

If you don’t have that “perfect” spot, find a location with the most sunlight per day.

Also, make sure that water is nearby and easy to get to.

Bigger is not better Starting small is a good idea for beginning gardeners, even if bigger is almost always better in Texas. Most urban yards don’t have a large enough, sunny space anyway for the traditional patch of earth tilled up and planted in long rows of veggies. But, you may have a “pocket sized” garden.

Raised beds - framed with timber, brick or cinder blocks - can be placed on a level spot in a backyard. Build a raised bed to a comfortable height, fill it with amended soil or bed mix purchased at a local supplier, and you are set to grow.

After spending most of my vegetable growing years using traditional in-ground gardens, I’m a raised bed fan -very few weeds and no time on your knees. To see examples of raised beds, visit the demonstration garden in Bryan at 2619 Highway 21 West. Located adjacent to the Brazos County office of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension and tended by Master Gardeners, the site includes a variety of raised beds. A publication with a list of materials and instructions on how to build them is available at http://brazosmg.com/demonstration-ideagarden/vegetable-garden.

If you don’t have space for raised beds, then plant vegetables in containers filled with a purchased potting mix. You can move them around to where they grow best. Smaller or dwarf vegetable varieties are good choices for container gardens. Containers can be used to successfully grow almost any vegetable, except perhaps corn. But, plant breeders are even working on that.

If you opt for an in-ground garden, then shallow till the soil or gently turn the soil with a garden spade. Amend the soil by adding organic matter, a must for most soils in this region of Texas.

Compost, the ideal amendment, improves drainage and texture, while adding nutrients.

It is a brownish-black, crumbly, rich, soillike material that is produced by the natural decomposition of living things. If you don’t make your own compost, then purchase it in bulk or as a bagged product.

When to plant?

Arguably, time of planting is the most critical factor for success to grow vegetables in Texas.

In Central Texas, we can grow something every month of the year given specific variety selection and precise time of planting. For

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spring 2013 issue no. 1

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time to plant in the Brazos Valley, see the calendar at http://brazosmg.com/gardeningresources/vegetables.

An important factor to remember is that our spring and fall gardening seasons are short, sandwiched between frosts and blistering hot summers. Even then, while high temperatures cause some crops to stop production, others like okra, peppers and eggplant seem to thrive on it.

What to grow?

While many vegetables can be grown, nothing inspires and enamors gardeners like the quest for the perfect tomato. To learn the vegetable varieties, including tomatoes that are recommended for this area, check out the Brazos County Master Gardener website: http://brazosmg.com/gardening-resources/ vegetables. This resource also explains how to plant, whether to sow seeds or to set transplants. Small plants are available in local garden centers.

Plant what you enjoy eating. But, in addition to the more commonly grown vegetables, there are dozens of unique species from various ethnic cuisines. Experiment a little and try some new vegetables. You may find new favorites.

Tending your garden Veteran gardeners know that the best thing for your garden is your shadow. Visit often, fertilize and water regularly to keep the soil evenly moist.

Don’t water in the heat of the day, and avoid getting water on the leaves.

Inspect plants, especially the undersides of leaves, for insects and remove yellowing or diseased leaves. Mulch - any material used to cover and protect the soil surface - will help keep the soil moist and prevent weeds. Examples are shredded hardwood, pine needles, shredded leaves, straw and grass clippings.

Finally, harvest - enjoy the “fruits” of your labor, and if you have an abundance, share with neighbors or the local food bank.

bi-monthly Books: Texas Fruit & Vegetable Gardening: Plant, Grow, and Eat the Best Edibles for Texas Gardens by Greg Grant; The Texas Tomato Lover’s Handbook

by William D. Adams; Doug Welsh’s Texas Garden Almanac Charla Anthony is the horticulture program assistant at Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Brazos County, 2619 Texas 21 W., Bryan, Texas 77803. Her e-mail address is charla.anthony@theeagle.com.

While there is much more to know and learn about growing vegetables, these are the essentials.

Try it, and give yourself time to experience some success, learn from your failures and keep on growing.

Resources Website: Aggie Horticulture- http://aggiehorticulture.tamu.edu/ Magazine: Texas Gardener – magazine published Photos by Charla Anthony Left row, top to bottom: These Brussels sprouts, Bibb Lettuce and Honey Bear Squash were grown in the demonstration garden at 2619 Texas 21 West in Bryan. Right row: Container gardening (top) and raised gardens (middle and bottom) are easy ways to grow vegetables, and are an alternative to traditional, in-ground gardening (photo on page 11).

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422 Tarrow Street, College Station spring 2013 issue no. 1

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Lung with nodule

New GPS-like technology is helping diagnose small lung lesions

By SHAUNA LEWIS The Eagle

A

fter Dana Boullion found out she had a small lesion on her lungs by accident in December, she became the first patient to undergo a new, minimally-invasive method of diagnosis using GPS-like technology at the College Station Medical Center.

Her doctor took an X-ray of her chest while checking into her high blood pressure. The X-ray showed she had a spot (also referred to as a lesion or nodule) on her lungs, and she was referred to Dr. Anthony Zachria at the College Station Medical Center. A spot can be caused by infection, inflammation or cancer.

“That was scary,” Boullion said. “Immediately I thought I had cancer. But I was really lucky I found it by accident.”

Zachria had Boullion, 52, of Franklin, undergo a positive emission tomography (PET) scan, an imaging test that can help show how tissue and organs are functioning. For a PET scan, a radioactive material is put inside the patient, and it accumulates in areas that have higher levels of chemical activity. This often corresponds to areas of disease and shows up as brighter spots on the PET scan.

The PET scan on Dec. 18 showed that Boullion had three spots on her lung – one of which glowed on the scan, prompting further inspection, Boullion said.

The finding came just in time for Boullion to avoid more invasive means of diagnosis. She became College Station Medical Center’s first patient to undergo an iLogic Electromagnetic Navigation Bronchoscopy

(ENB), which showed she didn’t have lung cancer. SuperDimension, a privatelyheld medical device company based in Minneapolis, Minn., released the new ENB in 2009, and it became available at College Station Medical Center in December – the only hospital in the Brazos Valley to have the technology.

Traditional bronchoscopy -- a procedure during which a bronchoscope (tubelike instrument with a light and lens for viewing) is passed through the nose or mouth and used to examine the inside of the trachea, airways leading to the lungs and the lungs – is one of the least invasive, effective means for examining a lung lesion and taking sample tissues. However, it only reaches the first one-third of the lungs and often fails to reach small lesions.

SuperDimension’s new ENB system also allows doctors to use the natural airway, but enables them to extend beyond the reach of traditional bronchoscopy and take tissue samples from smaller lung lesions. As a result, patients can avoid more invasive, higher-risk methods for obtaining biopsies.

“It’s really kind of revolutionized the way we proceed with these small lesions,” Zachria said.

Diagnosing lung spots Lung spots are often discovered from a chest X-ray; a computed tomography (CT) scan that produces multiple images of the lungs and offers cross-section

views; or a PET scan. The patient’s history is considered first before determining how to proceed, Zachria said. For instance, if a patient had a CT scan four or five years earlier that shows a lesion on the lungs, and the spot hasn’t grown, it likely doesn’t require further inspection. For several cases, though, a biopsy is required for diagnosing a lung lesion.

Zachria said a CT scan would show a lesion as small as 1.5 to 2 centimeters, but it would

be impossible with traditional bronchoscopy to navigate through a patient’s airways to get to the nodule for sampling – even if the spot is within the technology’s limited reach.

“You could never hope to get at something this small using traditional bronchoscopy in the past,” he said.

Before superDimension’s ENB, that left patients either waiting and re-testing to see if the lesion changed or invasive surgical options

for diagnosing small lesions. One option is transthoracic needle aspiration, an outpatient procedure during which a radiologist places a long needle between the ribs and into the lung lesion to take a sample tissue. The problem, Zachria said, is that sometimes the needle goes through good lung tissue. Patients are at risk of a collapsed lung, which requires a chest tube to be inserted between the ribs to

♦

This image shows a doctor using Electromagnetic Navigation Bronchoscopy on a patient.

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spring 2013 issue no. 1

| 13

re-expand the lungs.

People such as smokers or those with lung disease such as emphysema are at a higher risk of having a collapsed lung, Zachria said.

According to superDimension, the risk of a collapsed lung could be as high as 50 percent, and the position of the lesion might not allow for the procedure.

Another option is thoracic surgery, in which all or part of a lung is removed. A long incision is made between the ribs and a wedge resection (triangular piece of lung tissue) is removed for diagnosis. The procedure requires a chest tube to be inserted, and can result in up to about a week of hospitalization.

SuperDimension’s ENB outpatient procedure allows a physician to put a catheter through the vocal cords and into the lungs to locate, test and potentially treat a lung lesion in the outer area of the lung. During the planning stage, the iLogic software uses a CT image of the lungs to create a threedimensional image of a person’s bronchial tree and a roadmap to a lesion. General anesthesia and a breathing machine is used during the procedure, Zachria said, to prevent a patient

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coughing or moving.

The roadmap is used during the procedure, when an electromagnetic localization system tracks the real-time position of a guide catheter with a location sensor at its tip to target the lesion area in the lungs. The guide catheter, unlike with traditional bronchoscopy, allows for 360-degree steerability through the bronchial tree.

Once arriving at the lesion, the location sensor is removed from the catheter, so that diagnostic or therapeutic tools can be inserted.

Tools can be inserted for washings, brushings or biopsy – three ways to obtain cell samples.

Fiducial markers, small pieces of solid gold, can also be inserted into lesions of patients in a later stage of cancer who are candidates for radiation treatment. The markers can be left in the lungs, so that a radiologist can narrow the radiation beam and direct them toward the markers – lessening the amount of tissue damaged by radiation, Zachria said. For those in Stage 1 of lung cancer, the earliest stage, the treatment is to remove the lesion.

With the ENB procedure, there is less risk of bleeding than with more invasive biopsy procedures, Zachria said. The risk of a collapsed lung is about 3 percent, according to superDimension.

Zachria; Dr. Rajesh Harrykissoon, also with College Station Medical Center; and a Scott and White pulmonary doctor have performed a total of about 12 ENB procedures at the College Station Medical Center. boullion's case Boullion, a former smoker, said she felt lucky that her doctor found the lung lesion while investigating her high blood pressure, which has since been solved by switching blood pressure medicines. Boullion said her options were having a thoracotomy; transthoracic needle aspiration; waiting and taking a CT scan every two months to see if the lesion grew; or ENB. Boullion said Zachria’s recommended diagnostic method, an ENB, was an easy choice to make. She didn’t want to wait, and it was the least invasive method for diagnosis.

Boullion said she didn’t feel any pain during or after the outpatient procedure that took about two and a half hours, and she didn’t have to take any prescription medicines afterward.

the eagle • theeagle.com

“I’d do it again in a heart beat,” she said.

“You didn’t even know they did anything to you. I was back (home) that night eating what I wanted to eat … It was no big deal.”

Biopsies of her lesion showed no cancer cells, but as a precaution, another CT scan will be taken in May to check whether there are any changes to the area. The lesion could be caused by inflammation, Zachria said.

For more information on lung cancer and diagnosis, visit www.superdimension.com, www.spotonyourlung.com, www.lung.org or www.cancer.org.

Vitamins and

cancer prevention METRO CREATIVE CONNECTION

P

eople take daily vitamin supplements for a variety of reasons. Many believe that vitamins will serve as an insurance policy of sorts should they not be consuming the necessary vitamins and minerals through their diets. Others believe that vitamin supplements will ease certain ailments or help prevent diseases, such as cancer. Beliefs such as these have helped the dietary supplements business become a

billion-dollar industry.

There have been many clinical studies conducted to look into the correlation between vitamin supplements and the prevention of certain types of cancer. Understanding the results can be confusing. There is no magic formula for consuming a broad-spectrum vitamin supplement to serve as a blanket remedy for preventing cancer. However, there have been some studies that show certain vitamins may help lower risk for specific cancers. For example, a study published in 2010 found women who had high levels of vitamin A and C in their bodies, whether from diet or supplement use, had fewer cases of cervical cancer compared to women with lower levels of these vitamins. Vitamin B6 has been known to have various benefits, including reducing a person’s risk of developing lung, breast and colon cancer. Those with high blood levels of B6 have a lower risk, but there is no proof that taking B6 supplements will have the same benefits. Some studies indicate that vitamin E supplements may reduce men’s risk of

developing prostate cancer. Studies in the 1970s suggested that high doses of vitamin C could be an alternative cancer treatment, says The Mayo Clinic. These findings were debunked when it was discovered the research methods used to reach the conclusions were flawed. Subsequent studies did not corroborate the 1970s results.

However, more attention is now being paid to administering vitamin C intravenously, which has different effects than when the vitamin is taken orally. Until clinical trials are completed, researchers cannot say for sure if intravenous vitamin C will be the new all-natural cancer cure.

It is important to note that taking vitamin supplements at the suggested levels should be relatively safe for most people. Individuals should not super-dose vitamins in an effort to achieve better health results. Also, people should discuss any vitamin supplement use with doctors, as some supplements may cause potentially harmful interactions with certain medications.

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SUNROOMS - WINDOWS - PATIO COVERS spring 2013 issue no. 1

| 15

Local events clean up community

and celebrate Earth Day E

By STACY CANTU Special to The Eagle

vents are held worldwide on or near Earth Day on April 22 to increase awareness and appreciation of the Earth’s natural environment, including the local Texas Trash-Off, Brazos Valley Earth Day and Burleson County’s Big Spring Clean.

The events are held annually to celebrate the earth and to renew the community’s commitment to build a safer, healthier and cleaner world.

Texas Trash-Off Amy Reed, executive director of Keep Brazos Beautiful, said the Texas Trash-Off, to be held April 13, brings friends, families and neighbors together in a united effort to help care for Aggieland.

“Events like the Texas Trash-Off truly foster a sense of community, allowing for all walks of life to join together in one coordinated effort, resulting in a genuine sense of pride,” Reed said.

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Volunteers for the Trash-Off will participate on teams by assisting with litter removal at designated areas throughout the BryanCollege Station area. The registration deadline is March 26, and the first 500 volunteers to register are guaranteed an event T-shirt.

Children are encouraged to volunteer, and must be accompanied by an adult.

“Our kids are some of the best volunteers,” Reed said. “We even have a clean-up site for families with children under the age of 5.”

Volunteers are invited to an after party at the Brazos Center, where lunch will be provided, door prizes will be given away and the annual Most Unique Item Found contest will be held.

“We hold the Most Unique Item Found contest every year at Texas Trash-Off, and it is always a favorite of the participants,” Reed said. “The vote is by crowd approval, and each year seems to bring new items and new competition. I believe the winner last year was a 6-year-old little girl with a whoopie cushion.”

During last year’s event, 558 volunteers picked up more than 6.5 tons of trash and debris and more than 400 abandoned tires in just 30 trash pick-up locations between Bryan and College Station, Reed said.

Volunteers can register as a team or as an individual by going to www. volgistics.com/ex/portal.dll/ ap?AP=321764484.

“Each volunteer will create an account in Volgistics, our online volunteer management program,” Reed said. “The great thing about this program is that volunteers will only need to register in the system once, and then they can just sign in to register for future

the eagle • theeagle.com

events.”

For more information on the Trash-Off, visit www.keepbrazosbeautiful.org/programs/ dontmesswithtexastrashoff.

Brazos Valley Earth Day Brazos Valley Earth Day will be held on April 20 at Wolf Pen Creek in College Station.

The free event will feature live music by local bands and environmental education displays and demonstrations.

Heather Qualls, recycling coordinator for the city of College Station, said Brazos Valley Earth Day is the only event of its kind in the region.

The community-wide, community-specific public education event holds something for everyone, and will offer fun and games, as well as educational information on recycling, energy, health and water conservation, she said.

“Representative business and service organizations from throughout the area will provide environmental information, educational demonstrations and displays on water conservation, water quality, energy conservation, wildlife preservation, recycling, waste reduction, composting, tree planting and many other environmental topics,” Qualls said.

Qualls expects there to be more than 100 vendors at the event. Volunteers are also needed to help collect litter, provide refreshments to exhibitors and assist the stage crew.

The Brazos Valley Earth Day committee consists of the cities of College Station and Bryan, Twin Oaks Landfill, Keep Brazos Beautiful and the Texas A&M University Physical Plant.

For more information, visit www. brazosvalleyearthday.com.

Big Spring Clean The Burleson County Big Spring Clean will be held from April 20 to April 27, when volunteers will pick up roadside trash throughout the county. An “Unusual Litter” photo contest will be held at the end of the week, so volunteers are encouraged to keep an

eye out for unique items.

The Big Spring Clean will kick off on April 20 with the Trash Dash 5K Run. Pre-registration for the run ends April 12, and is $15. The cost after pre-registration and on the morning of the event is $20. Sign in begins at 7:30 a.m., followed by the run/walk at 8 a.m. A funny spectator sign contest will be held, and 5K participants will vote on their favorite sign at the event.

The annual Bi-cycle Rodeo, which features an obstacle course and a skills test, and the Dr. Robert E. Basye Garden Party will also be held on April 20. Admission is free to the Garden Party. Vendors at the event will provide information on and sell garden art, plants and herbs. The deadline to register as a vendor is March 30.

A city-wide garage sale will start off the annual Trash Bash on April 27 in downtown Caldwell. Other Trash Bash events will include a crawfish boil, a Recycled Sculpture contest and the annual Trash’in Fashion Show.

Brenda Van De Walle, executive director of the Burleson County Chamber of Commerce, said, “The Trash’in Fashion Show is always a huge hit. It draws a big crowd.”

The night will end with a street dance featuring a live performance by Shakedown, a band from Austin.

According to the 2012 Big Spring Clean website, volunteers of last year’s event cleaned up more than 5,000 tires, 600 cubic yards of trash, 13,000 pounds of hazardous household

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To register for the 5K and for more information on the Big Spring Clean, including a list of collection stations, visit www.burlesoncountytx.com/springclean.

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spring 2013 issue no. 1

| 17

Eco-friendly ways to alter your

professional life METRO CREATIVE CONNECTION

T

he benefits of adopting a more ecofriendly lifestyle are numerous and well documented. In addition to helping the environment, an ecofriendly lifestyle can have a positive impact on personal health.

Though many people are aware of the myriad of ways they can make eco-friendly changes in their personal life, it’s also important to note the ways to do so in their professional lives.

Instituting a few eco-friendly changes in your professional life is a great way to help the environment, and doing so may also benefit you and your business’ bottom line.

Start with your commute. Many professionals commute to work five days per week, and that commute presents a great opportunity to make some eco-friendly changes to your daily routine.

Instead of driving to work each day, investigate the possibility of taking public transportation.

Public transportation reduces the amount of cars on the road, which helps to cut down on fuel consumption and air pollution. Taking public transportation to work also saves you money, as the cost of a monthly bus or rail pass is likely much less than the cost of filling up your gas tank.

If public transportation is not an option, then suggest a car pool with coworkers who live in your area. Each person can take turns driving from week to week, which will save you money on fuel and reduce the amount of wear and tear on your vehicle. What’s more, instituting a car

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pool may cut down on your commute time if your community has a carpool lane on its major highways.

Forget you have a printer. Nowadays, fewer and fewer people rely on printed documents to get through the workday. Advances with regard to computer technology has made it just as easy to read documents on a computer screen as it is to do so on a sheet of paper. If you’re among the last to embrace this growing trend, think of the environment before you print your next document and opt to read documents on your desktop rather than printing them out.

Instead of leaving notes for coworkers, send them e-mails instead. This saves paper, which in turn will save your company money, and it also reduces your reliance on ink that can potentially harm the environment.

When making presentations, do so using slides rather than printing materials and handing them out in a packet. E-mail coworkers the presentation in advance and print out a single copy for the meeting rather than printing multiple copies.

If you and your coworkers simply must print documents, try to use two-sided printing and copying to reduce your paper usage. And urge your office manager to order supplies made from recycled materials and discard of any potentially harmful products, including ink cartridges, in an eco-friendly way.

Don’t give up on your computer too quickly.

Many professionals use their home computer for work-related reasons from time to time. If you find your computer struggles when you

the eagle • theeagle.com

work from home, investigate ways to improve the computer’s performance instead of seeking a replacement. Adding RAM might be enough to make your computer run more smoothly when you have multiple programs running, and that addition can be made at a fraction of the cost of buying a new computer. If an upgrade won’t do the trick and you decide to replace your computer, recycle it rather than simply throwing it out with the trash.

Set your computer to power-saving mode at the end of the day. Researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that the energy savings when a computer is in “sleep” mode as opposed to being turned off completely are negligible. But professionals should set their computer so it goes into a power-saving mode after a certain period of being idle. In addition, get rid of screensavers, which require energy and no longer have any positive impact on the life expectancy of your computer monitor.

Going green is something that can be done in both your personal and professional life.

Successfully fend off

workplace fatigue METRO CREATIVE CONNECTION

F

atigue can prove a formidable foe to anyone. Exercise enthusiasts and couch potatoes alike periodically can suffer from fatigue, which can affect performance at work and one’s relationships with friends and family.

Fatigue can be temporary or chronic, and while quick fixes like an energy drink might work for a little while, such solutions may only mask fatigue for a brief period before it returns once the stimulant wears off. Many times fending off fatigue involves making some lifestyle changes that can boost your energy over the long haul and make fatigue a distant memory.

Eat breakfast no matter what. According to a study published in the International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, a high-fiber, high-carbohydrate breakfast can increase alertness between breakfast and lunch, a period of time during which many professionals begin to feel fatigue settling

in. Whole-wheat toast or a bowl of highfiber cereal can pack an energetic punch that lasts all the way to lunchtime.

Choose high-energy snacks. One of the problems many people have when dealing with fatigue is how they choose to combat their feelings of sluggishness. Eating a candy bar from the office snack machine might seem like the ideal energy booster, but a sugar boost does not last very long.

Chances are your feelings of fatigue will return sooner rather than later.

Give yourself a break. Burning the midnight oil might be necessary, but failing to take breaks throughout the day will likely exasperate any feelings of fatigue. That’s because taking periodic breaks throughout the workday has been proven to be very effective at combating fatigue. A study conducted at Louisiana State University compared a trio of different work schedules for workers who used a computer. Those who took brief, frequent breaks were better at fighting fatigue and more productive

at work than those who did not. A short break of 5 to 10 minutes can be enough to provide an immediate energy boost and fend off feelings of fatigue.

Hit the road, Jack. Another way to effectively fight fatigue is to get walking. A decades-old study conducted by a researcher at California State University, Long Beach, found that walking briskly for 10 minutes provides people with more energy than eating a candy bar. Though the candy bar led to an initial energy boost, that boost died down within an hour, whereas the boost provided by a brisk walk increased energy levels for roughly two hours. Get up and walk around the office or take a brisk walk around the block or the parking lot of your office complex. You’ll come back to your desk refreshed and ready to resume your workday.

Fatigue is no laughing matter for many men and women. But a few tried and tested fatigue-fighting methods can increase your energy and productivity.

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spring 2013 issue no. 1

| 19

The beauty of upcycling METRO CREATIVE CONNECTION

E

verything old is new again. At least that’s a simplistic take on the tenets of upcycling, which translates to giving renewed purpose to something others send to landfills.

For consumers with a passion for doit-yourself projects, and the boards on Pinterest to prove it, upcycling has taken root. Some ideas are as simple as investing in a set of sharpies to transform ordinary cabinetry knobs into one-of-a-kind home accessories.

Others require more time, as in creating a working chandelier from white plastic spoons. It’s a small step considering that Americans throw out enough disposable dinnerware to circle the equator 300 times, according to

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www.earth911.com.

The Internet is littered with statistics estimating when our landfills will reach a tipping point. Other stats concentrate on the fact that trash must travel farther to meet its fate, which contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, individual states continue to consider putting in place stricter regulations for commercial businesses in order to save landfill space.

In answer to the call for smarter manufacturing practices, many brands have found ways to reduce their contribution to landfills. For instance, fashion brand H&M recently announced its partnership with I:Collect. H&M customers may donate any article of clothing from any brand to any H&M retailer worldwide

the eagle • theeagle.com

in exchange for a store voucher.

I:Collect then repurposes the donated clothing. Since The Council of Textile Recycling reports that the average American throws away 70 pounds of clothing each year, this is yet another small dent in keeping usable materials out of landfills.

Another example is upcycling pioneer, Nike. Its Reuse-a-Shoe program launched in 1990, with more than 1.5 million pairs of post-consumer shoes now collected annually. Today, the company transforms those recycled shoes into Nike Grind, an ingredient used in making rubber flooring for gyms and weight rooms, along with running tracks and playground surfaces.

For some, finding meaning in

Separating your trash gives you an understanding of exactly what you throw away, helping you make better choices. waste, especially when it comes to manufacturing, may be a new idea.

However, many companies have been out in front of this trend long before it became fashionable. For instance, ECORE is North America’s largest consumer of recycled scraptire rubber, reusing over 80 million pounds of material each year. Rubber is engineered to never degrade, decompose or deteriorate. This is a great quality, except when tires are left to decompose in a landfill. The company partners with Nike and uses Nike Grind as an ingredient in its recycled rubber flooring.

“At ECORE, we don’t just follow best practices - instead we develop smarter processes and systems to make best practices better,” says ECORE chairman and CEO, Arthur Dodge III. “It’s how we produce 2.6 million pounds of waste a year, but send only 1.3 percent of it to the landfill.”

Recycling rubber might be too high of a commitment when at home, but there are a few easy steps people can

take to keep reusable waste out of landfills: Separate trash: If you don’t already, separate your trash over the course of a week or two. In doing so, you’ll gain an understanding for exactly what you throw away. Once you know what you have, find the right recycling centers in your community.

And when it comes to food, consider composting.

Research alternatives: A certain segment of do-it-yourselfers already appreciate that one man’s garbage is another man’s treasure. Think about all the ways you can use, and reuse, materials in your home.

Buy smart: A little consideration in advance can go a long way in making your purchasing decisions. That may mean investing in products that are higher in quality, but enjoy a longer lifespan.

To learn more about ECORE-and its mission to create solutions that eliminate wastefulness, visit www. ecoreintl.com. (BPT)

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air has a new look Nancy Pride this spring. Long, full hair is “in”, as well as all those things you can do with long hair. Problem? Is your hair short or thin? Not really a problem because there are a myriad of ways to achieve a long, luscious look, with extensions, half or three-quarter wigs, braids and assorted hairpieces, not to mention full wigs in any color imaginable.

You’ll see the longer length on movie stars and entertainers of all ages. All those cascading locks are not growing out of their heads. Instead, extensions, both human hair and synthetic, clip into place to add volume and length.

For those wanting the hair away from the face, the hair can be gathered to form a low, casual ponytail. It looks carefree, not impeccably groomed. Add attractive ponytail hair accessories and a few wisps of hair around the face. If your hair is long enough for a short pony and you don’t need extensions, add a faux ponytail that has a strand of hair to cover the rubber band and attachment. Pull to the side to complement the face.

Can’t get used to the longer look? Try a loose braid with synthetic braids woven in for texture and volume to create an updo. Add a scarf and you’ll be ready for the runway.

The easiest add-on volume creator is the half or three-quarter wig. Simply pressure-clip the wig like a cap on the back ¾ of the head. Style your own hair over the wig so it looks totally natural. Wear it long or use a hair clip to pull it into a casual up swing.

If you are adventurous, add strips of bold color (think blue or pink.) These also use pressure clips. The good news: you can be fashionably trendy, then be work-appropriate by simply removing the color strips.

Full wigs can be any color or any style. The important thing is to get a good fit. Wigs can be enlarged or reduced to fit the head. Pressure clips can be added to ensure attachment.

Nancy Pride owns Morgan Fitzgerald’s and Merle Norman Cosmetics.

spring 2013 issue no. 1

| 21

Cutting down on trash

By Holli Koster Special to The Eagle

Where to recycle in Brazos County

F

or Brazos Valley residents who remain on the fence about recycling, Keep Brazos Beautiful Executive Director Amy Reed says the environmental benefits are numerous.

“It limits the amount of pollution and possible litter in our community,” Reed said.

“It is the No. 1 diversion of excessive trash filling up our landfills.”

At a time when roughly 54 percent of the items Americans discard enters landfills -- according to the 2010 Municipal Solid Waste Characterization Report – the urgency for cities to divert trash through recycling programs is high. By comparison, a scant 34 percent of items made it to recycling and composting facilities.

Local recycling services offered by the cities of Bryan and College Station take some of the guesswork out of recycling for Brazos County residents.

“Whether you are a resident in College Station who receives curbside service or a resident in Bryan who has the option of taking items to the Recycle Center located in the Walmart shopping center parking lot on Briarcrest, we each have an opportunity to help make our piece of the local environment a little bit better,” Reed said.

She added that every resident in Brazos County also has the opportunity to utilize the drop-off recycling center on the Texas A&M University campus, located at 204 South College Avenue. It accepts some items the city services do not (such as books and various types of paper).

College Station For College Station – the region’s largest generator of waste – Heather Qualls, the city’s recycling coordinator said it is to the city’s benefit to develop, offer and promote recycling to keep disposal costs low for taxpayers.

“Waste reduction is an important part of conservation, not only for being environmentally conscious, but also in maximizing the lifespan of the locally-owned landfill,” she said.

When garbage isn’t recycled, it goes to the landfill and takes up valuable, limited space, Qualls said.

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“The landfill is the end of the story for garbage and the land it uses,” she said. “With advancements in technology, garbage is being turned into every day items. Plastic bottles are being used in carpet manufacturing, and we can recycle aluminum cans over and over again.”

The repurposing and remanufacturing possibilities are endless, Qualls said.

Currently more than 70 percent of College Station residents already participate in College Station’s curbside recycling program – with a sizeable portion of participants being students.

The city of College Station accepts glass bottles and jars (clear and brown), plastic containers, metal cans, magazines, newspapers, phone books and white paper and car batteries (lead-acid), through its curbside recycling program.

Residents also have the opportunity to participate in weekly Clean Green Brush Collection – in which the city collects heavy brush from residents to be shredded and composted or recycled into a soil amendment or natural fertilizer at the Bryan Compost Facility.

The city picks up bulky items – such as kitchen appliances, furniture and flattened cardboard – weekly when they are placed within three feet of the curb.

For more information on recycling options in College Station, visit www.cstx.gov/recycle or call Qualls at 979-764-6229.

Bryan The city of Bryan was one of the first to launch a publicly owned and operated drivein recycling center. Since 2007, the facility at 2202 Briarcrest Drive has diverted more than 2,900 tons of recyclable materials from entering the regional landfill.

The drive-in center, which is open 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 5:30 p.m. Sunday, accepts glass (clear, brown and amber), plastic (No. 1 and No. 2, clear or solid), plastic grocery store bags, metal (aluminum and steel/tin), paper (newspapers, magazines, corrugated cardboard, white office paper and phone books), cell phones and batteries and e-waste (rechargeable batteries).

the eagle • theeagle.com

The drive-in recycling center also accepts tires from Bryan residents.

Bryan residents who recycle can receive a free month of garbage service by bringing the receipt portion of their most recent utility bill or the automatic draft receipt to the recycling center when they recycle – once per year.

The city of Bryan also offers a used oil, filter and cooking grease recycling center for residents to use free of charge, at 1111 Waco St., next to the Municipal Service Center off Martin Luther King Boulevard.

Composting The city of Bryan also operates a compost facility, located at 2988 Pleasant Hill Road – the destination for heavy brush collected by Bryan and College Station pick-up programs.

The city of Bryan says it tests bio-solids entering the facility quarterly to ensure it meets the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality’s numeric limits and it processes compost further to eliminate harmful pathogens. The finished products are tested quarterly to ensure compliance for pathogens, metals, salts, germination and other criteria.

For more details For additional information on recycling many types of items – from automobile waste to large appliances and computers – in and around Bryan and College Station, visit www.keepbrazosbeautiful.org/environment/ recycling and follow the link to Bryan-College Station Recycling Centers.

Easy ways to improve memory

METRO CREATIVE CONNECTION

E

veryone forgets things from time to time. Periodically forgetting where you left your keys is likely not indicative of a bad memory. But some people find themselves forgetting things more frequently, a troubling development for those who can’t explain their sudden loss of memory.

Memory loss is often considered to go hand-in-hand with aging. As a person ages, conventional wisdom suggests memory will begin to fade. But sometimes memory loss has nothing to do with aging, and a lot to do with a brain that isn’t sharp because of an unhealthy lifestyle. The following are a few ways men and women can improve their memory.

Get some sleep. Men and women who aren’t getting enough sleep can almost certainly blame that lack of shut-eye for at least some of their memory loss. When you don’t get enough sleep, your brain’s ability to think critically, solve problems and even be creative is compromised considerably. In addition, research has shown that memory-enhancing activities occur during the deepest stages of sleep, further highlighting the importance of

getting a full night of interruption-free rest.

Hit the gym. Exercise is another activity that can improve memory. Daily physical exercise increases the amount of oxygen that gets to your brain while reducing the risk for certain disorders, including diabetes and cardiovascular disease, both of which can lead to memory loss.

Manage stress effectively. Stress has a host of negative side effects, not the least of which is its impact on your memory. Chronic stress that goes untreated can destroy brain cells and damage the region of the brain that deals with the formation of new memories as well as the retrieval of older memories. Numerous studies have shown that men and women cite their career as their primary source of stress. Since quitting your job is likely not an option, find ways to manage your stress more effectively. This may mean finding a way to make the most of your time, be it working more efficiently, emphasizing planning ahead or even vowing to stop procrastinating. Other ways to manage stress include making time to relax and recognizing that you have limits while seeking the help of others.

Make some dietary changes. Diet can also have an impact on memory. What you eat is

fuel for both your body and your brain, and a poor diet can have a negative impact on your memory. Be sure to include omega-3 fatty acids, sources of which include salmon, tuna and other cold water fatty fish, in your diet.

Research has shown that omega-3 fatty acids, which can also be found in walnuts, can boost brain power and possibly reduce your risk for Alzheimer’s disease.

Foods with antioxidants, including fruits and vegetables, can also protect your brain cells from damage, which can have a positive impact on your memory. Leafy green vegetables like spinach, romaine lettuce and arugula, as well as fruits like apricots, mangoes and cantaloupe are good sources of antioxidants.

A diet high in saturated fat, which is found in red meat, whole milk, butter and cheese, has been found to have a negative impact on memory. Research has shown that such a diet increases a person’s risk of developing dementia while impairing an individual’s ability to concentrate and remember things.

Loss of memory is often a momentary lapse, but those who find themselves becoming more and more forgetful can take steps to improve their memory and their quality of life.

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