And the Oscar goes to…
…. who? Have fun watching, and may the best man/woman/picture win.
Grab Bag How to Use Your Noggin:
More than a decade ago Dr. Fred Gage (he was obviously one of the “smart kids” in everybody’s 8th grade lab group) at the Salk Institute in San Diego proved that exercise increases the rate at which we (and all animals) produce new brain cells. In addition, he put a group of well-exercised mice through mazes and they DOMINATED their sluggish brethren.
But wait… don’t run off to your treadmills just yet. Cut to today, where a flurry of new research has just been released. In it, they have discovered some of the “Why” behind that “What” from a decade ago. Apparently exercise stimulates your adult stem cells (your brain is packed with ’em) to divide and create either new stem cells or baby neurons, both of which are a really good thing.
Seems there is a protein in your brain (and many other places in your body) called BMP (bone-morphogenetic protein) that acts as a regulator, if you will (not always bad, not always good, either). Without exercise, BMP levels actually rise, and put the brakes on adult stem cell division in your brain (and lord knows, we want more stem cells and baby neurons, so we can DOMINATE the mazes, right?).
Thanks to Brainrules.net for the image above
There is another protein in your brain called, I kid you not, Noggin (someone had a sense of humor). In this case, it is the Luke Skywalker to BMP’s Darth Vader.
Exercise seems to change the levels of BMP and Noggin in our favor, and voilá, stem cell picnic begins.
Interesting side note: Noggin can go nuts and, if unopposed by BMP, stimulate the brain to churn out round after round of stem cells until it exhausts the system. So our fabulous network of checks and balances makes sure we stay on an even keel.
BOTTOM LINE: We were meant to move. Initial research is suggesting that it doesn’t really take exhaustive amounts of exercise to trigger this system in our favor, but the message is that a sedentary lifestyle is deleterious to our minds, as well as our bodies.
Grab Bag Oscar Bingo:
This brings a new twist to the Oscars… click on the image below to access the webpage of Thrillist.com, and you will find this hilarious bingo card graphic. When you get there, you can hit the “Print” button next to it to get your own copy. For each person watching the Oscars with you, hit the “Randomize” button and print again, yielding unique “bingo” cards for each person.
Up the ante and try 2 cards per person. Put money on it… see who wins at the end of the night. This could keep things interesting when the show hits a lull between Best Documentary Short Subject and the guy from Price Waterhouse testifying that he slept with the ballots in his mattress.
Grab Bag Superfoods:
These celebs of the nutrition world should all be on your hit parade… daily when possible. You’ll love the last few…
Images and information courtesy of EverydayHealth.com
Grab Bag DIY:
(Design It Yourself)
Very cool…..Design and purchase your own shoes, boots and handbags at:
COOLEST PART ALERT…
Have a dream shoe that is the toe of a Tory and the back of a Blahnik? Jeff Silverman will make it happen for you. Upload pictures, describe what you want, they send you 6 view photos of a mock up, and for about $125 and 3 WEEKS OR LESS, you have your one-of-a-kind. EVEN BETTER…. they put the shoe up for sale… and every time someone buys it, you get $15!! Get a collection going and they’ll give you your own store.
Grab Bag Brain Game:
It looks simple enough….. as the clock runs, click on the portions of words from each column that will make a complete word. I will just say this… I found it a bit surprising.
Grab Bag Funny Stuff:
Back in the days (1974) when we could, A) have a sense of humor, B) not take ourselves too seriously, and C) make fun of attorneys with impudence, these letters were exchanged… perhaps the greatest corporate response of all time:
(Need it enlarged? Hold down the Apple or Command key (Mac) or Control key (PC) while hitting the + key)
LK's Grab Bag 
Leave a Reply