Tuesday 29 May 2012

Biological psychology


In psychology, biological psychology, also known as biopsychology and psychobiology, is the application of the principles of biology to the study of mental processes and behavior. A psychobiologist, for instance, may compare the unfamiliarimprinting behavior in goslings to the early attachment behavior in human infants and construct theory around these two phenomena. Biological psychologists may often be interested in measuring some biological variable, e.g. an anatomical, physiological, or genetic variable, in an attempt to relate it quantitatively or qualitatively to a psychological or behavioral variable, and thus contribute to evidence based practice.
The study of biological psychology dates back to Avicenna (980-1037 A.D.), a Persian psychologist and physician who in The Canon of Medicine, recognized physiological psychology in the treatment of illnesses involving emotions, and developed a system for associating changes in the pulse rate with inner feelings, which is seen as an anticipation of the word association test. Avicenna also gave psychological explanations for certain somatic illnesses, and he always linked the physical and psychological illnesses together. He explained that humidity inside the head can contribute to mood disorders, and he recognized that this occurs when the amount of breath changes: happiness increases the breath, which leads to increased moisture inside the brain, but if this moisture goes beyond its limits, the brain would lose control over its rationality and lead to mental disorders.
Biological psychology as a scientific discipline later emerged from a variety of scientific and philosophical traditions in the 18th and 19th centuries. In philosophy, men like Rene Descartes proposed physical models to explain animal and human behavior. Descartes, for example, suggested that the pineal gland, a midline unpaired structure in the brain of many organisms, was the point of contact between mind and body. Descartes also elaborated on a theory in which the pneumatics of bodily fluids could explain reflexes and other motor behavior. This theory was inspired by moving statues in a garden in Paris.
Other philosophers also helped give birth to psychology. One of the earliest textbooks in the new field, The Principles of Psychology by William James (1890), argues that the scientific study of psychology should be grounded in an understanding of biology:

Losing Weight and Good Health

Losing Weight and Good Health

If you want to lose weight then knowing how many calories you eat and burn will be important. Here are some guidelines you can use.

The total calories that you should be consuming depend on whether you are a women or a man. It depends on your body structure and your activity level. So you need to make some adjustment on the numbers I present.

If you have been eating around 1800 calories per day you can slowly move your intake down to 1600. Work down from this level over a month's period to 1400 calories. Don't go below 1200 calories per day. Otherwise you can over stress your body.

If you have just started out and are eating 2400 calories, decrease your calories to 2000 or 2100. If you don't lose weight in 2-3 weeks reduce your calories lower. Over a month's time you can move down to 1600 calories and see if you start to lose weight. If you do, stay at this level.

It's not a good idea to make a drastic shift in your consumption of food since your body can react and get into a "starving mode." In this mode your body will store more fat making it difficult for you to lose weight.

Remember not to eat junk food. When you eat quality food, it takes less food for you to become satisfied as compared to eating junk food.

Protein, Carbohydrates, and Fat

There are many ideas about what combination or percentages you should eat of the various nutrients - protein, carbohydrates, and fat. I don't believe that exact percentages exist, which will provide weight loss and good health for all individuals. Each one of you will require different percentages depending on your weight, health, body structure, emotional make-up and a variety of other conditions. For this reason some diet programs work with some people and not with others.

One of best eating habit programs that will help you to lose weight is to eat:

* quality protein

* low glycemic carbohydrates

* quality fats

* high fiber

* high water consumption

Quality Protein - is essential for the body to survive. There 8 essential amino acids and 14 non-essential. Protein is used to regulate certain body processes by contributing to various chemical reactions and by creating a number of body chemicals.

Eating excess protein results in an acid body, which favors disease. Protein eaten alone causes a 25% increase in your metabolism. When combined with fat and carbohydrates there is only a 10% increase. What this means is that eating more protein and less fat and carbohydrates gives you a boost in metabolism.

It is recommended that around 30% - 35% of your eating habits consist of protein.

Carbohydrates - consist of simple and complex sugars. When carbohydrates are eaten they are broken down into sucrose, which is readily accepted by your cells. Sucrose is converted into energy in your cells. If you eat a lot of high glycemic carbohydrates, your bloodstream becomes overwhelm with sucrose. The excess sucrose in your cells will be converted to fat and stored.

Because most people have been adding weight eating high glycemic carbohydrates, it best to change your eating habits and decrease your intake of these carbohydrates. In general people have been eating 80% high glycemic foods (HighGF) and 20% low glycemic foods (LowGF.) You need to change that to 80% LowGF and 20% HighGF.

This means that you should limit eating foods like potatoes, bread, corn, pasta, muffins, and any flour products. HighGF encourages the storage of fat since the more sucrose you have in your blood, the more sucrose is escorted into your cells by insulin.

You need to concentrate on foods, which are LowGF. Many of these foods are vegetables with small amounts of carbohydrates and high fiber content.

LowGF discourages the storage of fat since less sucrose is in the blood and less is escorted into your cells.

Quality Fats - which are eaten with your meals, prevent sugars from moving quickly into your blood stream.

You need to eat more of the good fats. It's these fats that will help you lose weight. The good fats are omega 3, omega 6, and medium chain fatty acids, MCFA.

Here is the breakdown on the quantity of each type of fat that you should be eating. These percentages are what you should be working towards so that fats provide you with good health and help you keep your weight down.

* saturated fats 10%

* polyunsaturated fats 20%

* monounsaturated fats 60%

There you have it, the numbers and percentages of protein, carbohydrates, and fats that give you a balanced diet so that you can lose weight

Full Heart Photo

full heart photo


Information of brain

Information of brain


Mineral and vitamin

Mineral and vitamin

Mineral and/or vitamin deficiency or excess may result in disease conditions such as goitre, scurvy, osteoporosis, impaired immune system, disorders of cell metabolism, certain forms of cancer, symptoms of premature aging, and poor psychological health (including eating disorders), among many others.
As of 2005, twelve vitamins and about the same number of minerals are recognized as "essential nutrients", meaning that they must be consumed and absorbed—or, in the case of vitamin D, alternatively synthesized in the skin via UVB radiation to prevent deficiency symptoms and possibly death. Certain vitamin-like substances found in foods, such as carnitine, have also been found essential to survival and health, but these are not strictly "essential" to eat because the human body can produce them from other compounds. Moreover, thousands of different phytochemicals have recently been discovered in food (particularly in fresh vegetables), which may have desirable properties including antioxidant activity (see below). Other essential nutrients include essential amino acids, choline and the essential fatty acids.

Importance Of Water

Importance Of Water

Water is one of the most important nutrients in your sports diet. It helps eliminate food waste products in your body, regulates body temperature during activity, helps digest, is involved in converting food into energy and helps lubricate joints.  

Athletes should drink as much water as they comfortably can. Maintaining hydration during periods of physical exertion is key to peak performance. While drinking too much water during activities can lead to physical discomfort, dehydration in excess of 2% of body mass (by weight) markedly hinders athletic performance.  Some studies have shown that an athlete that drinks before they feel thirsty stays cooler and performs better than one who drinks on thirst cues, although recent studies of such races as the Boston Marathon have indicated that this recommendation can lead to the problem of overhydration. Additional carbohydrates and protein before, during, and after exercise increase time to exhaustion as well as speed recovery. Dosage is based on work performed, lean body mass, and environmental factors, especially ambient temperature and humidity.