Water

Water. We’re urged to drink plenty of it, and most sources tell us to drink 8 glasses a day.

However, I’ve heard from other health sources that there’s another formula for how much to drink based on our weight.

Take your weight and divide by two, then divide by eight to get the number of glasses needed daily. For example, for a 180-pound woman, 180 divded by two equals 90 divided by eight equals 11 glasses of water.

I like this next suggestion if you choose to follow this formula: Premeasure your water the night before, and then store it in the refrigerator. Transfer it in the morning to a portable container and take it with you.

Hydration will make you feel full and will curb your appetite. It’ll speed up your metabolism, and make it easier for your body to consume food and ramp up energy.

75 percent of all Americans are chronically deyhydrated. Even mild deydration can slow your metabolism by 3%.

Salmon....or Not?

There's an interesting article in this month's UC Berkeley Wellness Letter (December 2008) with a question-and-answer section about salmon. Is it safe to eat? Here is a portion of what they say.

"Does farmed salmon have more contaminants than wild?
Like wild salmon, farmed salmon is low in mercury. But studies a few years ago found higher levels of potentially harmful PCBs and other industrial pollutants in farmed salmon (particularly from Europe), which was blamed on the feed. When anchovies, sardines and other small oily fish are made into fishmeal, the trace amounts of contaminants in them are concentrated. As a result, farmed salmon are likely to consume more contaminants than wild salmon (which eat a more varied diet) -- and they accumulate more fat, whee the contaminants are stored. Fish chow has reportedly been improved, but more research is needed to determine if farmed salmon today really has lower contaminant levels. PCBs have been linked to cancer, at least in animals, and other potential health problems. To reduce them, you can remove the skin from farmed salmon and trim any visible fat.

"What about canned and smoke salmon: farmed or wild?
Most canned salmon is wild and says so, though more and more companies, including Kirkland (Costco brand) and Bumble Bee, are now using farmed salmon in some of their products (if it's labeled 'Atlantic' salmon, it's farmed). If you want wild salmon, look for canned Alaskan pink or sockeye (also called red or blueback) salmon. In contrast, most smoked salmon is farmed.

"Bottom Line: A Good Catch
The health benefits of eating two or three weekly servings of fish (a serving being four to six ounces) -- whether farmed or wild -- outweigh potential risks. Varying your choices and selecting fish lower on the food chain (small fish such as herring, mackerel, and sardines) will reduce your exposure to contaminants. Here are resources that can help you pick fish that are lower in contaminants and are raised or caught in environmentally responsible ways: Environmental Defense Fund, Blue Ocean Institute, and Monterey Bay Aquarium."

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

My goal today is to spend time with friends, family, and my extended family. Since our hosts today decided to invite a bunch of students from a local college who have nowhere to go for the holiday, I will also meet new friends.

My secondary goal for today is to watch what I eat and drink, to be sensible about it. Since I'm the designated driver, I don't think the drinking part will be a problem (as long as I stay off the soft drinks). And I really don't think the eating part will be a problem either. I don't care much for turkey, although I'll have a little -- it's the sides that I crave. Mashed potatoes. Homemade cranberry sauce. Pumpkin pie.

I still think it'll be all right. Hopefully all those kids being there will limit what we have to eat so that portion control won't be an issue!

A Guide to Lowering Blood Pressure

What is high blood pressure?

This is from Remedy magazine's website. "Blood pressure is the force of blood against the walls of arteries. Blood pressure rises and falls throughout the day. When blood pressure stays elevated over time, it’s called high blood pressure.

"The medical term for high blood pressure is hypertension. High blood pressure is dangerous because it makes the heart work too hard and contributes to atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). It increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, which are the first- and third-leading causes of death among Americans. High blood pressure also can result in other conditions, such as congestive heart failure, kidney disease, and blindness." (Read the whole rather lengthy article, of which I paraphrase briefly below, here.)

It took me years to wrestle my blood pressure into normal territory, years I shouldn't have spent. I didn't realize that it takes a whole approach, a whole process, to deal with hypertension. I'm much better off, my numbers are much better, when I exercise regularly and when I eat in a nutritional way. As I exercise more, my blood pressure has lowered and stablilized more.

But I can't kid myself that I could conquer it with diet and exercise alone. I couldn't, and I can't. I am currently on three blood pressure medications, and those, along with diet and exercise, are finally doing the trick.

Remedy's guide to controlling your blood pressure, in short:

1. Monitor your weight.
2. Eat right.
3. Be active (exercise).
4. Less sodium (salt).
5. Manage your prescribed drugs.

Can Breast Tumors Disappear on Their Own?

I've seen this story in several newspapers recently, but I think today's USA Today article is easier to read and understand.

We know that one rare type of cancer found through screening sometimes disappears on its own, but in this study, researchers asked: do more invasive breast cancers found in mammograms disappear on their own?

Researchers in Norway and the U.S. compared the number of breast cancers found in more than 100,000 Norwegian women who were screened every two years with an equal number who received only one mammogram after six years.

They found that 22% more breast cancers were discovered among the women who got more frequent mammograms. This discovery raises the possibility that mammograms found cancers that eventually went away, and thus never needed to be treated.

It's important to note that doctors may more easily find cancers on repeat mammograms, and that most doctors believe that frequent mammograms save lives.

Salt Is the New Bad Guy

There's an interesting article today in USA Today about salt. The article claims that, since trans fats have begun fading from the nutrition network, "there are early signs that 2009's nutrition 'bad guy' will be salt."

Several food manufacturers are looking to reduce salt to boost sales. The below products are a result.

*Pepperidge Farm will be rolling out lower-sodium versions of the eight breads in its 100% Natural line. Most will be down 33% to 40%. The company replaced regular salt with sea salt, which delivers more salt flavor. These moves are expected to boost bread sales by at least 10% in the next year for Pepperidge Farm. Next on the salt-reducing menu: Pepperidge Farm bagels and rolls.

*Campbell's reduced-sodium soups will ring up $650 million in retail sales this year. Campbell announced sodium reduction in 48 of its soups. Overall, 85 of its 230 varieties now are lower in sodium. But its big three (Chicken Noodle, Tomato, and Cream of Mushroom) are still salt mines. A can of classic Chicken Noodle contains 890 milligrams of sodium.

*Frito-Lay recently launched Pinch of Salt, a low-sodium line with 30% to 50% salt reduction in its Lay's, Tostitos, Ruffles and Fritos chips.

*Orville Redenbacher has introduced SmartPop Lower Sodium Popcorn with 30% less than regular Redenbacher popcorn. The rest of the Redenbacher line will have sodium reduced 15% to 30%.

*Beech-Nut recently rolled out Let's Grow toddler meals with a "no junk" claim. This line has 200 or fewer milligrams of sodium per serving, up to 50% less than other brands.

*There's even less salt in salt. Last year, Morton Salt rolled out Salt Balance, a blend of salt and potassium chloride with 25% less sodium than regular salt.

Book Review: "Cancer Is a Bitch," by Gail Konop Baker

This is a very personal book. It's about a woman who discovered that she has breast cancer -- the book starts there -- and what she does about it. But, more than that, it's about who she is, and how she reacts, and how her family and friends react to her and vice versa. Because, let's face it, we don't live in a vacuum. Whether they like it, good or bad, they're along for the ride.

So if you don't want personal, don't read Cancer Is a Bitch.

But if you want an intriguing book, written very well and from the heart, from a professional reporter, this is a good one. If you've been involved with cancer, either as a patient or family member or friend, this will help you understand reactions, at least this woman's reactions.

But although Cancer Is a Bitch is an easy read, it's not an easy read, if you know what I mean. It's linear, it's funny, sometimes hilarious, almost always true, sometimes heartbreaking, and it's the latter times that I found it difficult to continue. I'm glad, however, that I did.

The inside flap reads: "I want to be brave. I want to be big. I want to be gracious and cool. I want to be the Audrey Hepburn of cancer... Gail Konop Baker was a runner, yoga practitioner, and lifelong subscriber to Prevention magazine. As her forty-sixth birthday approached, she looked forward to a time when she could at last take a deep breath, with one child heading off to college and the other two busy with their lives. She finally felt as if she was getting her life back.

"Then, right before Valentine's Day 2006, she heard the words that would forever change her: Just to be safe, I think we should biopsy.

"It was the beginning of her year-long struggle with breast cancer and its fallout."

Cancer Is a Bitch, or, I'd Rather Be Having a Midlife Crisis
by Gail Konop Baker
Da Capo Press
2008
261 pages

Do Glucosamine and/or Chondroitin Help Arthritis?

A new study is out, reports the University of California, Berkeley Wellness Letter (December 2008), that reports whether glucosamine or chondroitin helps slow or prevent the deterioration of joint-cushioning cartilage that is the hallmark of arthritis.

Two years ago, the newsletter reported that, overall, neither glucosamine nor chondroitin sulfate, alone or together, reduced pain or other symptoms significantly better than a placebo. The question remained: do they slow down cartilage deterioration?

The answer is no, according to what the newsletter calls a "large, expensive, well-designed study." The 357 subjects continued treatment of glucosamine, chondroitin, both together, Celebrex, or placebo for an additional 18 months beyond the first study. They then had x-rays to measure cartilage loss as determined by the distance between the ends of bones in the knee. The exams found only insignificant differences in cartilage loss between the groups.

Interestingly, glucosamine and chondroitin, when taken together, did worse. But nothing worked much better than the placebo.

So, the verdict is clear: if you suffer from arthritis, don't waste your money by taking these supplements.

With Sweet Drinks, Even One Is Too Many

This was printed in the November 2008 Diabetes Forecast magazine:

"One glass of orange juice a day may increase women's chance of developing type 2 diabetes by 24 percent, new research finds.

"Other fruit juices studied, including apple juice and grapefruit juice, had similarly negative associations. So did fruit punch, nondiet soda, and low-calorie soda. In contrast, women who consumed more whole fruits and green leafy vegetables demonstrates fewer incidences of diabetes. Researchers suggest that these findings should encourage people to replace juice with whole fruits in their diets."

Five Ways to Keep Alzheimer's Away

I work the little word puzzle every day in the Chronicle. You know the puzzle I'm talking about -- it has five letters or so, and you rearrange it to form a common word. At least I try to work it. I usually give up when I can't get most of the words. But, still, when working the puzzle, I can't help but think that perhaps I'm doing something to help my mind stave off Alzheimer's, a disease that affected my mother late in life.

There's a terrific article from CNN on five steps we can take to keep Alzheimer's at bay. (Thanks to my friend George for forwarding this article.) These are steps anyone can do. The steps include taking supplements, or eating curry, while other steps include doing puzzles, just like the ones I tackle every day.

Walking for My Life

I heard it somewhere. If I walked 30 minutes five times a week, my risk of getting cancer again would be lowered. I couldn't recall where I heard it. I finally did some research online, and found several references.

CVS Pharmacy is my new pharmacy provider, so I thought I'd look on their site. (You can look at their cancer guideline site here.) There it was: "Engage in moderate to vigorous physical activity for at least 30 minutes, five or more days a week (45 to 60 minutes are preferable). Studies show 45 minutes or more of moderate to vigorous activity on five or more days a week may lower your risk of developing colon and breast cancers."

That's been great motivation for the last month. I don't quite know why. I mean, do negative ideas, fears, ever work? Well, in this case, it's working.

And it's more than the idea that my risk is lowered for developing more cancer of the colon. (Although that's plenty; I sure don't need more of that.) But walking helps me in so many ways. It keeps me active. It keeps the pains down to a minimum. It keeps my flexibility up. It helps my aching back, actually warms up the muscles as I get going. And it's a nice social activity if I take along a friend.

I met my friend George at the Lafayette Reservoir today and we walked all around that body of water. My pedometer bit the dust, but I would guess that stretch is about 3 miles, perfect for us. I highly recommend walking to those who can.

Group Therapy Helps Cancer Patients Cope Better, Live Longer

Reuters Health news agency released a new study led by Ohio State University that supports the idea that psychological support groups can help women with breast cancer not only cope better with the disease, but live longer.

Researchers studied 227 women with breast cancer. About half took part in a year of therapy in groups of 8 to 12 patients led by two clinical psychologists, while the others did not.

After 11 years, the women who participated in the group therapy were 56 percent less likely to die of breast cancer and 45 percent less likely to have their cancer return, the researchers wrote in the journal Cancer.

"Survival is kind of the bottom line when it comes to cancer. So we have people being healthy, productive people for longer -- and that's a huge health outcome," Barbara Andersen, who helped lead the therapy groups, said in a telephone interview to Reuters.

The women had Stage II or Stage III breast cancer in which the tumor may have spread to the lymph nodes near the breast or chest wall or skin, but not to more distant parts of the body.

Andersen said the group sessions, among other things, aimed to reduce the women's distress, train them how to relax and improve coping skills, improve their diet and exercise habits and discourage smoking and drinking alcohol.

The improved survival may stem from better immune function resulting from stress reduction, the researchers said.

Do Hand Sanitizers Really Work?

My nephew always carries a little bottle of liquid hand sanitizer in his backpack, just in case he can't wash his hands in a dirty environment or has to pick up food with his hands.

And we all know we should wash our hands frequently to avoid picking up people's germs.

So, my question has always been: do those portable hand sanitizers really work?

The answer was supplied this month in the December 2008 issue of Travel and Leisure:

"'I only use hand sanitizers when soap isn't available,' says Dr. Anna Bowen, medical epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sanitizers with a minimum alcohol concentration of 60 percent, such as Purell and Germ-X, have been proven to kill germs effectively, but they don't wash away dirt, grime, or certain agents such as the novovirus. 'If you do opt for a sanitizing product,' Bowen says, 'make sure you use enough gel to cover the entire surface of your hands, and let them dry completely.'"

I knew my nephew was smart. Looks like he's right once again.

Pill Can Replace Chemo for Lung Cancer

An article appeared this week in USA Today about a new drug, Iressa. Iressa seems to do less harm to patients, but costs thousands more than standard chemotherapy.

Quotes below are excerpts from that article, based on an article published last week in the British Lancet medical journal.

"Some advanced lung cancer patients already treated with chemotherapy might be able to skip some of the bad side effects of another series of chemo by taking a pill instead, a study suggests. An international study showed patients on Iressa, an expensive, newer targeted treatment, survived about as long as those on another course of chemotherapy.

"'This will provide us with another drug in our armory,' said Dr. Michael Seckl, head of Cancer Research UK's Lung Cancer Group at Imperial College in London. Seckl was not connected to the research.

"Few treatments for lung cancer exist, and most patients die within a few years of diagnosis. Lung cancer kills about 1.4 million people every year.

"In the study, paid for by AstraZeneca, researchers studied 1,433 advanced lung cancer patients in 24 countries, who had already gone through chemotherapy. Roughly half were given Iressa, or gefitinib, once a day. The other half were on docetaxel, a chemotherapy drug given intravenously every three weeks.

"Patients on Iressa survived about 7.6 months while those on chemotherapy survived about 8 months. After one year, 32% of patients on Iressa were still alive, versus 34% of chemotherapy patients.

"'In the patients that respond, it is very dramatic,' said Seckl, who has seen patients live years on the drug. He did not work with AstraZeneca on Iressa, but has consulted with them on other drugs.

"'Though the benefits of prolonging life are modest, patients on (Iressa) get a higher quality of life,' said Chris Twelves, a professor of clinical cancer oncology at Leeds University. "That should swing the pendulum in its favor."

Caring Bridge

I discovered that someone I had met online several years ago had quit her job (which is where I had known her from) due to cancer. Someone very helpfully pointed me toward her website, a website sponsored by Caring Bridge. I was able to post a get well message for Carol, and find out where she was in her treatment.

Caring Bridge offers "free, personalized websites that support and connect loved ones during critical illness, treatment and recovery."

According to the site, "CaringBridge® (www.caringbridge.org) is a free, nonprofit web service that connects family and friends to share information, love and support during a serious medical condition, treatment and recovery. It takes just a few moments for you to create your own personal and private CaringBridge website."

I noticed that Carol was able to post updates on her condition as well as photos. I thought it was a great way to keep in touch in folks, especially concerning her health.

Caffeine Inhibits Cancer

A new study shows that caffeine might help inhibit, and possibly even reverse, damage to skin caused by the sun.

"For some time, we've known that caffeine appears to be able to prevent skin cancer," said Dr. Paul Nghiem. "There's epidemiological data along those lines and the interesting more recent thing is that caffeine appears to be able to do that when you apply it topically."

There have been several studies in recent years showing a preventative connection between caffeine and liver as well as skin cancer. This is the latest in those studies which support this.

For the November 2008 article, click here.

More than one million new cases of skin cancer are diagnosed every year, making skin cancer the most common type of cancer.

National Lung Cancer Awareness Month

November is National Lung Cancer Awareness Month.

The Northern California Cancer Center tells us that lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death and occurs even in non-smokers. It also occurs differently among ethnic groups.

New data supports the idea that women are more likely than men to have non-smoking-associated lung cancer.

Asian-Americans are found to have lower incidence rates of non-small cell lung cancer than whites, with South Asians having the lowest rates. Researchers have also found that foreign-born Asians have a higher rate than U.S.-born Asians, which may be due to factors other than smoking, especially among women.

What You Can Do:

Don't ever smoke or stop smoking if you do. While it's possible to get lung cancer even if you don't smoke, smoking causes more than 80% of lung cancer deaths.

- NCI Smoking Quitline 1-877-44U-QUIT; TTY: 1-800-332-8615. Call within the US, Monday - Friday 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. local time.

Avoid exposure to radon gas, asbestos, or areas of high air pollution, including second-hand smoke

Consider getting screened with a chest x-ray or spiral CT scan. If there is a history of lung cancer in your family and you have habits or symptoms that suggest you have a higher risk of lung cancer. As with most cancers, early detection can increase chances for survival.

Support more research of this deadly disease. NCCC Scientists are currently seeking funding to study risk factors for in Asian and Latina women who have never smoked. Identifying risk factors can inform the study of lung cancer in all groups, leading to more effective prevention.

Link to a New Blog

A friend of mine was recently diagnosed with cancer, and she's in an advanced stage. Here's the blog link to My Life in a Tumblr.

She just started taking chemo, and, as you can imagine, is having a tough time of it.

Her blog is very raw, as are her emotions.

Dry Eye and What to Do About It

I've written just a little about another condition of mine: Dry eye.

I had dry eye before my lasik surgery, which was 8 years ago. But after the surgery, I really had it bad.

My lasik eye doctor didn't tell me how to treat the condition, which, in hindsight, is very unfortunate and I would even venture to say, unprofessional. But I have learned a lot since then.

A few years of suffering with intense pain, coupled with talking with friends and coworkers, and eventually getting referred by my doctor to a specialist helped tremendously.

My regular optometrist was no help at all. In fact, I stopped seeing her because of this condition and her inability to even offer possibilities for solutions. However, five minutes with an eye specialist, an opthalmologist, helped me put this problem behind me. And my new optometrist understands the condition and is helping me manage it.

That five minutes was spent in a conversation about what I was doing, and what he recommended I do and not do. This occurred just when the liquigel Systane was having difficulties, having discovered fungus in one of their batches. As a consequence, I couldn't find any more of the Systane liquigel; their regular lubricants didn't help me at all. He suggested the following:

1. Stop taking antihistamines and the like, which further dry out the eyes.
2. Use the liquigels that were then coming out on the market. Refresh liquigel is the best, in my opinion. As I was discovering, the regular lubricants don't even put a dent in lubricating my eyes.
3. Start using Restasis, a prescription medication which comes in the form of drops in one-time use plastic vials.

This last one was the real clincher for me. My partner had tried Restasis, but couldn't continue with it because it causes a burning sensation. As it turns out, the burning is due to the dry eye; once you start taking the Restasis and have continued for months, that burning sensation decreases considerably. (At this point in my usage, it's all but gone away.)

The trick here for Restasis, according to my specialist, is to use it daily. Twice a day. And you won't feel any improvement for at least three months. Restasis acts as an anti-inflammatory, and only works for a percentage of patients; not everyone will enjoy its benefits -- and, of course, the problem is that you have to use it for months to find out if you'll have any benefit. Thankfully, it worked for me.

Since Restasis is expensive, he showed me a little trick: each vial will give two doses if you use it sparingly. I have done so and made my supplies last twice as long.

Two things I've also added to my routine: (1) I have also started taking vitamin supplements containing Omega-3: TheraTears. I take 3 orally on a daily basis. (2) My regular optometrist recommended I put a gel in my eyes at night so that when I awake, it won't feel like my cornea is being ripped off. He recommended Refresh PM gel, and that's what I use every night, a drop under each eyelid.

Thankfully, Refresh liquigel and PM gel as well as TheraTears supplements are now available in most drugstores, Costco, and drugstore.com and are easily available. And my regular GP doctor continues my Restasis prescription.
With this problem solved -- albeit with daily ministrations -- I can go on to deal with more serious problems like diabetes and my general health.

Back to Fiber

From Dawn about a subject that's near to her heart: fiber.

"Again on the FIBER topic.

"Just found Mission Tortillas - CARB BALANCE. They have 11 grams of fiber in each tortilla! This is fantastic! They can be used for healthy dips instead of chips. You can toast them in the oven if you want them to be firm. There are 5 grams of protein and only 7 grams net of carbohydrates. I don't know what they mean by "net" carbs. But it sounds good."

MRI vs. Mammography

Newsweek (November 3, 2008) had a small article on MRI's vs. the mammogram.

It seems that the question about whether MRI's can do a better job than mammograms in the detection of breast cancer has been coming up ever since women learned that Christina Applegate's breast cancer was discovered after her doctor ordered an MRI.

According to Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, deputy chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society, most women will not benefit from MRI screening.

The problems with MRI's:

1. MRI's are more expensive.
2. MRI's have more false positive results than mammograms.

However, recent American Cancer Society guidelines (cancer.org) do recommend MRI, along with mammography, for women who are at the highest risk of developing the disease.

As it turns out, Applegate was in that group. She had tested positive for a genetic mutation called BRCA. Also at high risk are those women who have a close relative with the mutation and are untested.

Best bet: talk to your doctor.

Family Stressed about by Alzheimer's

There was a Dear Abby column today where a woman told Abby she was stressed out by her mother's quick ascent into Alzheimer's, and she wondered what to do.

I liked Abby's answer. "Today, an estimated 10 million Americans are caring for someone with Alzheimer's or another dementia. More than 40 percent of them rate their emotional stress level as high or very high, and it is a danger to their health." She pointed families stressed out by parents' Alzheimer's or dementia issues to the national Alzheimer's association. The toll-free number is (800) 272-3900 or visit www.alz.org. The website has a stress test for those affected by the disease.

Cholesterol Drugs Offer Great Benefit

Cholesterol drugs can reduce your risk for heart-attack or stroke dramatically, even if you don't have high cholesterol.

A two-year study recently concluded -- it was originally a 5-year study, but researchers ended it sooner because of the dramatic results -- which shows that those who aren't at risk re: cholesterol received enormous benefit from taking Crestor, a statin.

Crestor was found to reduce heart attacks, strokes, heart-related deaths or hospitalizations, or the need for an artery-opening procedure, by 44 percent.

"We reduced the risk of a heart attack by 54 percent, the risk of a stroke by 48 percent and the chance of needing bypass surgery or angioplasty by 46 percent," said researchers.

The problem, however, is the cost. Crestor costs over $3 a day, which would add up to $9 billion a year if everyone took it. A better possibility is generic forms of other cholesterol-reducing drugs.

For the MSNBC article, look here.

Your First Year with Diabetes

A new book has been issued on what to do when you first find out you have diabetes, or pre-diabetes. It’s called Your First Year with Diabetes: What to Do Month by Month, and is for sale at the American Diabetes Association website, store.diabetes.org, or 800-232-6733. The author is Theresa Gamero, APRN, BC-ADM, MSN, CDE.

If diabetes has left you confused or angry, wondering what to do, wondering how to improve your situation, this book will be a good reference for you.

I haven’t read it yet, but I already ordered it. I could use all the help I can get. Plus, maybe I missed something along the way even though I’m not in my first year. I tell you, I sure could’ve used something like this when I was first told I was pre-diabetic some ten years ago. Gamero says, “Walking 30 minutes a day most days can prevent pre-diabetes from graduating into diabetes.” What important information I could have had!

The ADA says the book is straightforward and easy to read. “Over the course of one year, you’ll learn about medications, exercise, meal planning, and how to handle lifestyle and emotional issues – all at a pace that suits you.”

Say NO to Yoplait?

Yoplait is urging consumers to buy its yogurt and send in the Yoplait yogurt lids to fight breast cancer.

But what consumers have subsequently discovered is that Yoplait yogurt is actually made with milk from cows that have been treated with the synthetic hormone rBGH. And that's not so good for our health.

If you want to tell Yoplait to go rBGH-free, go to the think-before-you-pink website and send Yoplait an automated message.

Do cholesterol-lowering drugs increase memory loss?

The University of California, Berkeley Wellness Letter (November 2008) reported that, "despite anecdotal reports that cholesterol-lowering statin drugs may increase memory loss in some people, studies over the years have not found this link.

"In fact, some research suggests that statins may actually reduce the risk of cognitive decline and dementia. Recently, for instance, a study in the journal Neurology of nearly 1,700 older Latino Americans found that statin users were about half as likely to develop these problems as nonusers over a period of five to seven years."

I had heard that some people have reported loss of memory due to the drugs they were taking. I kind of wonder how they knew which drugs might be affecting them, however, since those who are taking one drugs are likely to be taking more than one.

It's good to hear, though, that evidence is suggesting that there is no deleterious memory effect from statin drugs. One less side effect to worry about.

What You Need to Know About the Relationship between Hormones and Breast Cancer

After skin cancer, breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women. 178,000 new cases and 40,000 deaths occur each year. Lung cancer, however, claims more women's lives each year.

More and more research points to hormones as playing a part.

From the moment we women start to menstruate to the point of menopause, women are exposed to estrogen and progesterone in their bodies.

“These hormones stimulate the breast duct and lobular cells, and it’s that repeated monthly stimulation, where the levels of the hormones go up and down, that can lead to mutations or alterations in the breast cells’ DNA,” says Julie Gralow, M.D., associate professor of medicine, department of oncology, at the University of Washington School of Medicine and associate program head of the Breast Cancer Program at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. “So if you start menstruating early (before age 12) or stop late (after 52), your risk for breast cancer goes up.”

I'm quoting from an article by Remedy magazine. They go on to say that family history also affects breast cancer risk, and that it's "a solid factor in about 5 to 10 percent of breast cancers. Maintaining a healthy weight through menopause, exercising and limiting alcohol consumption may reduce a woman's risk, says Dr. Gralow." (Most of the below information is from this article.)

But cancer rates fell by 7 percent in 2003. The National Cancer Institute believes this may have been due to two factors: a drop in mammogram screening (and thus a drop in detection of early-stage cancer), and a decline in hormone replacement therapy (HRT) use. The drop in HRT occurred in 2001 after the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) found a potential relationship between HRT and slightly higher breast cancer rates.

My mother underwent a hysterectomy early in life after I was born. She was on hormone replacement therapy, specifically estrogen, for most of her life after 30. She claims she just didn't feel right if she didn't have her estrogen every day. I often wondered why my doctor didn't offer me the option of HRT after I hit menopause. I think I now know.

Obviously, if you're considering HRT, you and your doctor need to look at your risk for breast cancer. If you have a strong family history of cancer, you might want to consider other ways to manage menopause.

The Chocolate Dose

In our continuing discussion of the good things about chocolate and how much to eat, here's another comment from Dawn:

ok, so it looks like 6/7 grams of chocolate daily is the dosage. That's 1/4 oz of chocolate! REALLY REALLY SMALL! But maybe that is good.

Did you read this article?
http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20030827/dark-chocolate-is-healthy-chocolate

The article says that a 100-gram bar of dark chocolate has 531 calories. So if I did my math right, 6.7 grams is about 35 calories. It seems like a very small number of calories for such good results. I'm thinking that getting a bar of and taking a medicinal dose each night would be a good idea. You list so many advantages!

Chocolate....Deadly or Healing?

Dawn left a comment and question for us:

"This may sound silly, but what's the scoop with chocolate? I hear that it is good for you - minus the sugar. So what exactly is good and does it refer to cocoa beans unsweetened? I like intense flavors and chocolate is intense."


That's a good question. I think we should all recognize that a lot of research has been done on chocolate, but a great deal of that research was funded by the chocolate industry and interest groups, and, therefore, not to be trusted. And we also have to recognize that much of this research did not include "co-factors (i.e., added sugar, corn syrup, milk fats/dairy cream, hydrogenated oils, etc.)," all of the other ingredients in the chocolate, some detrimental. So, conclusions are sometimes conflicting. I also tried to concentrate on research and conclusions drawn recently.

Let's just state a fact and get it out of the way: Unprocessed chocolate has no sugar in it and is really quite bitter.

That being said, what are the good things about chocolate? I mean, besides taste.

1. Its nutrient profile is quite impressive, rivaling more commonplace fruits and vegetables: Vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, Vitamin C, copper, calcium, phosphorus, iron, magnesium, zinc, manganese, vitamin E, and high polyphenols and flavonoids. The last two are powerful antioxidants that provide significant health benefits. A cup of cocoa contains nearly twice the antioxidants of a glass of red wine, and up to three times those found in a cup of green tea.

2. Dark chocolate is loaded with key neurotransmitters like tryptophan, serotonin, and dopamine. These chemicals can suppress one's appetite and block the pathway that leads to food cravings.

3. In some studies, those who ate dark chocolate had a significant drop in blood pressure (by an average of 5 points for systolic). Those who ate white chocolate did not.

4. Eating chocolate releases endorphins in the brain, which act as pain relievers. Cocoa products also contain stimulants such as phenylethylamine, which have an anti-depressant and amphetamine-like effect. They contain pharmacological substances such as n-acetylethanolamines that are related to cannabis (marijuana), and they have compounds that stimulate the brain to release an opiate-like substance called anandamide.

5. The sugar in chocolate may reduce stress and have a calming effect.

6. Eating chocolate may reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer. Several studies have suggested that the addition of copper through chocolate can protect the body against colon cancer.

7. Studies have shown that consuming a small bar of dark chocolate every day can reduce blood pressure in individuals with high blood pressure. Dark chocolate has also been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) by up to 10 percent.


The bad things about chocolate:

1. Sugar is a well-known cause, contributing or aggravating factor with a host of medical conditions that includes heart disease, insulin and blood sugar disorders, mood disorders, immune system disorders, leukemia, dental caries, yeast infections, depletion of essential nutrients, osteoporosis, obesity and others.

2. Chocolate has an addictive quality. When drugs are used to block the brain's opiate receptors, the desire for chocolate (and other sweet and fatty foods) disappears, confirming the addictive nature of chocolate.

3. Consumption of high copper sources such as chocolate and cocoa products can aggravate many high copper-related medical conditions and can create new ones.

4. One-third of the fat in chocolate is bad for you. (But that also means that two-thirds of the fats (especially oleic acid, which is found in olive oil) is good for you.)


So, with all this information, what is "healthy" chocolate?

A. It has not been alkalized (dutch processed) with chemicals that wash away the nutrients.

B. It has been cold-pressed rather than heated.

C. It contains at least 70 percent cocoa.

D. It contains cocoa butter instead of milk fats or hydrogenated oils.

E. It contains natural, low glycemic sweeteners.


So, what's a good prescription for eating chocolate, which means, how much and how often?

Science Daily reported last month that "6.7 grams of chocolate per day represent the ideal amount for a protective effect against inflammation and subsequent cardiovascular disease." They cite findings published recently in the Journal of Nutrition, findings from one of the largest epidemiological studies ever conducted in Europe, the Moli-Sani Project, which has enrolled 20,000 inhabitants of the Molise region. The sample of people who have moderate amounts of dark chocolate regularly have significantly lower levels of C-reactive protein in their blood -- in other words, their inflammatory state is considerably reduced (17 percent).

The study suggests that "less than half a bar of dark chocolate (70 percent cocoa) consumed during the week may become a healthy habit." If you want to take a look at that Science News article with the details of the study, look here.