Simply Healthy in the New Year

Eat Healthy and Get Active

Poor diet and lack of exercise can increase your cancer risk, and an astounding one third of all cancers are attributed to diet and activity factors. Good news, you can control these risk factors.

What is healthy eating?

The goal of healthy eating is to eat a diet rich in variety of unprocessed foods in order to obtain the nutrients that your body needs and maintain a healthy weight throughout life.  Two tips for healthy eating that I learned from my patients: if it has an ingredients list that you can’t read, don’t buy it (this avoids processed foods) and shop the periphery of the supermarket, not the middle aisles (fresh, unprocessed products are in the cooling cases, while processed packaged foods are typically in the middle of the market).

In order to reduce cancer risk, the American Caner Society recommends a diet that is low fat and has an emphasis on plant sources.

General Guidelines

  • 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day, and try to eat those with the most color (they have more nutrients). Advantage – high in cancer fighting antioxidants and good for weight control (low in fat and calories).
  • 3 servings of whole grains a day.
  • Limit processed and red meats in your diet.
  • Limit alcohol consumption. The American Cancer Society recommends no more than 1 drink a day for women.
  • Practice portion control.

A note on portion control and plate size

The size of a dinner plate in the United States has increased in the past few decades from a mere 7 to 9 inches, now up to 11 to 12 inches. This means that the surface area has increased by 50% and we are naturally eating 50% more food! Important to note, the average European dinner plate is still 9 inches. Since we tend to eat whatever is on our plate, use a smaller plate. Studies have shown that people feel more satisfied with less food when they are served on an 8-inch salad plate in place of a 12-inch dinner plate.

How much exercise and what kind do I need?

The American Cancer Society recommends 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity 5 or more days of the week. 45 to 60 minutes of intentional physical activity are preferable. Children and adolescents should engage in at least 60 minutes per day of moderate to vigorous activity at least 5 days a week.

Resources

BMI calculator

http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/adult_bmi/english_bmi_calculator/bmi_calculator.html

Posted: April 5th, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: cancer prevention,general health,great health at every age,nutrition & diet | Tags: news,reviews | No Comments »

Simply Healthy in the New Year

Smoking Cessation

If you stop smoking, you will feel healthier immediately and be healthier for the rest of your life.

Stopping smoking is not simple – but about half of the people that do not stop will die of smoking related causes. Smoking is the leading cause of cancer in the United States. Not only does it cause lung cancer, but also increases the risk of a number of other cancers including: throat and mouth cancer, stomach and esophageal cancers, cervical cancer, kidney and bladder cancers. Other health problems include: cardiac disease, stroke, and emphysema. Immediately after quitting, the risk of developing cancer begins to drop more and more each year, and your cardiac and lung function begin to improve.

When deciding to quit smoking, it is important to realize that it is not easy and you may need a few attempts before successful. Common side effects of stopping tobacco use include irritability and weight gain. Some people will just decide to quit and go “cold turkey”, however there are many methods to help you stop smoking. Discussing your decision with your health care provider is important as they can offer guidance along the away. You may decide to work with a therapist to stop smoking. The therapist can provide you with behavioral therapy in which your triggers for smoking are identified and methods to deal with cravings are instituted.

Other methods to help you quit include drug treatment such as nicotine replacement products. These products contain nicotine in the form of gum, patches, and lozenges and allow you to slowly taper off of nicotine. They are not for everyone however and their use should be reviewed with your physician. They can cause problems especially in individuals with uncontrolled high blood pressure, insulin dependent diabetes, ulcers, esophagitis, heart rhythm problems and asthma. Teenagers and women who are pregnant or who are breast feeding should avoid these products.

Non-nicotine containing medicines include Zyban (bupropion) and Chantix (varenicline). These medicines lessen cravings and symptoms of nicotine withdrawal, but may cause serious psychiatric problems including suicidal thoughts and attempts. They should only be used under the careful guidance of you physician after a thorough review of the risks, benefits and alternatives. Zyban is not right for pregnant women, people with seizures, people with eating disorders and heavy drinkers.   Chantix is not right for individuals with kidney disease.

Alternative approaches to smoking cessation include hypno therapy, acupuncture and guided imagery. A combination of the above methods may be right for you. It is important to realize that it may be very tough to quit, but the benefits are huge. It is important to know your triggers for smoking and avoid them if possible. It also important to know, that each time you have a craving to smoke and don’t give into it, you chances of stopping go up.

Resources to help you stop smoking www.smokefree.gov

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/quittingsmoking.html

Posted: April 5th, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: cancer prevention,general health,great health at every age | Tags: news,reviews | No Comments »

The World of Gloria Vanderbilt by Wendy Goodman

 

 

An unlikely source of inspiration

I recently got stuck in my hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma during the big holiday blizzard in New York.  While confined in my family’s home  and far away from my busy medical practice, I spent a lot of time reading medical material, thinking, working on how to most effectively evolve this bog, and a lot of time at the local Border’s bookstore. Although most of my reading is technical and my medical life, by nature, is very serious stuff, my frivolous passion and hobby is fashion and design. My surgeon husband tells me that all surgeons are “visual” by nature and passions such as this are to be expected. During this period of rest, I also decided that emotional health and well being are important for women of all ages and we do not discuss this enough in the office. I vowed in the New Year to spend more time with my patients examining the emotional issues of the medical problems which they may be experiencing, as well as the emotional health in my patients who are well. All at the same time, I planned a book review section for the Balanced Women’s Health Bog. It is unlikely that I would choose a coffee table, picture book about an heiress to be the first book to place on this blog, devoted to women’s health. For, I am not an heiress, not wealthy, and not a member of the design world. The book not only did resonate with my desire to be visually stimulated by beautiful photography, but also with my ability to be inspired by stories of emotional fortitude in life and self reinvention. Ms. Vanderbilt was dealt an unusually tough set of emotional cards ranging from no parental guidance during her youth, to the suicide of her child in her adulthood. But she survived this and persevered to become a creative force in fashion, as well as an accomplished business woman and writer. She indeed, at the age of 85, has penned an erotic novel. “One wishes that there had been a bouquet of happy memories from which to choose. But the thing that is evident in Gloria Vanderbilt’s life is that her strength and resolve and invincible warrior spirit didn’t come from the wastelands of imagining “what if”. Her invincible journey has been built on dealing with “what is” and the hard work and courage it takes to transform the uncontrollable in life into something positive and enriching.”(page 200).

This is the beauty of life, experience and exploration; you never know where inspiration comes from, even from the seemingly most unconventional places.”

Posted: April 5th, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: general health,great health at every age,menopause,Uncategorized | Tags: reviews | No Comments »

Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet

For a number of years now scientists have been studying the effects of the so called Mediterranean diet, and it all looks good. The diet is called the Mediterranean diet because it mimics the eating and lifestyle patterns of the residents of the Mediterranean costal region.  The diet and lifestyle emphasize eating primarily plant based foods such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes and nuts, replacing butter with healthy fats such as olive oil and canola oil, using herbs and spices to flavor food instead of salt, eating fish and poultry at least two times a week, limiting red meat intake to no more than a few times a month, getting plenty of exercise, and drinking red wine in moderation (optional). The diet and lifestyle have been demonstrated to be associated with healthy weight loss, lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, a reduction in the risk of diabetes and heart disease, as well as associated with lower risks of cancer. Most recently new study has demonstrated that brain function is improved with this diet and lifestyle. For more information on the Mediterranean diet and what it can do for you go to: The Mediterranean Diet http://www.harpercollins.com/books/Mediterranean-Diet/?isbn=9780060783532 and Anticancer: A New Way of Life http://www.anticancerbook.com/book.html.

Posted: April 5th, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: cancer prevention,general health,great health at every age,nutrition & diet,Uncategorized,weight loss | Tags: news,reviews | No Comments »

The Safety of Soy Supplements

For a number of years now, women have recognized that soy supplements, which contain phytoestrogens, or plant derived estrogens, may help to control their menopausal symptoms related to lowered estrogen levels. Despite their widespread use, few studies have demonstrated the safety of long term soy supplement use. As soy contains plant derived estrogenic compounds, safety concerns include the risk of estrogen related cancers such as breast and uterine cancers. A recently published study in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition demonstrated that daily supplementation for 2 years with up to 120 mg of soy hypocotyl isoflavones carried minimal risk in healthy postmenopausal women. Although this information is encouraging, it only applies to the safety of the specific isoflavone supplement utilized. The studied supplement is manufactured in the Netherlands (Frutarom, Belgium www.frutarom.com) and contains only the hypocotyl portion of the soy bean. The contents of this supplement may be very different than those of over the counter supplements sold in the United Sates.

Posted: April 5th, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: estrogen,general health,great health at every age,gynecology,menopause,nutrition & diet | Tags: news,reviews | No Comments »