Archive for the ‘Breast cancer’ Category
How B Vitamins Help Senior Women
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Senior women who are concerned about their senior health need to make certain that they get enough of the B vitamins, because they reduce the risk of breast cancer by 38% and other cancers by 25%. The B vitamins lower homocysteine levels which keep women’s bones strong and promote cardiovascular health, too. It turns out that the risk of age-related macular degeneration was reduced for senior women who took the B Trinity on a daily basis. The healthy trinity of B vitamins that include B6, B12, and folic acid (vitamin B9) definitely improves cardiovascular health for both senior men and women by lowering the level of homocysteine. As an added benefit they reduce the risk of stroke as well. For both senior women and men Vitamin B12 boosts energy, helps keep the brain from degrading, and improves longevity.
Despite all these myriad health benefits why don’t the B vitamins get the press that C, D, and A do? Although some multivitamins list various B vitamins in their ingredients, they don’t tell you what health benefits they bring to the senior health table. Fortunately some of the latest research on vitamin B6, B12, and folic acid (vitamin B9) has uncovered numerous health benefits that improve our health and the health of seniors in particular. Major benefits conferred by the B Trinity for seniors include contributing to the prevention of cardiovascular disease, to the reduction of the risk of cancer, and to a lowered risk of osteoporosis.
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The Big Four Lifestyle Changes for Senior Health
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Now that the Federal Government has passed Health Care Reform legislation this would be an appropriate time to take take a serious look at what each one of us can do to reform our individual health care practices. Seniors need to be particularly attentive to taking care of our senior health by the choices that we make in terms of the foods we consume, supplements that we take, and the exercise schedule that we follow. When you get right down to the nittygritty there is a lot that seniors and boomers can do to prevent or preempt diseases from ever getting started. This becomes more serious for folks the older we get, because of the special issues that affect senior health. We can choose our lifestyle so that we head in a direction with a high probability of attaining greater health or in an opposite direction with an equal probability of coming down with one of the big three diseases.
The big three killer diseases are cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. A small number of lifestyle changes can reduce the probability of seniors contracting one of the big three by 80%. Instead of raising your health insurance premiums these lifestyle changes will very likely keep them steady and in some cases may actually lower them. These lifestyle changes are attainable by most folks, but they do require sincere commitment. The alternatives for not embracing these changes are higher health insurance premiums for everyone, seriously degraded quality of life and early death. The big lifestyle changes can be reduced to four. They include eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, maintaining a healthy weight, and not smoking. As one motivation coach put it, “Where attention goes, energy flows, and the result shows”. Practicing the healthy four lifestyle changes will help seniors preempt cancer, promote cardiovascular health, and avoid diabetes.
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Can Green Tea Block Cancer?
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In Asia where folks frequently consume green tea researchers have discovered that the rates of many cancers are much lower than in parts of the world where folks do not consume a lot of green tea. The researchers were pleasantly surprised to discover this link between heavy green tea consumption and low rates of cancers. The lower hormonal cancer rates in Asia for breast cancer and prostate cancer are well documented. In addition to these demographic results, labs tests have zeroed in on the apparent compounds in green tea that are responsible for blocking cancer. The research in the lab identified the extracts from green tea known as polyphenols as the compounds that stopped cancer cells from growing in the lab tests.
In terms of particular cancers, a noted British news source reported that consuming green tea may block lung cancer. In Asia a researcher reported that people who did not drink green tea were at least five times more likely to get lung cancer compared with green tea drinkers. This report indicated that the results of avoiding lung cancer applied to smokers and non-smokers alike; green tea drinkers were five times less likely to get lung cancer. This is very good news for seniors who are concerned about finding preemptive steps they can take to reduce their risk of age-related cancers and foster their senior health.
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Pick the Right Type of Vitamin D
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Recently the major health publications and the press have been promoting the significant health benefits that result when folks consume an adequate amount of vitamin D. Sadly some of the reports fail to identify the form of vitamin D that produces the better health results which are especially important for achieving senior health. The form of vitamin D that produces the better health results and last for a longer time is the same form that our bodies synthesize using sunshine. This is the form of vitamin D that is sometimes called the “sunshine vitamin” which is vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). The form of vitamin D that is often put in many multivitamins is the vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) form which is not utilized in our bodies as well as is the vitamin D3 form.
Seniors who are concerned about taking preemptive aging steps to protect themselves against as many as 27 age-related diseases need to verify that they are getting the vitamin D3 form. This is particularly true in the winter months when the amount of sunshine is at its yearly lowest. Seniors who are deficient in blood levels of vitamin D3 are at greater risk to their cardiovascular health and to contracting cancers, particularly the hormonal ones.
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Can Phytoestrogens Aid Senior Health ?
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Phytoestrogens are food sources that provide targeted health benefits over and above the basic nutritional value found in other foods. Some have been shown to preempt aging, particularly in the case of age-related diseases. For example the isoflavones, which are a major class of phytoestrogens and lignans, which are another major class, have been studied and shown to reduce the risks for heart disease, osteoporosis and certain cancers for the folks that consumed them. Lignans are found in significant quantities in a variety of foods including whole grains, vegetables, legumes and berries. Lignans are found in flax seeds and sesame seeds, too. The lignans in sesame seeds provide a synergistic effect with vitamin E to provide an anti-aging effect.
One study in the British Isles found that men with the highest consumption of lignans had the lowest incidence of prostate cancer. Parallel studies in Europe of postmenopausal woman who consumed a greater amount of lignans in their diet showed a reduced risk of breast cancer. A similar result was found in the case of pre-menopausal women; those with the highest consumption of lignans showed the lowest risk for breast cancer. This is good news for seniors, both women and men, who are looking for dietary means to preempt aging and improve their senior health.
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Lower Your Senior Risks for Cancer
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A number of years ago a signature line of a show business fellow was that ‘You are what your eat’. For seniors who want to reduce their risks of various cancers, this statement about what we eat is very true. Certain foods are known to lower our age-related risks for contracting cancers including breast cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer, and so on. Conversely, a number of foods are known to be associated with higher risks of contracting those same age-related cancers. As we age our cells are subjected to an accumulation of mutations in our genes that make us more vulnerable to contracting cancer. These mutations affect the way our genes regulate cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. In order to avoid cancer we need to restore our gene functions to a healthy state.
We can foster healthy healthy gene functions by the foods and supplements that we consume. By eliminating or greatly reducing the foods that increase our risk of cancer such as red meat, high fat dairy and sweets and replacing them with foods that support our gene health we can reduce our risk of cancer. The foods that allow us to take preemptive aging steps against cancer are vegetables, soy products, cruciferous vegetables, soy isoflavones, dietary lignans, and vitamin D3. The soy isoflavones in particular are associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer and prostate cancer.
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Breast Cancer Prevention by A Dynamic Team
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The diagnosis of breast cancer is always dreaded, because it often results in death or severe disfigurement of the patient. Once breast cancer gets a foothold, it becomes very difficult to treat without negative side effects. Recent research at an American university has found a way to prevent breast cancer from developing and spreading the way its typically does. In lab tests they tried varying the concentrations of curcumin applied to cultured breast cells and compared the results against untreated cultured breast cells. They found that even at the lowest levels of curcumin the number of stem cells was reduced. The reduction in stem cells meant that the cancer could be prevented.
The researchers doubled the concentration of curcumin and achieved complete inhibition of the stem cells. In further tests they tried varying concentrations of piperine and achieved lower reductions in stem cells compared with curcumin. Finally they combined curcumin and piperine and achieved a reduction in the stem cells that was greater then that resulting from either piperine or curcumin alone. The combination of curcumin and piperine did not affect the normal development of the cells, but it reduced the stem cells that fuel breast cancer. Curcumin and piperine combine to form a dynamic team against breat cancer. These results are very encouraging, because they have opened a path to possibly preventing breast cancer without serious negative side effects. This is very good news for senior women who are concerned about fostering their senior health by taking preemptive measures against breast cancer.
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The Red Super Food
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It is well known that certain members of the berry family are super stars when it comes to nutrition. One member of that family stands out from the rest, because of its sheer potency for fighting a variety of diseases and health issues. The good news is that the popular strawberry provides such a variety of health benefits from improving heart health to combating inflammation. It is known to protect cognitive function which is so important for senior living. Strawberries can deliver these diverse health benefits, because of their dense phenol content. The bright red color of strawberries is due to the presence of phenols known as anthocyanins. The anthocyanins are powerful antioxidants that defend the organs of the body. Another phenol found in large amounts in strawberries are known as ellagitannin that has antioxidant and anti-proliferative poperties. Strawberries are high in vitamin C, folate and potassium which when combined with the ellagitannin and anthocyanins put them near the top of the list among fruits for antioxidants. The list for strawberries goes on to include flavonoids, querctin, and catechin which when combined with phenols and antioxidants makes them a top performer in terms of cancer-fighting and heart disease-fighting capability. This is good news for seniors who are looking for nutritional paths to take preemptive aging steps against cardiovascular disease.
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A Super Food for 2010!
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This grain is one of the oldest grains used by humans. Barley was first used by humans in Egypt about 10,000 years ago. Late in the 15th Century it was brought to the Americas by Columbus, but barley has never gained the same popular use in the USA as other grains such as wheat and oats. Recently a number of barley’s exciting health benefits have been discovered that have particular relevance for senior health. It turns out that barley is loaded with phytochemicals, minerals and fiber that can provide preemptive aging benefits against a range of diseases. Those benefits include protection against cancer, cardiovascular disease, and unbalanced blood sugar levels.
One of the components in barley that makes it rank as a super food is a particular kind of soluble fiber known as beta-glucan. Beta-glucan is a fiber that we can not digest. It binds with water in our digestive system and slows the rate at which food moves through the digestive system. By slowing down the movement of food through our digestive system it moderates the body’s insulin and glucose responses following a meal. Among the top two grains that provide the most beta-glucan barley ranks above oats. This high beta-glucan content makes whole grain barley a super food in terms of helping folks who suffer from diabetes, because it reduces the peak glucose and insulin levels. Barley can lower the risk of cardiovascular disease by promoting healthy blood lipid levels. Other components in Barley that add to its standing as a super food are its phytonutrients known as lignans. The lignans have been shown to reduce the risk of certain cancers such as breast cancer and prostate cancer.
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