Archive for the ‘Colon cancer’ Category
Ginger A Spice for Senior Health
Image via Wikipedia
Ginger’s health benefits have been known from the beginning of civilization. References to the use of ginger have been found in the writings of most ancient societies such as the Chinese, Indian, and Roman societies. Ginger tastes good, smells exotic, and provides proven medicinal benefits. It turns out that ginger contains powerful phenolic compounds that have been studied for their benefits over a wide range of illnesses and ailments. The spice ginger contains a number of powerful antioxidants including gingerols, shogaols, and zingerone. These antioxidants have been linked to providing relief for ailments from bronchitis, upper respiratory tract infections, motion sickness, rheumatoid arthritis to colon and ovarian cancer. Several studies documented the relief from the pain and lack of mobility resulting from their previously debilitating arthritis. Another study measured the effect of red ginger on reducing acute and chronic inflammation.
Additional studies revealed that the gingerol in the spice ginger showed anti-inflammatory effects and antitumorigenic effects against colon cancer. In the animal study the growth of the colon cancer tumor was suppressed due to the action of gingerol. In another study gingerol showed the ability to kill ovarian cancer cells, but did it in a way the cancer cells did not become resistant to its anticancer properties which has been the case with some chemotherapy agents. This is good news for seniors who are concerned about their senior health, because they can include fresh ginger in their choice of spices.
Seniors Can Reduce Risk of Colorectal Cancers
- Image by Transportation for America via Flickr
For seniors who are concerned about taking affordable, preemptive steps to promote their senior health, here are five steps that, if taken, can greatly reduce the risk of contracting colorectal cancer. The results are from a study in Europe that were recently published in a medial journal in Britain. The researchers found that folks who lost weight, limited their consumption of alcoholic beverages, stopped smoking, maintained a healthy diet and exercised about 30 minutes a day reduced their risk of colorectal cancer by more than 20%. This was the first study that combined all five factors, because earlier studies had considered these factors individually in isolation from the others. It is not certain why following these recommendations helps to prevent colorectal cancer, but suffering from high insulin and diabetes are known risk factors for colorectal cancer. Lack of physical activity and obesity lead to high insulin states, that typically lead to the growth of cancer cells. The European study found that women who lost weight sufficient to reduce their waist size to 35 inches and men to reduce their waist size to 40 inches were in the healthy zone. In terms of alcohol consumption men who consumed no more that 14 drinks per week and women no more than 7 were also remained in the healthy zone. In summary seniors who want to take preemptive aging steps to foster their senior health would be well advised to implement these five lifestyle recommendations.
Why Metformin Is A Health Friendly Drug For Seniors!
- Image via Wikipedia
Typically the prescription drug metformin is prescribed for folks with type 2 diabetes, but it turns out that it has anti-aging properties that cover a broad spectrum. Best of all metformin has been used for many years without showing any of the serious type of side effects that have been caused by the used of so many prescription drugs. It was originally a botanical compound that was derived from the French lilac (Gallega officianalis). As an added bonus due to its long time use as a prescription drug it is no longer covered by patent, so it is available to seniors as very low cost generic drug. Taking metformin under a doctor’s supervision should be considered seriously by seniors who are concerned about taking preemptive aging steps to promote their senior health. Recent studies have revealed that metformin can play an influential role in promoting health for seniors beyond treating type 2 diabetes. Meformin use has been shown to promote anti-cancer activity against a variety of cancers including breast, pancreas, colon, and prostate cancer. Medical studies have revealed that metformin can act both as a cancer preventative and by interferring with the growth of cancers that have already started.
Is Folate or Folic Acid Good for Seniors?
- Image by prettydaisies via Flickr
In the popular media and even some health media folic acid is treated as being equivalent to folate. Results from recent research show that folate is not interchangeable with folic acid in terms of health benefits for folks and this is especially applicable to seniors who are concerned about fostering their senior health. It turns out that folic acid is actually an oxidized vitamin that can initiate cognitive decline in some seniors. It can can raise the risk of some cancers such as colon and rectal and can also speed up the growth of existing cancers. By way of contrast the folates are found in green and leafy vegetables such as asparagus, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, spinach, romaine, and lettuce. No folic acid is found in any of these foods, because folic acid is a single molecule that was crystalized back in the 1940′s by a patent medicine company.
Folic acid is a relatively stable and patentable substance that is low cost compared with folate which has a very short shelf life, is expensive and can not be patented. Back in the 1940′s companies chose to promote folic acid over folate for the above reasons. For younger folks folic acid can be a healthy supplement, because their bodies can convert it into the folates that their bodies need. For older folks such as seniors it turns out that their bodies can not convert folic acid into folates very efficiently. Current research has uncovered cases of cognitive decline in seniors that appears to be due to supplementing with folic acid instead of folate. This is good news for seniors who are concerned about seeking preemptive aging information, in order to promote their senior health.
The Big Four Lifestyle Changes for Senior Health
- Image by Damon Duncan via Flickr
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.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=20f38fdb-821f-4746-a8ec-9ddfbd350d29)
Can NAC Provide Cancer Chemoprevention?
- Image by Garrettc via Flickr
NAC is the acronym for N-Acetyl Cysteine which is a double-barreled health promoting compound. It has been known for forty years, but its multiple health benefits have only recently been identified and reported. It regulates the expression of scores of genes in those pathways that link oxidative stress with inflammation. In NAC’s second barrel it supports raising the level of an important antioxidant known as glutathione (GSH) which is particularly important for seniors who are concerned about fostering their senior health. With these dual effects NAC can provide a special role in the treatment and prevention of many common diseases. NAC can provide protection against avian and seasonal flu, improve insulin sensitivity in folks with metabolic disorders, battle the stomach infection Heliobacter, and block cancer development at nearly every step in the process.
Today the knowledge that there are strong links between oxidative stress and inflammation that lead to cancer make NAC an obvious choice for a compound that will provide cancer chemoprevention. NAC has many anti-cancer activities which aim at multiple targets resulting in layers of cancer protection against myriad cancers. It turns out that NAC is now available in supplement form. This information is very good news for seniors who are searching for preemptive means to promote their senior health by avoiding cancer in any form.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=e8add4ca-8ecf-4f9b-9bd1-27863cdc2bb0)
Get Protection Against Colon Cancer
- Image via Wikipedia
Every year colon cancer attacks around one million folks making it one of the leading causes of death due to cancer. Seniors who are serious about taking steps to discover preemptive aging information, in order to avoid becoming a victim of colon cancer will appreciate reading the information in this post. In terms of cancer chemoprevention in the colon implementing healthy lifestyle choices along with nutritional supplementation can foster a healthy colon needed for senior health. Recent studies indicate that the following nutritional supplements can perform as chemopreventive agents.
Plant-based polyphenols such as curcumin, resveratrol, quercetin, and green tea are outstanding examples of chemopreventive agents. The following foods encourage colon health. Garlic, ginger, and cruciferous vegetables lead the parade of foods that boost the health of the colon against developing colon cancer. In terms of chemopreventive nutrients the following vitamins and minerals form a strong team defending the colon against cancer. The vitamins D and E along with the mineral calcium form a strong part of anticancer team. The vitamins B6, B12, and folate complete the vitamin branch of the team that fights colon cancer. Finally the mineral selenium together with the omega-3 fatty acids round out the team of chemopreventive nutrients.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=404eeb5f-5c26-4225-b05e-1a25529027f7)