How to prevent breast cancer?

Dr. Ben Kim on September 15, 2006 in Women's Health wrote about how to prevent breast cancer. He found that food and lifestyle choices are very important to prevent breast cancer. One of the keys to treating and preventing breast cancer naturally is to avoid estrogen dominance and reducing stress.

 It’s essential to consistently make healthy food choices that ensure regular intake of natural vitamin, minerals, and antioxidants. Although there are no guarantees, you can take some steps to help prevent breast cancer:

* Please do not smoke because smoking is a really bad habit for you and gives a bad impact to other people surround you? Smoking is very dangerous.

* Breast-feed your babies for as long as possible.Women who breast-feed their babies for at least a year in total have a reduced risk of developing breast cancer later.

* Maintain a healthy weight. Manage your weight wisely.
* Exercise regularly such as jogging and other low impact sports. Exercise and sport is a great way as an investment for you in the future.
* Limit your use of alcohol. If you do drink, you may be able to decrease your risk of breast cancer by taking a folate supplement. Stop drinks any alcohol products it’s much better to prevent yourself from breast cancer and other bad effect to your daily life.
* Follow a healthy diet low in fat and high in cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, strawberry juice, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower).
* Have your doctor examine your breasts every three years if you are under age 40 and every year if you are over 40.
* Have regular mammograms. Mammograms can detect breast cancer two to five years before a tumor becomes large enough to be felt as a lump. Women who believe they may be at especially high risk of hereditary breast cancer should consult with a genetic counselor before testing.

*   Consider taking the aromatize inhibitor exemestane.  The results of a study released earlier this year showed that the drug exemestane reduced the risk of breast cancer by 65 percent in high-risk, postmenopausal women. Talk to your doctor about whether this may benefit you.

* Holiday to the place that can reduce stress.

Remember to call your doctor immediately if you find a lump or abnormal thickening in your breast. Call your doctor if you notice a nipple is inverted, discharge from a nipple, a swelling in your breast or a change in breast contour, or redness or dimpling of breast skin.
Your life style and food choices are very important to prevent breast cancer and other healthy problem in the future. Don’t worry. Have a good life.

How to Detect Symptoms of Meningitis

By eHow Health Editor

Meningitis is an inflamation of the covering of the brain due to a viral, bacteria or fungi infection. It's can be lethal within hours - especially in kids. Familiarize yourself with the signs and symptoms, especially if you have a child, and seek treatment as soon as possible if you suspect infection.

Know that sudden fever, especially over 100 degrees F, with or without a preceeding illness, is cause for concern. If you or your child is ill with an earache, cold, flu or pneumonia, check for fever twice a day.

Evaluate your eyesight. If you're experiencing photophobia, that is, looking at light causes you pain or prompts you to look away, you may have meningitis.

Watch for vomiting, another symptom of meningitis.

Evaluate your level of fatigue. Sometimes malaise and lethargy is a warning symptom of meningitis.

Check your infant's fontanelle, or soft spot. If it's bulging or tight, call your pediatrician immediately.

Listen to your child's cry. If it's high-pitched and shrill, this may be a symptom of meningitis.

Getting to Know Myself

It seems like a no-brainer. I should know what I like, what I’m good at, right? But it’s not always so clear cut, at least for me. I have made many mistakes and wrong turns in my career and lifestyle that clearly show that I had NO CLUE what I really liked or what I wanted. I think the problem lies in separating out the things that I admire and wish I liked or wanted from reality.

A simple example that struck me just today was that I often think about how much I’d love to have a small vegetable garden at home so I could grow and have some fresh produce. My grandfather did that and it was wonderful. But if that’s so, why haven’t I made any effort at all to do that in my current back yard? My landlady has such a garden and clearly needs help tending it. Our neighbors, who grow a lot of food and even have bee hives, do most of it for her. But have I ever made one move to get involved? No. And when I see articles such as The GRS Garden Project: February 2009 Update I page right by. I’m not interested. So what makes me think I should have a vegetable garden?

I’ve also done jobs that, in hindsight, were completely off the mark in terms of jiving with my personality. I love working with children but the constant stress, never-ending paperwork, and standing on my feet all day life of being a teacher is just not for me. What was I thinking? I did that for a total of 4 years, even returning to it after doing something else for a time after that first year. Then, I took a managerial job at a salon – again completely stressful and involved running around all day. Was I delusional? I’ve finally learned from these missteps and found a place where I can be myself, be competent, and not have to be in charge of managing others 100% of the time. Halleluiah.

It is important that I face the fact of my true nature and not try to impose visions of what I think I should be. I’ve always loved working with kids – I should be a teacher! Not so much. I love fresh delicious food – I should grow a garden! Maybe not. I want a happy family-centered life – my husband and I should buy a house! Hmm… maybe I should look a little more clearly at what I actually want in my life. Do I want a family? Yes. Do I want children? Probably. Do I want a house and yard to take care of? Not particularly. I have tantrums just getting myself to clean the bathroom occasionally in our little apartment. What the heck would I do in a large house? Yes, I do know cleaning services exist and I’m still praying to win that argument with Cute Man about employing one when we have more space to take care of. And I know that at least some more space is necessary when we start having kids, but how much? Would a small condo with a great location close to work and little upkeep make more sense? I’m beginning to realize that the real me, not the vision of me, wants to keep things small and manageable with as few household responsibilities as possible. And that’s OK. Everyone, including me, will be happier dealing with reality rather than pushing up against the expectations of a fantasy.

10 Pounds!

To think, tracking and cutting my calories plus exercise = weight loss! It’s revolutionary, my friends. I am on a bit of high right now. I couldn’t believe it when I stepped on the scale this morning. I’ve officially lost 10.7 lbs since I started tracking with FitDay on January 7th. I’ve added in more cardio this week (30 minutes 3 x per week), which seems to be helping. The circuit training and yoga was helping me tone up but it wasn’t burning the calories as much as I wanted.

I’ve spent a lot of time resisting this process in the past. I think I just rebelled against having to do the necessary work. It seemed so unfair that I’d have to work so hard. I’ve finally let go of that and just buckled down. There is no simple “cutting back, moving more” for me. It doesn’t happen without concerted, focused attention. What works: tracking every single bite, exercising a minimum of 5 times/week, and embracing these changes as something positive instead of a punishment.

I think there is a tipping point of inertia – for the first couple of months, the workouts wore me out. I was motivated and consistent, but drained from “having” to do them. But at a certain point, things tipped and now I feel better due to all the activity. I’ve noticed this week in particular, that I’m less tired in the morning and I drink a bit less coffee throughout the day. I need to stay with this flow and keep up the consistency. I know far too well that it takes very little for me to completely derail and wind up on the wrong side of the inertia pull.

Thanks to everyone who is supporting me in this. Despite so many past failures, you’ve all pushed me to believe that I can do this, no matter what.

Creating Savings Sub-Accounts

I’ve had an ING savings account for awhile now, but have never set up any sub-accounts. I just didn’t see the point. But after reading JD’s post about prioritizing savings goals at Get Rich Slowly, I’m coming around to the idea. It would be great for things like saving up to buy clothes and shoes. It’s always hard to go make any sort of major wardrobe upgrade without decimating the spending money set aside for that particular pay period. Saving up a bit out of each check to then go and spend all at once would be MUCH more fun. The same would be true for vacations, presents, and pampering (things like massages). If I created accounts for those things, the money would just build over time, so I’d have decent chunks of money available when the various needs arise.

I also like JD’s idea of “snowflaking” when it comes to savings. It’s similar to the debt snowball but uses the concept to augment savings goals in a way that prioritizes them. Any extra money not spent at the end of a pay period would go into the sub-account currently with the highest priority, while all the others would just get the minimum amount set as an automatic transfer. When the first priority goal is met, the extra funds would be rolled over to the next highest.

Right now, I put $200 into my one ING “emergency” fund with each bi-weekly check. Many small things have come up lately and that fund hasn’t grown much beyond my initial goal of $1000. That amount seems sufficient for most unexpected things (knock wood!) but I’d like it to grow to about $2500. To reach that level by this time next year, I will put $60/check. I also realize that I’ll inevitably make withdrawals at some points, but I will make sure to snowflake money back into it after that so I can stay on track.

Here’s how I will allocate my bi-weekly auto-transfers to the new sub-accounts:

Emergency Fund: $60
Wardrobe*: $25
Presents: $25
Vacations: $25
Pampering: $25
House: $40

Total transfers each check: $200

*Snowflakes will go toward wardrobe right now. It needs HELP.

I think this plan will take some of the stress out of the main draws on my spending cash: clothes, shoes, presents, pampering, and vacations. So, in essence, I’ll still be spending much of this money – it’ll just be in a more controlled, easier to manage way. And the great thing is that in the end, it’s still all my money. In reality, should I (god-forbid) find myself in a true emergency, all of these funds would be available to carry me through. ING sub-accounts, here I come!

The Power of Positive Thoughts

In my yoga class today, the instructor spoke to us about how positive thoughts can actually help release feel-good hormones into our bloodstream. And of course, the opposite is true as well. That negative interior monologue that tends to chastise and rebuke, has a physical manifestation as well. Being aware of this inner critic, I try to keep her at bay – I know she’s doing me no favors. But there is nothing like trying to lose weight to get her going. Any misstep or overindulgence pumps up the volume on these types of thoughts. I try to banish them but they come back from time to time anyway, always at my most vulnerable moment.

In Step Four of Sally’s Year of Self Care, she addresses this phenomenon at length and gives some tips for combating it. The idea of cultivating an empathic inner voice is not entirely new to me. I do often stop mid-negative thought and try to replace it with a more positive one. But Sally takes it a step further and encourages us to have inner conversations with ourselves about how we’re feeling. As she notes, it seems a bit corny but can be quite transformative.

My favorite quote is at the end: “It’s not just about weight loss, though self-empathy helps with weight loss. It’s about finding fulfillment in life by honoring your needs. That starts with gentle listening.” I will work on doing a better job of listening to what it is I truly want so I’m not distracted by what I may think I want in the moment.

*)Acne Skin Care Tips That Work

How should people go about acne skin care? This article enumerates some basic guidelines to go by. For example, you should clean your skin gently, avoid frequent handling of the skin, avoid sun tanning, and lastly, women should choose their cosmetics carefully and men must shave carefully for good acne skin care.


People with acne may try to stop outbreaks and oil production by scrubbing their skin and using strong detergent soaps. However, scrubbing will not help acne skin care; in fact, it can make the problem worse. Most doctors recommend that people with acne gently wash their skin with a mild cleanser for acne skin care, once in the morning and once in the evening.

Patients should ask their doctor or another health professional for advice on the best type of cleanser to use for acne skin care. Acne skin care also means washing your skin after heavy exercise. Patients should wash their face from under the jaw to the hairline; rough scrubs or pads should not be used. It is important that patients thoroughly rinse their skin after washing it. Astringents are not recommended for acne skin care unless the skin is very oily, and then they should be used only on oily spots. Doctors also recommend that patients regularly shampoo their hair as part of acne skin care. Those with oily hair may want to shampoo it every day for proper acne skin care.

People who squeeze, pinch, or pick their blemishes risk developing scars. Acne lesions can form in areas where pressure is frequently applied to the skin. Frequent rubbing and touching of skin lesions should be avoided if you take your acne skin care seriously.

Men who shave and who have acne can try electric and safety razors to see which is more comfortable for acne skin care. Men who use a safety razor should use a sharp blade and soften their beard thoroughly with soap and water before applying shaving cream. Nicking blemishes can be avoided by shaving lightly and only when necessary.

A suntan or sunburn that reddens the skin can make blemishes less visible and make the skin feel drier for a little while. But the benefits are only temporary and cannot take the place of proper acne skin care. The sun can seriously damage skin, promote aging of skin, and cause skin cancer. Furthermore, many of the medications used to treat acne make a person more prone to sunburn.

People being treated for acne often need to change some of the cosmetics they use. Acne skin care demands that all cosmetics, such as foundation, blush, eye shadow, and moisturizers, should be oil free. Patients may find it difficult to apply foundation evenly during the first few weeks of treatment because skin may be red or scaly, particularly with the use of topical tretinoin or benzoyl peroxide.

Lip products that contain moisturizers may cause small, open and closed comedones to form. Hairstyling products that come in contact with the skin along the hairline can cause burning or stinging in people with acne. Acne skin care products that are labeled as noncomedogenic (do not promote the formation of blemishes) should be used for acne skin care; in some people, however, even these products may cause acne.

*)By Mike Spencer



About the author:
Mike Spencer loves helping people promote and protect their health, and has been doing so for many years. Here Mike talks about some help tips and techniques to combat acne. Read more about Mike’s Acne Prevention Tips