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12 Ways to Protect Yourself Against Colon Cancer

by August 1, 2017

The second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, it is estimated that 2017 will bring 95,520 new cases. The American Cancer Society reports that while there is a decline in the number of cases in those 50 and older, the incidence rate in Americans under the age of 50 has been on the rise, with an overall increase of 22% from 2000 to 2013.

As experts continue to focus on developing a better understanding of the causes of colon cancer, and potential risk factors, they are able to warn those that may be at risk as to the steps they can take to protect themselves. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of the World Health Organization (WHO) released a report in 2015 revealing the risk associated with the consumption of processed meats, and their connection with an increased risk of colorectal cancer.

While some of those diagnosed with cancer can trace their diagnosis back to a genetic cause, the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) advised that approximately 1/3 of the most common cancer cases in the United States are the result of preventable lifestyle choices. Specifically, they state that 50% of those diagnosed with colorectal cancer could have prevented the disease.

What can you do to protect yourself? Follow these 12 guidelines:

  1. Spend Some Time at the Gym

Partaking in a regular exercise routine has been found to decrease the risk of colorectal cancer by controlling insulin levels and boosting the circulation of immune cells throughout the body.

 

  1. Make Vitamin D Work for You

One of the risk factors that experts have associated with colorectal cancer is the presence of a Vitamin D deficiency. You can increase your vitamin D levels by spending more time outside, exposing yourself to more sunlight each day.

 

  1. Boost Your Calcium Levels

Experts explain that maintaining optimal calcium levels has been associated with a decreased risk of colorectal cancer.

 

  1. Pay Attention to Belly Fat

Experts cite an association between obesity and an increased risk of colorectal cancer, especially in regards to the presence of belly fat. Even the smallest amount of weight loss can result in considerable health benefits.

 

  1. Increase Your Fruit and Vegetable Intake

High in important cancer-fighting compounds such as antioxidants and magnesium, increasing your fruit and vegetable intake will allow you to actively fight cancer through your dietary choices.

 

  1. Limit Alcohol Consumption

Excessive alcohol consumption has been found to increase the risk of colorectal cancer. Eliminate binge drinking, and reduce overall alcohol consumption.

 

  1. Avoid Processed Meats

As discussed above, the World Health Organization has recognized the connection between processed meats and an increased risk of colorectal cancer. This includes bacon, ham, pastrami, salami, pepperoni, hot dogs, sausages and hamburgers (those preserved through the use of salt or chemical additives).

 

  1. Quit Smoking

Connected with an increased risk of a number of different forms of cancer, experts have advised that smoking does carry an increased risk of colorectal cancer.

 

  1. Add Fiber to Your Diet

Many fruits and vegetables are also packed with dietary fiber, helping to improve your digestive health and prevent colorectal cancer.

 

  1. Add Garlic to Your Diet

Experts have been focusing their attention on the anti-cancer benefits of garlic, with some studies even showing that garlic can kill cancer cells in laboratory studies. Adding garlic to your regular diet will help to lower your risk.

 

  1. Be Smart About Your Red Meat Consumption

While some studies have shown that an increase in red meat is associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer, new data shows it’s not the red meat responsible, but rather the type of red meats that are being consumed. Limit your red meat consumption to organically raised grass-fed meats.

 

  1. Take a Multivitamin with Folate

Adding a regular multivitamin to your routine has been found to lower the risk of colorectal cancers, specifically, the vitamin contains folate.

The Scientific Effect of Fasting on The Body

by July 31, 2017

Fasting is something practiced by many different groups, cultures, people, and religions. There are many different reasons why someone might fast, but there are even more benefits to doing it!

Fasting has been practiced for thousands of years for multitudes of different reasons. However, many people deny the metaphysical benefits of fasting, there is science backed benefits too. A scientist named Valter Longo, featured in a BBC documentary, is a Gerontological researcher at the University of Southern California. He, alongside his colleagues, has shown that fasting eases the side effects of chemotherapy, and promotes health advantages to the body.

Longo and his colleagues found that reducing the amount of food in middle aged mice for two 4-day periods each month actually allowed those mice to outlive peers by three months!

Fasting is typically defined as abstaining from all or some kinds of food or drink, especially as a religious observance. It is a common practice for millions of people, especially during the month of Ramadan for Muslims. It is also practiced by Hindus, Christians, and Jews. Some people abstain from all food and drinks, including water. One TEDx talk was given by Mark Mattson, the current chief of Laboratory of Neuroscience at the National Institute of Aging.

Mark Mattson outlined the benefits of fasting and what it can do to positively affect your body. Not only that, but he also talked about why the Big Pharma and Food Industries refuse to study it. Here is a transcript of a section of Mark Mattson’s talk which hints at these questions.

“Why is it that the normal diet is three meals a day plus snacks? It isn’t that it’s the healthiest eating pattern, now that’s my opinion but I think there is a lot of evidence to support that. There are a lot of pressures to have that eating pattern, there’s a lot of money involved. The food industry — are they going to make money from skipping breakfast like I did today? No, they’re going to lose money. If people fast, the food industry loses money. What about the pharmaceutical industries? What if people do some intermittent fasting, exercise periodically and are very healthy, is the pharmaceutical industry going to make any money on healthy people?”

“Intermittent fasting has now become my way of life. It feels damn good and I find myself being clear and focused. My energy levels have skyrocketed. I used to always get that afternoon slump when I felt tired at about 3 PM, but I don’t experience this anymore.

Eating has also come to be an experience that’s enjoyed, rather than just food to scoff down as fast as I can. This has made it easy to keep intermittent fasting going.

Also, after a couple weeks, I decided to try exercising (running and weights) as soon as I woke up on an empty stomach. I thought I would feel light headed and faint from working out on an empty stomach, but the truth is, I had more grit and energy.

Research has found that there are major perks to doing this: apparently it’s meant to supercharge your body’s fat-burning potential.”

 

5 Ways Homemade Peppermint And Lemon Foot Soak Benefits You

by July 31, 2017

One of the most relaxing things a person can do is a foot soak. They feel nice and there are a lot of benefits to be obtained too! Especially from a peppermint and lemon foot soak.

Foot soaks have been used in medicine for hundreds of years. People use them for all sorts of different reasons. A foot soak can be the perfect way to de-stress from a long day at work. It can even get rid of foot odor, relax nerves, improve sleep quality, reduce stress, and energize you in the morning!

A lemon and peppermint foot soak is great for detoxifying the body. It can remove any sort of fungus from your feet and relieve you of bad odor too. Lemon is packed full of vitamins and nutrients that can detoxify the body, and our feet are actually an ideal access point. The best part about this foot soak is that you can make it right at home from natural ingredients! In fact, that’s the best way to do it. You don’t have to buy any expensive solutions or powders, just peppermint, and lemons! It’s super easy to whip up too!

Decreases Stress

This lemon and peppermint foot soak has been shown to significantly decrease stress. Stress can lead to a world of different health problems, and we all experience way too much of it in the first place in modern day times. The magnesium content provided by the lemon and peppermint can help reduce stress and depression.

Relaxes You

It relaxes your nerve endings because your feet contain many endings per square centimeter – so much in fact, that it has more nerve endings than the rest of the body. Peppermint and lemon foot soak relaxes those nerve endings, improves muscle function, and regulates electrolyte levels.

Removes Toxins

You have 33 bones, 26 joints, and over 100 tendons in each of your feet. Soaking your feet can remove the harmful toxins from these areas. It happens as blood circulation near the skin surface increases, thus releasing toxins.

More Restful Sleep

This foot soak is also a fantastic way to get better sleep. Doing it before bedtime can relax your entire body and result in a more restful sleep.

Gives You Morning Energy

It even improves your energy in the morning! Because it increases your blood circulation, it stimulates your nervous system and gives it a boost!

You’ll Need:

  • A plastic basin with enough water to soak your feet
  • 1 cup of Epsom salt
  • 1 cup of sea salt
  • 1 tbsp of baking soda
  • 1 tbsp of cornstarch
  • 1 tbsp of olive oil
  • 3 tbsp of pure lemon extract
  • 2 tbsp of peppermint tea
  • 4 tbsp of peppermint extract

Add all the ingredients into the plastic basin containing water. Mix them gently and soak your feet in them. Now, you can sit back and relax while peppermint, lemon, and other ingredients do their job. Keep your feet soaked for 10-15 mins.

Study Says Avoiding Gluten May Be Bad for You

by July 31, 2017

Many people believe that a gluten free diet is one of the healthiest diets you can go on. And just like much of the nutritional information that we are supplied with, this too might be false.

Of course, you have the grounds to go on a gluten free diet if you are gluten intolerant. However, it might not be the best idea if you’re just trying to have a healthier diet, increase your overall health, or even if you’re trying to lose weight. New studies show that a gluten free diet might actually be hurting you.

Gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley, causes inflammation and intestinal harm in those with celiac disease, a condition present in about 0.7 percent of the U.S. population, the study says.

The study was performed at Harvard Medical University. They tracked the eating habits of 64,714 women and 45,303 men over 26 years. The researchers found that long term avoidance of gluten in adults sometimes resulted in the reduced heat healthy grains, which could affect cardiovascular health overall.

“It appeared that those individuals who consumed the lowest levels of dietary gluten had a 15 percent higher risk of heart disease,” study leader Andrew Chan, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, tells CBS. “The promotion of gluten-free diets among people without celiac disease should not be encouraged,” the study concludes.

Heart healthy grains are crucial to a healthy diet because they promote our cardiovascular health so prominently. We need them to be healthy because they supply many benefits like decreased chances of getting asthma, inflammatory diseases, reduced risk for heart disease, and helps you maintain a healthy weight. The study concluded that people with celiac disease should not be encouraged to eliminate gluten from their diets.

Based on other findings from a study published in the British Medical Journal, further research is necessary to prove the cause and effect correlation of the body. Chan advises consuming more fibrous and hearts healthy grains like oat and brown rice!

 

My 3-Year-Long Migraine Without The Headache

by July 31, 2017

Headaches are awful and awfully common. The pain can typically be sufficed by taking a few Tylenol. But not if you suffer from vestibular migraines.

Headaches are a horrible thing to experience, especially regularly. I’m sure we’ve all had at least one headache before, and we can all agree that we wouldn’t want to have another. Sadly, for those who suffer from migraines, it is essentially inevitable – especially if they suffer from vestibular migraines.

Migraines are typically a one sided, throbbing headache. They can be ranged from moderate to severe pain and intensity and are often related to light or sound sensitivity. They typically consist of symptoms like nausea, vomiting, and visual aura that precedes a headache. Vestibular migraines are different from regular migraines because the most predominant symptom is dizziness. Patients complain of the migraines coming out of nowhere, and intense dizziness almost immediately affecting them. Some patients even describe a spinning or rocking sensation followed by intense light and sound sensitivity.  

Vestibular migraines are believed to be an inherited disorder. Patients brains are normal on MRI imaging, but in the same way, a migraine is a disorder in function, vestibular migraines could be too. They have light and sound sensitivity, nausea, and eventually, end up hugging a toilet bowl vomiting. Researchers say that there is hyperexcitability in the brain stem that overlaps with the vestibular structures that help keep our balance. So, this is what is obviously causing the dizziness.

One Writer for the Odyssey Online had an amazing story about her difficult fight with vestibular migraines. Her name is Kelly Braun, and her vestibular migraines started all the way back in college. You can see her story below.

It all began one day during my freshman year of college. I awoke to a feeling of an elevator dropping inside of me which progressed to a constant feeling of off balance. I proceeded to the ER in utter fright – nothing emergent was wrong. I waited to see my doctor at home after finishing up the school year. I was told I had labyrinthitis and it goes away soon. She was completely wrong. A few weeks into my sophomore year of college I started having blurry and double vision. I felt like I was floating on a raft in the ocean every time I laid down. I constantly went to doctors, but everyone told me it was stress and anxiety.

I began getting sensations that gravity was pulling me in random directions. It was very difficult to sit in class and I was in hard classes at the time — I was taking organic chemistry and physics. One day, I grew frustrated and went to the hospital. I remember the doctors asking me to call my parents and them saying, “We’re sorry but we think your daughter has MS.” I ended up not having MS, but I didn’t know what I had.

My symptoms eventually became 24/7. I went to an ENT who diagnosed me with BPPV. He did an Epley Maneuver, but it only helped for a day. I went to a chiropractor who told me that something was wrong with my neck and that all just made me feel worse. I spent my 21st birthday crying. My symptoms were getting worse every month. I truly don’t know how I passed my classes that next semester. The following summer was yet again spent trying to figure out what was wrong with me. My goal was to figure out what was wrong with me by the time I began pharmacy school at the end of August. Unfortunately, I did not achieve that goal.

November 20, 2016 was one of the worst days of my life. The symptoms came back more severe than imaginable – and stayed like this for 5 months straight, every minute of the day. This was when I became off-balanced, dizzy and unable to walk without holding onto things. I felt like my head was a bobble head. I felt like I was constantly drunk and on a boat. I studied for my final exams feeling like I was bouncing on the chair as my head was rocking and swaying. That winter break, my symptoms were unbearable. I was unable to sit without falling off the chair and my whole body felt like I couldn’t control it. I was so dizzy. Two days before Christmas I got a call saying some labs pointed toward a tumor and that I needed have MRI’s of the brain and cervical spine. I was scared, yet relieved that I may have an answer. The MRI came back clear, which shocked the doctors. I was sent home and referred to a neurologist with an 8-month waiting list.

On New Year’s Eve, I sat on the couch crying uncontrollably; it was the third year I had been sick with this unknown illness. Many of my friends texted me that 2017 was going to be a better year and I replied, “you said that last year and the year before.” I was screaming and crying in agony as the ball dropped. My head was furiously rocking as my body was floating and being pulled every which way. From midnight until 7 am I sat on my bed in a ball rocking back and forth. My ears were filled with an excruciating ringing for 12 hours straight. I went to the ER. I sat in that waiting room for 5 hours with my whole body and head rocking back and forth.

The doctors said my ear looked like it was bulging. I was so excited and wondered how nobody ever noticed this. They told me that the false movement sensations were vertigo. I thought vertigo meant the room was spinning, but that day I learned it can mean that you feel like you are moving. They gave me a massive dose of steroids and I felt so much better I was crying of joy. Well, two days later it all came back. I had no idea how I was supposed to take on another semester of school while battling this. But I tried. I hit my car twice, which led me to make the difficult decision to take a year off of school.

I was then hospitalized for 6 days. I saw an ENT and a Neurologist. The ENT thought I may have Superior Semicircular Canal Dehiscence Syndrome (SSCD), but it came back negative. The neurologist didn’t have a clear diagnosis but he put me on Topamax because he “thought it may work.” He said I wouldn’t notice any improvement for at least a month or even two months. That was sure great to hear. I left the hospital no better.

A month later, the phone rang. There was a cancellation to see the vestibular neurologist that I couldn’t see for 8 months. This is the day someone finally actually understood what I was going through. He spent over 2 hours with me. This is the day I was diagnosed “Vestibular Migraine.”

I had a hard time believing this. I did not have a headache and my symptoms were 24/7. I knew people with migraines and this was not what I had. He said that my light and smell sensitivities, as well as my childhood history of sinus headaches (which I thought were sinus infections at the time), fit the criteria for a migraine. I began vestibular rehab. I had an amazing physical therapist that gave me exercises to help me sit again without falling off of a chair. I was starting to feel a little better. The Topamax began to help at 25 mg twice a day and I eventually added Effexor XR 37.5 mg. I also take Riboflavin, Ginger, Coenzyme Q10, Vitamin D and Magnesium Glycinate daily. In addition, I am doing a migraine food elimination diet from the book “Heal Your Headache” by David Buckholtz; I strongly recommend reading this as it explains the mechanism of a migraine in detail as well as using medications.

The medications, supplements, and diet have helped me so much.

I am proud of how far I have come and I am proud I never gave up on searching for an answer.

Scientists Successfully Slow Aging in Mice Using Stem Cells

by July 31, 2017

Stem cell research has been a very controversial topic in science for the past decade. Many people question the ethics and morale of the practice, but in all reality, it has the potential to transform the health of basically anyone.

Stem cell research has been quite controversial, but scientists continue to make extraordinary findings regarding its effects on major health issues and the typical aging process. Researchers from New York’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine have discovered a breakthrough in anti-aging research. They have found research that suggests the brain’s hypothalamus is crucial in keeping aging and age related disease afar.

The researchers from Albert Einstein College of Medicine have incredibly tested a new procedure on mice that could help keep age related disease afar – and even aging itself. Their findings were reported in the Journal, ‘Nature’. They found that the crucial role of the hypothalamus plays in aging.

The hypothalamus is the region of the brain responsible for the boy’s hormonal and metabolic processes. According to lead researcher, Dongsheng Cai in a press release, “Our research shows that the number of hypothalamic neural stem cells naturally declines over the life of the animal, and this decline accelerates aging.” They found that the process is interestingly not reversible. To identify if the disappearance of stem cells was related to aging, the researchers injected mice with a toxin that killed 70% of their neural stem cells. Cai explained, “This disruption greatly accelerated aging compared with control mice, and those animals with disrupted stem cells died earlier than normal.”

In a further research study, the researchers implanted the stem cells that were ready to become fresh neurons into the brains of older mice. By doing this, they extended the life of the mice by 10 to 15%! It kept them physically and mentally fit for several more months.

Many researchers have hinted at the role of the hypothalamus in aging, yet, it has never before been pinpointed quite so clearly and obviously. While Cai’s team seemed to discover the missing link, “It is a tour de force,” David Sinclair at Harvard Medical School told The Guardian. “It’s a breakthrough. The brain controls how long we live.”

“Of course humans are more complex,” Cai said, also speaking to The Guardian. “However, if the mechanism is fundamental, you might expect to see effects when an intervention is based on it.”

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