Weekly Wellness

Cancer Test: A test is in development which has had some success in detecting cells with cancer mutation specific to head and neck or oral cancers. These types of cancer are, like lung cancer, most often found in older smokers. Like lung cancer in smokers, the oral cancer is usually identified far too late for a curative intervention. To prevent lung and oral cancer one should never begin smoking or quit right now. Additionally, oral cancer is seen in heavy drinkers. This test, if improved and approved may lead to treatment and cures as the cancer could be detected sooner. The test involves spitting out saliva after rubbing on the cheeks, no big deal there. This does not appear to have any of the risk associated with the screening test for lung cancer which at this time is a CT scan of the lung. That test leaves radiation damage.

What to Eat? Well, it is the time of year when many people take a look at their health and commit to improving it. One way is to eat a more nutrient but less caloric diet. By diet I mean, “the sum of food consumed by the organism” [wikipedia} and NOT some type of temporary restriction of certain foods. In this country we pretty much choose what we eat from a near infinite menu that is only restrained by certain religious or disease states. To eat healthy, you can adopt some of the practices expressed in a recent USA today article. I note this because the article uses information from Barbara Rolls, PhD and her Penn State department of nutrition. The key is to replace empty or simple carbs and high fat foods with high fiber veggies and lean low calorie proteins while also bulking up ones meals, or maximizing the amount of food on a plate based on energy density. You can get her book about this from the library and it is called Volumetrics.

10 Worst: A coworker forwarded an email list of the top ten worst foods of 2007 where the reader is challenged by John McGran to see how many of them they have eaten. Of course, I have eaten none primarily because they all have meat in them. I must say, the names of some of them are enough to cause atherosclerosis, i.e. the Baconater from Wendy’s. It has 830 cals and 51 g of fat. Also on the list to start your day, a little breakfast burrito from Hardee’s with 60g of fat and 920 calories. So choosing to eat this type of food will NOT improve your health.

Scream not for Ice Cream: Actually, there are plenty of ice cream brands or flavors these days that are better for you than others, but this blurb refers to an elementary school in some city USA where the principal, god bless him, decided that since the students were tossing their lunches and heading straight for ice cream and cookies an executive decision was in order. He banned the stuff. Now dessert is fruit. And we all know kids (ok all of us) do not get enough fruit and vegetables. Actual fruit and vegetables, not juice. I wish that employers would be so brave. Not saying you can’t eat the bad stuff, just eat it elsewhere so that people who do not want to eat it, or worse, are challenged by it, can avoid the temptation and awkwardness of being faced with it at every work meeting and celebration, eh> Ok, I never said I wasn’t radical. Maybe I can teach health class at that school!

Fish Oil: The health benefit of consuming Omega 3 fatty acids does not need to be rehashed in this newsletter every week. I add it today because a January 8th article in the WSJ discussed the benefits and compared consuming fish [which included noting the mercury and other toxin warning - see media link on right for PPT on mercury in fish] to fish oil capsules. The article also addressed the supplementation of everyday foods with the compound. It said as we’ve said here, what is done in the labs is not done in real life so we don’t know if the results will carry over and that is still under study. Interesting however is that the only source of Omega 3 discussed was fish and fish oil capsules. You may remember that last week I noted Flaxseed Oil which I have added to my “foods consumed” daily. If time allows I will do a research review next week on Omega 3 in flaxseed vs. Omega 3 in other sources. All the health benefits noted in last week’s blog were iterated in this WSJ article.

Shingles: I did not know that shingles was something that could happen to anyone who has had chicken pox. I learned today that it was a very painful condition and required treatment with antiviral meds. It is important to detect and treat quickly. There is a vaccine available to protect against it. The vaccine is expensive but I think that at 300$ it is half the price of the HPV vaccine. It is covered by some MCR D policies and well, I’d recommend that older persons especially check it out. For those with weakened immune systems the consequences can be quite serious.

Wishing you wellness