Made Moon Blog

Mesothelioma is a very serious disease. One of the reasons it is so serious is that many people do not know what puts them at risk for mesothelioma. The basic risk of getting mesothelioma has to do with asbestos exposure. Asbestos is very common in many things and therefore it is not very difficult to be exposed to it.

The first cause is exposure to asbestos through one’s occupation. This is very common in several different occupations. People who work in shipbuilding trades, asbestos mining and milling, the manufacturing of asbestos products (such as textiles), insulation work in construction and building, and brake repair are at risk. There are also many other occupations that involve asbestos exposure. Men are often associated with higher mesothelioma risk because many of the asbestos-related jobs are often held by men.

Smoking increases the risk for mesothelioma tenfold. Mesothelioma is a cancer of the lungs, and the harmful chemicals in cigarette smoke damage the lungs beyond repair. When cigarette smoke is coupled with asbestos, the risks for developing mesothelioma and other lung cancers are increased greatly. Persons who smoke should make every effort to stop smoking in order to protect their lungs.

Environmental exposure to asbestos can also increase the risk of developing mesothelioma. Persons who live in neighborhoods near asbestos milling or manufacturing plants should be aware of the potential risk factors. Vermiculite, which is a non-asbestos mineral silicate, was mined at Libby Montana. It was later found to be heavily contaminated with asbestos. Many children played in the vermiculite slag heaps that were located throughout the town. These children later developed mesothelioma. There are 28 sites throughout the USA that received Libby mine vermiculite that have been selected for a community-wide evaluation of asbestos disease.

Another risk of developing mesothelioma is using products that contain asbestos. Asbestos is in a very large number of consumer products, including many that are used today. Products such as electric blankets, heat guns, curling irons, molding clays, deep fryers, slow cookers, frying pans, dry wall patch, fake fireplace logs, dry wall patch, and pipe wrap insulation could put one at risk. There are also many other products that contain, or have had exposure to, asbestos. There are many asbestos-containing products that have been banned by the Consumer Products Safety Commission. Unfortunately, there are still products that contain asbestos. It is a good idea to avoid using these products if possible, in order to reduce the risk of mesothelioma.

Robert Linebaugh writes about health issues, but focuses on mesothelioma. Learn more at www.justmeso.com .

Nearly every November and December family magazine seems to have
something to say about “holiday stress.”

Pile holiday stress on top of cancer stress, and the burden can
become staggering.

Perhaps we wonder if this will be our last holiday season with those we
love. Maybe we got our diagnosis during the holidays and wonder if,
from now on, the season will bring back nightmarish memories.

Some will ride through the holidays on the emotional roller-coaster of
surgery, radiation, or chemo. We may yearn for the holiday seasons of
the past, before cancer entered the picture.

How to cope? There’s no one right answer.

Perhaps the best we can do is to seek the spiritual equivalent of a
candle to light the way.

The fragile, yet oh-so-precious light of candles has deep spiritual
significance at this time of year.

Jewish families light a menorah in memory of an ancient light that
burned miraculously, against all odds. Christians light candles to
celebrate, not the end of darkness, but faith that “the light shines in the
darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5).

The act of lighting a candle contains within it an honest recognition of
the dark. So, there’s room for both celebration and lament.

And if all we can see is the dark?

Some of us will reach out to others who can surround us with their faith,
love, courage and hope. Others will reach inward, into their own spirit, or
upward toward a higher power.

Whatever our path, with faith in the light we can move forward.

(c) Norma Schmidt, LLC

Norma Schmidt, M.A., M.Div., is a former Lutheran minister with
experience as a pastor and cancer center chaplain. Her writing as
appeared in “Coping with Cancer” magazine. She is a former co-host of
the “Inspired Survivor” Internet radio show for people with cancer and
their families. Her free 6-week e-course, “Tapping the Power Within:
Spiritual Tools for Living with Cancer,” is available at http://www.MyCancerSupportCoach.com

Diabetes is probably one of the least understood diseases of this era, and there was a time when victims of this disorder were essentially sentenced to death. With the isolation of insulin and the onset of high-tech insulin controlling drugs, diabetics can now live longer under the western medicinal protocols. Unfortunately, living with diabetes means living with heart problems, joint pains, skin lesions, clinically maintained obesity, debilitating degenerative arthritis, and a seriously lowered life expectancy, not to mention the known psychotropic effects of the diabetic medications.

Unfortunately, the diets popularly shared with diabetics never were enough to reduce their hormonal imbalances and especially their insulin imbalance. This is true for two reasons: the diets themselves were never enough to provide the serious insulin control required by diabetics, and the diet itself distracted diabetics from the many other dimensions of their health which needed to be addressed before their pancreas could be rejuvenated.

There are points all along your body known to stimulate a ’sleeping’ pancreas. The pancreas itself must feed it’s insulin to the body through a system that is sensitive to internal pressures. It secretes it’s contents to the body by contracting. As the muscular portion of the pancreas is weak, conditions must be ideal for it’s contracting abilities to be as strong as possible. It is also known that compromised musculatures within the region can hamper the pancreas’ ability to contract, or can be a source of occlusion to the pancreatic ducts. Any one of these situations can be the source of an ineffective, or sleeping pancreas. Improper spinal function, muscular spasms around the pancreas, abdominal tension, specific traumas, and even slight obesity are among the many potential sources of a sleeping pancreas.

Your physician will rarely assess many of these sources. Due to both time constraints and the excellent results of insulin in preventing your death, the average physician will follow a pharmaceutical approach in controlling diabetes. This ‘easy’ approach is as productive as anything else which comes easy in life. Anytime you seek something for nothing, you usually get nothing for something, and this is a classic example of this folklore. What you need to know, on top of a very serious understanding of diet and nutrition, is proper spinal care, and methods of reduction of the trigger points associated with the pancreas.

Direct yourself to the sort of health care practitioners who can help you relieve your diabetes, explain to you the true dynamics of your visceral system, and educate you enough so that you may truly have a chance of living life without pharmaceutical dependence.

About the Author:

Dr. Bryan Brodeur is the owner of VitalityHouse, and the author of Vitalism, a health and fitness web site and e-book.

Rosemary
(Rosmarinus Offinalis)

Medical Parts: Leaves, flowering tops.

Description: Rosemary is an evergreen shrub which originated in the Mediterranean area and is now widely cultivated for its aromatic leaves and as a kitchen seasoning.

Properties and Uses: Antispasmodic, cholagogue, emmenagogue, stimulant, stomachic. The stimulant action of rosemary helps promote liver function, the production of bile, and proper digestion. It also acts to raise blood pressure and improve circulation. Because of the genuine danger of poisoning, however, rosemary is more often used externally.1

As popular as rosemary is today, its’ place in herb lore is what I find most fascinating. Rosemary flourishes in the Mediterranean area. Near the sea, there are veritable hedges of rosemary stretching as far as the eye can see, filling the air with its pungent, heady aroma.

In ages past rosemary was associated with female dominance; or as the old saying goes, “where rosemary flourishes the misses is master.” So prevalent was this belief that men were known to come home late at night, pruning sheers in hand, to cut back the rosemary bushes near their front gate, before the neighbors started to talk.

In herb lore, rosemary was considered a useful remedy for headaches, upset stomach, to ward off disease or calm the brain. It was thought a sprig of rosemary placed beneath a child’s pillow at night would keep away nightmares; and rosemary was often woven into the bridal bouquet as a symbol of fidelity.

Today, rosemary is as common in most spice cupboards as salt or pepper. While it may have lost some of its mystery over the intervening years, it has lost none of its usefulness. Rosemary is a common ingredient in many shampoos and conditioners, hand creams and cosmetics. (For a great hair tonic recipe please refer to my article on Nettles).

While dried rosemary can be purchased at virtually any grocery story, there is something immensely satisfying about growing the herb yourself. People often have difficulty growing rosemary, primarily because they treat it far too kindly.

Rosemary grows best in the temperate climate of the Mediterranean, but it does so in the highly acidic, sandy soil of the region. When planting rosemary, ignore the specialty packages of potting soil and fertilizers. If you happen to live in a region with very poor, sandy soil, you’re definitely in luck. Stick the plant directly into that lousy sand, in a sunny location, water it generously, and then leave it alone. The less attention and care it gets, the better it will do.

Rosemary will also do well in a pot near your front gate (a fun way to torment your husband). Just remember to give it lousy soil and lots of sun. Rosemary does not do well if over-watered. It is also extremely difficult to get rosemary to grow well indoors. Not even my grandmother, raised in the Mediterranean and a rosemary enthusiast, could keep hers alive indoors.

I have had some success keeping rosemary alive through a mild winter by heavily covering the roots with a dense compost, then wrapping the entire plant in burlap. But if you live in a northern climate, you will probably have to settle for replanting each spring. Don’t worry; with lots of sun, rosemary will grow quite rapidly.

1. The Herb Book, by John Lust. Benedict Lust Pub., May 1974

M.K. Welty hosts an informational website on herbs, herbal remedies and herbal gardening. For more great tips on Using Herbs or to locate purveyors of organic herbs and herbal remedies, Please visit us at: http://www.UsingHerbs.Com

If you are interested in learning the art of creating your own handmade herbal soaps, please visit our new site at: http://www.youcanmakesoap.com

Most of the time, we focus on health or skin care completely ignoring the importance of our feet. Foot care is equally important especially for diabetic people to avoid foot complications. Feet is one part of our body which is used the most. Even then, we tend to ignore it until we don’t come across some serious feet problem. Feet are made up of 26 bones, held together by tendons, ligaments and muscles and wrapped in skin.

Some handy and valuable tips of foot care:

a) Check your feet daily for cuts, sores, red spots, swelling and infected nails.

b) Do not cut corns and calluses( hardened or thickened part of the skin). Consult your doctor if you have developed corns and calluses rather than cutting them off using razor, corn plasters or some liquid corn removers.

c) Make sure your toe nails are trimmed properly. Trim them straight across and smooth them using a nail file.

d) If you are diabetic, consult your doctor. Diabetic patients are at more risk to developing foot complications and wounds which do not heal easily. There are three major problems which a diabetic person faces if he develops some foot disease.

. Ischemia: It is poor circulation of blood.

. Neuropathy: It is a nerve disease.

. Infection: Precipitation Factor.

Tip: Keeping your blood sugar level in good control and taking care of your feet properly can help you avoid serious foot problems. Also avoid sitting with your legs crossed as it can reduce the flow of blood to the feet.

e) Scrub your feet each time you take a shower. You can also wash them using mild soap and lukewarm water and then drying them gently.

f) Wear clean socks and shoes that fit you properly. Right shoes helps you put off injuries and soreness. If you feel your feet sweat more than others, go in for leather or canvas shoes but not synthetic ones or plastic shoes. Plastic or vinyl shoes do not stretch or breathe. Sandals are also a good option. Use foot powder daily.

g) Quit Smoking. Smoking reduces the flow of blood to your feet.

About the Author

Jasdeep: for http://weightloss-health.com/ your complete and most comprehensive family guide on Health.

To learn more about prevention,symptoms and cure of diabetes and some handy tips for diabetic patients, visit http://weightloss-health.com/Diabetes.htm

If you wish to reproduce the above article you are welcome to do so, provided the article is reproduced in its entirety, including this resource box and LIVE link to our website.

The toes burn and tingle and sharp pains shoot into your legs. The bed sheets feel uncomfortable on the feet as you toss and turn, trying to get some rest. Your feet felt numb throughout the day, but now feel like they are on fire. Nothing seems to help as you watch the hours on the clock pass by, hoping to fall asleep.

Burning, numbness, tingling, hot and cold sensations, shooting and electrical pain are common sensations felt at rest in painful peripheral neuropathy. Neuropathy is an abnormality of the nervous system. There are many different types of neuropathy, but the most common neuropathy effecting diabetics is peripheral neuropathy.

Diabetic neuropathy is described as a loss of sensation that starts in the tips of the toes and gradually works its way up the legs, and in severe case into the hands. It is sometimes referred to as a stocking glove neuropathy because it progresses as if one was pulling on a stocking.

Sixty percent of diabetics have some type of neuropathy in their feet. Five percent of diabetics will experience painful diabetic neuropathy and the incidence increases with age. Over 45% of individuals who have had diabetes for over 25 years will experience some symptoms of painful diabetic neuropathy.

The cause of diabetic neuropathy is not clearly understood. Many believe that the damage to the small vessels surrounding the nerves, from the diabetes, causes damage to the nerves. Others believe the increase in blood sugar causes damage to the nerves. Despite the different theories, studies have shown better blood sugar control helps prevent progression of the neuropathy.

There are currently no treatments to help reverse diabetic neuropathy. There are no treatments which help reduce the numbness. But, there are many treatments to help decrease the pain associated with the neuropathy.

Your doctor may prescribe medications to help with the pain. There are many options, but until recently none were FDA approved for the treatment of painful neuropathy. Cymbalta®, duloxetine HCl, was recently approved by the FDA in September of 2004 for use in diabetic peripheral neuropathy at doses of 60 and 120 mg per day. This is the first drug approved for this use. Similar medications, like amitriptyline, desipramine and nortriptyline, have been used to help decrease pain and help with sleep.

Gabapentin, also known as Neurontin®, has been a successful treatment for painful diabetic neuropathy. Neurontin® was originally approved by the FDA for adjunctive use in seizures, but the benefits of this drug for other conditions, like neuropathy, soon became known. The manufacturers of Neurontin® were caught up in a controversy regarding their marketing tactics for this off label use. Many physicians still use this drug despite the controversy. Tegretol and Dilantin, common seizure medications, can be used in more severe cases. New treatments include lidocaine 5% cream, acetyl-L-canitine, nerve growth factor and Annodyne ®, infrared therapy.

To help treat painful peripheral neuropathy without prescription medications, consider the following tips:

1. Keep your blood sugar in control: Studies have shown that when blood sugars remain high, or roller coaster from high to low, peripheral neuropathy will worsen.

2. Exercise. This is probably the last thing you wanted to hear. Exercise helps increase circulation and stimulates the growth of new vessels which help slow the progression of the neuropathy. Exercising also helps to increase your pain threshold and to provide a distraction from the nerve pain in your feet.

3. Eat healthy. Besides helping to control your blood sugar, eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables will add anti-oxidants to your diet. Anti-oxidants will combat the damaging oxidative effects glucose has on your nerves. In particular, try dark-green, leafy vegetables, yellow, orange, and red fruits and vegetables, citrus fruits and tomatoes.

4. Try red pepper powder. Capsaicin is the active ingredient in chile peppers. When applied to the feet it acts as a counter-irritant and can help decrease neuropathic pain. Capsaicin can be purchased at your local drug store. If you cannot afford capsaicin, try mixing 1 tablespoon of dry chile powder with 2 tablespoons of baby powder. Place the mixture in a sock and use the socks at night.

5. Try alpha lipoic acid. ALA is an effective anti-oxidant that has been shown to relieve pain associated with neuropathy in multiple studies. To help relieve pain, the dose must be at least 600mg a day. It is advisable to start with a lower dose, as higher doses can cause nausea, stomach upset, fatigue, insomnia and can lower blood sugar. In general, ALA is a safe supplement.

6. Try gamma linolenic acid. GLA is an essential fatty acid found in evening primrose oil. Most of the studies have shown modest results, but the possibilities are still encouraging. Take 360mg/day. Many indications require higher dosages, but side effects with long term use at higher doses may include inflammation, thrombosis (blood clots), or decreased immune system functioning.

Treating painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy is very difficult and many of the above mentioned therapies should be tried and combined. Don’t expect any “cures” and make sure you give each therapy a chance to work.

Christine Dobrowolski is a podiatrist and the author of Those Aching Feet: Your Guide to Diagnosis and Treatment of Common Foot Problems. To learn more about Dr. Dobrowolski and her book visit http://www.skipublishing.com/ or http://www.northcoastfootcare.com

Probably the first scientific studies on digestion were done by Ivan Pavlov who became famous for his ’salivating dogs’. Pavlov showed that the digestive enzymes released and the amount of acid secreted depends on the type of food.

His experiments with rats showed that starches are digested in about two hours, proteins are digested in about four hours but a protein-starch mixture could still be digesting 13 hours later. With dogs, again the protein-starch mixture took over twice as long compared to the same food consumed separately.

Pavlov also showed that food taken on top (i.e. before digestion has completed) can lead to fermentation. This happens when you eat fruit after a meal; many people say that it gives them gas.

What could account for Pavlov’s results?

The enzymes essential for digestion only function at specific pH levels; proteins and carbohydrate enzymes require opposite pH levels. If you mix them together in the same bag, you won’t be able to digest either food properly.

“Most fruits go straight through the stomach into the duodenum for digestion, which means if you put fresh fruit on top of a big meal, it has to sit and wait in the top of the stomach until the other food is digested, during which delay bacteria attack the fruit and ferment it, gobbling up all the nutrients and leaving you with gas and metabolic wastes.”
Daneil Reid, Trophology: The Science of Food Combining, “The Tao of Health”.

In 1908 Dr Howard Hay after practicing medicine for 16 years developed High Blood Pressure, Brights Disease and a dilated heart. As there was no treatment available, Dr Hay decided to find a cure for his own symptoms. He looked at his food intake and the chemical process of digestion, the enzymes that are essential for this process and whether the food has an overall acidifying or alkalizing effect on the body.

To the amazement of his colleagues, he had a complete remission of his symptoms in 3 months of changing his diet. He also reduced his weight by 20kg’s. In 1911 he introduced his Food Combining guidelines and gave lectures till his death about the need to combine foods properly and reducing acidifying foods from the diet.

If you think there’s nothing to acid-alkaline food combining, try this: one day for lunch eat a steak with chips, and monitor how you feel after an hour or so. Next day eat the same steak, but with a large vegetable salad. Which day did you feel more tired, drowsy?

Try feeding your dog meat and biscuits for a while, see how he feels!

Try an acidifying McDonald’s diet for a month.

If you’re still alive, try an alkaline diet of alkaline water, fruits, vegetables, juices and super greens for a month. You’re guaranteed to lose weight from this diet - it’s over 95% water!

Some doctors maintain that all food is acid in the stomach and becomes alkaline in the intestines from the pancreas secretions. The blood pH range is so narrow that any measurable change would cause death. Even a bottle of ant-acids won’t affect the acidity of the stomach for long.

These scientific facts don’t mean that an alkaline diet is useless or that the body can magically process food in any old combination!

Remember Pavlov’s results? Why are so many people that eat at McDonald’s fat and why did Spurlock nearly die? The fat content is not that high - a Big Mac apparently is 100% grilled beef, the chips are fried in vegetable oil and there’s no fat in the cola! Could it be the acid, the high glycemic load and the bad combinations?

Such foods play havoc on our blood sugar and pH levels. As Daniel Reid explains the sugary ’soft drink’ is an ‘acid bomb’:
“A 350 ml serving of Coke, Pepsi or similar drink delivers a sugar fix equivalent to about 9 teaspoons of sugar straight into the blood stream. This instantly acidifies the bloodstream to the extreme point that without an immediate emergency response from the body, it would kill you in a mater of minutes…you’d have to drink 32 glasses of alkaline water to neutralize the blood pH…to prevent death by acidosis, the body reacts swiftly by drawing huge amounts of organic calcium from the bones and teeth and pouring it into the bloodstream to neutralize the excess acid and quickly restore alkaline balance. Calcium is the body’s most potent alkalizing agent”

Are there any clinical studies to settle this issue?

A study called “Cola beverage consumption induces bone mineralization reduction in ovariectomized rats” (the rats were fed cola - acid, pH 2.5 - and the effects on bone density measured) suggests that “heavy intake of cola soft drinks has the potential of reducing femoral mineral density”.

Dr L. Frassetto’s team at the University of California discovered that as we age, starting around age 45, we lose the alkaline buffer bicarbonates in our blood:

“Our group has shown that contemporary net acid-producing diets do indeed characteristically produce a low-grade systemic metabolic acidosis in otherwise healthy adult subjects, and that the degree of acidosis increases with age, in relation to the normally occurring age-related decline in renal functional capacity.”

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition concluded that alkalizing diets improve bone density and serum growth hormone concentrations; the acidosis resulting from acidic diets contributes to bone and muscle loss.

Sang Whang in his book “Reverse Aging” proposed a Theory of Aging: we age because we gradually accumulate organic acid wastes. These wastes show up as uric acid, urate, sulfate, phosphate, kidney stones and other organic wastes often surrounded by cholesterol. Cellulite is a gel-like substance made up of fat in which are trapped acid wastes in pockets below the skin.

Dr Robert Young, author of “The pH Miracle” has been saying this for years - “Obesity is an acid problem, the fat is saving our lives.”

Should I eat alkaline foods and stop eating acidifying things like red meats?

Yes eat plenty of water-rich alkaline foods; but there’s no need to avoid any food that contains good nutrients in it like my favorites lamb kebabs and sashimi. As Patrick Holford, author of ‘The Optimum Nutrition Bible’ says “moderation in everything, including moderation”‘!

Acid-alkaline diet food charts come from the pH of the ash that results from burning food; it’s caused by the unburned minerals. However, just as burning petrol creates exhausts, over 97% of any food metabolized creates acid wastes. At less than 1%, alkaline minerals are a fraction of the nutritional content of food and the overall acidity produced.

Clinical studies show that alkaline mineral water is the best way to obtain alkaline minerals and acid waters like colas are the best way to quickly deplete them!

The most nourishing alkaline foods are nature’s super greens - spirulina, barley and wheat grass powders. Mix half a tea spoon in alkaline water daily. This will give you more nutrients then a basket full of vegetables. Other super foods are EFA oils and bee pollen.

So eat a nutritionally balanced diet of natural whole foods and combine them sensibly. Most of all drink lots of alkaline mineral water.

Your weight will take care of itself.

James Khan is the editor of detoxifnow.com a mind-body health resource. He has been detoxifying, fasting and cleansing himself for over 15 years, and has been practicing Yogic, Tibetan and Taoist traditions for 30+ years.

Email: james@detoxifynow.com

Alternative Medicine is the use of natural therapy and medicines to restore and maintain health. Dating back to 420 B.C., around the time of Hippocrates, alternative medicine is also considered a practice beyond the realm of conventional modern medicine - naturopathy, chiropractic, Ayurvedic, homeopathy, acupuncture and so many other alternative medicine treatments are steadily in demand and on the rise.

Because our bodies are composed of chemical and physical reactions, holistic practitioners affirm that illness is not directly caused by pathogens such as viruses or bacterium; instead is the consequence of the body’s reaction (in an effort to shield and heal itself) to a pathogen. Naturopathic and holistic doctors assist potential clients through alternative medicine by plainly alleviating symptoms of disease. Alternative medicine can treat most conditions like headaches, sore throats, flu and cold, indigestion, ear infections, dermatitis, urinary tract infections, sprains and strains. Some chronic conditions such as migraines, autoimmune disorders, cardiovascular disease, arthritis, cancer, muscle-skeletal pain, depression, stress, and even pregnancy and childbirth may be treated with alternative medicine as well.

Alternative medicine teaches proper nutrition in conjunction with vitamin and mineral supplements. Plants and herbs are commonly used in alternative medicine to treat illness, as well as remedies produced from animals and minerals. Hydrotherapy and hypnotherapy are also utilized in alternative medicine for maximum benefits. All in all, alternative medicine improves mental, emotional, and physical health. It encourages psychic and spiritual growth, and an overwhelming sense of wellness. You can read more about alternative medicine here at Holistic Junction where you will find a broad spectrum of alternative medicine articles, information and directories.

© Alternative Medicine 2004 - All Rights Reserved
By, C. Bailey-Lloyd/Lady Camelot in conjunction with Holistic Junction

C. Bailey-Lloyd/LadyCamelot is the Public Relations’ Director for Holistic Junction — Your source of information for Alternative Medicine; Alternative Healing Schools; Holistic Health Care; Insightful Literature and so much more!

Fat is fuel. That is basically what it is. A solid concentrated form of fuel. They have more calories than proteins or carbohydrates. Here are the basic forms of fat.

Saturated Fats

This type of fat comes from animals and vegetables. It is only needed as a form of energy and
because of its structure it is readily absorbed by our own bodies fat cells.

Monounsaturated Fats

These kinds of fats are found in Olive oil, Peanut Oil, High-oleic safflower oil as well as others.

Polyunsaturated Fats

You can find polyunsaturated fats in cold water fishes, seed oils, and vegetable oils.

Trans Fats

These fats are manufactured fats. You can make these by transofrming unsaturated fats
through heat and hydrogenation. These types of fats are thought to cause harm. They can
lower your metabolism, decrease your testosterone levels, and raise your bad cholesterol levels
among others.

Commercially produced foods contain alot of trans fats. Especially baked foods. To identify if the
food you are buying has trans fats, look at the ingrediants and look for the terms hydrogenated
or partially hydrogenated.

Avoid trans fats at all cost. These are BAD for you. You should eat saturated, monounsaturated,
and polyunsaturated fats in their original state which is to say unrefined or unprocessed.

Essential Fatty Acids

You need fat to live. This is why they are called ‘essential fatty acids’. They help with the
production of hormones, reduce blood pressure and cholesterol, as well as improve your skin.

They also prevent allergies, help the immune system, and improve your mood.

The types of fatty acids are the omega acids. Omega-3 and Omega-6. Omega-3 fatty acids can
be found in Salmon as well as other deepwater fish. Omega-6 fatty acids are found in seeds,
legumes, raw nuts, oils such as grape seed, primrose, soybean and sesame seed oil.

When you diet make sure to include the Essential
Fatty Acids.

Steve writes for mylivingrx.com an Online Pharmacy.

Husbands: 10 Ways to be there when your wife has breast cancer

Breast cancer is a life and relationship threatening trauma. Peter J. Flierl, M.S.W., offers insights and common sense for husbands of patients with breast cancer

When we marry the man or woman of our dreams, our soul mate and best friend, we expect to be together for a lifetime despite the odds against it with 6 of 10 marriages today ending in divorce. We truly believe that we will be together “for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, ’til death us do part.” And then life intrudes: becoming a couple, learning to balance needs, the joy and awesome responsibility of becoming and being parents, managing careers and handling money.

If a marriage is sound, it can weather any storm, survive virtually any trauma. If the relationship is not on solid ground, a trauma, almost any trauma or stress, can lead to its demise. That may account for the fact that nearly seven in ten marriages touched by breast cancer do not survive.

There is no magic bullet, no panacea or formula, for surviving and indeed thriving despite of or in part due to facing breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, and subsequent life together.

God it is said gives us challenges to build character, so you as a husband and the two of you as a couple have a great opportunity to build character, to create a lifetime love story. My bride of 28 years, Shirley, is a 22-year survivor of breast cancer. However, that does not define her. She is also a mother, a businesswoman, an educator, a lover, a community volunteer, and my lifetime partner. She was treated at age 37 for an aggressive, Stage 3 tumor that had extensive lymph node involvement. She is alive and well, still sexy with just one breast, and is an inspiration to other women facing this disease, particularly young women.

Following are suggestions to other husbands on how to be there for your wife, how to help her become and remain a survivor.

1. Tell her you love her.

In a marriage or any intimate relationship, silence is not golden. The strong silent type need not apply for the position of husband, lover, best friend, confidante and supporter of a woman with breast cancer. Your bride, your wife, needs and wants to hear from you. Actions may speak louder than words, and you may take all the right actions, but speaking words brings comfort, reassurance and knowledge of your inner feelings. She cannot read your mind. Being there for her is more than physical or economic security. Words have meaning. And the three most important words in the English language at this time, at this moment, when together you are facing her mortality, are: “I love you.”

The late Louise Crisafi, a saint here on Earth who always gave of herself for others in need, taught me this lesson on the Friday my wife, Shirley Ann, had her biopsy and was diagnosed. Shirley had opted for a two-step process for diagnosis one day and treatment, i.e., surgical removal of her right breast, a mastectomy, on a second day. This meant we knew on Friday she would have a mastectomy on Monday, a weekend together, scared, anxious, frightened. Shirley was confronting her death and the imminent loss of a part of her womanhood. I was clueless, at a loss, overwhelmed and scared. I didn’t know what to do, how to act or what to say.

Louise was an American Cancer Society Reach to Recovery volunteer devoted to helping other women face breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. She was a good friend. When I asked her what to do feeling as helpless and overwhelmed as I was, she said simply: “Tell her you love her.” I was off to the races. I spent that weekend saying those three magic, powerful words over and over, as frequently as possible, perhaps more than I had done in weeks, months or years previously.

A year or so later on a television talk show featuring three women who had had breast cancer, Shirley reminisced about how verbal I had become that fateful weekend. Those words brought comfort and made a difference. Remember to say: “I love you.” It works. And I hope I am as verbal and loving today as I was in the midst of crisis.

2. Say “Yes”

We all know the joke about Moses and the tribes of Israel wandering for 40 years in the desert after their miraculous escape from bondage in Egypt. It took 40 long years to reach the land of milk and honey, the Promised Land. And why, why did it take so long? Moses was a man. He refused to ask for directions. Ten Commandments, maybe; asking for help, never.
If you’re married or have dated a man for any length of time, you’ve spent time in a car lost. You suggest, perhaps timidly and quietly, that it might be a good idea to stop and ask for directions. He is offended. He, after all, is a man. He has a good, no, a great sense of direction. That will become apparent to you, a mere woman with no sense of direction, momentarily. The moments tick by. He is becoming exasperated and hitting the gas. Finally, in disgust, he pulls into a gas station and asks for help. It pains him to do so.

Louise added another lesson when I was asking what to do knowing that Shirley and I were facing her cancer together, a cancer that we seemed to have faint hope of beat-ing. Her advice was powerful and insightful. When someone, anyone, asks if they can do anything to help, just say “Yes.” Friends, family, neighbors, colleagues and others want to be there for you and for themselves.

I know, I know. You’re a man and never ask for help, not even simple directions. Understand that the people asking to help need your “Yes” as much as you. It gives them some sense of being able to do something positive about this insidious disease that seems beyond their control.

Shirley and I were blessed. We did not have to cook a meal for 3-4 months following her surgery thanks to the chicken dishes, casseroles, lasagnas and other assorted goodies constantly flowing through our front door. Needing a brief childcare stint for our daughter, Alison, it was there. Thank you, Greenwich. Thank you in particular First Congregational Church in Old Greenwich. Thank you special friends, particularly Betsy, who taught me I could get through anything, even this. You are a compassionate community. You are a healing church. You are true friends. Your love, prayers and support made a difference for all three of us in our recovery.

Ask for help. Say “yes” when it’s offered. You’ll be better for it.

3. Humor Heals

Norman Cousins taught the country this lesson many years ago and we are often reminded of this truth by Loretta Laroche and others. We know that the act of laughing is itself healing. It makes us feel better and helps us get better. It is very easy to take ourselves and our careers much too seriously.

Close friends have experienced our occasional over-the-top, out of control laughing, true guffaws. Can anything feel better? You cannot laugh while feeling sorry for yourself. Seeing the humor in any situation brings relief and release. Did you hear about the drunk who got a “speeding” ticket after passing out at the wheel of his car? Tragedy, yes. Being able to laugh at the incident in hindsight brings understanding and relief.

Our favorite apocryphal joke is about hitting a pig, reporting the accident anonymously and getting a ticket in the mail for $500. And how did they find us, you ask, “the pig squealed.”

Shirley set the stage for our approach to her treatment for breast cancer, which included humor and lots of it. Shirley had met Linda McWhorter, her surgeon’s wife, about two weeks before her diagnosis and surgery. On the way in to the operating room for her mastectomy, lying on a gurney in a local community hospital, she looked up and said: “Hey, Phil, you ought to charge me half price. I’m pretty small.” Courage, strength, fortitude.

A year later, Shirley told the hospital’s President & CEO that she was being over charged for her mammogram, that she should get a 50% discount. After all, with one remaining breast, they only had to take a single x-ray image, not two. What’s fair is fair. She left him speechless. It just made sense to me.

And there was her relationship with her oncologist, Dick Hollister, and his incredible staff. Do you realize that over 95% of cancer treatment takes place in physicians’ private office, not in hospitals. If you choose to practice in oncology, you know from the get go that at least 50% of your patients will die. Yet Dick and his staff always provided hope, comfort, and, best of all, laughter and humor.

Dick had made the choice to become a doctor and treat patients with cancer at age 13 according to his mother, at age 11 according to him. He was the perfect match for Shirley, who turned him bright red (fairly easy given his red-head’s freckled complexion), when she whipped out her temporary breast prosthesis during his first visit to her hospital room. He was speechless. He knew he had a live one, despite the poor prognosis. Shirley was an interesting and challenging case for a new oncologist in his first few years of practice. Jokes were a staple in his office during the course of our year of treatment.

Humor is healing to body, mind, and spirit.

4. I love you, not your breasts

Despite our nation’s growing obesity, we are a breast and body image fixated society, from Betty Grable pinups in World War II, Marilyn Monroe and Jane Mansfield in the 1950’s and 1960’s to Salma Hayek, Paris Hilton and Pamela Anderson today. Men talk about being “leg men” or “breast men” with bravado and sophomoric stupidity, as if large breasts or great legs have anything to do with being a woman, a lifetime companion, and a long-term, intimate lover.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I love to look at and admire beautiful women from the gorgeous 76-year-old former model taking my smoking cessation class in 1982 to the stars on screen and women around me today. However, it is my bride, my lover, and my lifetime partner who is my sexual and sensual interest today. Your bride, your lover, your wife needs to know that you love who she is, not what type of body she has or the size of her breasts.

Shirley is as beautiful and sexy today as she was on our first date, if not more so. Our love making then and today was not and is not hampered by her having one breast instead of two. Rather, it enriches our intimacy. When we make love, she completes me, makes me whole and alive. God created a matching set that fits together nicely. Your bride needs reassurance in the face of an assault on her femininity and sense of womanhood. She needs to know by what you say and what you do that this set of circumstances is not the end of your sex life, but rather a new, sometimes frightening, and exciting sex life with heightened sensitivity and caring.

5. Go to her appointments

Go to the multitude of appointments with your wife, your partner, as much as you can, holding her hand literally and figuratively. I had the luxury and blessing of relative independence in my job as the CEO of a community health and wellness center. I built my professional and community calendar around Shirley’s treatment schedule. I went with Shirley to virtually every physician visit, every chemotherapy appointment. I felt a bit guilty about sitting in the waiting room, not going into the exam room with her for the actual treatments. Perhaps a bit of a wimp or squeamish, but I was with her in mind, body and spirit every step of the way. If it were possible, I would have taken it for her, and traded places with her.

It is not what you do when you accompany her to treatment, but rather the act itself that speaks volumes to her. It also gives you some sense of empowerment. You are more than a helpless spectator cursing the damned disease. You have joined the battle. You are helping wrest control from the cancer along with your wife, your family and friends, your treatment team and all of the support system around you.

There is also a practical side. Hearing a diagnosis of cancer overwhelms the senses. Doctors try to help you understand, but their daily jargon, the language of medicine, might as well be classical Greek or Latin. With two of you there, there are two sets of ears to hear what is said. There are two mouths to ask questions. This helps avoid the tendency to hear what you want to hear. Being with her each time will reassure her, help her overcome, and make you feel good about yourself. She’ll love you for it.

6. She is not an invalid

Your wife or partner is not fragile. She won’t break. Treatment can be grueling and tiring, but you both need to live your life as fully as possible. Continue to enjoy what you enjoy individually and as a couple, particularly the latter. One of our best friends and an inspiration for many jogged to her chemotherapy appointments when battling a recurrence of breast cancer. It is called zest for living, being in the now.
Let your bride do anything she is up to trying. In Shirley’s case over the course of her year of treatment, that included walks at Greenwich Point, skiing, putting up with some golf with me, puttering with flowers, and even on occasion agreeing to go sailing with me. You need to take your cues from her. She knows what she can do, or how tired she may be feeling, whether it’s a good day or not. When she’s ready, encourage and support her without pushing her. Get out when she’s ready.

As I reflect, it was important for Shirley and I to live life fully as a couple and as a family with Alison. We knew our time together here might be very short and we wanted to live our life together fully. We did not anticipate the length of life we’ve been blessed with together. Shirley is a miracle and so is your wife or partner, no matter what the ultimate outcome.

7. Sex After Breast Cancer

This is another place where a man needs to let his partner lead. She will let you know what works now and what doesn’t, what she’s ready for, and what she’s not. I suppose I mourned the loss of her breast as she did, as well as the change in some aspects of love-making that result.
The important thing to learn is that life goes on and sex goes on. In the first weeks, months and even years, your sex life may take on an added dimension that is simultaneously painful and exquisite. Imagine how it feels to make love to someone you feel you might lose. You don’t want to hurt her. Remember, she is not fragile. You can giver her bear hugs both during and outside your lovemaking.

Shirley found a new gynecologist as she went through treatment, Ed Jacobson, a warm man, the kind of physician whose presence and demeanor is comforting and reassuring by nature. He enriched our lives, specifically our sex lives, by suggesting we try jellies and creams to make intercourse easier and more comfortable. When your part-ner experiences menopause, whether naturally as she ages, or, as in Shirley’s case, early menopause brought on at age 37 by chemotherapy and hormone therapy, there are issues to be addressed. This includes hot flashes, vaginal dryness, pain during intercourse, lack of lubrication, lowered libido. In explaining the use of jellies and creams to Shirley during an office visit, Ed described it as “the stuff used by the prostitutes in Stamford.” Sounded like good advice to her and to me. And, by the way, it does work.

There is sex after mastectomy, wonderful, beautiful, glorious sex. And, in the beginning, it can be simultaneously exquisite and painful. There is nothing that can quite prepare a man for making love, and having intercourse, with the love of his life who he fears losing. The threat hung over our heads and was part of our thoughts for days, months and years. Shirley would be embarrassed were I to say any more about our sex life. It is intimate and remains a joy.

I have spoken on this subject to women’s groups and social workers. Most rewarding was being part of a panel in Stamford, Connecticut with a professional sex therapist speaking ahead of me. I listened attentively and was pleased to find that Shirley and I had figured out on our own what she described in theory. She was a theoretician explaining the principles underlying sexuality and the impact of breast surgery and cancer treatment. Shirley and I had lived it and muddled through on our own just fine, thank you.

8. She is your trophy wife

You need to understand that your bride, your wife, the woman you promised to cherish, the love of your life and your best friend is also the answer to your caricature male mid-life crisis. The answer is not a young intern wearing a thong who’s young enough to be your daughter. It is not a young bimbo or young colleague with whom to start your next marriage, or your next family. It is not a sports car, a speedboat or a new set of golf clubs. It is your wife.

I encountered this attitude and understanding observing the marriage of friends Joe and Shirley, two “adolescents in love” after more than 40 years of marriage. Rather than have a midlife crisis alternative relationship, whether sexual or emotional, how about a fling with your wife. Take her away for a comfy weekend at a romantic bed and breakfast. In our case, it can be some quiet time together in the Berkshires, preferably paddling a canoe. Or take in a Broadway show, or a good movie and an after show dessert. Fall in love. Stay in love. Be in love.

9. Lemonade from lemons

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. See the silver lining. You are not a Pollyanna to find something exquisite, profound and meaningful in facing cancer, facing death and facing loss. Can you imagine yourself in the shoes or the psyche of a person with cancer? Or as the husband, lover and lifetime partner of a woman with breast cancer? Can you understand deep in your soul what intimacy is like, sexual and otherwise, when all your senses are stretched and heightened by the knowledge you’re making love to a woman you could lose?

You find joy to the point of pain. You discover a profound sense of being one with each other, and yet there is awareness that it could be fleeting and transitory. Reality may break in and shatter the moment, but you persevere. I have often said in the years since “our” treatment for Shirley’s breast cancer that a good marriage, or a solid relationship, will not only get through the trauma of breast cancer, the marriage will be strengthened and be the better for it. Go figure.

10. She is not damaged goods

A man attending a prostate cancer support group expressed concern about being “damaged goods” following prostate cancer treatment. Your bride is not damaged goods with or without breast reconstruction. She remains the woman you fell in love with, the woman you committed to for a lifetime together. Get beyond the inner thoughts never expressed, wondering whether your lovemaking was altered forever. You, too, may miss her breast, as it has brought you both pleasure in the past. Whether or not to have breast reconstruction is a personal choice, her choice. Shirley chose not to do so, in part I believe to avoid furthering tampering with and “awakening” of any missed cancer cells.

Now is the time to live your life to its fullest together. Cleave to her. Hold her. Love her. Smell her. Taste her. Smile with her. Laugh with her. Cry with her. Get angry with her. Yes, you still have “negative” feelings and emotions. You are still human beings in the ebb and flow of a love relationship that is more intense than most of those around you. You’ll both survive and thrive if you stay together.

Peter J. Flierl, M.S.W. is a graduate of Hobart College with a B.A. in English and received his master’s in Clinical Social Work from Louisiana State University. Peter has over 30 years experience in community and hospital-based health and wellness and is a recognized pioneer in complementary or alternative medicine development. He is the author of Prayer, Laughter & Broccoli: Being There When Your Wife Has Breast Cancer and speaks around the country and internationally on breast cancer and other health issues. His book is being translated into Zulu for publication in South Africa.