Supplements and Breast Cancer Survivors

In the October 2013 issue of the Natural Medicine Journal, Tina Kaczor comments on findings from the After Breast Cancer Pooling Project which analyzes info from 4 separate large studies of women with a history of breast cancer (totalling over 12,000 women).   The project found that women who took antioxidant supplements (multivitamin, vitamin C, or vitamin E) had a 16% decreased risk of death from any cause.  Vitamin E supplementation was also associated with a decreased risk of cancer recurrence.  Vitamin D was associated with a decreased risk of cancer recurrence among women who had estrogen receptor positive breast cancer only.  No supplements were found to be associated with an increased risk of cancer recurrence or death.  These findings help confirm that integrating antioxidant based supplements can be a positive, health supportive step for women who have  survived breast cancer.  

Melatonin and Stomach Health

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a bacteria that can cause chronic inflammation of the stomach lining and the development of ulcers.  If a person is diagnosed with an H. pylori infection, they are commonly treated with an HP-Pac, which is a combination of a proton pump inhibitor and 2 antibiotics, to clear the infection.  In the September 2013 issue of the Natural Medicine Journal, author Jacob Schor discusses a 2012 study published in a Russian medical journal (Klin Med) that found when melatonin was added alongside the standard HP-Pac treatment for H. pylori infection, the H. pylori infection was eliminated more effectively and the stomach lining healed more quickly.  This research further extends our understanding of melatonin, which is most commonly integrated as a support for restful/improved sleep.  With this research, we can now also consider melatonin as a great support for overall stomach health too.  

Yummy Rice Cakes!

One of the most important steps to making the cleanse easier to manage is ensuring that we don't feel hungry and that we have snacks to choose from.  One of the foods that I will commonly use as a snack on the cleanse is rice cakes -   I usually put almond butter on rice cakes for a quick, protein rich, easily transportable snack.   Sometimes I can find rice cakes a bit too bulky/thick though, so I have been delighted to find the Plum.M.Good organic brown rice thins.  These rice thins seem to be about one quarter the thickness of regular rice cakes and they are always fresh and very yummy (and are available in a variety of flavours)!  So far, I have only been able to find these rice thins at Blush Lane in Edmonton, but they are worth the trip!

Food for Thought for 2014

In the December 4, 2013 issue of the Natural Medicine Journal, author Jacob Schor comments on a study (originally published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics) that evaluated the impact that school based interventions had on elementary students' fruit consumption.  There were 3 groups of elementary aged children in this study:  1 group received no intervention/served as a control, 1 group was taught a 15 minute lesson 1 time per week for the entire school year around developing skills for making healthy food and life choices, and 1 group received no specific lessons but their homeroom teacher brought fruit to school at least 3 times per week, kept the fruit on their desk until they ate it, and in general ate healthy snacks during the school day.  Both the group who received the lessons and the group whose teacher ate healthy snacks increased their fruit consumption during the school year in comparison to the control group, but interestingly only the group whose teacher ate healthy snacks maintained an increased level of fruit consumption at the 1 year post intervention follow-up.  This study provides an excellent insight into how important it is for adults to model healthy food choices for the little people in their lives - telling kids what is best to eat will not be as effective as them seeing their adult loved ones eating the food themselves as well.  For me, the message of this study extends beyond food and can be applied to our behaviour in general -  it is how we move through the world and choose to behave, rather than just what we say, that has the deepest impact on those around us and has the most potential to help make the world a more peaceful and healthy place.  For me, this message serves as a great reminder and a great motivator moving forward into 2014.  

Getting Grounded

One of the most important ways we can support our overall health (and make a cleanse easier to manage) is to aim to keep our selves grounded in the face of our busy lives.  In the January 2014 issue of Shambhala Sun magazine, author Andrea Miller writes about her experience at a retreat offered by the Vietnamese Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh.  In her piece, Miller describes learning about the importance of integrating a singing bowl/bell into our daily lives as a source of grounding and centring support.  Miller also mentions that the bell can be a bell of mindfulness that we cultivate within and that we can utilize regular parts of our daily routine as reminders for us to ring the bell/focus on feeling more grounded and more mindful.  I found this article very inspiring and really appreciate how it offers another very simple and easily integrated way to continue to work on being more mindful, more centred, and more aware on a daily basis.  Even if we choose just one part of our daily routine to serve as a reminder (before we get dressed in the morning, before we turn on the computer for the day, before we sit down for lunch in the afternoon etc.) to ring our internal bell of mindfulness, we have already created more space for increased grounding which offers great support for our overall health.

Welcome New Year! Welcome January 2014 Cleanse!

Happy New Year!  Best wishes to everyone for a new year that is filled with continued growth and balancing, health and happiness wise.  
For me, the start of a new year also means the start of my annual January cleanse.  I have been doing a cleanse for the month of January since 2001, and even though I am always glad when it is over, I do look forward to it every year.  I like the simplicity that the cleanse offers after the busyness of the holiday season.  I also appreciate the opportunity the cleanse provides to ground my self in my body and listen more carefully to the messages my body shares.  I have a feeling that this cleanse will again be made up of mainly simple suppers, so there may not be too many recipes to share.  I do hope though to post other interesting bits of information and I look forward to connecting more over the month!

The Dirty Dozen Endocrine Disruptors

The American based Environmental Working Group, which publishes a yearly dirty dozen and clean fifteen list of fruit and vegetables, has just released a dirty dozen list of endocrine disruptors.  This list contains a number of chemicals that can mimic or disrupt the hormonal balance in our body and can increase our risk of developing different types of cancer and other health concerns.  

The dirty dozen endocrine disruptors include:  

BPA  - which is a chemical found in plastics and is in the lining of many food cans, thermal paper receipts, and plastic products.

Dioxins - which are industrial toxins that have infiltrated the food supply and are especially found in higher fat foods like meat, dairy, and eggs.

Atrazine - which is a chemical used on corn crops and has infiltrated the water supply.

Phthalates - which are chemicals also found in plastics and are in food containers, plastic wrap, children's toys, as well as in fragrance containing/scented body care products.

Perchlorate - which is found in rocket fuel and has also infiltrated the food and water supply.

Fire retardants - which are found in foam furniture, carpet padding, and mattresses.

Lead- which is a heavy metal and is found in old paint and has infiltrated the water supply.

Arsenic - which is also a heavy metal and has also infiltrated the water supply.

Mercury - which is a heavy metal that gets into the air and oceans through burning coal and is found in fish. 

Perfluorinated Chemicals/PFCs - which are found in non stick cookware and stain/water resistant clothes/furniture/carpet.

Organophosphate Pesticides - which are some of the more commonly used pesticides currently and have infiltrated the food supply.

Glycol Ethers - which are solvents in paints, cleaning products, brake fluid and cosmetics.

The pervasiveness of many of these compounds can feel pretty overwhelming.  It is important to understand the nutrients and antioxidants from the foods that we eat (even if they aren't certified organic), the antioxidant rich supplements we might take, the exercise we do, and the positive stress release activities we have in our routines (meditation, journaling) all help to strengthen our body's ability to manage these compounds.  Some other relatively easy positive steps we can take to limit some of our exposure include:  switching to natural based body care products and cleaners, using glass storage containers, using non stick cookware, buying certified organic food when possible, drinking filtered water.

For more info on the Environmental Working Group's dirty dozen endocrine disruptors list, see their website at www.ewg.org