That Health Rules

Am not sure if there is a season of cancer but just reading the local newspapers nowadays, you see obituaries of prominent people all with the same diagnosis of early death due to the Big C!  We fear cancer that we dread just hearing it as a diagnosis of our ailment.  So what can we do to prevent cancer and who is at risk? 

Actually everyone has some risk for cancer. In one survey in the US:” cancer is likely to affect 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women at least once in their lifetime.”  Meaning we all have that risk that we should know and try to change the factors that increase our risk.  So what are these factors that affect our risk?

• tobacco use,
• lifestyle choices (such as diet and exercise),
• family history, and
• factors in your workplace and environment.

The real question however is: How can I protect myself from getting cancer? Just like ones risk for diabetes, or other chronic ailments, some risk factors for cancer like the family history are non modifiable. But you can definitely modify some of the risk factors like:

•  Your diet ( eating more red meat for example increases your risk for some cancers)
• exercise habits ( sedentary lifestyle and obesity)
• Too much sun exposure and
• The use tobacco products. .. smoking 2 packs or more per day increases ones risk to cancer 20 fold. 

For most types of cancer, the sooner the cancer is found and treatment begins, the better your chances of recovering and improved survival.  We have screening tests already available.  So if you assessed yourself to be at risk then … better act early…

Know if You Are At Risk… Then Do Something About It! 

Read My Other Related Posts:

• Tips To Protect Yourself From Cancer
• The Harm of Being Obese, Having Bad Breath and Gum Bleeding

One of the most commonly used and prescribed medications over the counter are the pain relievers.  And one of the most marketed pain relievers is Advil. We take them when we have headache, toothache, joint pains or back aches.  People from all ages and all walks of life cant live without the pain relievers to help us alleviate the symptoms and make us be more active.  But recent controversies came up with the pulling out from the market of the most prescribed OTC med- a brand of Non Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Agent or NSAIDs jolted the medical community as well as the consumers.  We still continue to have safe OTC pain relievers but before buying or using one I thought of sharing with you some of the common considerations you have to do before using one: 

• Do not use them for more than 10 days.
• Know the side effects which include gastric ulcers and allergic reactions.  Recently cardiovascular complications were noted especially if taken daily for a long time.
• Most NSAIDs are present in other OTC products like colds and the flu medicines.
• Be careful if you have either a kidney or liver disease.   If you need to take one then use the alternatives to NSAIDs like Tylenol (acetaminophen.)
• Other non medical alternatives include physical therapy, biofeedback, yoga, meditation, and acupuncture can also reduce their pain. 
• Most importantly… if you have joint pains and overweight… weight loss is the key!
• Do not mix these meds with alcohol since once risk for stomach bleeding is increased with just 1 drink per week.
• All NSAIDs have the potential to raise high blood pressure.  So talk to your doctor if you have high blood pressure.

My advise is simple:OTC pain relievers are safe as long as we take them short term like 2-3 days or occasionally because of headache or toothache.  If you have to take them daily for any reason then take it for 2-3 days then stop for few days before taking them again.

Better Be Safe… Know The Facts! 

Driving well in the Philippines takes courage, expertise and coolness.  One can’t miss a day without somebody cutting you off in traffic without regard to safety.  We hear stories about fights due to parking and even to the point of murder due to the lack of “COOLNESS…” We have workers in our workplace or household helpers that can be triggers of our anger.

But the next time somebody or something bad triggers a reaction of ANGER… think and pause for a moment and contemplate on what scientific studies have shown. 

A recent review done by Harvard researchers concluded that literally… “Anger Can Brake Ones Heart.” It is estimated that being angry is synonymous to putting ones heart at 3x the risk of developing heart attack and 14 fold increase in risk of stroke. 

An interesting study by researchers at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine on anger showed that after tracking 1,055 medical students for 36 years, ” the hotheads were six times more likely to suffer heart attacks by age 55 and three times more likely to develop any form of heart or blood vessel disease than the cooler heads.”

I am sure you know of friends or relatives that being angryis already part of their daily lives.  It may be their natural reaction to something that irritates them.  These are the people that may require some help.  The Harvard researchers recently found as published in Harvard Mens Health Watch, September issue, that a single low-dose (81 mg) pill can reduce anger-caused heart attacks by 40 percent. In other words, a daily aspirin may cut the risk of breaking an angry heart by almost half.  Do you need Aspirin?  Your own family doctor can advise you better.

So the next time something stresses you out or somebody irritates you…think twice before you act…

Protect Your Heart… Be COOL!