Category Archives: Heart & Vascular Health

Coffee or No Coffee: Is Coffee a Cardiovascular and Cancer Risk?

Do you drink coffee? Are you a heavy coffee drinker? As for me, I enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning.

Some folks consider coffee the best thing ever on the planet, in contrast to those who see it as “black-brown water” and can pass it up. Well, let’s have an update on what’s in coffee and what it does to our bodies, with an emphasis on heart disease and cancer concerns.

What’s in coffee?

Coffee is a mixture of multiple chemicals. The main ingredient is caffeine, a so-called psycho-stimulant drug. Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system, alleviates fatigue, and increases mental alertness by blocking the effects of an inhibitory neurotransmitter called adenosine. Coffee also contains antioxidants and some vitamins and minerals that are health beneficial. However, cafestol and kahweol, found in unfiltered coffee, are cholesterol-raising substances.

Hmm, so far coffee seems not so bad overall, right?

Does coffee contribute to heart disease or cancer?

To date, coffee consumption has not been found to be associated with a significantly increased risk for cardiovascular disease. However, coffee consumption is associated with increases in several cardiovascular disease risk factors, including blood pressure and blood homocysteine levels. Homocysteine is a common amino acid (one of the building blocks that make up proteins), and a high level of homocysteine in the blood is linked to early development of cardiovascular disease.

Most studies investigating the issue have showed no link between coffee consumption and cancer risk, but controversy exists. After analyzing 40 cohort studies on this subject, Yu et al. (BMC Cancer. 2011) suggest that coffee consumption may reduce total cancer incidence. Their analysis revealed that coffee drinking was associated with a reduced risk of bladder, breast, pharyngeal, colorectal, endometrial, esophageal, hepatocellular, leukemic, pancreatic, and prostate cancers.

How much coffee is too much?

For adults consuming moderate amounts of coffee (2-4 cups/day, providing a maximum of 300-400 mg/day of caffeine), there is little evidence of health risks; instead, there is some evidence of health benefits, including lowering the risk for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases as well as Type-2 diabetes.

How much coffee intake is suitable can vary greatly among individuals, depending on

- Age: Children, adolescents, and the elderly may be more vulnerable to coffee, particularly its adverse effects.

- Current health condition: People with hypertension certainly should take precaution not to drink too much coffee.

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- Pregnancy: If you are pregnant, be cautious and limit caffeine consumption to less than 300 mg/day (or <3 cups of coffee) to exclude any probability of spontaneous abortion or impaired fetal growth.

- Medication(s) you take: Consult with your doctor about whether your prescription may negatively interact with caffeine, as some medications do.

- Other issues: If you have difficulty sleeping at night, it may be best to stop drinking coffee after your morning cup, or at least have no more coffee after 2 pm.

Heavy daily caffeine consumption (i.e. more than 500 to 600 mg/day, equivalent to 4 to 7 cups of coffee) can cause insomnia, fast or irregular heartbeat, restlessness, muscle tremors, headache, and gastrointestinal problems.

Are there any alternatives to coffee?

Yes. If all you need from coffee is to wake you up and keep you going, here are some alternatives to coffee.

- Tea, a healthier approach.

- Chewing gum, as long as it’s not sugar-loaded.

- Aromas around you.

- A fan to cool the air.

In sum, taken as a whole, moderation is the key to coffee just like anything else. Although moderate coffee intake isn’t likely harmful, too much can clearly affect your health.

Image credits: By ChIandra4U and nkzs

How to Love Your Heart

By Hui Xie-Zukauskas

February is the month we celebrate and show our love, whether it’s to our sweetheart, a favorite football team at the Super Bowl, or someone else we care about.

But don’t forget to love your own heart, because February is American Heart Month and we still face a sober reality – that heart disease is the No. 1 killer of both men and women in the United States.

You have only one heart. The following 8 practices can help you keep it healthy and young.

Quit smoking. Never start smoking or using any other tobacco product if you are not a smoker. Tobacco smoke can harm not only anyone who smokes but also others who breathe it.
Know your critical numbers. Get screened or tested for your blood pressure, blood cholesterol, and blood sugar. Don’t wait until any symptoms show up.
Maintain a healthy weight. Your weight is one of the important risk factors for heart disease. You need to calculate your body mass index (BMI, a ratio of weight to height). A BMI under 25 is healthy; a value between 25 and 29.9 is overweight, and a BMI of 30 or higher means obesity. There are several online resources you can use.
Keep a heart-healthy diet. Eat plenty of vegetables and fruits and other plant-based food, along with a balance of lean meat, especially poultry and fish.
Exercise, exercise, and exercise. Being physically active is doable and enjoyable, and it leads to many health benefits.

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Avoid saturated fats and trans fats; limit sugar and sodium/salt intake.
Know your family history and other risk factors. While you cannot control your race, age, or family history, you do have control over your lifestyle and other important risk factors.
Recognize common signals of heart trouble and do not ignore these warnings. Ask for a ride to a local hospital and get checked if you experience pain in your chest, back, shoulders or arms; shortness of breath; irregular heartbeat; or any other signs of heart trouble. Also be aware that the symptoms of a heart attack can vary from person to person.

Fortunately, lifestyle factors are mostly modifiable. Although it’s optimal to start building healthy habits and a healthy cardiovascular system at an early age, it’s never too late or too early to love your heart and safeguard it.

As a final point, the greater your risk for heart disease, the greater risk you likely have for cancer, because both diseases share several common risk factors. Protecting your heart can help you prevent cancer, which is a double-gain!

Let’s go RED, wear RED today, and spread the word!

Image credit: By Gioradi

10 Strategies to Keep a New Year’s Resolution: Staying Active

By Hui Xie-Zukauskas

Did you make any New Year’s health resolutions? I assume many people have by now. A new commitment to being healthy can mean different things to different people – quit smoking, lose weight, eat healthier, exercise more, or something else that will make for a healthier lifestyle.

Keeping up with your New Year’s resolutions once they are made can be the hard part. Having an ambitious New Year’s resolution but then falling off the wagon can be like getting in the car and driving along without a roadmap, then ending nowhere you want to be.

Today, I want to help you achieve your health goals by making one important change – Become More Physically Active. The following 10 strategies show you how to stick to a New Year’s resolution of doing just that.

1. Be clear why you are doing it.

Sedentary behavior is an important risk factor for cancer and other serious chronic diseases. Why is staying active important to you? Is it because of an effort to lose weight? A measure to prevent obesity, heart disease, and cancer? A way to boost energy? Or a therapy to reduce stress? Knowing why you are doing something means you will more likely stick to it.

2. Set a realistic, attainable goal.

One physical activity guideline for adults is to aim for moderate exercise or activity 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. If you are rarely physically active, you may start with breaking it down to 10 minutes each time, 3 times throughout the day. You should choose activities that fit your abilities. If you cannot run, consider jogging or walking faster when you are going somewhere on foot.

3. Set a time for it. Make it your priority.

If it’s hard for you to find time, do it the first thing in the morning before the rest of your day starts. Then you’ll feel good when you are done.

4. Have a system and make it work.

It could be “walk 20 minutes a day, do it after dinner, repeat it each day, reward myself at the end of month”. Or it could be “sign up a fitness program or a yoga class AM or PM, walk up-and-down stairs more during the day, and garden during the weekend, then repeat.” You get the idea.

5. Little moves add up and small steps count.

With modern technologies and today’s lifestyle, we sit more and move less, as I have discussed in previous blogs. You can incorporate “sit less, move more” choices into your everyday life with little effort. For example, you can:

get off the bus or train a stop or two earlier to walk home or to work.
walk up stairs without using the elevator or escalator.
park the car farther away from stores, malls, or buildings you are going to.
spend more time on active interests, such as gardening or golfing.
walk to nearby stores instead of driving.
clean the car yourself.
do more chores such as vacuuming the house.
play more with the kids.

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6. Do it as much as you can and as often as you can.

There is no such thing as exercising too much as long as your health condition allows it. The opportunities are endless.

7. Try something new and make it fun.

Whether it’s learning a dance, practicing yoga, or joining a community sport team, find something that motivates you and excites you. Make it fun, not a burden.

8. Exercise with the season.

You can plan monthly or quarterly actions or activities. With the Winter Olympic Games around the corner, enjoy ice skating, skiing, and other outdoor activities. With cold weather in winter, you can choose some indoor exercises, fitness program(s) at the gym, walking in the malls, or visiting museums. In the spring and fall, hike and/or bike while getting pleasure from nature’s beauty. In summer, swim at the local Y or go to the ocean and do beach activities.

9. Review, Revise, and Reward.

Having a written goal and taking action toward it are initial steps. Re-examine your goal from time to time to see if it is effective and the steps toward it are attainable. If not, revise it. If you’ve made progress, celebrate it and reward yourself.

10. Get support from family members, friends, fitness buddies, classmates, and even online pals or social media.

Share your plan with people. Letting others know your goal publicly can increase the chance that you stick on it.

Conclusion

Overall, you don’t need to struggle or make a huge change in your lifestyle in order to boost your physical activity. Consistently following these strategies, you’ll see the results. To become a healthier, fitter, happier, and better you, also integrate more fruits and vegetables into your diet and drink a lot of water. In due course, you can reap considerable benefits.

Image credit: By shed; and Thoursie

Coping with the Holiday Stress

By Hui Xie-Zukauskas

Here we are in this festive Holiday Season full of beauty, joy, love, and cheer. But do you know that medical research shows that one of the clinical triggers for heart attack is holidays like Christmas and New Year’s day? Evidence also indicates that stress management can reduce the risk.

Holiday stress can come in various forms and levels, and from a wide range of activities, including gift shopping, cooking or baking, entertaining, partying, and traveling. Today, I’ll provide 30 strategies that can help you cope with stress during the Holidays and into the New Year.

First, understand stress versus your needs

Stress is a fact of life, even during the Holidays. It occurs when things seem to be going wrong or there’s too much to do and not enough time. One basic way to deal with things when you feel overwhelmed and stressed out is to set priorities and put things in perspective. Keep these points in mind this Holiday season:

Materials or gifts might bring you a moment of sensation or joy, but cannot fulfill your inner happiness.
Meeting outside social obligations and expectations might seem important, but it can’t replace time for family, friends, and fun.
Adjust your standards and any unrealistic desires so as to find happiness or contentment through satisfactory alternatives. Refocus on the “haves” instead of the “have-nots.”

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Here are 30 easy ways to reduce holiday stress and change your mood:

Have a dinner with your friend(s).
Go for a long walk on a new route.
Delegate family duties, such as cleaning or baking, to make it a teamwork time.
Give yourself a time-out period. Just take a break.
Go on a tour to see Christmas lighting decorations.
Buy yourself a treat. It could be flowers, a delicious dinner, or whatever makes you feel special.
Take a hot bath.
Laugh, laugh, and laugh! You can easily find reasons to laugh and lighten up by going out to a bookstore and locating a humorous book, finding humorous pages online, or watching a funny video. Or, you can just laugh for no reason other than it makes you feel good.
Watch an inspirational movie.
Meditate.
Start a gratitude journal.
Take a yoga class. It surely reduces stress.
Listen to music and dance with the beat. “Dance like nobody is watching.”
Get a massage or spa treatment, a manicure or a pedicure, whatever you prefer.
Breathe deeper, taking long, slow, deep breaths.
Write a letter to an old friend.
Call up an old friend out of blue to catch up or tell a joke.
Read a magazine.
Take a trip down memory lane by looking through those old photos.
Try a new fitness movement or a new class at the gym.
Go for a bike ride (by yourself or with your family).
Work in your garden, decorate with a signature plant.
Re-arrange your surroundings (a room or the office) and keep it clutter free.
Go shopping or window-shopping to see what’s new in the marketplace.
Visit a pet store or maybe buy a new pet for yourself.
Create or try a new recipe.
Volunteer to help a neighbor, a friend, or your community.
Take a nap
Have a good night’s sleep.
Go outside and gaze at the sky or stars at night.

And one more for good measure: Learn to say NO. Don’t let “Yes” and “Yes” overwhelm you. Trust that people around you, at home or work, will understand when you say “No” once a while.

Choose whatever works best for you out of these de-stressing techniques. Think up your own additions to the list. Finally, remember these important “3Fs”:

The Holiday Season is a time for Family, Friends and Fun.

Have a wonderful and safe Holiday!

Image credit: iStock

Alcohol Consumption and Cancer Risk

By Hui Xie-Zukauskas

Alcohol plays a significant role in many people’s lives. There are many excuses for alcohol intake: relaxing from a stressful day, holiday or social drinking, and youth partying are a few. But it’s often not far from “I’ll have one more” to chronic consumption.

To use alcohol wisely, it’s important to know some facts that are hidden behind that “one more drink.”

5 Essential Facts You Need to Know about Alcohol

Alcohol is a carcinogen to humans, a finding that has been confirmed by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in 1998.
Alcohol is an established risk factor for breast cancer, increasing the risk by 10% for each drink consumed per day.
Chronic alcohol consumption is closely linked to cancer of the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, stomach, liver, and colorectum.
Women become more quickly intoxicated than men when drinking the same amount of alcohol.
The good news is that alcohol consumption is a modifiable risk factor for cancer, so it’s in your power to control it.

Action modes for alcohol’s contribution to developing cancer

How alcohol causes cancer is not definitely clear, but proposed mechanisms include:

- Alcohol increases estrogen levels in women, and excessive estrogen increases the risk for breast cancer.

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- Alcohol suppresses the immune function, especially cancer surveillance, consequently allowing cancer development.

- Alcohol facilitates cancer development by either producing more genes that drive cancer growth or slowing down the DNA repair that maintains cell integrity.

- Alcohol acts as a solvent for carcinogens in tobacco, which explains why alcohol with tobacco smoking together is a deadly combination.

How much alcohol is safe and how much constitutes abuse?

Based on the National Cancer Institute (NCI) definition, moderate use implies no more than two alcoholic beverages per day. It can be argued that moderate alcohol consumption has been shown to benefit cardiovascular health. Then again, human studies have linked even moderate alcohol consumption to an increased risk of breast cancer in women.

Women are more sensitive to alcohol damage than men. Why? First, women have less water in their bodies, and hence higher concentrations of alcohol than men when given the same amount to drink. Second, women have lower levels of enzymes that metabolize alcohol than men do. It is known that alcohol is first metabolized to acetaldehyde, a chemical that has the capacity to cause DNA damage. The metabolism of alcohol can vary individually. Personally, I’m probably deficient in the enzyme that further metabolizes acetaldehyde, because a little alcohol beverage will make my face flush, by which my body is telling me – You’ve accumulated enough acetaldehyde! That’s why I don’t drink. Of course, your body might handle alcohol differently from mine, but harm could be done even if there is no bodily warning.

“There are not enough data to support an actually safe intake of alcohol” concluded Dr. Testino in his review (The burden of cancer attributable to alcohol consumption, 2011). All types of alcoholic beverages are associated with an increased risk of developing an alcohol-related cancer. Any amount of alcohol consumption increases the risk, and the level of risk increases in proportion to the amount of consumption. Because of this, the best solution is not to drink alcohol at all. This is made easier by the fact that there are so many tasty non-alcoholic drinks available to enjoy nowadays.

Image credit: by robgr85

Say Goodbye to Summer and Cheers to Our Summer Health Education Series

By Hui Xie-Zukauskas

Summer is quickly coming to an end. This year Cancer Prevention Daily had a better way to celebrate the season with our accomplished project, which is our Summer Health Series on educating 10 risk factors that cancer and cardiovascular disease have in common.

For those who followed our blog series, you might have taken actions and seen immediate results (even if it’s small), or have learned something that will give you long-lasting rewards. For those who missed any of the valuable information, I highlight here what we discussed over this summer.

Here are 10 common causative factors for cardiovascular disease and cancer:

1. Tobacco use/smoking
2. Obesity
3. High fat diet (esp. animal fats)
4. High sugar diet
5. Excessive sodium intake
6. Physical inactivity
7. Chronic inflammation
8. Aging
9. Hormonal imbalance
10. Stress

The following are the blogs that address each factor along with preventative strategies:

9 Invaluable Lessons from Tobacco Smoking
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Seven Simple Steps to Weight Loss

4 Proven Strategies for Having Tasty Foods without Bad Fats

“Sweet” in Perspective

A Message in Salt: Packed with 20 Tips …

Physically Active, Physically Inactive, or “Active Sitting Potato”: Where Do You Fit in?

Chronic Inflammation: A Common Root for Cancer and Cardiovascular Diseases

Proven Strategies for Prevention of Age-Associated Chronic Illnesses

3 Aspects of Hormonal Imbalance You Need to Know

Learn How to De-Stress Effectively and Quickly

Overall, we need more awareness and prevention in these areas. Remember: Small actions add up, and small benefits add up too.

If you have benefited from the summer health series, please share. Thanks!

Learn How to De-Stress Effectively and Quickly

By Hui Xie-Zukauskas

Have you ever had stress? I raise my hand first. However, let’s focus on why you need to de-stress and how.

Ms. Antoinette Tuff is a remarkable example of handling an extremely stressful and dangerous situation with compassion, calm and courage. Facing the shooting standoff at an elementary school, she made the armed gunman surrender peacefully by sharing her personal life struggles with him, and prevented a tragedy like Newtown shooting. At the end, nobody was hurt and hundreds of kids were safe.

Stress is inescapable, though the magnitude may vary. From an illness or death of a loved one, divorce, loss of job, debt and a serious health issue to a bad day at work, a parking ticket or traffic jams, and a conflict with someone, you may experience sorrow, worry, anxiety, fear, frustration or anger, depending on the situation.

How can stress contribute to heart disease and cancer?

Although the direct effects of stress on these illnesses still remain less clear, considerable research has shown that stress-related psychological factors change the human body in various ways:

Stress can increase inflammation. Research reveals that higher levels of C-reactive proteins, a protein that responds to inflammation, occur when individuals engage in a stressful situation. Prolonged stress and negative emotions also alter the normal immune response, resulting in the production of pro-inflammatory chemical messengers to trigger inflammation, instead of regulating inflammation. As discussed in our previous posts, inflammation plays an important role in many diseases such as cardiovascular disease and cancer.
Stress can negatively impact the immune system. The stress of everyday life has been shown to significantly bring down the immune response. The immune system is a critical element when it comes to preventing, intensifying and/or treating chronic illnesses such as heart disease and cancer.
Stress can facilitate free radicals production. Free radicals in your body participate in the aging process, infections, chronic inflammation, and DNA damage, eventually causing various cancers.
Stress is a contributor to the progression of illnesses. Stress-related psychosocial factors (e.g. depression, anger and anxiety) have an adverse effect on cancer incidence and survival, as well as on the development of heart disease and its level of intensity. Some studies actually suggest that chronic stress is a primary cause of more than 95% of all types of disease conditions.

Because stress can impose chaos on both the mind and the body, minimizing or managing stress is a must for your healthy, long, and productive life.

Here are 10 effective strategies and tips to reduce or minimize stress:

1. Ensure a restful sleep.
65% of American adults suffer from sleep deprivation. Having at least 6-7 hours of sleep is essential for a relaxed body and mind, plus a less stressful day ahead.

2. Maintain gratitude and positive attitude.
Gratitude keeps you happy, so express appreciation for simple things. Positive attitude gives you an optimistic outlook and constructive perspectives. I believe this strategy is profoundly helpful to practice daily. I’m grateful for my loving family, for having knowledge, skills I can help people, making the world a better place, and for the opportunity I can serve.

3. Identify a trigger or stressor, and find the solution(s) for it.
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4. Exercise, exercise and exercise.
It’s a really effective stress-reliever, a great way to improve your body, your mind and your overall feeling.

5. Have fun and a sense of humor even if it seems hopeless or powerless. Try to take your mind off your problem.

6. Practice your unique stress-relieving techniques.
It could be soothing music, meditation, a relaxing message or a weekend get-away-trip. It could also come in simple things like deep breathing or a hot bath or playing with kids, as long as it works for you.

7. Enhance overall well-being.
Mental and emotional well-being is not separated from other areas of your life, so maintain and enhance other areas of well-being such as family well-being, financial well-being, career well-being and relationship well-being.

8. Have a balanced diet.
Physical factors (e.g. poor diet, mal-nutrition and food allergy) can play a substantial part in mental and emotional difficulties. So, eat well, and eat a lot antioxidant-rich foods.

9. Choose your priorities and have realistic expectations.
If you have trouble with time management or saying “NO”, you need to pick your battles. Set a priority for the most important, yet urgent, and also avoid putting things off.

10. Show love to someone or a cause.
This is one of the lessons that Antoinette Tuff taught us through her action under weighty stress. Her kindness, love, compassion and connection with the troubled young man made a difference in the outcome of the Georgia elementary school shooting that day.

Finally, believe everything will be OK to 69% of employees who consider that work is a significant source of stress, and to more than 50% of adults who say that family responsibilities are stressful (based on American Psychological Association’s data).

Next time when stressed, let’s think of Antoinette Tuff, a true hero and an inspiring role model. Also remember: “Push past the pain”, and “It’s going to be alright, sweetie”.

Image credits: by mancity and by juliaf

3 Aspects of Hormonal Imbalance You Need to Know

By Hui Xie-Zukauskas

Hormonal imbalance is defined when chemical messengers regulating our body’s systems are no longer functioning properly. The imbalance can be an overproduction or an underproduction of specific hormones. Estrogen is the primary hormone in these changes.

Today, I’d like to help you understand the danger when hormone imbalance is left unaddressed or untreated.

What can cause hormonal imbalance?

Hormone balance is closely connected to the food we eat, the exercise we get, the weight we carry, the stress we bear, and the toxins we absorb. Therefore, many factors can impact the overall hormonal balance, including:

1. Aging
Advanced age itself is a common cause of hormonal imbalance in both men and women.

2. Poor diet
Excess carbohydrates (especially from refined foods and sugars) that are not needed for energy are stored as fat in the body. Increased body fat elevates estrogen levels and increased estrogen levels bring about estrogen dominance, which leads to increased risks for breast cancer. Hormonal balance can also be interrupted by the consumption of beef and dairy products that are pumped up with synthetic growth hormones.

3. Lack of exercise
Physical inactivity, living a sedentary lifestyle contributes to obesity and hormonal imbalance.

4. Obesity
Fatty tissue converts testosterone into estrogens using an enzyme called aromatase; thereby raising estrogen levels. As research shows, obese postmenopausal women tend to have higher estrogen levels than those lean women.

5. Stress
The misconception is that mid-life women and teens have hormonal imbalance along with their emotional or life crisis. The truth is that both men and women experience stress, at least to various degrees, due to the demand of modern society and challenging economy. Although most hormone production is taken over by the adrenal glands during one’s mid-life, constant or chronic stress can reduce progesterone levels or result in adrenal exhaustion, subsequently hormonal imbalance.

6. Environmental toxins
Xenoestrogens are a group of chemicals present in the environment and our everyday products. They mimic the effects of estrogen in your body. Excessive estrogen accumulated as a result of the combination of these foreign, man-made toxins with those naturally produced by the body, leading to compromised hormone functions.
Xenoestrogens are found in
-          household cleaners. Chlorine and its by-products are a major source, which points to why it’s critically important to drink filtered water and use chemical-free cleaning products!
-          household plastics products (e.g. plastic containers and bottles)
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-          pesticides, fungicides, or herbicides
-          industrial pollutants.

7. Birth control pills
Synthetic hormones are used in birth control pills. Research showed that the earlier a girl begins to use contraceptives, the greater her risk of breast cancer is.

8. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT)
Women (under 60 years old and within ten years of menopause) can benefit from HRT with much less risk. However, clinical studies also reveal that HRT poses higher risks for breast cancer, cardiovascular events such as heart attack and stroke. Moreover, women who have used estrogen for seven years or longer are 14 times more likely to develop cancer.

What can hormonal imbalance lead to?

Hormonal imbalance causes a woman’s infertility. However, other serious medical consequences include:
-          approximately 6,000 endocrine disorders
-          osteoporosis
-          heart Disease
-          Because excess estrogens may act as initiators or promoters of cancer cell growth, hormonal imbalance can lead to cancer.

What can you do to prevent or control hormonal imbalance?

1.      Consult with your doctor on issues such as testing your hormone levels, hormone replacement therapy and using birth control pills, to ensure a proper treatment.
2.      Choose hormone-free meat and dairy products over farmed or estrogen-pumped varieties.
3.      Drink filtered water, which is more important than ever.
4.      Go for chemical-free cleaning. Avoid using household products containing chlorine or chlorine by-product such as dioxin.
5.      Wash produce thoroughly; be aware of those possibly sprayed with pesticides.
6.      Limit the use of solvents like nail polish, nail polish-remover, and petrochemical-containing cosmetics (i.e. petro-based stuff is what you put in your car).
7.      Recycle hazardous wastes from electronic, plastic and paper products to protect environment.
8.      Reduce stress by positive outlook, relaxing techniques, and enough sleep with a consistent sleeping pattern.

The bottom line: your body has been attacked by harmful chemicals and stressors in everyday life. It is vital to maintain a delicate hormonal balance and strengthen the immune system, for both saving your life and long-term health.

Proven Strategies for Prevention of Age-Associated Chronic Illnesses

By Hui Xie-Zukauskas

Do you know that 2 billion people will be (aged) 60 and older by 2050? According to statistics, between 2000 and 2050, the world’s population of 60+ years old will double from about 11% to 22%.

Aging is inevitable. Aging is a complex process too, which has a negative impact on various body systems and their functions. As you age, accumulated damage to the cells, increased burden of the immune response, and chronically stimulated inflammation, along with genetic and environmental risk factors, all intensify in your body.

Aging is the major risk factor for the predominant killer diseases such as cardiovascular disease and cancer, especially in developed countries or in the population living a sedentary lifestyle and eating a Western diet.

The good news: Age-associated chronic diseases, such as cancer, heart disease, stroke and diabetes are largely preventable! The prevention can be achieved mostly by lifestyle modification. How well we age depends on many factors, including what we eat, how physically active we are, and how much, how long we are exposed to health risks such as smoking, over-consumption of alcohol, or harmful, toxic chemicals/substances.

Taking care of yourself should be a top priority and it’s never too late to do so. Here are some key strategies:

1.      Maintain a healthy weight and avoid abdominal obesity. Excessive calorie intake and a sedentary lifestyle cause abdominal obesity, as we discussed previously.
2.      Have a diet rich in nutrients and antioxidants, such as fruits, vegetables, fish, beans, whole grains, nuts and seeds.
3.      Avoid or limit high-fat, high-sugar foodstuff and excessive salt intake from packaged or processed foods.
4.      Participate in physical activities regularly.
5.      Watch your numbers (cholesterol, blood sugar, etc), keep your blood pressure normal, and schedule routine cancer screening.
6.      Remember a good night’s sleep.

Let’s face it. You cannot help getting old, but you don’t have to get old. Fortunately, new technologies can make you look and feel young. However, if you want to age gracefully and brilliantly, place a strong focus on the following areas:

Practice gratitude. Gratitude is the key to happiness, so keep counting your blessings. “There’s always a lot to be thankful for if you take time to look for it. For example, I am sitting here thinking how nice it is that wrinkles don’t hurt.” I like this quote from the Unknown. Studies show that people who are always grateful and practice gratitude in their lives tend to have more peaceful and harmonious existences than those who do not.
Learn, learn and learn. It’s never too old to learn. Learning keeps you mentally sharp and spiritually young. Try to learn something every day and every year, whether it is from reading or from doing, whether it is a skill or a sport. Purposefully challenge your mental ability in fun ways (e.g. puzzles and games).
Maintain friendship. It helps your mental and emotional well-being. Keep a circle of people who are positive, uplifting and wise. Also, a connection with your friend(s) from high school or college can kindle a younger spirit.
Love, love and love. Love your age. In addition to your love to your family and relationship, there are many ways to show your love, such as pursuing your passion, giving to your community, caring and helping others, etc.

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Exercising the physical, mental and spiritual areas outlined above can have additional health benefits in the prevention of a variety of age-associated chronic diseases. At the end, one of humanity’s greatest dreams is to have a long, productive life in a healthy, youthful body.

Image credit: By mealsonwheelspeople

Chronic Inflammation: A Common Root for Cancer and Cardiovascular Diseases

By Hui Xie-Zukauskas

Do you know that the effect of inflammation can be two-fold?

Under physiological conditions, injuries or infections can trigger natural, healthy immune responses, and acute inflammation is an important part of the healing process.

However, chronic inflammation can act as a trigger for some deadly illnesses; contributing particularly to cancer, heart disease and diabetes. Today I help you understand more about it.

How can inflammation lead to deadly diseases?

1. Compelling evidence from research shows that chronic inflammation in fat tissue plays a key role in insulin resistance, a condition in which cells fail to respond to the normal actions of insulin, leading to further increase in blood sugar and type 2 diabetes.

2. Obesity is considered a chronic inflammatory disease. Furthermore, abdominal obesity is a risk factor for various diseases linked to inflammation. Fat cells around the belly are much more biologically active than those under the skin, and release some hormones and inflammatory chemicals. Obesity has been linked to several types of cancer.

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4. Chronic inflammation caused by a variety of infectious agents can promote development of cancer by the release of immune modulating factors/substances, the production of DNA damaging free radicals, and the suppression of immune functions.

What can trigger inflammation?

1.      Poor diet: Baseline nutrition is critical, at least, to maintain necessary levels of anti-inflammatory nutrients in the body.
2.      High fat, high sugar and high salt foods: They’re tasty, but the silent fuel to set your body on fire.
3.      Chemicals and toxins: Environmental pollutants from tobacco to asbestos to dangerous chemicals in our home or work place, in the air we breathe and water we drink can be inflammatory sources.
4.      Stress: Emotional or physical stress can cause immune system over-drive or imbalance, followed by chronic inflammation.
5.      Physical inactivity: Exercises can produce beneficial changes in circulating level of insulin or insulin-related pathway, and in eliminating inflammatory mediators.

Collectively, a significant role of chronic inflammation in some killer diseases is clear, and the information here can empower you to control inflammation in various ways.