1. “Health” foods and “organic” foods industries publish 10% fact and 90% nonsense, as their goal is to make money, not to truly inform or make anyone healthier. The term “organic” has no legal meaning and so is used on highly questionable products simply to justify marking up the price. If you want a healthy diet, save your money and buy fresh or frozen vegetables from the “ordinary” parts of the grocery store. 
2. Supposedly “all-natural” vitamins, such as ‘vitamin C from rose hips’, etc., are no better than synthetic vitamins – shhhhhhh – keep this fact quiet or we will ruin the long-running scam to charge you more for less. Even if vitamin C from rose hips were better than synthetic vitamin C, note that the bottles of C from rose hips actually mostly synthetic vitamin C and only a very tiny fraction actually comes from rose hips. This applies to most “all-natural” vitamin and mineral products. 
3. The big push for anti-oxidants to help you avoid cancer or other genetic damage is based on theory with very little corroboration from actually studies. There is no proof of the big claims made by anti-oxidant lovers, mega-C dosers, and so on. The theory behind it makes sense – but actual large scale studies have failed to find any correlation between antioxidant diets and any positive health effect, such as lower cancer risk.
4. Low-carb diets and other fad diets are not healthy in the long term, and actually do not help you lose weight any faster anyway. To lose weight, pay attention to glycemic profile and fat, not carb count. Glycemic profile is about how fast your blood sugar will rise after eating a particular food. A low-glycemic response is what you want – avoid simple carbs like sugar, cakes, donuts, cookies, white rice, white bread – but eat lots of complex carbs like vegetables and fruits. Don’t avoid carbs – your body needs them and runs cleaner on them than on protein – just choose complex carbs instead of simple carbs – whole wheat bread instead of white bread, for example.
5. Any weight-loss diet should be supplemented by exercise, and the exercise should be a combination of weight lifting and aerobic exercise – the combination works better than just aerobic exercise alone. It is best to do the aerobic part in the morning, and the muscle part in the evening because your blood chemistry is different from morning to evening. Because aerobic exercise takes time – you need at least 30 minutes just to begin using your adipose fat stores – it is best to build your lifestyle around that part of your regimen. Get your friends involved, or your kids – make it a social thing, not just you on a treadmill in a gym somewhere.

For years various epidemiological studies have shown a link between caffeine intake and reduced incidence of skin cancer, but now researchers think they have found the reason why.

Research findings published online in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology show that caffeine interrupted a key protein required by cancerous cells while leaving normal cells alone.

Lead researcher Dr. Paul Nghiem, associate professor of dermatology at the University of Washington in Seattle, and his team looked at caffeine’s effect on human skin cells that had been exposed to ultraviolet radiation. They found that in cells damaged by UV rays, caffeine interrupted a protein called ATR-Chk1, causing the damaged cells to self-destruct.

“We have found what we believe to be the mechanism by which caffeine is associated with decreased skin cancer,” said, Nghiem. ATR is essential to damaged cells that are growing rapidly, Nghiem said, and caffeine specifically targets damaged cells that can become cancerous. “Caffeine more than doubles the number of damaged cells that will die normally after a given dose of UV,” he said. “Caffeine has no effect on undamaged cells.”
“This is a biological mechanism that explains what we have been seeing for many years from the oral intake of caffeine,” he added.

But, Nghiem added, people shouldn’t increase the amount of coffee or tea they drink to prevent skin cancer. “You are talking a lot of cups for a lot of years for a relatively small effect,” he said. “But if you like it, it’s another reason to drink it.”

Nghiem has also been experimenting with applying caffeine directly to the skin. “It suppresses skin cancer development by as much as 72 percent in mice, and human studies are moving ahead slowly,” he said.

It’s possible that topical caffeine preparations might one day be used to help prevent skin cancer, Nghiem said. “Caffeine is both a sunscreen and it deletes damaged cells,” he said. “It may well make sense to put it into a sunscreen preparation.”

Dermatologist Dr. Robin Ashinoff, clinical associate professor of dermatology at New York University’s Langone Medical Center, thinks these findings need to be verified before they can have any clinical application.
“This study tells me that caffeine may be a useful ingredient topically to remove ultraviolet-genetically damaged cells from reproducing,” Ashinoff said. “This may help prevent the development of skin cancer.”

“It is interesting that caffeine, which is thought to have a negative connotation, has already been shown to be associated with lower incidences of non-melanoma skin cancers in several epidemiological studies,” she added.

Dr. Albert Lefkovits, a spokesman for the Skin Cancer Foundation and an associate clinical professor of dermatology at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, doesn’t think it’s been proven that caffeine reduces the risk of skin cancer.

“While this is an interesting concept that has been explored before, it will take years of extensive testing to determine whether this will be a worthwhile prevention method,” Lefkovits said.
“And, the study doesn’t discuss how much caffeine would be needed for any real benefit,” he said. “For instance, many people drink large amounts of caffeine on a daily basis and still get skin cancer. Protecting yourself from the sun is currently the only proven way to prevent skin cancer.”

Women these days lead very busy lives, and somehow squuezing in that extra time to make appointments and visit doctors is not high on the priority list unless we get sick.

But here are five tests that you should not forget about and which can actually save your life.

1. Cholesterol Test
Heart disease is the leading cause of death among American women these days, yet somehow we focus our attention on other diseases and threats. Six times more women die from heart disease than breast cancer each year, and most of these cases were due to the fact that the women avoided getting the right tests.

One easy way to gauge the health of your heart is to get a cholesterol test. Remember that there is both good and bad cholesterol, but by getting a simple test your doctor will be able to inform you if your cholesterol levels are at a dangerous level. They will also test your blood pressure because high blood pressure or hypertension as it is medically known is a condition which can be very harmful, even potentially deadly.

Cholesterol tests are recommended at least once every 5 years starting at the age of 20.

2. The Mammogram
Many younger women think that mammograms are only for their mothers, women who are older aged, but this is not true. In fact, breast cancer is one of the leading causes of death around the world, and in many cases it develops in younger women, even those in their early twenties.

Women should get a mammogram at least once every couple of years, and always check for lumps in your breasts. The best idea is to check in circular motions around the area of both your breasts every time that you are in the shower. Not only does the warm water help you to relax but as well it helps you to remember to examine yourself. Breast cancer has an incredibly high cure rate as long as it is caught early, so keep on top of the situation on your own time.

Mammograms are recommended once a year for women over the age of 40.

3. Pap Smear
Many women mistakenly think that the Pap smear is just to check for sexually transmitted diseases but its main purpose is to check for cervical cancer, a major killer around the world. Cervical cancer is so dangerous because it tends to be caught late. The Pap smear is the best test to catch it early.

One of the leading causes is the Human Papillomavirus, or HPV as it is more commonly known. This is one of the leading STDs in the world, and most women do not even realize that they have the disease for years.

This test looks for any abnormalities that could lead to cervical cancer, as well as various other health conditions. In fact, the American Cancer Society recommends that the Pap test be taken by all women at least once annually until the age of thirty, and if no problems arise until that point then they can begin taking the test only once every two or three years.

4. Dermatology Test - CheckYour Skin
Every woman should visit her dermatologist from the age of eighteen, and having a skin exam every 3 years (once a year for women over 40). They will typically do an all over examination of your skin, checking for any abnormal pigmentations, red or brown spots, in particular moles that are larger than normal or irregularly shaped.

Skin cancer is something that very few women think about, even though it is one of the leading causes of death among women around the world. Even if you stay out of the sun and take proper care of your skin you can still develop skin cancer, so it is important that you stay on top of this and make sure that you do not have a problem.

5. The Katie Couric Test
So many people think colon cancer is a guy thing, but we women get it too. The American Cancer Society estimates that nearly 75,000 women alone will be diagnosed with colon or rectal cancer this year, so do not take this lightly. Colon cancer is totally preventable and treatable if found early, and the main test for this is the colonoscopy, which Katie Couric has now made famous.

The colonoscopy allows a doctor to closely inspect the patient’s rectum and lower colon, during which they will check for any signs of cancer, polyps, or even small growths that may continue to grow and eventually become cancerous. The test is quite simple, and the patient will first be given a medication that allows them to relax and not tense up, as this can make the examination of the rectum much more difficult. The scope is then inserted slowly into the rectum, and on this scope is a tiny video camera, the pictures from this which are sent to a television monitor in the room that the doctor can use to examine the rectum better.

Continued From 11 Healthy Foods You Should be Eating and Reasons Why - Part 1

Healthy Food #6 - Cinnamon
Surprisingly cinnamon is a great addition to our diet and many of us don’t get enough. You can add it to many recipes. It is a great way to help reduce your blood sugar and the risk of heart disease. You can just sprinkle it on oatmeal or even in your coffee depending on what you like most.

Healthy Food #7 - Oatmeal
Most of us think of oatmeal as only some mush in a bowl, perhaps with milk or cinnamon. But oatmeal can be added to other things like hamburger patties or breads too. Personally, the bowl of oatmeal with cinnamon and brown sugar is great, while other people add cream and strawberries or other fresh fruits - even strawberry milk or other things.

Healthy Food #8 - Salmon and Tuna
Fish from cold waters contain nutrients that other fish dont, especially omega-3 fatty acids. Tuna is not expensive and has a great protein profile, and can be used in sandwiches, salads, casseroles, etc. Salmon is more expensive, but a single filet can be quickly cooked and used as a main course or added to rice dishes, etc.

Healthy Food #9 - Refried Beans
We normally associate refried beans with Mexican food, but they can be eaten anytime with rice, or scrambled eggs, or anything. Refried beans have no fat and great protein.

Healthy Food #10 - Plums
Plums, especially dried plums which are prunes are another healthy source of food. Prunes offer chlorogenic acid, and antioxidants that are able to reduce the risk of cancer. You will find that prunes are also a great help in regulating the body if you suffer from constipation. You can eat the prunes by themselves or sprinkle them over a prosciutto and back for a few minutes.

Healthy Food #11 - Asparagus
Asparagus is a fantastic food, high in fiber, the highest source of folic acid, B vitamins, potassium, glutathione to protect cells from fee radical, and rutin which strengthens capillary walls.
These are ten suggestions - but the world is filled with great foods that we can add to our diet.

Continued From 10 Symptoms When You Need A Doctor Part 3

8. Hot, red or swollen joint

These warning signs may occur with a joint infection, which requires emergency care to save the joint and keep bacteria from spreading elsewhere. Other causes may include gout or certain types of arthritis such as rheumatoid arthritis.

9. Short-term loss of vision, speaking or movement control

If you have these signs and symptoms, minutes count. These are signs and symptoms of a possible stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA). Seek immediate emergency medical care if you have any of the following:

• Sudden weakness or numbness of the face, arm or leg on one side of your body
• Sudden dimness, blurring or loss of vision
• Loss of speech, or trouble talking or understanding speech
• A thunderclap headache
• Sudden dizziness, unsteadiness or a fall

10. New or more severe headaches (especially if you’re over age 50)

Seek prompt medical attention if you experience:

• A sudden and severe headache, often called a thunderclap headache, because it comes on suddenly like a clap of thunder.
• A headache accompanied by a fever, stiff neck, rash, mental confusion, seizures, vision changes, weakness, numbness, speaking difficulties, scalp tenderness or pain with chewing.
• A headache that begins or worsens after a head injury.

These headache symptoms may be caused by stroke, blood vessel inflammation (arteritis), meningitis, brain tumor, aneurysm or bleeding on the brain after head trauma.