women
Birth Control Pills may increase Chance of Breast Cancer
More than 10 million American women use birth control pills. They are the go-to contraceptive not only for pregnancy prevention, but also for PMS symptoms, heavy periods, and acne. Previous studies have suggested that birth control pills increase breast cancer risk, and the most recent research strengthens this relationship.
Birth Control Pills: A Known Carcinogen
Birth control pills join tobacco, asbestos, plutonium, and diesel exhaust as a group 1 carcinogen according to the World Health Organization. This means birth control pills are “a known and probable cancer-causing agent to humans.”
The latest study published in the August 2014 edition of the journal Cancer Research confirms the finding of past birth control/cancer studies. Researchers studied 1,102 women with breast cancer, along with 21,952 controls, and found that recent oral contraceptive use—particularly high-dose estrogen birth control pills—increased breast cancer risk by more than 50%. Birth control pills with ethynodiol diacetate (a type of progestin) also raised breast cancer risk by more than double, while triphasic birth control pills (pills that deliver different hormone doses over three stages of the monthly cycle) more than tripled breast cancer risk! Not all birth control pills fared so badly, however. Low-dose estrogen birth control pills did not seem to increase breast cancer risk.
Birth control pills block pregnancy by delivering a mix of estrogen and progestin hormones to your body. But these same hormones also over-stimulate breast cancer cells, which increases breast cancer risk. Dr. Angela Lanfranchi writes in her booklet on Breast Cancer Risks and Prevention:
“Estrogen can cause cancers in two ways. First, estrogen acts as a “mitogen.” Estrogen stimulates your breast tissue to increase cell divisions (mitoses). This sometimes results in cancers due to errors in cell division (mutations). Second, certain metabolites of estrogen also act as carcinogen or genotoxins, by directly damaging DNA, thereby causing cancer cells to form.”
Your risk for breast cancer further increases if you have a strong family history of breast cancer, you or a family member have had a biopsy that showed abnormal cells, or you carry an abnormal breast cancer gene.
If you are currently taking birth control pills, consider a safer method of contraception, such as the use of a diaphragm and/or condom. If you insist on taking birth control pills, then make sure you are on a low-dose estrogen pill.
Nuts for Coconut – Health Benefits
Coconuts are one of the wonder foods on earth that amply provides for all human needs and have multiple health benefits… They can even save your life!
Few people (even fewer doctors) understand how important the coconut is to stabilizing blood sugar; lowering cholesterol; healing; hydration; and even replacing blood plasma in an emergency.
Referred to as kalpa vriksha (Sanskrit for “the tree that supplies all that is needed to live”) in ancient India, the coconut palm has been recognized as a top immune
booster, antifungal, antibiotic, antiviral and antibacterial remedy for thousands of years all over the world.
Yet, it has been only recently that modern researchers have begun to fully discover the massive coconut health benefits this amazing fruit seed offers.
To give just one example of coconuts’ life-saving properties, they were used extensively in the Pacific during World War II. Since blood plasma supplies were scarce, it was very common for medics to siphon pure coconut water from young coconuts to be used as emergency plasma transfusions for soldiers who were injured. Since coconut water is nearly identical to human blood, it was suitable for people of all blood types.
Because of its strong antioxidant properties and health benefits, the coconuts can be used to:
- •Lower cholesterol
- • Improve digestion
- • Ward off wrinkles
- • Stabilize glucose levels
- • Fight off viruses
• Build cells
- • Regulate hormones
- • Increase thyroid production
- • Lose weight
- • Increase metabolism
- • Fight infections
- • Stave off memory loss
- • Kill bacteria
- • And more!
Considered one of the most treasured foods of all time, coconut products — including coconut flesh, coconut water, coconut oil, and coconut cream — each deliver superb health benefits.
Coconut oil, for instance, is considered the best and safest oil to use for cooking — even superior to extra virgin olive oil when it comes to giving the body what it needs for optimum health. Unlike other fats and oils that we typically use for cooking and baking, coconut oil does not form polymerized oils or dangerous trans fatty acids in our bodies, which can raise our cholesterol levels; clog our arteries and even make our skin sag and wrinkle. Plus, this ultra-safe oil can give your body important antioxidants that can help build stronger cells and improve your overall health and well being.
Coconut health benefits found all-in-one
Here are a few ways that you can take advantage of coconut products to stave off disease and to recapture the look and feeling of youth:
Coconut Water – The coconut is a natural water filter. It takes almost 9 months for a coconut to filter every quart of water stored within its shell. This makes the resulting coconut water completely pure and sterile, which is one reason why it can be used for blood transfusions.
Another benefit of coconut water is the fact that it has the highest concentration of electrolytes than anything else found in nature. This makes it an excellent source of hydration.
Coconut Oil – In addition to being superior for cooking and baking, coconut oil also makes a superb topical oil that can help to naturally rid the skin of 
dangerous toxins. It also gives the skin the perfect mix of hydration and antioxidants that it needs to stay healthy, smooth and younger-looking longer.
Another great benefit of coconut oil is in protecting your teeth from the bacteria that can cause cavities and disease. Simply rubbing a little fresh coconut oil on your gums and teeth can keep them stronger and healthier than virtually any other dental treatment.
Most people don’t realize that coconut oil can actually help you lose weight! Yes, simply changing your cooking oil from the unsaturated fat variety to coconut oil can help you lose those extra pounds.
Here’s why: Unsaturated fats found in canola, corn and other vegetable oils, as well as margarine suppress the metabolism, which makes it harder to lose weight — and easier to gain it. Over time, this metabolism suppression may result in 20-30 pounds of excess weight that your body cannot get rid of. Coconut oil, on the other hand, helps to increase thyroid function and boost your metabolism — 2 important components to shedding unwanted pounds.
Coconut Cream – The best skin treatment product one can use to achieve flawless skin may quite possibly be coconut cream. Unlike traditional skin creams which can actually introduce fats and oils to the skin that will break it down over time, making it look older, creams derived from the coconut can actually replenish the skin, giving it a more youthful and healthy glow than most other skin care products on the market.
When it comes to buying coconut products, coconuts are not all created equal. Wild coconuts are always best, but can be hard to obtain if you don’t live in a 
tropical country. Whether you are using this wonder food to boost your immune system; increase your metabolism or fight wrinkles, using products from young coconuts will help you reap the most benefit.
Young coconuts contain the purest unsaturated fat, compared to the fat found in the more mature varieties. This is why they offer the most rejuvenation properties for the body’s tissues. But how can you tell how old a coconut is? Young coconuts are usually green in color and oddly shaped. The brown hairy ones are mature coconuts, and while they offer a lot of healthy benefits, they aren’t nearly as good for you as younger varieties.
The best place to find young fresh coconuts is, of course, in the markets of the tropics, so be sure to seek them out if you travel to those areas considering all the health benefits from a coconut. Coconut-producing regions export coconuts all over the world so it’s relatively easy to find coconuts at your local health food store or Asian grocer.
6 Tips to help you Erase that Cellulite
The American Society for Aesthetic and Plastic Surgery estimates that 90% of women have cellulite, but we’d venture to guess that every woman grapples with unwanted dimples at some point in her life. It doesn’t matter if you’re curvy or skinny, short or tall… the fact that you’re a woman is enough of a reason for cellulite to strike. You may be more susceptible due to genetics, poor circulation, toxin buildup and inflammation. When fat cells grow larger and push through your fibrous bands of tissue, the cottage cheese look crops up on thighs, bellies and arms.
We aren’t sitting idly by. Cellulite is big business. American women spend upwards of $12 million annually on expensive anti-cellulite lotions. Cellulite cures, both natural and surgical, attempt to melt away the fat that has accumulated in your tissues, while encouraging collagen and elastin growth. (Collagen and elastin are the main components of connective tissue; the stronger your collagen, the less your cellulite.) Before you spend any more money on creams that temporarily reduce the appearance of cellulite, let’s take a look at some dietary changes you can implement that may actually help eradicate cellulite for good.
The Anti-Cellulite Diet
If heart disease and insulin resistance aren’t enough to get you to cut back on your salt and sugar intake, then perhaps cellulite will convince you. You may eat a low-fat diet, but if you eat too much sugar you’re still 
exacerbating the growth of fat cells. Excess sugar gets trapped in fat cells, causing them to swell into unsightly cellulite. Likewise, too much salt promotes fluid retention, which shines a spotlight on your cottage cheese. In order to minimize the appearance of cellulite, limit sugar consumption to six teaspoons per day, and don’t eat foods with more than 200 mg of sodium.
You can also help banish cellulite with the flaxseed trick. Flaxseed maintains estrogen levels and encourages collagen production. Add two tablespoons to cereal, yogurt or oatmeal each day.
Whittle away your cellulite with water. Eight to ten glasses of water a day will help flush toxins from your fat
cells and keep your skin hydrated and plump so that cellulite is not as noticeable.
Supplement with seaweed. Kelp contains a chlorophyll compound called fucoxanthin that revs up the body’s fat-burning engines. Studies have found that supplementing with kelp can trigger a loss in body weight of 5-10% and directly reduce the appearance of cellulite. Add dry kelp to soup, or sprinkle it on stir-fries and salads. If supplementing in tablet form, look for a concentration of 300 mg.
Gotu kola extract has also been clinically shown to reduce cellulite by improving skin elasticity and thickness.
Cellulite Creams
If you’re looking for a quick fix to help mask cellulite, look for a cream containing the organic compound aminophylline, which helps break down trapped fat. Vitamin C is another superstar ingredient known for its collagen-boosting effects. Retinol cream is an effective cellulite solution that defends against the free radicals that damage collagen. Look for 100% retinol cream with added vitamins A, C and E.
Citrus Fruits and Tea Can Help Lower Ovarian Cancer
New research reveals that women who consume foods containing flavonols and flavanones (two forms of dietary flavonoids) cut their risk of developing epithelial ovarian cancer. This is amazingly good news for women, because ovarian cancer is currently the 5th leading cause of cancer death among women. About 20,000 women in the U.S. are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year.
An Extremely Deadly Cancer
Ovarian cancer is one of the deadliest of all cancers affecting women. One of the reasons this type of cancer is so terribly dangerous is that it is nearly impossible to detect early. Only about 19% of ovarian cancer is diagnosed before the cancer has spread, after which point treatment is usually not effective.
Making matters worse is the fact that the ovaries are tiny organs located deep within the abdominal cavity. This makes it extremely difficult to pinpoint symptoms specific to the ovaries. Sadly, such symptoms are all too often mistaken for other far less serious health issues until it is simply too late.
The good news is that there are choices you or your loved ones can make to lower ovarian cancer risk. Most recently, scientists at the University of East Anglia (UEA) discovered that tea and citrus fruits and juices can lower ovarian cancer risk.
How Tea and Citrus Prevent Ovarian Cancer
The UEA study followed the dietary habits of 171,940 women between the ages of 25 and 55 for more than three decades. The research team found that those who consumed food and drinks high in flavonols were less likely to develop ovarian cancer.
Flavonols are found in…
- Tea
- Red wine
- Apples
- Grapes
Consumption of flavanones was also associated with lower incidence of ovarian cancer.
Flavanones are found in …
- Citrus fruits
- Citrus juices
| Two Cups A Day The consumption of just two cups of black tea every day was associated with a whopping 31% reduction in ovarian cancer risk. Black tea also slashes your risk of diabetes. A study of elderly people living in the Mediterranean islands showed that people who consumed 1-2 cups of black tea a day had a 70% lower chance of having or developing Type 2 diabetes. |
A Groundbreaking Study
The UEA study was the first large-scale study to examine how the substances in black tea and citrus fruits and juices affect the risk of ovarian cancer. The study’s authors concluded that very simple and inexpensive changes in food intake could have a drastic effect on reducing ovarian cancer risk.
HealthyDad 