Fish Oil and the Fight Against Breast Cancer

There is little, if any, guidance for consumers who wish to use supplements to help in disease prevention and treatment especially, when it comes to the fight against cancer and its prevention. Studies have repeatedly found cancer prevention properties in different types of foods and the nutrients that they contain. Several schools of Epidemiology have found consistent proof that diets high in fruits and vegetables can prevent certain types of cancer and reduce the incidence in other types. The newest evidence shows that fish oil can also provide some protection against mouth, pharynx, lung, stomach, esophageal, colon, rectum, bladder and breast cancers.

With more than 200,000 diagnosed breast cancer cases per year and 40,000 or more deaths from this disease, women deserve the best nutritional information available in order to stave off this killer. Mainstream medicine is often quick to dismiss nutritional avenues for disease prevention but in the case of breast and most other cancers, even the mainstream medical community is looking to the foods we eat to help in this fight. As more physicians accept the beneficial part of nutrition in the fight against breast cancer, supplements like fish oil will gain a wider foothold and the benefits can be seen in a wider segment of the population. In a study called VITAL (Vitamin and Lifestyle Cohort Study) those respondents who took fish oil on a regular basis (counted as 3 or more times per week) were shown to have a 32% reduction in breast cancers.

The women who took part in the study were all between the ages of 50 and 76 and had never shown signs of breast cancer. They completed questionnaires concerning their lifestyle and supplements taken and the group was followed over a period of 9 years. During the follow-up period 880 women were diagnosed with breast cancer out of over 35,000 participating women. The women who had been taking the fish oil supplements containing high levels of EPA and DHA (greater than 1 gram per day) showed a one-third reduction in the incidence of cancers. The American Association for Cancer Research scored this as a significant finding for which they were not prepared. Out of the total number of supplements taken by the participants, the fish oil showed some of the most promising benefits.

A number of natural medicine publications have picked up on this and have begun to investigate other studies looking for links to a reduction in breast cancers. Over the years fish oil has been shown to have some excellent health benefits including protecting the heart (heart disease is the number 2 killer among women), reducing the effects of aging (such as memory loss, Alzheimer's, dementia, and depression), and strengthening bones and joints. The important nutrient found in fish oil is EPA and DHA. These two molecules are two that must be gotten from your diet as the body cannot synthesize these from any thing else. An alternate essential acid is ALA but in order for the body to use it, it must first be converted to DHA and the body is not efficient at this process.

The best dietary sources of fish oil come from cold-water fish normally referred to as fatty fish. These include salmon, tuna, mackerel, cod, herring, sardines, and anchovies. Chia seeds, sunflower seeds, kelp, and olive are excellent vegetable sources of these essential fatty acids. However, many people find it easier to take a fish oil supplement that provides a high dose of EPA and DHA (greater than 1 gram per day) in purified capsule form to avoid the possibility of any heavy metal contamination. Quality sources of fish oil and omega 3 supplements are available from many retailers.

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Original article

Can Being Happier Help Your Fight Against Breast Cancer?

A cancer diagnosis is not something that you can usually put a positive spin on, and if you or a loved one has been given such terrible news is perfectly understandable to be feeling at an all-time low. However, the fight against breast cancer is not only a physical one; it's also an emotional one. Being happier can help your body fight cancer more effectively and suffer less from the expected side-effects of most cancer treatments.

Happy Means a Better Immune System

Have you ever noticed how happy people seem to fall sick less than those who always seem dark and depressed? The chemicals our body produces when we're stressed out or depressed have a negative effect on our immune systems, which in the case of cancer patients under treatment is compounded by the fact that neither radio nor chemotherapy are kind to the body natural defences. Avoiding stress and depression as much as possible can help your body fight cancer more effectively and reduce the chances of a secondary infection causing even more damage.

Feeling Better and Stronger

Many people who have beaten cancer point to being always optimistic as one of the things that kept them fighting until they were given the all-clear and it's not surprising. When you are happy you have more energy and feel better, and can take better decisions about your own health. Your body is also stronger and has better chances of beating the sickness along with traditional treatment, and it's somehow easier to overlook the side effects if you generally feel happier and know that you'll beat breast cancer. Keeping your spirits high is key to helping your body be in top shape when you are fighting cancer. And if you need to take difficult decisions such a surgery it can also help you adapt better to any changes on your body consequence of treatment.

Psychosomatic Side Effects

It's not only that being happy helps your body fight cancer more effectively: Being depressed can harm your chances as your body will reflect your mood in a myriad of small, but annoying, side effects. For example, you may discover that stress gives you a headache, which prevents you from sleeping properly. If you don't sleep well, you are depriving your body from the time it needs to recover and do all sorts of maintenance tasks, lowering your general health and making it even more difficult to deal with your medication and the physical symptoms of cancer. And this just makes sleeping even more difficult. Staying optimistic and keeping in mind that cancer can be beaten is vital to avoid this.

How to Keep Your Spirits High

Learning to live with cancer is not easy, but many people find that the small things are the ones that help the most. Being sure you are surrounded by a support network for family, friends or other breast cancer patients through your local breast cancer support association can help, as do reading funny breast cancer quotes or practicing meditation and moderate physical exercise such as attending yoga sessions. If you don't let cancer depress you you'll be increasing your chances of recovery and feeling better all the way through your treatment.

Original article

2 Self Tests In the Fight Against Women's Breast Cancer

Statistics already published for 2010 show that more than one and a half million women worldwide were diagnosed as having some form of cancer. Out of this number, twenty five percent have been shown to have breast cancer - a really scary and horrendous one in four women.

The remaining seventy five percent represent all the other forms of cancer, of which there are many. Some of them are well known, such as skin cancer and lung cancer, while there are also some very obscure forms of this often fatal disease. Some have high cure success rates, while others do not respond well to the various treatments available.

It is therefore of the utmost importance that we women take great care of our bodies because, as we all know, we are the backbones of our families. We are wives, mothers, friends, cooks, cleaners and more, all rolled up into one strong human being who take the best possible care of our husbands and children. Even if we do not feel 100% well, we get up and do what has to be done; and it is for this reason that we need to get to know our bodies - so that we will know at the very outset if something is not quite right. Call it women's intuition.

The 2 tests that women can do at home to check for breast cancer are:
Test #1 is the easiest test - and one which has been proven to be highly successful - is that of self examination of one's breasts. You should do this once a month while lying on your back of a firm surface, such as a bed. Starting at your nipples and working in ever increasing circles, palpate or press your fingers into the breast tissue, almost as if you are playing the piano. Do this in the middle of your menstrual cycle, between your periods, so that any lumpy tissue associated with your period will not give you any cause for concern. By making a habit of doing this self examination every month, you will get to know your own body and all its lumps, bumps and idiosyncrasies. Should you ever feel something unusual that was not there last month, or if you think that a certain bump has grown larger, you should make an appointment with your doctor at soon as possible.
Test #2 is to check your nipples and is just as easy as test number one. Check to see if there is any discharge which may ooze (permanently or sporadically) from your nipples. Another test which is an indicator of breast cancer is if the nipple begins to turn in and is 'absorbed' by the breast instead of standing out proudly.

Remember, breast cancer is curable if detected in its early stages and mortality rates are increasing year on year. You stand every chance of surviving this awful disease and being there for your family for many years to come - but only if you take immediate action.

Original article