Breast cancer

I know two people who've had breast cancer. The other one has moved on, and the other is recovering. Going Wai lana green

You cannot control some things that put you at risk for breast cancer, such as your age and being female. But you can make personal choices that lower your risk of breast cancer. If you are at high risk for getting breast cancer, your doctor may also offer you certain medical treatments that can help prevent breast cancer.

Female hormones

Hormones change the way cells within the breast grow and divide. The years when you have a menstrual cycle are your high-estrogen years. Experts think that the longer you have higher estrogen, the more risk you have for breast cancer.4 This includes taking hormones after menopause.1, 26

* Avoid long-term, high-dose hormones after menopause. If you use hormone therapy for menopause symptoms, use a low dose for as short a time as possible. This includes estrogen-progestin and estrogen-testosterone.1, 3 Using estrogen by itself may slightly raise breast cancer risk.1
* Breast-feed. Breast-feeding may lower your breast cancer risk. The benefit appears to be greatest in women who breast-fed for longer than 12 months or who breast-fed several children.27
* Strive for a healthy weight. Extra fat cells make extra estrogen, which raises your breast cancer risk.4 Getting regular exercise and watching what you eat can help.

Having a full-term pregnancy before age 30 also lowers your breast cancer risk.10

Healthy food and exercise

* Eat a healthy diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. A low-fat diet with limited red meat may lower your breast cancer risk.28, 29, 30
* Be active. Try to do at least 2½ hours a week of moderate exercise. One way to do this is to be active 30 minutes a day, at least 5 days a week.5, 31 Staying active may lower your breast cancer risk.32
* Drink no more than one alcoholic drink a day.4 Using alcohol leads to extra estrogen in the body, which raises your breast cancer risk.10

"Anti-estrogen" medicine

If you are at high risk for breast cancer, talk to your doctor about taking medicine that helps prevent it. This is sometimes called hormone therapy for breast cancer. It blocks the effects of hormones on breast cancer cells.

* Tamoxifen is a medicine that blocks the effect of estrogen on breast cancer cells and normal breast cells. Among high-risk women, tamoxifen lowers their risk of breast cancer about the same as raloxifene does.33 But this medicine may also increase other risks, such as for endometrial cancer, stroke, and blood clots in veins and in the lungs.
* Raloxifene is widely used to prevent and treat osteoporosis. It works like estrogen on bone, but it works like an "anti-estrogen" on breast tissue.34 Among high-risk women, raloxifene lowers their breast cancer risk about the same as tamoxifen does. Compared to tamoxifen, raloxifene's endometrial cancer risk is lower.33

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved raloxifene for use in reducing the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women who have osteoporosis. The FDA has also approved raloxifene for use in postmenopausal women at high risk for breast cancer.
If you are at high risk for breast cancer

If you are concerned that you may have an increased risk of developing breast cancer, talk with your doctor about whether you should take tamoxifen or raloxifene to prevent breast cancer. It is important to consider both their benefits and risks.

If you have a strong family history of early breast cancer or breast and ovarian cancer, talk to your doctor about BRCA testing. For more information, see:

Click here to view a Decision Point. Should I have a gene test for breast cancer?
Click here to view a Decision Point. What should I do if I'm at high risk for breast cancer?

Surgery to remove the breasts. Some women with a strong family history of breast cancer decide to have surgery to remove their breasts. This called a preventive or prophylactic mastectomy. It reduces the risk of developing breast cancer by approximately 90% in women who have a strong family history of breast cancer. A cancer risk assessment, genetic test, and psychological counseling are recommended for women who may be considering this treatment option.35

Surgery to remove the ovaries. Genetic mutations (called BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene changes) raise the risk of both breast cancer and ovarian cancer. Hormones made by the ovaries increase the risk of breast cancer. Removal of the ovaries (prophylactic oophorectomy) reduces the risk of breast or ovarian cancer in women with a genetic mutation. Such a decision is best made after a cancer risk assessment, genetic test, and counseling.36

Do some yoga exercises to help balance the hormones too. It's a great feeling way to prevent cancer or make you feel better if you already have cancer

What yoga exercises must you do for a flatter tummy?

So here I am, flat tummy and all, and I'd say, it's all the Wailana yoga I've been doing. Sarah at Health.com has been talking about just how certain yoga exercises can definitely help you firm and flatten your stomach.

Get a Flat, Toned Tummy With the Yoga Bicycle
By Sara Ivanhoe

I love combining the physical benefits of classic exercise with historic yogic tradition. One of my favorite hybrids is the yogic bicycle. Usually reserved for ab classes, bicycle crunches are a nice complement to the typical yoga session. Yoga has very few abdominal strengthening poses, other than the dreaded Boat Pose—and even that doesn’t do much for the obliques, or side abdominal muscles. And bicycle is actually a Vinyasa, or “breath and movement sequence.”

Just because you may have done bicycle before doesn’t mean you can just throw it in a yoga sequence without thinking twice. You want to be very conscious of your breath—something you may not normally do when you do bicycle crunches at the gym. When you practice yoga, your energy is open, and the way you breathe really affects your level of energy. How you breathe in any given sequence can have some pretty dramatic effects!

Begin on your back with your knees bent together and touching your chest. Keep the knees here as you interlace your fingers behind your head and sit up slightly. This is the inhale position. As you exhale, squeeze the outside of your right arm to the outside of your left thigh and straighten your right leg. Inhale to come back to center with the knees into the chest and sitting up straight. Exhale to twist to the other side. Repeat for at least a minute, up to 5 minutes for best results. This can be practiced every day.

Yogis have a system of energy channels, called nadis, and they believe that the right side of the body represents the sun channel, or the masculine, extroverted side of the body, while the left side is the moon channel, the feminine or receptive side. It may sound incredible, but if you are always inhaling on the left and exhaling on the right, you’ll drain yourself of energy—this can leave you introverted and depressed. On the contrary, if you are always inhaling on the right, you can agitate your system and develop a nervous condition.

The bicycle sequence not only helps balance your energy, but regular practice also will leave your tummy toned and taut. Plus, paying attention to your breathing will help you reap the rewards.

Oh and hey, Wai Lana supplements are on 50% off sale!! :) Great stuff for flu season! Stay healthy everyone.

A Tropical Alternative to Almonds

This is interesting news aside from the fact that Macadamias are actually native to Australia, and not Hawaii:

A Tropical Alternative to Almonds

Have you grown tired of walnuts and almonds? Try this tasty nut Hawaii is known for: macadamia nuts.

Turns out they’re on the heart-healthy list -- even though they contain saturated fat. In a study, a diet enhanced with macadamias significantly lowered both total and LDL cholesterol.

Heart-Friendly Fats
The fact that macadamias are so rich in unsaturated fats -- more than almost any other nut -- appears to make up for the fact that they also contain some saturated fat. And here’s the heart-healthy proof: When people with moderately high cholesterol ate an average American diet for 5 weeks, then a diet with a handful of macadamia nuts mixed in daily for another 5 weeks, the nut diet lowered total and LDL cholesterol about 9 percent more than the nut-free fare. Check out how macadamias rank among other nuts when it comes to heart-healthy fats.

The Nuts and Bolts
But keep in mind that although the study diets were controlled so that they both had the same amount of total fat, the nut diet had less saturated fat and more monounsaturated fat. So if you eat macadamias, use them to kick out a source of unhealthy fat in your diet -- don't just add them to what you already eat. For example, use them in a healthier version of the classic shortcake dessert -- like Roasted Pineapple Shortcakes.

I LOVE macadamias.

Noni Capsules, for life

I just got a gift of these. I think they're a great gift for health, for life! :)

Noni Capsules

Healing, Pure & Simple
A healthy, easy-to-swallow dose of noni made from 100% pure, dehydrated noni in vegetarian capsules. We use a patented dehydration process to preserve the noni's nutritional value in this dry capsule form. Our capsules are made from sun-ripened, hand-picked noni fruit grown year-round in Hawaii’s rich volcanic soils.

Provides Antioxidant Power
Contains potent antioxidants, such as vitamin C and polysaccharides, to help protect your body at a cellular level from premature aging, heart disease, and many other disorders.

Improves Immune Function
Helps boost and regulate your immune system so that it functions more efficiently and you’re better able to ward off colds, flus, infections, and disease.

Enhances Digestion
Supplies a wealth of digestive enzymes that improve digestive function, letting you absorb and assimilate more nutrients and experience increased health, energy, and vitality.

Cleanses and Detoxifies
Cleanses and protects the liver and helps your body neutralize and eliminate toxins.

Eases Inflammation
Has both analgesic (painkilling) and anti-inflammatory properties.

Suggested use: As a whole-food dietary supplement, take 2 capsules daily or as directed by your healthcare professional. May be dissolved in water or fruit juice.

This product does not contain animal byproducts and has not been tested on animals. Dietary supplement guaranteed to be FREE of corn, milk, soy, salt, sugar, wheat, yeast, artificial flavors, and preservatives.

Contains 60 veggie caps (620 mg)