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Health 101 – Weight Loss
Well, aren’t you curious! Fantastic questions! Well, before I get into that, please let me make it crystal clear that there are many reasons why we gain weight and why we can’t lose it, so please don’t let me over simplify anything. I have specialized in weight loss for years, and there are a multitude of reasons. I will make sure to address anything Agenda‘s readers (but only Agenda readers, no one else, of course) might want to know about in this new phenomenal health addition to Agenda. So with that said, I will give some specifics as to how much someone should eat to lose weight with average circumstances given for now. The trick to weight loss is simply to use up more energy than you take in (food and stored fat are energy). Now, you first have to make sure you don’t eat less than your body’s safety point, called your BMR. This is basically how many calories you would burn if you were to just sit for a 24-hour period. If you are not active at all, eating your BMR (basal metabolic rate) calories only is a good start until you get moving more. To find your BMR, simply multiply your body weight times 10, and that will give you a great estimate. If you are fairly active (1-3 workouts a week), add 2-300 calories on top of your BMR to keep everything working properly. If you are very active (4-5 workouts a week) add 4-500 calories so that your body can take the beating. Please note that when you’re very high in activity, your body needs a lot more. If you give it less than what it needs, it will simply rebel by slowing you down to conserve energy. So work with it and not against it. I would recommend getting some professional help to modify some things for you so that you get the best out of your workouts if things get hard. If you just want something to calculate your calories for you, go towww.caloriecontrol.org/calcalcs.html, and the work is done for you. Remember to spread those calories you are supposed to have evenly throughout the day over at least 6 meals so that your body feels safe and gives you the best results. I must urge you all not to cut meals as it will make it longer and harder to lose weight. If you want more results just work out more often or harder, and your body will love you for it, rewarding your efforts with that engaging silhouette you are seeking. Your body doesn’t know you’re working out to look better or feel better, it simply reacts. If you go hard and don’t give your body enough fuel, it will simply rebel and slow your metabolic process to conserve precious energy. A car without enough gas will just stop, but your body will make you tired sooner, sleepier more often, and drain your good moods. This all can be avoided by giving it the right fuel. Hard work and eating frequently are weight-loss’s greatest weapons. If you eat once, twice, maybe three times on a good day, then food is typically scarce in the world of your body; so it holds onto the weight a lot more aggressively for self preservation. You see, one reason your body holds onto the body fat is because it thinks it needs it, like a camel storing water for hard times. No hard times means no aggressive storage, means no muffin top. So eat, for goodness sake! Now that we’ve got you eating, let us address activity a bit more and how hard you should push. This is where many go wrong and have no clue what they are doing wrong. The human body responds best when it is pushed. It’s marvelous! You see, your body is great at doing as little as possible (go figure). Its primary purpose is to be as efficient as possible. Why use 300 calories for that run if we can get it down to 100 calories? That’s what your body was designed to do, so the best way to approach activity is to challenge your body with one notch past comfortable. Problem is that in general we have a tendency not to push ourselves hard enough. You know that’s true, so don’t even start with me. We push as much as we can, and when we get to that comfort border, we stop and take a break until we get back down to the lower end of the comfort gauge. Problem here is that the best and quickest results are past that sweaty border. The best way to overcome this is to take a class at your gym, any class that you want, but stay for the whole class no matter how tired or out of place you feel. This isn’t about being perfect; it’s about progress. The idea is to get an idea of what that border is and learning to push past it, even if it takes getting yelled at for an hour to do it. This is almost always the best way to start. If that isn’t enough, take a boot camp course or get a trainer (article on picking the right trainer to come). Now let’s get more specific on intensity. In general if you are in good health (please consult your physician before beginning a hard regimen), you should be getting your heart rate up between 70-80% of your heart rate for cardio workouts and try to keep it there for as long as you can for now. To find that out simply subtract your age from 220, and that will give you your 100%. Multiply that by 0.7 and 0.8 to give you that range (i.e. 220 – 35yrs = 185 max heart rate, then 185 x 0.7 and 0.8 = a target heart range of 130-148 for a kick-butt fat-shredding workout). Buy yourself a heart monitor if you don’t want to be held to a machine, or you can always use the one built into the machines if that is where you plan to be. Weight training in itself is a whole other article that we will approach later, but for now, find a great class, boot camp, or trainer that will do the trick. Well, that’s it for now ladies. That is how to shred the body fat off your bodies in a nutshell. Fuel your bodies and push them hard, and they will reward you with heavenly curves to die for. Days of starvation and silly diets are numbered if I have anything to do about it (and I do). There is always more depth to all these subjects, so stay tuned and make sure to voice your opinions and questions in Agenda’s health blog. I promise to help as much as I can as our new health relationship develops. Until we meet again, I bid you all adieu, fair ladies. * All Information from this article is taken from Fitness: The Complete Guide, Frederick C. Hatfield, PhD – Edition 8.6.6, 735pgs, International Sports Science Association. By Anthony Heredia |
Tag: Health
How to Drop a Dress Size in a Month the Right Way
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How to Drop a Dress Size in a Month the Right Way
I would love to focus on empowering readers of all levels of health awareness, so I have decided to give you a nice, simple general overview of how to drop a dress size in about a month (and keep the weight off). But for those nutrition buffs, I will be adding more technical info in our “Health 101” section, which will include more technical specifics for everything. That way you have a choice on how deep you would like to go into our subject.
So now back to that pesky weight we want to just fall off. The easiest way to get your bodies to lose those bothersome pounds is to make your body feel safe.
So what do you mean by safe? Why doesn’t my body feel safe?
Good questions, and now here are some good answers. Well, you see, your body holds onto body fat for what it believes to be good reasons and not just to give you a hard time, as you might think. Remember, your body doesn’t care what you look like. It doesn’t care what car you drive, what job you have, what designer name you’re wearing; who you know, what style is in fashion, what color hair you have, or even who you married. Your body has better things to worry about like, hmmm, survival. So you have to work with your body to get it to do what you want. Your body doesn’t like change, such as weight loss if it is forced. It hates unnecessary change because your body sees it as stress. This is why, when you find a quick way to drop some weight, it comes back with a vengeance, because your body is basically rebelling. The question then is, So how do I get my bratty body to do what I want without putting it in self-defense mode? You give it what it needs. Yup, that’s it! The big secret is out now. Cars need gas, oil, coolant, steering fluid, etc.; and your body is a bit more complicated, so it needs a few things, too. Why our bodies hold onto weight is an article in itself, so you can look forward to that in a future article. So get to it, you say. How do I make it feel safe to get what I want!? Well, aren’t you the eager one! That is a fantastic question, and here is the fantastic answer: eat! I know you have heard it before, but it’s true, and here is how. Why will be in Health 101. First thing you should do is start by eating every 2-3 hours. Start with breakfast within 30-60 minutes of getting up in the morning to kick start your metabolism. What this will do is train your body not to hold onto the weight and basically tell your body that we don’t need the extra weight, so it is safe to let go now. If you eat a little something every 2-3 hours, then there is a steady stream of nourishment coming into your body so it has no strong reason to hold onto its storage, your body fat. You can find out how much you should eat at www.caloriecontrol.org/calcalcs.html. Eating every 2-3 hours is easy, so no excuses. It’s as easy as: cereal with milk and a 2-3 egg white omelet for breakfast; fruit and 7 almonds as a next snack; a sandwich or hearty salad with meat midday; fresh baby carrots and celery sticks, cherry tomatoes, or tons of others, as a next snack; a nice 3-part dinner with half the plate being a favorite veggie, one part 3-4 oz. of lean meat, a cup of rice, beans, pasta, or any other starch of your choice; and finally, some cottage cheese with a little fruit as a night snack, and you’ve got a full on-track day. More ideas for menus to come! It can be easy, ladies. You can take control of your bodies if you want to. The basic idea is to eat a little bit at least 6 times a day every 2-3 hours, and your body will feel safe to let that weight go, even without calorie counting (specific calories in Health 101), and watch how your body responds. Don’t just take my word for it. How you feel and the shape of your body will tell all. Step two is exercise, which can be so much fun if you let it be. It’s easier than you think. Exercise doesn’t have to be a dreadful thing. Make it fun or a personal challenge. You don’t have to be stuck in a gym staring at the wall and being gawked at to get a good workout, ladies. Think outside the box and expand your horizons. You can swim, bike, jog; take a hike, take a boot camp; power walk with a friend, fly (well maybe not); roller blade, take up a martial arts, play with your kids, play a sport; or my favorite, dance the night away with a feverish step and a twinkle in your eye and your girls or lucky man by your side . . . Heck! Dance at home for goodness sake! The idea is move! The best way to exercise is to do it in a way that gets you to do it again. So eating sensibly every 2-3 hours is the body’s gas, and the magic comes from your finding a way to get that gorgeous figure of yours moving and sweating (I mean glowing because ladies don’t sweat of course, they glow). These two steps will shed a dress size off you in about a month for sure. Now for the impatient ladies who want more sooner, details can be found in Health 101, but the basic idea will be to push harder. So how do I drop that dress size? Well, O. K., I’ll recap it all for you this once, but only once, so pay attention. Step one is eat, please. Aim for every 2-3 hours, and if you’re afraid of heavy calories, then eat 3 square meals a day and graze on fresh veggies all day long, and that will get your body feeling safe with a steady source of food so that it will release that weight. Step two is to work out at least 3 times a week in one way or another, as long as you get moving and sweating (excuse me, I mean glowing) and go back for more. Remember to push hard enough to feel challenged, or else you won’t get enough bang for your sweaty buck. Be kind to yourself. Your body and life will be so much better, ladies, so have fun moving that body; and stay close for more updates on shaping the new empowered you. Also, remember that if this didn’t satisfy your thirst, make sure to delve into Health 101 for the nitty gritty of it all. Until we meet again. * All Information from this article is taken from Fitness: The Complete Guide, Frederick C. Hatfield, PhD – Edition 8.6.6, 735pgs, International Sports Science Association. Written by Anthony Heredia |
YogaFit for Cyclists – DVD Review
YogaFit for Cyclists – DVD Review
We will be taking a look at YogaFit’s “Yoga for Cyclist” program tailored to improve health and performance while preventing injury for all cycling enthusiasts. This is a great idea for cyclists of all levels in order to achieve better oxygen efficiency, faster recovery, enhanced performance, improved range of motion, and over all better health while reducing any stress and tension you might be harboring as told by YogaFit:
“While bicycling and indoor stationary cycling are among the best forms of cardio vascular conditioning, they often leave the participant with tightness, aches and even pain. Using this DVD as a consistent sport related yoga program alleviates many of these symptoms including lower back pain, trapezious stress, and tight hamstrings and quadriceps. Repetitive cycling forces the body in long periods of forward flexion, similar to sitting at a desk for long hours or driving a car. However due to the work involved there becomes the additional problem of tightening in the muscle groups of the lower body, quads, hamstrings and gluteus. This is your perfect tool for balance and stress reduction.”
The premise for fusing Yoga into a cyclist regimen is oxygen, stability and mobility. Your muscles operate in either an aerobic mode or anaerobic mode, which basically means with oxygen (aerobic) or without oxygen (anaerobic)–and when the best of the two is aerobic. Its like a burning fire. The more oxygen a fire has, the hotter and stronger it gets. When a fire has no oxygen it simply goes out or in the case of your body, goes into anaerobic mode. When you are performing an exercise for long periods of time, there are periods when you run low on oxygen and your body switches gears to be able to compensate. The problem is the byproduct of that switch. When you are in anaerobic mode your body will lose over 9/10ths of its power and produces lactic acid. This is basically a natural waste substance that your muscles produce when they have to work without oxygen. This byproduct is a big cause of that deep soreness afterward, along with all the damage from the workout of course. The idea is that if you become better at breathing and utilizing oxygen then you can go longer on your bike with out that sore feeling, resulting in a more enjoyable ride. The tightness comes from the lactic acid and from small scar tissue that naturally forms around your muscles from the workout, but this is easily remedied with good stretching and breathing, hence our DVD. The yoga helps stretch all those key cycling muscles so that scar tissue will not shorten the muscle by holding it tight. This means you will sleep better, have less pain, better range of movement, increased oxygen utilization, less injuries, better circulation, and overall enhanced health.
The DVD includes a warm up to be done before your ride in order to keep you safe and ready. We also find the core program which tends to the lengthening, stretching, strengthening and stabilization of the body to thoroughly enhance your rides. When wrapping up your workout you will also find a cool down segment designed to help clear out that fun lactic acid that prolongs your recovery and stretches to help increase range of motion so you can get right back up and ride again the next day even stronger. Good circulation and hydration are best for clearing up lactic acid. If you take care of yourself, your oxygen rich blood will clean it up in a jiffy. The breathing exercises in the video are excellent for helping your body nurture itself. The more efficient your body is at utilizing oxygen the faster you will recover and the better you will feel on a day to day basis, this is one of Yoga’s many powerful elements. The DVD is a great idea and very useful tool for all cyclists, yoga conscious or not. The DVD runs at a good pace and Beth Shaw gives great directions and keeps you very aware of your body so that you don’t injure yourself. So beginners feel free to grab a copy. This DVD can be used by all levels, but please do go at your own pace and know your limits, this is critical in yoga. Leave your ego at the door and your body will thank you.
Reviewed by Anthony Heredia
Read the interview with Beth Shaw
Through The Looking Glass – The Vision Behind YogaFit
Through The Looking Glass – The Vision Behind YogaFit
YogaFit has come to reign as the largest yoga entity in all of North America and currently trains a staggering 11,000 motivated yoga enthusiasts each year with no end in sight. As powerful as yoga is to our overall health, Agenda Magazine felt compelled to unveil the inspirational personality that is quickly becoming fitness royalty in a growing health conscious world. We took the opportunity to discover what has distinguished YogaFit as such an influential presence in the US with some one on one time Beth Shaw herself.
What would you say distinguishes YogaFit from all other Yoga entities out there today?
YogaFit is more than just a yoga company, we are a way of life for millions of people. By that I mean that as a company we stand for philanthropy, helping others, making a positive difference in the world, and helping the group consciousness of the planet evolve. In terms of yoga, we are ‘Real Yoga for Real People .’ This means we take a common sense and safe approach to yoga and try to attract as many people as we can to the practice via a user-friendly fitness based formant.”
It’s fantastic how conscious YogaFit is of its clients needs and very admirable that YogaFit is giving of itself as it prospers. Who would you say you created YogaFit for and why?
I created YogaFit because I saw a need in the marketplace for accessible user-friendly and safe yoga.
What would you say is one of the most common beginner mistakes you encounter in the world of Yoga and what advice would you give to correct it?
Ego plays a huge part in creating expectations and injuries. Trying to master each pose too quickly is unnecessary and injurious to the body/mind.
There are so many potential yoga enthusiast out there today. What words of wisdom do you have for an individual who is deciding whether to begin a journey into yoga?
Try many different styles and teachers. Find out who and what resonates with you -it’s like dating (playful smile).
Your passion for your clients is wonderful. Where do you hope to see YogaFit’s passion take you in a few years?
I hope to see YogaFit rapidly becoming a worldwide global force for positive change and advocacy.
What would you say most inspires you as positive health authority?
The power that fitness yoga and health has over me, and the positive changes they consistently produce in others. Our health is our foundation for everything and our most valuable asset always!”
You must reflect constantly to have such a great out look on life, what is the last significant positive life lesson you have learned?
A small group of concerned citizens can make a difference–everyone can make a difference on this planet, and we all need to.
Why don’t you give our readers a better understanding of Beth Shaw, who do you most admire in this big beautiful world of ours and why?
[I admire] People who walk their talk. I have come in contact with many people who speak ‘ Spiritual-ese’ but fail to live it. I admire Judy Mancuso of Social Compassion who authorized the mandatory spay/neuter bill for California. I admire my animal activist friends like Ellen Levinthal from Animal Alliance who works tirelessly for animals. I admire Gretchen Wilde who founded the humane society genesis awards. I admire Ingrid Newkirk, founder of PETA–she is the real deal!
It is very refreshing and wonderful to know that you are keeping an eye out for the four-legged inhabitants of this world too along with us two legged creatures. Tell us, what are you most proud of in the long-lived successful life of YogaFit?
The vast amount of community service we have been able to do for humans and animals.
Why don’t you give Agenda readers a sneak peek of your future plans. What exciting projects are you working on currently?
My new book, YogaFit gets released from Human Kinetics Publishing in January. Also, we have some very exciting new class formats like ‘Full Body Blast’ and some great eco-friendly bamboo clothing.
Any last words?
We would love to have more like minded-people join our network – also – Spay & Neuter your pets PLEASE!
Visit YogaFit online at www.yogafit.com and learn about the 9 mind body fitness conferences nationwide annually.
Interviewed by Anthony Heredia
Protein Power – Full Disclosure
What Is Protein, and What’s in It for Me?
This issue we are taking Agenda readers on a revealing tour of protein as we delve into what protein is, why you need it, the buzz behind protein diets, and how they really work.
So What Is Protein?
There are three major (macro) nutrients our bodies require to keep us in royal health and balance: fats (lipids), carbohydrates, and protein. All forms of meat are dominantly protein, but you can find variant amounts of protein in just about anything that grows, as protein is the base for the growth of life. Protein’s primary function in our bodies is to serve as a building tool. Protein itself is created of subunits called amino acids, the true building blocks. Think of amino acids as puzzle pieces. There are 20 different puzzle pieces in total, and a different combination of puzzle pieces creates a different picture with its own unique purpose. There are 9 essential amino acids our body cannot create and must obtain from our diet and 11 that it can acquire all on its own. All 20 puzzle pieces are vital for normal growth and daily function, as well as critical for peak health and fitness.
So Why Do I Need Protein?
1) Structure
Each variant combination of amino acids serves a different purpose in your body, ranging from building your muscles, growing your hair, and repairing you to helping to create hormones and keeping skin youthful. Protein gives your body structure. It literally keeps your teeth in your gums, keeps your organs together, and shapes-come-hither curves that beg for summer sun. Collagen (the secret to young beautiful skin) actually makes up for 25% of the protein in your body, making protein very significant.
2) Regulation
It also serves to regulate your body’s hormones, enzymes, immune system and fluid balance. Inadequate protein in your diet can cause frequent illness, low energy, poor digestion, dehydration, slow recovery times, reduced sex drive, mental fog, and a host of other problems. These problems are a result of your body simply needing to do a job and not having the building blocks it needs to complete its task. When your body needs any of the 9 essential amino acids due to insufficient diet, it will break down healthy, active muscle or organ tissue to retrieve what it needs. Your body will trade some of your nice arm muscle in order to keep you breathing. Tissue breakdown (catabolism) results from imbalanced nutrition, compared to physical demands, significant calorie reduction, or starvation. Your body will begin to recycle itself to survive. Worst yet is the fact that muscle deterioration dramatically slows down metabolism because muscle tissue is a powerful calorie-burning engine. The less muscle you have the slower your metabolism, meaning you can eat less and gain weight easier. This is very typical in most dieting American women who cut calories too low, sacrificing muscle. Low muscle women who are on a dieting cycle merely look at food and gain weight because their bodies are less equipped to process the food, leading to greater storage. Yes, these women are losing weight, but muscle weight. In exchange for losing 5 pounds of muscle she will now need to eat 250 calories a day fewer to stay the same weight. One pound of muscle burns 50 calories a day extra, so a lean toned protein-filled body is allowed to eat a lot more to stay a lot more beautiful. Remember that although muscle weighs three times more than fat, it is also three times smaller, creating a fine tight appearance. Go protein!
3) Energy
Protein finally serves as a potential source of energy. Your body loves to use carbohydrates and fat as a primary source of energy, while protein is left for last. Your body stores about 500-1500 calories of carbohydrates throughout your body in the form of glycogen for immediate fuel access, and it stores fat in all the places you love to hate; but your body does not store protein. Your body prefers to use carbohydrates as a primary source of energy for intensive physical demands and higher functions (brain and nerves), as it is a fast and efficient source of fuel. Fat (lipids) is also an excellent source of energy, but it is primarily used for less intensive physical demands and non-glucose dependent cells (like muscle cells). You use fat for energy as you sit at your desk doing your work. Fat burns longer but much slower, obviously, or we would all look like Greek statues. Last on the chain of command is protein which is not a great source of energy as it takes the longest to convert into a usable form of fuel for our bodies, and still it is inferior as fuel compared to carbs and fat. Your body works three times harder to convert protein into usable fuel in comparison to carbohydrates, one of the reasons for high protein diets becoming so infamous for fat loss.
Protein for Weight Loss?
So how do low carbohydrate / high protein diets work? Well, they basically convert your carb-burning body into a fat-burning body through manipulation. The science lies in your liver, which converts carbs you ingest into glucose for immediate energy or stores them in your liver as glycogen. The liver will release glucose (immediate fuel) into your blood system for cellular energy and stored lipids (fat) into your system for simpler non glucose dependent cells (like muscle cells), conserving glucose for needier cells. Your liver can store an estimated 12-hour supply of fuel; but once it runs out, it begins to convert amino acids (protein) into glucose (immediate fuel). The more complex cells (brain & nerve) need more than this protein fuel so your body begins to convert the released fat energy in your blood into what is known as ketone bodies (upgraded fat energy). Your brain and nerve cells are now forced to partially accept this less effective fat energy (ketones), and the body is now forced to use only fat and protein for energy (ketosis), resulting in dramatic body fat depletion.
So What’s the Catch?
The catch is that this inferior process forces your liver to do an incredible amount of stressful work, leading to possible permanent liver damage in extended trials. This inferior energy source also causes mental fog, significantly slower reaction times, dramatic fatigue, and a host of other problems as your body is basically being stressed out. Worst of all is once you return to normal eating from a prolonged period of this dieting method, your body will hyper load and retain fat in self-preservation, just in case you attempt this again. You rarely permanently win by manipulating or tricking the human body for extended periods of time. It’s a bit smarter than you might think. Remember that these are all merely tricks, gimmicks, and techniques to manipulate your body. No extended trick will ever give you the life and body you dream of. Always ask yourself if you can make whatever you are doing a permanent healthy way of life.
Fight your body and it will fight back and win. The human body has evolved over thousands of years as a sophisticated survival tool, so your best bet is to work with its original settings and instructions. Higher protein methods are O. K. for small durations as a technique to give fat loss a quick kick, but by no means is it a way of life. Protein is a powerful necessary building and structural tool in your journey towards reaching your health and fitness goals, but for best results I suggest it be used in balance as evolution intended.
So How Much Protein Do I Need?
A good nutrient balance for the average body by today’s standards is 20-30% protein, 15-25% fat (the good kind) and 55-65% carbohydrates. Individual needs of each category will always vary according to your current health, fitness regimen/goals, and daily activity; so consult your local health/nutrition professional for some precision, or grab a good nutrition book to take control yourself.
Written by Anthony Heredia
Breast Cancer Risk Factors – Knowing Can Make All the Difference
The American Cancer Society’s most recent estimates for breast cancer in the United States for 2009 tell us that 192,370 new cases of invasive breast cancer and 40,170 deaths from breast cancer occur each year. In this issue we focus on breast cancer awareness in our attempt to keep you healthy and living a long, wonderfully productive and fulfilling life.
“The chance of a woman having invasive breast cancer sometime during her life is a little less than1 in 8. The chance of dying from breast cancer is about 1 in 35. Breast cancer death rates have been going down. This is probably the result of finding the cancer earlier and better treatment. Right now there are more than 2½ million breast cancer survivors in the United States.” -American Cancer Society
Breast cancer is simply an uncontrolled growth of confused cells forming in the breast area that was caused by any of so many factors we will discuss. These irregular cells first begin killing surrounding normal healthy cells and tissue, causing a lump or mass to form which we know as cancer. Although we still lack the medical technology to prevent breast cancer completely, we can definitely reduce risk dramatically. Awareness is key to preventing this horrid battle from ever beginning, as early detection can mean the difference between life or death, ladies. I don’t mean to be so grave, but your life is very precious and I choose not to take this subject lightly in the hopes of keeping you smiling for many healthy cancer-free years. Prevention begins with knowing your family history, routine self breast examinations, yearly routine mammograms for women 40 and over, and an annual breast examination by a medical professional.
All women are at risk of breast cancer and those with a family history of this burden are at even higher risk, so please be cautious and responsible with your health. Nearly 10% of breast cancer cases are actually hereditary, commonly resulting from the mutation of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. These funny named genes actually help to prevent cancer by making the proteins that keep your cells from growing abnormally, a checks and balances, if you will. Cancer at its most basic level is simply a glitch in your system that has caused imbalance that is growing wildly out of control, destroying good elements and causing progressively more aggressive glitches. You want to catch this “glitch” early, or better yet, create the optimal environment in your body so that this glitch never comes to pass.
A woman should perform a monthly breast self examination (BSE) to catch this glitch fast and stop it in its treacherous tracks. Optimum time for self examination is a week past the end of a menstrual cycle or on the same day each month for women that might have irregular cycles. The BSE is a quick and simple process, and it is definitely worth your life, so no complaining or procrastinating. The following link is directions according to the American Cancer Association:
You can also always ask your gynecologist or family physician for all the information you will need.
The main idea is to feel for any irregular lumps that would need immediate attention. Be aware that not all lumps are cancerous, as some are merely natural irregularities; but don’t take any chances and get a professional opinion. Your regular physician will also inform your other more powerful examination, a yearly mammogram that needs to be routine for women 40 and on. A mammogram is simply a quick x-ray of the breast in order to rule out all doubt. Women between the ages of 20-39 should take at least one exam every three years. It is recommended that women 40 and older have the exam once a year. Nearly 77% of women with breast cancer are diagnosed at the age of 50 and beyond. Regular exams are critical as the years pass since development of breast cancer only increases with age.
Reducing risks of breast cancer is simple and brisk. Maintain a history of your family, perform routine self breast examinations, get yearly mammograms, and best of all keep your body happy and healthy in the first place to minimize any possibility of this horrible cellular glitch.
Common Lifestyle Risk Factors (Factors You Can Control and Change):
· Lack of physical activity
· Being overweight or obese
· Alcohol
· Not breast-feeding
· Post-menopausal hormone therapy
· Recent oral contraceptive use
· Not having children, or having them later in life
Common Unavoidable Risk Factors (Factors You Can Not Control or Change):
· Genetic risk factors
· Aging
· Gender
· Family history of breast cancer
· Personal history of breast cancer
· Race and ethnicity
· Dense breast tissue
· Certain benign breast conditions
Non-proliferative lesions
“These conditions show excessive growth of cells in the ducts or lobules of the breast tissue. They seem to raise a woman’s risk of breast cancer slightly (1½ to 2 times normal).” – American Cancer Society
Proliferative lesions without atypia
“In these conditions, there is excessive growth of cells in the ducts or lobules of the breast tissue, and the cells no longer appear normal. They have a stronger effect on breast cancer risk, raising it 4 to 5 times higher than normal” – American Cancer Society
Common Risk Factor Myths (Rumors):
The following is a list of controversial, uncertain or unproven rumors for increasing breast cancer risk but have been investigated and found insignificant or dismissible according to the American Cancer Society:
· Working at night
· Breast implants
· Induced abortion
· Bras
· Antiperspirants
· High fat diets (Good unsaturated fats)
Ladies, please be safe and take care of those precious lives of yours. Every day is a gift that we should not take for granted. Respect that wonderful body that takes you down this wonderful journey called life, and it will reward you with a long, fulfilling life to be proud of. For more in-depth information on the various forms of breast cancer, their risk factors, and more information on prevention, make your way to www.cancer.org. Smile, ladies and gentlemen readers of Agenda. The world is better that way.
Resources: www.cancer.org
Written by Anthony Heredia
