This lovely “Happy Spring” card is brought to you by my mother, Letha Elizabeth Hadady, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. A fine artist with many paintings to her credit, her hand is quick, subtle and highly refined. I love her work and her.
Monthly Archive for April, 2010
The new procedure called Axxent® Electronic Brachytherapy, or eBx for short, combined surgery and a dose of radiation given in the operating room. Many are excited about it because, if clinical trials prove successful, it might eliminate months of chemo treatment post-op for breast cancer. It may be cutting-edge in that it eliminates hospital time and may improve overall vitality, but let’s not forget prevention. Drugs and surgery involve risk. According to LA Times, “Two drugs taken by women at high risk for breast cancer — tamoxifen and raloxifene — both reduce the risk of the disease by about 50% in high-risk post-menopausal women while they are taking the medications, researchers said Monday. The benefits of raloxifene fall off more quickly once women stop taking them, however, and the increased benefits of tamoxifen come at a price: a higher risk of uterine cancer, blood clots and cataracts — although the absolute risks of all three remain low.” For my money, I take periodic cancer-prevention herbs. For example, the Chinese cancer treatment herbal pill: Anticancerlin. It shrinks tumors, reduces ascites (abdominal bloating) and is strongly detoxifying.
In case you can’t make it to my “Cooking for Health” class at NY Open Center tonight, here is my current recipe for NO-BAKE BROWNIES taken from Feed Your Tiger: The Asian Diet Secret for Permanent Weight Loss and Vibrant Health.
These mix up in minutes, contain high fiber, healthy oil and no sugar. Ok for diabetes and weight loss. Maca powder supports healthy hormone balance for men and women. Walnuts, flaxseed and oats reduce cholesterol. Yerba Mate tea contains antioxidants and a natural stimulant. These brownies make a tasty semi-sweet snack. Sweeten to your liking with all fruit jam and stevia for a mid-afternoon energy lift.
Reuters: That tens of thousands of Americans lost their health insurance shortly after being diagnosed with life-threatening, expensive medical conditions has been well documented by law enforcement agencies, state regulators and a congressional committee. Insurance companies have used the practice, known as “rescission,” for years. And a congressional committee last year said WellPoint was one of the worst offenders.
WellPoint also has specifically targeted women with breast cancer for aggressive investigation with the intent to cancel their policies, federal investigators told Reuters. The revelation is especially striking for a company whose CEO and president, Angela Braly, has earned plaudits for how her company improved the medical care and treatment of other policyholders with breast cancer. WellPoint declined to comment on specific cases without a signed waiver from them, citing privacy laws.
Angela Braly
was recognized by the St. Louis Business Journal as one of the 25 Most Influential Women in Business for 2000 and was named one of Modern Healthcare’s Top 25 Women in Healthcare in 2007. Forbes listed Braly as the sixteenth most powerful woman in the world in 2007.
A recent investigation by Reuters showed that another health insurance company, Assurant Health, similarly targeted HIV-positive policyholders for rescission. That company was ordered by courts to pay millions of dollars in settlements. “People have this idea that someone is going to flip a switch and rescission and other bad insurance practices are going to end,” says Peter Harbage, a former health care adviser to the Clinton administration. “Insurers will find ways to undermine the protections in the new law, just as they did with the old law. Enforcement is the key.” Papa Bear says, “Don’t wait for the government to enforce the health care law. Instead, take the insurance company to court and sue them for damages both physical and emotional. If they are in violation of the law, they will be subject to a punitive judgment which can reach several times the award given to the plaintiff.”
Friday at the American Heart Association’s 50th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention, we saw a picture of just how horrifying the damage done by excess consumption of sugary drinks can be. Using a computer model and data from the Framingham Heart Study, the Nurses Health Study and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, researchers estimated that the escalating consumption between 1990 and 2000 of soda and sugar-sweetened beverages led to 75,000 new cases of diabetes and 14,000 new cases of coronary heart disease. Kids are targeted for cola drinks and sugary snacks in schools. One group of retired military spokesmen even said childhood obesity is a threat to national security. “Kids are too fat to fight,” they say. It’s a shame we may need war to justify better health. The new bottled tea beverages are a big step in the right direction. Maybe they could even be sweetened with stevia!
US News: Breast density contributes to breast cancer “New research has found that women taking hormone replacement therapy are more likely to experience an increase in breast density, a finding consistent with previous research that found women taking the hormones had a 24 percent increased risk for breast cancer. Both findings were to be presented Tuesday and Wednesday in Washington, D.C., at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research. “Over 50 studies have shown that breast density is a strong risk factor for breast cancer,” said Celine M. Vachon, an associate professor of epidemiology in the College of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic, in Minnesota. “Our study is one of the first to examine changes over time,” Vachon said.
A very dense breast has less fat than glandular and connective tissue. Mammogram films of high-density breasts are more difficult to read and interpret than those of less dense breasts. Vachon and her fellow researchers followed 19,924 women older than 35 who had never had breast cancer and looked at breast density changes and cancer diagnoses over time.” My advice” Avoid hormone therapy. Massage the breasts daily with an ointment or cream made with essential oil of lavender or fennel, both useful for breast circulation.
My beautiful, talented mother in Albuquerque, sent me this lovely birthday card. She illustrates my books. I want to share my pleasure with you.
Do you like something creamy and smooth in coffee or tea? I discovered a new healthy alternative to milk. Many people avoid milk, or should, because they are allergic. Once I saw a map at New York’s Museum of Natural History showing the areas in the world where people are not lactose intolerant — a very small section of Africa, where tribes have consumed goat’s milk for generations. Some allergic reactions may include cramps, indigestion, bloating, blemishes, or mucus leading to breathing problems. Goat’s milk lacks the cow dairy protein casein, but all dairy increases “mucus.” I heard from a noted Tibetan monk doctor, Yeshe Donden, that the combination of milk and fish is “deadly.” I never found out if he meant that fish and milk cause too much phlegm or that the combination is forbidden because fish are considered sacred in some parts of traditional Tibet. There is a legendary lake there in which the fish were considered deities. Excess phlegm according to Tibetan, Chinese, and Ayurvedic medicines, underlies congested conditions ranging from asthma to cancer. Ayurveda calls it Kapha; Tibetan medicine bad-kan; and Chinese medicine might describe mucus congestion or excess fat and phlegm as resulting from low digestive qi and “dampness” (she pronounces roughly shuh.) So what’s my solution to the creamy milk problem?
Sometimes we can’t help it: We are forced to deal with and/or live with people who drive us nuts. They may be an employer, a relative, an EX, or a problem who has taken root on the couch. The noble route is: Try to help the person to improve bad habits. This relationship healing program has been suggested by numerous natural health experts: Live according to your principles of health and wellbeing, set a good example, and be kind to others. That may be possible for some, but others need to seriously develop self-protection survival skills. Negative energies–call them demons, depression, illness, nastiness or bad Karma–that take over a victim demand obedience. There is no easy escape from negative energy for the person caught up in it or for you, the person who lives with the victim. Church authorities, rituals, and voodoo have attempted over the years to chase demons. But you at home need to take these active steps to insure your survival.
Lavender Flowers
NY Open Center 4/19/2010: These are Letha’s class notes for tonight’s class covering select physical causes/treatments for depression. The class is also lead by classical homeopath Christopher Phillips, whose class notes are not found here. Please see his website.
Life Happens. We can’t always prevent accidents, divorce, job-loss, and grief from losing a parent, friend, or pet. But we can prevent /treat the bad effects these may have on our body and mind, which are interconnected. Enhance physical health and, very often, mental health improves. (Better concentration, mental clarity, mental stability, sleep, and memory. Less anxiety and fear if the body is nourished and if digestion and elimination, breathing, and circulation work smoothly.)
What can we improve with diet, herbs, and body treatments? Chronic pain, fatigue, low immunity, hormonal and other physical imbalances, addictions, and emotional “stuckness.”
