October was Breast Cancer Awareness Month in America; and has been marked by numerous events and media programs designed to make people more aware of the disease that is still one of the major causes of death for women over age 40. Women who have either been faced with this dreaded disease, or persons have lost relatives who were diagnosed with its various forms, have been wearing a pink ribbon, symbolizing the disease which will strike an estimated 178,000 women in America alone this year, with more than 40,000 dying from it.

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death in American women after lung cancer. Though it can strike women at any age after puberty, it is usually more prevalent in women after age 40, particularly those who take estrogen based hormones to delay the symptoms of menopause. African American women are more prone to contract the disease than Caucasian women, particularly before age 40. Dietary factors also contribute greatly to contracting breast cancer; especially for those who consume large amounts of “junk food”.

Men are not immune to breast cancer; and although it strikes men in much smaller numbers then women, men over age 60 with enraged breast tissue (due partially to higher levels of estrogen in their bodies) can develop some forms of breast cancer.

There are several types of malignancies which result from breast cancer, the most common ones being ductile carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS). DCIS malignancies begin in the milk ducts of the breast; and if are not found and treated in time can spread to the entire breast and beyond (into the lymph glands, etc.) LCIS is not as serious and is often considered as a warning sign of more invasive forms of cancer. Invasive forms of breast cancer, i.e. the ones affecting the breast ducts and lobes are the most serious as they eventually spread to other parts of the body including the lungs, liver, bones, and brain.

As not all forms of breast cancer are alike, detecting them can require different kinds of methods, beyond the most common ones like feeling for lumps on the breast and mammograms conducted at specialized clinics and at hospitals. In many countries ethnic backgrounds and religious doctrines often prevent many women from receiving adequate diagnosis and treatment of breast and other cancers, often resulting in high mortality rates among women. Women over age 40 in particular should undergo mammograms and other forms of cancer testing, such as pap smears, at least every two years.

New forms of treatment, including less disfiguring breast surgery has helped women overcome not only the physical problems encountered with breast cancer, but the psychological ones as well.

The American Cancer Society and similar organizations in other countries have helped to make more people aware of the importance of routine examinations, since early diagnosis helps insure a better chance for survival.

So, when you see women wearing that looped pink ribbon, you can be assured that they know very well what pink ribbon stands for: it stands for courage to over come.

Hawaiian massage techniques, often known as Lomi Lomi , the Hawaiian term for masseur or masseuse, originated in the tribal folkways of the Polynesian people who originally settled the Hawaiian Islands more than 1,000 years ago . The practice comes from an ancient Hawaiian philosophy known as huna, or healing. This unique type of massage incorporates the use of elbows, knees, palms, fingers, and even objects such as sticks and stones.

The massage technique might even be compared to that ancient Hawaiian danced of love, the Hula, in which the arms and legs of the dancer seem to literally “flow” with the music being played. In Lomi Lomi, the practitioner uses flowing movements to work deeply, yet gently into to recipient’s muscles. This may be a reason why the term lomi lomi is sometimes referred to as “loving hands”.

Lomi Lomi is very revered among native Hawaiians, and the entire technique is usually companied with native rituals including special diet, dress, and other health techniques including steaming treatments, followed by immersion into the ocean, a practice similar to that practiced by people in Finland following session in a sauna. A special Hawaiian red clay, which has a high mineral salt content is also applied to the body, prior to cleansing by steam and seawater.

The flowing strokes of the Lomi Lomi practitioner, while the recipient is lying on a flat mat covered surface, is said to bring much relaxation and a peaceful feeling. Often, the treatment is done by two practitioners, each one using different movements. The flowing strokes release pent up energy from the muscles and enable both the blood any lymph fluids to flow more freely, helping to rid the body of wastes and toxins.

In addition to the series of long, flowing strokes, the body is gently stretched, and joints are rotated in a manner that many say feels like the rolling of waves. Because the technique is done slowly, it usually takes longer to complete than standard massage practices, such as Swedish massage. This only adds to the enjoyment of the experience, especially if the recipient is being worked on by two persons, The mystical spirituality of the Native Hawaiian People adds a special flavor to this most unusual and enjoyable health experience.

I have been hearing quite a bit about fish and Omega 3, this is a little tip on cooking (healthy cooking) a Swordfish….

Stress and worries dealing with money matters seem to be facts of life in modern society. While this problem usually evolves around a lack of sufficient funds to take care of short and long term obligations, it is also common in people who have large sums of money as well. Being “stressed out” due to financial problems can effect ones marital life, and health, leading to disastrous consequences.

Many families develop undue internal stress due to not being able to manage their finances adequately. The influences of advertising, easy availability to credit (especially revolving credit cards), and not sticking to a financial plan are the most common causes of financial crises and subsequent stress. Marital monetary stress, usually revolving around what to spend limited amounts of money on, are common causes of marital stress and ultimate serious crises situations resulting in divorce or even worse.

Simply accepting the situation with a “no other alternative” attitude will not help relieve a stress situation dealing with money. This can lead to a number of problems including radical emotional behavior, loss of sleep, smoking or overeating and deep emotional depression; all of which will eventually have serious results.

Unless the problems deal with severe monetary crises such as loss of income due to being made redundant or other reasons, the usual cause of financial stress in most modern households is simply a lack of coming to terms with reality. Money management, including the creation of and sticking to a weekly, budget, will eventually help to ease financial problems, and the stress that accompanies it.

Getting out of debt, perhaps the main reason for financial stress, requires a lot of personal commitment and cooperation among everyone involved. Establishing priorities dealing with the most important items on which limited funds have to be spent (i.e. food, shelter, and other important needs, such as health care) and reduction on expenditures made with “plastic money” will eventually work towards improving a family’s financial situation, and along with it family stress.

Eliminating family stress also can be assisted by making changes that will help to improve a family’s overall physical situation, including exercise programs, change of diet (especially by eliminating “junk foods” as much as possible), reorganization of personal surroundings by getting rid of clutter, and most important, a change in attitude and personal spirituality.

Life is short; so why waste it by living in constant stress?

Organic wines, beers, and spirits have been gaining in popularity in recent years. Fermented or brewed to meet the dietary and taste requirements of the most discriminating organic products consumer, these products are appearing more and more in stores and supermarkets specializing in organic and biodynamic foods.

Vintage Roots, a U.K. based company, began it’s operation in 1986 by three young entrepreneurs who started their business on literally “a wing and a prayer”. Beginning in a house in Reading, outside London, they began with a ‘wine list’ of only 12 wines. Today, their company has grown to a staff of 12, and a wine list of 300 wines and champagnes, dozens of stout, pilsner and lager beers, as well as liqueurs, alcoholic spirits, and even organic sweets.

Their organic and biodynamic red wines, for example, contain no added sulfites, otherwise known as sulfur dioxide. Virtually all wines contain natural sulfites, which are derived from the natural fermentation process of yeast. Many wines, however, especially lower priced ones, have sulfites added to increase the wine’s “shelf life”. By choosing brands with no added sulfites, companies like Vintage Roots can assure their customers, especially those who are allergic to sulfites, that wines marked by the company contain as slow a sulfite content as possible.

Many organic foods consumers are also vegetarians, or vegans, who do not eat any food items containing animal derived ingredients. Many wine producers add substances such as gelatin and egg whites, which are used to make the wine appear clearer or “brighter”. Wines with the letters VG stamped on their bottles mean that these and other animal based substances are not used in the production of the wine.

Wines appearing on the Vintage Roots wine lists come from some of the finest wine producing regions in the world; including the Bordeaux region of France, Tuscany in Italy, and the Cape Province in South Africa. Virtually every type of wine can be found under organic production criteria, including red and white wines, rose wines, and several varieties of champagne.

Organic beers and ales presently offered by the company come mostly from the U.K. and Germany, both known for brewing fine quality beers. These products contain no products grown by the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and other harmful substances.

For those wanting organic spirits, including organic liqueurs, Vintage Roots can offer a full range, including Scotch whisky, vodka, gin, and rum. Fine brandies and cognacs are also available.

Deliveries of wines and spirits are presently only to customers within the U.K.; with extra surcharges for deliveries to the Scottish Highlands, Northern Ireland, and various “off shore” islands (Channel Islands, Isle of Man, etc.).

Full details on all of the products marketed by Vintage Roots can be obtained by accessing their website…

When both parents are working in full time careers, taking care of a home and children can become a very challenging, and stressful endeavor. This is particularly true when raising small children who have been in the daily care of a nursery or day care center and parents only have a few hours of “quality time” afterwards to devote to being parents. Children are often difficult, as TV programs such as Super Nanny attest to. Children pick up on their parent’s vulnerabilities, and often capitalize on them for manipulative purposes. This can bring on increased tensions and problems of increased stress no only between parents and children but between husband and wife as well.

Working parents must deal with the wants and needs of children within a limited daily time frame which involves dropping off and pick up of children from child care centers which may be a long distance from the home. Children are usually self oriented and feelings of “I must” and “I can’t” pull harried parents in several directions, brining on even more tension and stress. Feelings of concern towards their children, accompanied by feelings of inadequacy and guilt, cause parents to develop typical symptoms of chronic stress; including irritability, less sleep, and continuous worry as to whether they are adequate parents.

Parents need to find ways to practice ways of effective stress management in order to be able cope with both the challenges of their careers along with those of raising a family. There are a number of ways in which harried parents can learn to ‘balance’ their roles of being both career persons and loving parents. Some of these include:

1. Taking time to learn ways to relax when not involved with children’s wants and needs. Simple body relaxation techniques include simply taking deep breaths and afterwards slowing exhaling. This enables the mind to receive more oxygen and also makes one feel more relaxed. Another method is to tighten muscles in hands, legs, etc., and then slowly release them. Spouses can also practice various types of body massage on each other, especially on the shoulders, neck and arms.

2. Become as organized as possible, including the performance of all household
chores, payment of various bills, etc.. Write down all required tasks, even simple ones that would normally be consigned to memory as persons under stress often forget the most simplest of activities.

3. When children are finally in bed and “all is quiet on the Western Front” tired
spouses should take a ‘mental vacation’ and use this time to communicate with each other as well as simply enjoy each other’s company. All the problems of both work and family should be put on a “back burner’ and this period of time should be used to simply relax and forget the problems of the day.

Finally, if some problems seem unsolvable, parents should seek the advice of others including other family members (parents, siblings, etc.), friends, religious community leaders, and even from the internet. Parents need to know that “lifelines” are available if needed, and not try to solve seemingly unsolvable problems which only create more stress.

Summertime is beach time for millions of people all over the world. Due to recent concern regarding the increase of ultraviolet radiation due to depletions in the earth’s ozone layer, sunscreen preparations had been made stronger, and terms such as UVA/UVB and SPF 15 are becoming household terms. Despite aggressive media campaigns to tell people to wear more protective clothing when outside, and especially at the beach, most of these warnings are still disregarded to a great extent, resulting in more and cases of skin damage ranging from serious sunburn to skin cancer.

Many sunscreen preparations said to protect people from the harmful effects of the sun’s rays, actually offer only partial protection. There are preparations that, if used properly, do offer much more protection – providing complete instructions are followed. A good sunscreen preparation should be rated to give protection against the UVA classification of ultraviolet sunlight – the strongest classification. UVA rays penetrate the skin deeper and have more chance to cause skin cancer or melanoma later on. A top quality preparation should also over at least SPF 15 protection; which means that people who have applied this strength of preparation can be exposed to the sun’s rays at least 15 times longer that those without this kind of protection. While SPF 15 preparations are now considered adequate in many locations, there are countries, notably Australia, where preparations going up to SPF 45 are available. Australia is now rated as having the highest levels of solar radiation. Mediterranean countries, including Israel, are not far behind in regards to the dangers of solar thermal radiation.

Even if one goes to the beach “armed” with the strongest sunscreen preparation that money can buy, there is still no guarantee that preparation alone will give adequate protection, even if all the directions are followed as closely as possible. Even if the preparation is continuously reapplied following a dip in the ocean, those planning to spend long periods at either a beach, or outside swimming pool should limit the time that their bodies are actually exposed to the sun’s rays. Small children, who have much more sensitive skin than adults, should be covered with a bathing suit that only lets their hands an feet remain uncovered. Large beach hats should be worn by both children and adults.

As sunscreen preparations usually wash off if a person goes into the water, the sunscreen preparation should be immediately re-applied afterwards. Beach umbrellas and other means of proving shade should be used; and beach goers should drink plenty of water, as dehydration can happen very easily, especially to children. A person’s skin tone is also a very important factor regarding how long one can expose himself or herself to the sun – if at all. And most important, it is advisable to not lay in the sun between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

While many of these advisories may seem to take away from the enjoyment of a beach, lake, or pool outing, it’s better to be safe than sorry.