natural girls
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Omg Joy I am shocked!! And Luan ;( . with all the " awareness" and " walks" and the feel your boob campaigns...how can this happen? We hear " do your self exams, it could save your life" then once we get in there with a lump or thickening, they brush us off! There is so much damn money generated in this country for BC, they technology is there. All they have to do is say " yes, it looks suspicious let's rule out cancer. I could pull my skin tight and see the 9mm lump. Radiologist couldn't say what it was? Not a cyst not a lymph not fatty but couldn't identify it. Not like anything I have ever felt and I asked for biopsy referral.....nah no biggie, come back in 6 mo's to check for changes. Thank goodness we listened to our inner voice but there are so many women that don't because it's a scary thought. So they listen to the professional that is supposed to know & they go back and it's spread. They say it takes years to progress but I don't believe that's always the case. Mine popped up literally out of nowhere in 1 month! My neighbor went for an annual in August & was clear, no lump. In Sept. She felt a lump went back in to find it was a 2 cm stage 3 beast.
I hate to think where mine could have gone in 6 more months ;(
Thanks for letting me vent!!
Glad we are on the right track now but geez what an ordeal right?!0 -
Joan: Try coconut water which is really good for you and not so fattening and it should have no sugar, too. Love the coconut milk & ice cream but very high in fat
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Re Coconut, check out the benefits !!
"Once mistakenly believed to be unhealthy because of its high saturated fat content, it is now known that the fat in coconut oil is a unique and different from most all other fats and possesses many health giving properties. It is now gaining long overdue recognition as a nutritious health food.
Coconut oil has been described as "the healthiest oil on earth."0 -
Corian, I know....sad, scary and totally unacceptable. Used to work for a lawyer who specialized in medical litigation, very busy indeed....I was able to check the database and see if any given doctor in Cnda had a background, sure wish I had access now....
It was really funny, coz when I was referred to a new doctor, I would drop the name of the lawfirm where I worked which is very well known (we all did
, and boy did I get service. Yes, mam !0 -
Whatever keeps them on their toes Luan haha!
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Deanna, yes I agree about the diff. in absolute and relative risk. I think the docs sometimes forget to take the time to clarify what they are talking about. I'm an engineer so my mind naturally follows the numerical logic but it can be confusing and potentially misleading if patients aren't clear.
On that study, I haven't done further research but I feel like I'm missing something. I read that the "control" group of women over the age of 60 had a 1.65% rate of BC. The previous stats I read showed that the general population of women over 60 have an overall risk of BC that's higher than that (CDC shows a rate of 3.45%) Am I missing something? Why would women with a risk of only 1.65% be taking a BC-prevention drug? (when they are already better off than the general population and their absolute risk is so small?)
Everyone, thanks for the convo on coconut milk. I've been using it in my coffee. I have to say though, the fat grams are pretty dang high. I did notice that the SO DELICIOUS "Creamer" (in the small creamer container) is thicker and has 0 fat grams. (what are they thickening it with???) I've used that but it's harder to find.
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Coconuts... I've always thought that it is no accident that coconut trees grow near the ocean where there is usually no fresh water. Thanks, God, for the coconut trees!
Question: When we slather coconut oil on our skin, do we absorb the nutrients? The calories?
or...do we have to eat the 2 to 3 tsp a day for the benefits and the cons like the calories?
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Wow, Luna, I never thought about that but interesting point. I suspect a tablespoon a day is nothing fat-wise but the benefit is great. I eat stuff with coconut milk in it: my coconut milk coffee creamer, I use that for recipes wanting milk (diluting it w/water), SO BE Ice cream (my treat), So I get some every week and on my skin daily. I have noticed a great difference in my skin although at 59, it is still crepey looking as I lost weight.
Not that I mind being thinner but waaaahhhh. 0 -
I would love to know how to cook with coconut oil and how to substitute it for other unhealthy fats in my diet. Anyone have recipes or suggestions?
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Completely off topic except for the part about relative risk and absolute risk
I am still choosing to be non compliant about statins...Doc still pushing them hard.
Is anyone on this thread an expert in statin statistics???? I know there are some very scientific ladies on here !!!!
Doe anyone know the "real" stats for post menopausal women with high LDL?
Oz had a doctor on the other day who said there are no studies that show benefit for post menopausal women using statins and that suggesting them for women is based on studies on men....He also said that the studies on men found that men who used statins for five years had only a minimal (I don't recall the number) of heart attacks prevented. My doc was only able to quote a joint study of men and women and one of women who already had had a heart attack.
I'm still questioning whether or not LDL is such a bad thing ... on the premise that If there are always firetrucks at a fire...that doesn't necessarily mean firetrucks cause fires.
My LDL went up 40 points when my D3 went up 40 points. My Doc thinks that is just coincidental...I don't agree. Could be what my D3 is made of. Could be one of my other supplements causing it...can't be any of the foods I eat... Everything about my diet and lifestyle is way better than it was two years ago.
So, what do you say...to Statin or not to Statin...that is the question.
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You might want to look at all the studies accumulating against statins as well as against lowering cholesterol.
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Coconut oil to make pancakes is a treat. Then sprinkle a bit of shredded on top of your mix once you have in in the pan, flip and you have toasted coconut pancakes, yum!
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Luna, is your cholesterol ratio high?
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Lucy...Thank you! Those are exactly the kinds of discussions/articles I am looking for.
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Jules59
I use coconut oil in lue of olive or other cooking oils. I use it just the same. I am sure someone on here has fabulous recipes!0 -
Coconut oil is preferable for cooking as olive oil is not supposed to be exposed to high heat.
Olive oil is for drizzling over salads and such.
Olive oil is easily damaged by high heat. google it
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Today I just bought chocolate covered coconut ice cream bars, woo! Can't wait for dessert!!! Yippee!
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Corian-my doc said that it was more than likely a fibroids. Had to see him a few tines after that though out the year and brought up the lump. Finally after a year got the biopsy. I wanted to believe the doc. Who wouldn't? Wish I would have advocated for myself sooner.
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Luna-taking vitamin D will indeed raise cholesterol numbers, as will fish oil. But according to Dr. Strand, author of Death By Prescription, there is no proof that high LDL means much. In fact, he maintains that chlolesterol numbers where just touted by drug companies to give doctors a reason to use their drugs. My cholesterol has gone up over 50 points since I have gotten healthy. Low cholesterol is a precursor to cancer.
On coconut oil, which we have discussed so much, but I will add again-Just because it is high fat, does not mean it is unhealthy. Fats do not make us fat. High glycemic foods are the culprit. We need healthy fats like fish oil and coconut oil and avocados. Dr. Sears writes about this extensively in The Omega Zone. Coconut oil revs the metabolism which is why some people actually eat tsps of it each day and swear it aids weight loss. I do not use it on my skin before bed as I found it did indeed rev me up. Adding these healthy fats to my diet has made my skin incredibly healthy and protected from sunburn.
Deanna-In the winter I keep the coconut oil in the jar (one in kitchen, one in bath). When it gets warmer and melts, I put it in a pump dispenser. It is great to just pump it out! Since it is native to warm climates, it seems logical that it would okay to let it go to its liquid state.
Make sure you buy cold pressed, unprocessed coconut oil. I love the stuff from Tropical Traditions. Also, read The Coconut Oil Miracle, by Bruce Fife. Lots of great recipes Jules! I have a few on my website too as does tropical traditions.
Anyone near Chicago this weekend, hope to see you at the Health Freedom Expo on Saturday where I will be speaking at noon on why we need to Think Beyond the Pink and promoting my fall wellness weekend. Save the date (Oct 21-23) for my TBTP event which will be three empowering days of sisterhood. All profits will go to our local riverwalk foundation and to young adults with autism.
Yes, I have read all the books I recommend. I am a health book junkie.
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Vivre Good Luck with your Speech! Hope the Health Freedom Expo is well attended. Wish I could come and listen but I am 2 days away from there.
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vivre good luck on your speech and thanks for the info on LDL. I have always had low LDL and high good cholesterol. I started taking 2000IU's of D3 and my LDL raised and my good cholesterol lowered. My numbers are still good but I did wonder about it.
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vivre- You are going to be spectacular. You speak from the heart and have such ethics. You have taught me so much and I thank you. I wish I could come hear you, but I am not leaving this island allllll summer long! Who knows, maybe one day you will be writing one of those fabulous health books!
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The benefit of Tamoxifen depends on your recurrence risk which depends on your age, stage at diagnosis and treatment choices.
If 100 women like me (premenopausal, Stage 2B, see stats below) took Tamoxifen for 5 years, 12 breast cancer deaths would be prevented. So that's an absolute 12 percent risk reduction.
However, a 60-year-old woman with a 1.5cm ER+ tumor and no nodes would only get an absolute 2 percent benefit from Tamoxifen. (But she only had a 7 percent recurrence risk to begin with.)
So it's important to know the facts about your particular prognosis before accepting or rejecting tamoxifen.
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Peggy,
Here's an article about the 65 percent risk reduction with exemestane that might explain things for you:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20069411-10391704.html
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Thanks Beeb75. The previous article I read had less detail. Here it admitted that the absolute risk was small, "Still, it could be a tough sell. These women have only about a 2 percent to 3 percent risk, individually, of being diagnosed with breast cancer in the next five years. A prevention pill that cuts that chance by 65 percents means a roughly 1 percent risk....'Many women are not willing to take a daily medicine' for such a small risk." Still, I hope it's the step in the right direction. Maybe this will illuminate some science that will lead to a bigger breakthrough.0
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Oh, yuk! From tonight's news...
"A drug that farmers have given to chickens for decades is being pulled off the market after federal scientists found a potentially carcinogenic form of arsenic in the livers of animals treated with the substance, officials announced Wednesday."
(Sorry, I haven't figured out how to cut & paste links on my new I-Mac, but you can Google chickens & arsenic and I'm sure you'll find the full story. It was in The Washington Post.)
Thanks for the pump dispenser suggestion for the coconut oil, vivre. Great idea! Wish I could catch your presentation. Will someone be videotaping it? I know we'd all love to see & hear it!
Luna, I don't believe that high cholesterol alone is sufficient reason to put someone on a statin. In fact, there is some evidence that high cholesterol isn't necessarily a bad thing. I'll see if I can find the research I'm thinking of. I'd given a copy to my PCP at one time, when my cholesterol was higher than normal, post-chemo. Vivre might remember. I think she was the one who clued me into this. There's also a type of heart scan they can do (forget the name of it) to determine if you have any plaque buildup in your arteries, which, from what I understand, is more of an indicator of a high LDL being a problem that requires intervention.
Peggy, on that Aromasin study... I had read in one of the articles that the women that were chosen for the study had a higher than average risk of developing bc. So what you've pointed out is even more confusing. I'll try to find the original study and the CDC stats tomorrow and see if I can figure it out, unless someone else already has. Deanna
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Luna, here's one article worth reading:
http://www.jonbarron.org/heart-health/bl080603/problems-natural-alternative-cholesterol-drugs
And one more:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110505142730.htm
Deanna
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I understand that many of you ladies are taking melatonin. Here in Melbourne Australia, I see several brands of melatonin when I'm either at a pharmacy or health food store. A couple that come to mind are Bioglan Melatonin Tablets 90 (Homeopathic Formula 6X) and Pretorius 90 (Homeopathic Formula 6X). I've been interested in taking melatonin...but I sleep well, and I've read that it can give you nightmares/vivid dreams. It puts me off taking it.
That plus the fact that being a mum I sleep lightly...because I need to be on a semi-comatose night watch. My youngest is an "occasional" sleep walker. Thank goodness his father has stopped running around in the middle of the night...moving furniture, taking paintings down off the wall and such.
Victoria
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Victoria, It's only large amounts of melatonin that cause side effects. Homeopathic remedies have none of the original ingredients and personally I'm not interested in them though there's no harm in trying.
I get mine from iHerb online and the TGA (Therapeutic Goods Act) allow you to import supplements that aren't normally available in Australia in an amount sufficient for your own use only as long as it's not a banned substance such as steroids or plant materials which they won't send anyway.
I haven't had any problems sleeping too heavily, it's not like a sleeping pill from what I've heard of them.
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Asschercut,
Laughing a little, because I have a sleepwalking husband as well. I always like to peek into our refrigerator to see what he's consumed (without knowing) in the night. Talk about a diet-breaker!
If you are reluctant to try melatonin, have you tried magnesium? It seems to work for sleep as well, though perhaps not as strong as melatonin. I think it basically helps for relaxation, instead of working on the sleep center in your brain.
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