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We hear it all the timelose weight for your health. Few people however, realize the extent to which this is critical to their physical well-being and ultimately their life expectancy.

In January 2003, the journal of the American medical Association featured a study finding that obesity appears to lessen life expectancy, especially among young adults. The researchers compared Body-Mass Index (BMI) to longevity and found a correlation between premature death and higher BMIs. For example, a 20-year-old white male, 510 weighing 288 pounds with a BMI of greater than 40 was estimated to lose 13 years of his life as a result of obesity.Jamie McManus, M.D., F.A.A.F.P. and author of Your Personal Guide to Wellness notes that while this study referenced extreme levels of obesity, there are still millions of overweight people in developed countries with a life expectancy rate that is three to five years less than their healthy-weight counterparts. She also estimates that there are 600,000 obesity related deaths each year in America.

Just how does obesity shorten our lifespan? The answer to this question is complex, yet there is a clear link between obesity and the development of cancer. An extensive study conducted by the American Cancer Institute involving 750,000 people showed that obesity significantly increased the risk of cancer developing in the following organs: breast, colon, ovaries, uterus, pancreas, kidneys and gallbladder.

Michael Thun, MD, vice-president of epidemiology and surveillance research for the American Cancer Society (ACS) says one reason obesity may raise cancer risk is because fat cells produce a form of estrogen called estradiol that promotes rapid division of cells, increasing chances of a random genetic error while cells are replicating, which can lead to cancer. In addition, fat centered around the abdomen may increase insulin and insulin-like growth factors in the blood, which may increase cancer risk.

"Women who are obese after menopause have a 50% higher relative risk of breast cancer," notes Thun, "and obese men have a 40% higher relative risk of colon cancer. Gallbladder and endometrial cancer risks are five times higher for obese individuals.There is evidence that cancer rates in developed countries are increasing at 5 to 15 times faster than developing countries. A major contributor to this alarming reality has proven to be diet. In populations where the diet consists mostly of fresh fruit and vegetables and whole grains in contrast to the typical Western diet of fatty meats, refined flours, oils and sugars the risk of cancer is much lower.

The interaction of diet and the development of cancer is an active field of research and Dr David Heber, M.D., Ph.D. and author of What Color is Your Diet, says It appears that diet has its most significant effects after the cancer has already formed, acting to inhibit or stimulate the growth of that cancer. At the risk of oversimplifying a complex set of interactions, the typical Western diet that leads to obesity may actually act to stimulate the growth of cancer cells.It is never too late to improve your health through healthful eating and adopting a more health-giving lifestyle. Here are simple steps to follow which can make an immediate improvement to your health and vitality.

1. Check your Body Mass Index (BMI) to determine if weight has become health risk. According to the Centers for Disease control and Prevention, 60% of Americans are overweight, defined as having a BMI (a ratio of height to weight) over 25. Of those, nearly half (27%) qualify as obese, with a body mass index of 30 or more. In 1980, just 15% of Americans were considered obese. You can check your BMI at the website below.

2. Match your diet to your bodys requirements. If you eat and drink more calories than your body requires you will put on weight. learn to control calories and portion sizes, make recipes leaner, and eat infrequently from fast food restaurants. Also learn how to snack with healthful choices.

3. Color your diet with a large variety of colorful, cancer-fighting fruit and vegetables. There are seven different color ranges of both fruit and vegetables and by choosing between 5 to 9 daily serves from a wide range of fruit and vegetables, we are extending our consumption of cancer (and other disease) fighting nutrients.

4. Eat lean protein with every meal. protein provides a powerful signal to the brain providing a longer sense of fullness. The right source of protein is essential to controlling your hunger with fewer calories and necessary to maintain your lean muscle mass. Choices of protein should be flavored soy shakes with fruit; the white meat of chicken and turkey, seafood such as shrimps, prawns scallops and lobster and ocean fish or vegetarians may prefer soy based meat substitutes.

5. Rev up your metabolism with activity. If you want to enjoy a lifetime of well-being, exercise is a key ingredient. Colleen Doyle, MS, RD, director of nutrition and physical activity for the American Cancer Society (ACS), says adults should do something for 30 minutes each day that takes as much effort as a brisk walk. Children should be active for an hour each day. We are more likely to develop habits around things we enjoy, so seek activities which you enjoy doing. It is also helpful to build physical activity into your daily routine: use the stairs instead of the escalator or lift at work, park your car in the parking bay furthest from the super marketing and dont use the remote control to change TV channels.

6. Get support to ensure you develop a healthful eating plan and reach your goal weight. Whilst a small percentage of people possess the discipline to lose weight, many obese people have developed strong thoughts and habits concerning the food they eat. In order to establish new habits, most people respond well to some form of consistent encouragement and coaching. A study, Effects of internet Behavioral Counseling on Weight Loss in Adults at Risk of Type 2 Diabetes shows that participants who had the support of weight loss coaching lost more weight than those who didnt. The study concluded that the support of a weight loss coach can significantly improve weight loss results.

Being overweight or obese has been identified next to smoking, as the most preventable major risk to developing cancer. Even small weight losses have been shown to have beneficial health effects. So its never to late to start and you can never be too young or too old to be concerned about your health and do something about achieving a more healthy weight.

(c) Copyright by Kim Beardsmore

Kim Beardsmore enjoys the flexibility of working from home. Are you interested in earning money from home? We're looking for individuals who have basic phone and internet skills to join our team of work-at-home-ers. If you're serious about earning money from home and are willing to work (this isn't 'get rich quick'), then we'd like to help you grow a profitable business. We offer complete training, online and offline resources and a partnership for success. http://free2liv.com/?refid=EA-567883373

One of the great things about Golf and especially Womens golf is getting the chance to socialize with like-minded people from all walks of life. Whether its at the driving range - meeting people with friendly hints and tips or on the golf course with your regular foursome. I really enjoy the chance to chill-out and spend some time combining exercise, laughs, the game and the on the green story of the week.

A few weeks ago, one of our foursome who we will name Barb, finally gave up her story of how she got into golf. That may sound boring to you but Barb truly has a story worth sharing. The following is Barbs story and used kindly with her permission.

Setting the scene

Barb and Mike are both busy people, like the rest of us balancing family (two teenagers), work and life in general. Barb runs her own business from home and Mike is a high flying bank executive. Like a lot of us their marriage had had its ups and downs but things felt pretty solid overall. Their kids were starting to be at the age when Mom and Dad supplied the free taxi service but other parental guidance was unwelcome.

Mikes obsession begins

Barb and Mike had been married about fifteen years when Mike decided he needed to learn how to play golf for business networking and to reduce the risk of humiliation on corporate golf days.

Barb didnt give much thought to Mikes announcement on golf, there had been many new interests that had faded over the years - the garage was full of most of them. First, along came the endless how-to books followed shortly after by a cheap, value for money ($750) set of second-hand golf clubs.

While Barb worked most evenings to catch up on business, home and the kids activities, Mike on the other hand, spent almost every night obsessively watching the golf DVDs followed by the wild swinging of golf clubs in front of the TV set. This couple had established routines, a nightly catch-up of the days events; this soon became replaced with Mike engrossed in the golf books leaving Barb with the occasional grunt or the enlightening sorry, I didnt hear what you said?

Self assured that the golf clubs would soon be gathering dust in the Garage, Barb carried on with life as usual. The next stage for Mike was to take all his new found research and his great deal golf clubs to the local driving range in the evenings to start applying all these golf theories. Mike was really enjoying going out for a bash and while Barb appreciated his new found interest and the associated health benefits, she also started to feel a bit like she was flying solo.

Barb started to sense a change in Mike in the bedroom a level of interest that she certainly had not seen for a long time. Alas, it was not in Barb but in Mikes new books The Modern Fundamentals of Golf by Ben Hogan and The Swing Factory. Although, there is nothing like watching a middle-aged half-naked man leap out of bed and start swinging a golf club around to ignite the midnight passions, Barb had to make do with watching and ducking the practice swings.

Mike on the course

Mike finally got his chance to put his new found golf techniques to the test during their Corporate/Client Golf Day. Convinced that he was finally going to show up his colleagues after all this study and practice, he left the house in the morning with a new found swagger promising to share his prizes with the family upon his return.

Alas, what came home was a broken man. Apparently, theory, practice and studied technique had not leant itself to the improvement of Mikes on course game. The family rallied and tried to find ways to boost up their fallen hero. Barb was sympathetic and applied all her well practiced motivational techniques. Within half an hour, unfortunately, it had worked! The family three plus golfer then spent the evening going through a stroke by stroke, swing by swing replay of the days events.

Two days later when Barb called it quits for the evening and headed for bed, she was shocked to find a new piece of equipment had joined the bedroom furniture. Diving out of the way of a swinging club she found that Mike had brought the driving range home to the bedroom in the form of a practice mat complete with attached balls! Barbs confidence in the passing fad theory started to feel a little shaken.

Shaken became diminished when now not only evenings were spent at the driving range but weekends too. New DVDs appeared, downloaded golf articles swamped the computer and finally Mike announced that the family had a new member in the form of a Golf Coach reasonably priced of course. Mike now spent evenings and weekends at the driving range and his lunch times with his Golf Coach.

Now picture this, you run a business from home, your companions apart from the odd drop in visitor or business meeting, are the cat and the rabbit who either want feeding or cleaning. At the end of the day when your family come home, you go into Super Chick mode of gratifying gripes, trying to cook a dinner that suits over 50% of the family, nagging about homework, trying not to look like a dried out dish towel and counseling on the numerous major issues and broken friendships facing your teenagers. That is in-between answering phone calls and being responsive to business emails. In the evenings your teenagers are absorbed in some form of electronic communication and you spend your time ducking swings, tripping over golf clubs and trying to chill out watching tiger Woods or some other form of golf professional on TV.

Mikes second major chance to show his golf prowess finally comes around. The family not forgetting the last devastation, all rallies and cheers like a manic pep rally as their hero drives off to conquer the course. Once more, their fallen hero returns shocked, dismayed and completely lost as to why his driving range success cannot translate to fairways, greens and little round hole. Barb is now sure that Mike will return to her and that the golf clubs; books, DVDs, balls and practice mat will find their place amongst the other forgotten pursuits.

The next day Mike came home with an announcement, he had fired the Golf Coach and he had discovered why he wasnt doing well on the course it was his golf clubs. His new customized set would be arriving in three weeks, which would make all the difference to his game. During the next few months, the new golf clubs arrived which then required a new mallet putter, which then required a new fairway wood to complete the set, well apart from the hybrids, new golf bag, different golf shoes, cap, shirts and the list went on right through Mikes birthday, Fathers Day and Christmas. By this time most conversations eventually ended up discussing golf although Barb had never held a golf stick in her hand, she was pretty much able to describe the intricacies of the game, especially the swing.

After Christmas it came time to plan the familys yearly summer holiday, nearly everyone voted for the beach, however, Mike did not seem as keen as earlier years. In April, Mike announced that he might not be able to make the holiday as he was busy at work. By this time Barb had serious concerns about where not only the family were heading but were her and Mike were heading as a couple. The irony was now that the kids were growing up and more independent they had more free time, only Mikes was spent at golf and Barbs was spent on her own.

May came with a final holiday destination decision that after a successful year in her business, Barb would take the girls to Spice Island in the Caribbean. This would probably be the last true family holiday together, as Barbs eldest would also be off to College in the fall. Barb decided it was time to talk to Mike about how important the holiday was for the family and was delighted when he agreed to move around his commitments and come along.

The final straw

The first day of the family holiday was wonderful with everyone enjoying the Resort and the beach. However, on the second day Mike started to get fidgety and Barb wondered why? She got her answer when she saw Mike talking to the tour desk about the Golf that was available and like a true junky, where he could borrow some clubs. One day later Barb was on the beach on her own, the girls were off exploring together and her beloved Mike was yet again at the driving range.

Barb told us it was the absolute worst feeling being in such a beautiful place with the feeling that she was old news to the rest of her family. She knew she had to do something to try and turn things around. Now in all fairness to Mike, he had been asking Barb for sometime to join him on the golf range, it just hadnt appealed to Barb and her confidence of starting to learn a new sport at her age was pretty low.

Saving Barb and Mike

Barb decided that the first step to putting things straight was to get her and Mike to spend some time together. If that had to be at the driving range then thats how it would be. The next day at breakfast to Mikes surprise, Barb announced she was joining him. She described to us the complete reassurance she felt when she saw the smile on Mikes face. That day another great surprise happened in that Barb found that she actually enjoyed connecting with the little white ball and that her distance was pretty good for a complete novice to the game.

Over the next six months, Barb like Mike before her (although in a more controlled and less obsessed way) came to really enjoy learning the game and techniques for getting the little white ball much further than before. Barb described how things started to change in her life. Finally, she had found something that got her away from home/work and through attending golf workshops she met other women who played during the week. Through golf her social networks have grown and now Mike and Barb not only spend more time together but also spend more time socializing with their fellow golf buddies.

our conversation happened five years down the track and in that time Barb has become an excellent golfer and through her golf found a more balanced approach to life, home and her relationship. Barb still plans the summer getaways, but now its her who looks for places to stay where they can play golf and still enjoy their surrounds. Ironically, it is now Mike who tries to make sure they spend quality time together in-between Barbs work and golf commitments.

For the rest of us, this was an amazing insight into a lady we had been playing golf with for years without ever realizing how this talented golfer came to be.

many people are looking for stress management in Yoga classes, but cannot find it in the area where they live. If you are looking for relaxation techniques, it is unlikely that you will learn them in a room full of young hard bodies, in which the room is heated to 105 degrees Fahrenheit.

In truth, a hot room may do many of us some good, but for some people, a 105 degrees Fahrenheit Yoga class, may have just the opposite effect. Some of us are comfortable in warm weather climates, while others dislike the heat. In the end, hot Yoga is a matter of personal preference.

When Aura Wellness Center was located in North Providence, there was a hot Yoga studio just a few blocks away. We would often receive some of their students, who no longer wanted heat.

many of them would tell us of students who vomited in the parking lot after 90 minutes of Yoga at 105 degrees Fahrenheit. Well, thats one way to get the toxins out of your body, but there are less radical methods.

So, what do you do if the only styles you can find are aerobic, cardio, hot, or fitness Yoga? These days, many people may find initial exposure to Yoga in a health club. Yet, Yoga is still being taught in ashrams and Yoga studios.

Yoga teachers, in local Yoga studios, usually have, at least, two styles, which they teach to the public. If you have never heard of the style, or styles, at your local Yoga studio, you can still research the style in books or on the Internet.

What if there is nothing in your area to help in the area of Yoga for stress management? Then, it is time to visit your local book store or library. You should research Yoga books, stress management books, Yoga audio books, until you find the stress management course, which is right for you.

Yogic relaxation Techniques can be practiced any time you need them, but most people practice them before sleeping or before meditation. Your body and mind need rest every day, but dreams do not allow your mind to rest.

Lets discuss two Yogic methods for relaxation, which you will easily find in your books. One is the stage-by-stage relaxation technique and the other is a variation of the body Scan Technique. Both of them incorporate breath awareness; we will focus on the body from the toes up.

You should take the time to decide which relaxation method is best for you, by practicing each method a few times, over the course of seven days.

stage-by-stage relaxation takes a bit more time, but each method could also be practiced before meditation, bedtime, or on nights when you experience insomnia. The worst that can happen is you fall asleep.

Do not judge yourself - Just practice, observe, and enjoy.

Copyright 2007 Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, has written many books on the subject of Yoga. He is a co-owner and the Director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center, in Attleboro, MA. http://www.riyoga.com He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. To receive a Free Yoga e-Book: "Yoga in Practice," and a Free Yoga Newsletter, please visit: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html

It is shocking to live with breast cancer statistics rising to 1 in 8 women developing some form of breast cancer in their lifetime. women 50 and older are at the greatest risk. Breast cancer is usually detected with mammograms or self breast exams. About 200,000 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed each year. While the survival rate is increasing, it is important to note the increase in occurrence over the last 50 years. Lets examine what causes breast cancer so we can prevent and deal with breast cancer naturally.

Causes of Breast Cancer
Everyones cancer is caused by something different, and so pinpointing the cause of breast cancer usually isnt high on the list of priorities once a woman is diagnosed with the potentially deadly disease. But, in general cancer is caused by free radicals, or deformed cells, that attach themselves to your good cells.

Breast cancer specifically has been linked to too much estrogen found in the body. There are several reasons why women have too much estrogen. The birth control pill increases the amount of estrogen in the female body. Hormone replacement therapy also has been shown to cause breast cancer because of its tampering with hormone levels.

High levels of preservatives, herbicides, pesticides and other chemicals used to treat food contribute to breast cancer. And estrogens found in dairy and meat can be overwhelming to the body.

Holistic Treatment of Breast Cancer
Plant estrogens like soy are a great way to combat breast cancer. These plant estrogens give the female body everything it needs without the harmful effects. women with breast cancer should increase their intake of soy foods. When possible they should try to reduce the amount of dairy in their diet and replace it with soy.

Eating whole grains, green leafy vegetables, and fruit also give the immune system a boost and enable the body to wage its own war against cancer. Vitamin and mineral supplements help to fill in the gaps of nutrition you may miss from your diet. Antioxidants counteract the free radicals floating around your body, bind with them, and the body flushes them right out so they can do no harm.

mental and spiritual well being is also important in a holistic approach to fighting breast cancer. Meditation, stress reduction, improved outlook, and positivity all help improve your mental well being. And as many of us realize, you are what you think about. So change your focus, look for the beauty in life, and take care of yourself, inside and out.

Exercise is a fantastic way to improve your immune system, build a physically healthy body, and improve your mental well being at the same time. Yoga, Tai-chi, and walking are all beneficial ways to exercise the body and mind without overdoing it and causing damage.

Progesterone cream delivers the hormone, progesterone, to the body in the fastest way possible - transdermally, or through the skin. Progesterone helps to regulate the other hormones in the body, especially estrogen levels. As a woman ages, her natural progesterone levels decrease leaving her exposed to excess estrogen. In research conducted in 1995, progesterone was shown to have protective effects on breast tissue because it inhibits the growth of more breast cancer cells. Estrogen does the opposite and encourages breast tissue growth. Pro-Gest is a good progesterone cream for women with breast cancer.

Breast cancer information