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PAUSE FOR PREVENTION // Why Sitting is Bad for You

06/20/13

You’ve heard it before - it’s not great to sit all day.  But have you ever looked at the reasons why?  It’s pretty scary!

If you sit for six hours a day, whether you’re at work, in class, or just vegging on the couch, then your risk of heart disease has increased by up to 64 percent, you’re shaving off seven years of quality life, and you’re also more at risk for certain types of cancer. 

Immediately After Sitting

It’s difficult to get an accurate assessment of what sitting all day will do to you because the effects work in tandem with diet and other risk factors. So we’re going to start with a relatively healthy person who does not drink in excess, smoke, and who isn’t overweight. Then we’ll estimate the effects of sitting for over six hours a day based on what starts happening immediately after you sit down. For a general overview of the effects, take a look at this chart from Medical Billing and Coding to see a breakdown of what that happens in your body when you sit down. (If the majority of your sitting time takes place at a desk, keep in mind that a standing deskhas its own problems, too.)

Right after you sit down, the electrical activity in your muscles slows down and your calorie-burning rate drops to one calorie per minute. This is about a third of what it does if you’re walking. If you sit for a full 24-hour period, you experience a 40 percent reduction in glucose uptake in insulin, which can eventually cause type 2 diabetes.

After Two Weeks of Sitting for More Than Six Hours a Day

Within five days of changing to a sedentary lifestyle, your body increases plasma triglycerides (fatty molecules), LDL cholesterol (aka bad cholesterol), and insulin resistance. This means your muscles aren’t taking in fat and your blood sugar levels go up, putting you at risk for weight gain. After just two weeks your muscles start to atrophy and your maximum oxygen consumption drops. This makes stairs harder to climb and walks harder to take. Even if you were working out every day the deterioration starts the second you stop moving.

After One Year of Sitting More Than Six Hours a Day

After a year, the longer term effects of sitting can start to manifest subtly. According to this study by Nature, you might start to experience weight gain and high cholesterol. Studies in woman suggest you can lose up to 1 percent of bone mass a year by sitting for over six hours a day.

After 10-20 Years of Sitting More Than Six Hours a Day

Sitting for over six hours a day for a decade or two can cut away about seven quality adjusted life years (the kind you want). It increases your risk of dying of heart disease by 64 percent and your overall risk of prostate or breast cancer increases 30 percent.

If this looks bad, don’t worry. As little as getting up for a few minutes an hour and taking a brisk walk will get that blood pumping, but make some time to exercise 30 minutes a day, even if it’s just a quick surf or skate!

Article courtesy of: www.lifehacker.com

TASTY TUESDAYS // Breakfast Banana Split

06/18/13

Banana Split with Yogurt and Jam 
makes 1 serving 

Looking for a delicious reason to get out of bed that’s actually good for you?  Enter the Breakfast Banana Split - Greek yogurt subbed in for ice cream and antioxidant-filled blueberries make it a healthy, protein packed breakfast that will power you through your day!

Ingredients

• 1 ripe yet firm banana, peeled 
• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt 
• 2 tablespoons fruit jam or preserves 
• 2 tablespoons sliced almonds or other nuts 
• Handful fresh berries or cherries 

Directions

Split the banana lengthwise and lay the two halves in a shallow bowl. Use an ice cream scoop to scoop out the yogurt and put it on top of the banana. Warm the jam in the microwave for 15 to 30 seconds or until it is very runny. Use a spoon to drizzle the jam over the yogurt, and sprinkle the nuts over everything. Top with blueberries, and dig in!

Recipe and photos courtesy of www.thekitchn.com

PAUSE FOR PREVENTION // Human Gene Patents Overturned!

06/13/13

SUCCESS!  The Supreme Court has ruled this morning in an unanimous ruling that human genes CANNOT be patented.

This is a big deal for the breast cancer prevention community because it will result in affordable genetic testing, including for BRCA variants that indicate increased breast cancer risk. The particular genes at issue received public attention after the actress Angelina Jolie revealed in May that she had had a preventive double mastectomy after learning that she had inherited a faulty copy of a gene that put her at high risk for breast cancer. The price of the test, often more than $3,000, was partly a product of Myriad’s patent, putting it out of reach for some women. 

The case concerned patents held by Myriad Genetics, a Utah company, on genes that correlate with increased risk of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer.

This will allow the price of testing for the gene to drop significantly and have an immediate impact on people’s health, as well as paving the way for additional research on the interaction between genetic and environmental factors that could help us understand how to prevent breast cancer in women who are genetically vulnerable.

Shout out to our friends at Breast Cancer Action for all of their efforts in this case!

TASTY TUESDAYS // SUSHI SALAD

06/12/13

Photo: www.cleaneatingmag.com

Welcome to sushi salad.  We just took sushi to the next level, and salad for that matter, with this awesome combination that is an explosion of deliciousness. This salad contains all the benefits of a good sushi bar: the combination of complex carbs, complete proteins and a healthy dose of vitamin B12 helps maintain normal metabolism and regulate energy levels, along with bunches of other essential vitamins and nutrients.

Try this recipe with your spin on it and let us know just how delicious it is!  We liked subbing in ahi tuna for the crab, too.

Serves: 4
Hands-on time: 20 minutes
Total time: 50 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup short-grain brown rice
• 1 tbsp wasabi paste
• 2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
• 2/3 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp raw honey
• 1 English cucumber, diced into 1/4-inch chunks
• 4 nori sheets, quartered and cut into 1/4-inch strips
• 1 large carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
• 8 oz crab meat pieces (claw or jumbo lump)
• 1 avocado, pitted, peeled and sliced
• 4 cups baby spinach

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In a medium saucepot, bring 2 cups water to a boil. Stir in rice, cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit, covered, for an additional 10 minutes. Spread rice on a baking sheet to cool to room temperature, about 15 minutes.
2. In a small bowl, whisk wasabi, soy sauce, vinegar and honey. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix rice, cucumber, nori and carrot. Drizzle with wasabi-honey mixture and stir to combine. With a rubber spatula, gently fold in crab.
4. Divide spinach evenly among serving bowls or plates and top each with rice-crab mixture and avocado.

Nutrients per serving (1 cup spinach, 1 1/2 heaping cups rice-crab mixture, 1/4 avocado): Calories: 360, Total Fat: 10 g, Sat. Fat: 1.5 g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6 g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2 g, Omega-3s: 350 mg, Omega-6s: 930 mg, Carbs: 54 g, Fiber: 9 g, Sugars: 4 g, Protein: 18 g, Sodium: 490 mg, Cholesterol: 55 mg

Recipe courtesy of www.cleaneatingmag.com

MEGAN PISCHKE'S CANCER JOURNAL // UPDATE

06/11/13

It’s a Friday—yay! I don’t know why I’m so excited, its not like I have a job. Actually, chemo is a job. Last week I started the weekly treatments of Paxil- something or other (Taxol), and will have 12 in total, and have already done 2. Only 10 left! And by the way things are settling in, the scheduling, all the other appointments, ect, time is flying by. And as much as I want chemo DONE, I still want time to linger a bit. I have a 22 month old wild beautiful boy, and my little girl just turned 7…there is no need to rush these years.

These new treatments are pretty mellow compared to the knar of the AC treatments. No nausea, my immune system is great, still a little tired- and although I do like a rabbit with no eyelashes, I still have my hair (thanks my King of Cold Caps—David). I am finding a rhythm of energy, day to day it varies. But, I am able to hike, throw down some sun salutations, maybe a mini run here and there, clean my house, and best of all play with my kids with all the wildness and vigor they deserve!

I have had some shoulder nerve pain, it’s most likely the drugs attacking my weak zone (scar tissue from surgery). Acupuncture helps—every week I am on the table…ahhhh. And SO thankful for my chiro Amber and Suzanne who does cranio-sacral, it’s such great medicine for me right now.

I had an ultrasound last week to follow up on something my oncologist had seen in a previous cat scan. This shadowy thing is in my pelvis. And he wasn’t too concerned, so neither was I. Not to mention the fact—I don’t care what anyone tells me—I know there is no cancer in my body.

But I have to admit when I was lying there on the table with Bin (ultrasound guy) doing his little click-click measurements—I had a couple butterflies. At first he couldn’t find anything, and he asked me about constipation, ect. I thought for sure he was measuring fecal matter or something. In fact, that’s just what I decided to believe—it’s poo they are looking at.

My oncologist called me a couple days later to discuss the results, which was slightly unnerving, as they said no news is good news. It turns out that I have a small piece of my spleen that has decided to reside in my pelvis area, and function! So cool. I had my exploded spleen removed years ago from a snowboarding accident. So it looks like they didn’t get it all, and this little piece found its way south and decided to keep on doing its job.

The human body is magic. Our hearts, our minds, our cells, all of its understood and not understood functions are magic. I use this thought process often. And why not?! Why limit ourselves?! Magic means ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES.

-Megs

TASTY TUESDAYS // Superfood Berry Chia Pudding

06/04/13

Photo: www.skinnytaste.com

Remember in the 90’s where having a “Ch-ch-ch-Chia Pet” was all the rage?  Well, now we think you should take those seeds and instead of planting them, eat them.  

Chia seeds are a known superfood and have all kinds of health benefits like being a great source of omega-3’s, improving digestive health, stabilizing your glycemic index, and being chock-full of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.  They also have a unique property where after soaking in a liquid, they swell up which is what gives this healthy recipe a pudding-like texture!  Shake this up and put in your fridge tonight, and enjoy tomorrow morning for breakfast!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup almond/coconut milk beverage (can also use soy milk)
• 3/4 cup fresh blueberries, blackberries and raspberries
• 3 tbsp chia seeds
• Stevia, sugar or honey to taste

Directions:

Combine almond-coconut milk together with the chia seeds in a glass jar with a lid. Cover and shake well, set aside for 15 minutes. Give it another good shake then refrigerate overnight or at least 5-6 hours.

Divide into 2 bowls or glass serving dishes, add berries and serve. Enjoy!

Nutritional Info:

• Servings: 2  
• Size: about 1 cup 
• Calories: 110 
• Fat: 5 g 
• Carb: 12 g 
• Fiber: 7.5 g 
• Protein: 4 g 
• Sugar: 3 g
• Sodium: 64 mg 
• Cholesterol: 0 mg

Recipe and photos courtesy of:  www.skinnytaste.com

PAUSE FOR PREVENTION // The Deodorant Issue

05/29/13

The subject of antiperspirants and deodorants and breast cancer is a little confusing, to say the least.  There were some Internet rumors that started around 1999 that antiperspirants cause breast cancer and that you should stop using those products immediately.  This caused a stir in the scientific community and the public wanted to know first: is this true?  When the scientific community said they just plain “didn’t know,” the public pressured for studies to be done.  But the studies done were not “done” very well, and usually funded by companies that had a hand in the billion dollar antiperspirant industry.  This lead to conflicting results.  Here are the facts…you make your decision.

A very interesting study done in 2005 by P.D. Darbre in the Journal of Inorganic Chemistry shows a very definite danger in the absorption of aluminum through the skin in that the aluminum had estrogen-like properties. Alterations in hormones, like estrogen, have been shown to play a major part in breast cancer tumor proliferation.  This study showed that the absorption of aluminum through the skin has a direct effect on estrogen receptors.  Since the majority of breast cancer tumors are located on the outer edge of the breast, near the armpit, the theory that an under arm product could be the cause is not that far-fetched.

The author’s words are strong:  Given the wide exposure of the human population to antiperspirants, it will be important to establish dermal absorption in the local area of the breast and whether long term low level absorption could play a role in the increasing incidence of breast cancer.

The reason chemical companies put aluminum in antiperspirants is to “dry out sweat by injecting aluminum ions in the cells that line the sweat ducts. When the aluminum ions are drawn into the cells, water flows in; the cells begin to swell, squeezing the ducts closed so sweat cannot get out,” according to the Julie Gabriel, The Green Beauty Guide. Preventing sweat from exiting my body doesn’t seem like a good idea, considering humans sweat for a reason. Sweating actually has a lot of benefits – clearer skin, lowers body temperature and fights off sickness – so why would I want to prevent my body doing what it needs to do to stay healthy? (Food Babe, 2013)

The choice is yours to make.   If this article speaks to you, then the bottom line is:  avoid PARABENS and ALUMINUM ZIRCONIUM in your deodorant whenever possible!  Breast cancer prevention is not only in the products that we use, but it is important to check yourself every month, eat right, exercise and control your stress level. 

Want to know if your deodorant passes the test?  Search yours by brand at the Environmental Working Group’s “Skin Deep” Cosmetics Database

xo,

B4BC

Sources:

Darbre, P.D. (2005). Aluminium, antiperspirants and breast cancer. J Inorg Biochem. Sep;99(9):1912-9. 

http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ 

http://www.mayoclinic.com

 http://foodbabe.com/2013/04/10/throw-this-out-of-your-bathroom-cabinet-immediately/