Vitamins,supplements and food, oh my!

There is a wealth of information out there for us regarding health and well being. But information is conflicting in some cases. Drink wine, don't drink wine, eat this, don't eat this, get sunshine, don't get sunshine. It can be overwhelming! Just when you think that drinking red wine is good for your heart,they will tell you that it may increase your risk of breast cancer. Sheesh! My motto is everything in moderation. Am I now a vegetarian and a complete health food fanatic? Absolutely not! Have I changed my eating habits. Hmmmmm.... honestly yes and no. I will still indulge in junk food, especially chips (doritos, potato chips, cheez-its and tortilla chips)but maybe not as frequently as before (I do believe that additives in food is related to the increase in all cancers)and I may pick up organic fruits now where before I did not (I also believe pesticides contribute to cancer increase). I definitely read labels and look for soy in products (this is a no no for me)and always try to eat yogurt with granola and flax seed in it daily as well as drinking green tea daily. I do think before I eat, usually LOL One thing I have really changed in my path to being healthy is vitamins and supplements. I NEVER have taken any kind of vitamins before. I have bought them and they just sit in the cupboard. I am terrible at taking pills on a regular basis. I have blogged about my recent days of the week pill container and it does work for me! Right now I am taking tamoxifen, a multivitamin, vitamin C, vitamin B, COQ10 and calcium,mag and zinc. That is a lot for someone who has never taken any! I have just added to that list turmeric and vitamin D. I am waiting for these supplements to come in the mail as I just ordered them. I had read about turmeric being a natural anti-cancer fighter while going through treatment but when my friend Connie brought it up to me the other day and then my brother sent me an email regarding turmeric I decided it may be for me. Turmeric also helps with inflammation associated with arthritis and I do have some arthritis in my upper back. While eating lunch last week with a friend she mentioned she may start taking vitamin D herself, that she had just read somewhere that us northern folks don't get enough sunshine. Below is some information regarding both turmeric and vitamin D. While I would rather bask in the sunshine and feel the warmth of the sun on my face, living in the north we don't get a whole lot of sun in the winter. Pill popping is the way to go!

That all being said, I leave you today drinking a glass of red wine and munching on an organic apple! Enjoy the weekend (and get some sunshine!)

Love to all,
Gail

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Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is the yellow spice most familiar in Indian curries and found in American prepared mustard. People whose diets are rich in turmeric have lower rates of breast cancer as well as prostate, lung and colon cancers, and recent research at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston suggests that curcumin, an active component in turmeric, may help prevent the spread of breast cancer. In studies of mice, researchers found that curcumin helped stop the metastasis of breast cancer cells to the lung. Human studies following up on this finding are now in progress.

Breast cancer mortality rates in the U.S. vary according to the geographic region so that the highest rates are in the northeast and urban areas, and lowest rates in the south and rural areas. This is explained by the variation in sunlight and the subsequent vitamin D production. According to William B. Grant's analysis, breast cancer risk could be cut in half by sufficient vitamin D levels - or in other words, by sufficient sun exposure.