Cancer-Fighting Culinary Spices and Herbs

Ginger

Ginger has long been used in folk medicine to treat everything from colds to constipation. Ginger can be used fresh, in powdered form (ginger spice), or candied. Although the flavor between fresh and ground ginger is significantly different, they can be substituted for one another in many recipes. In general, you can replace 1/8 teaspoon of ground ginger with 1 tablespoon of fresh grated ginger, and vice versa.

Consuming ginger and ginger products, in addition to taking any anti-nausea medications as prescribed, may provide some comfort for a queasy stomach during cancer treatment.

Rosemary

Rosemary is a hearty, woody Mediterranean herb that has needlelike leaves and is a good source of antioxidants. Because of its origin, rosemary is commonly used in Mediterranean cooking and you’ll often see it included as a primary ingredient in Italian seasonings. You can use it to add flavor to soups, tomato-based sauces, bread, and high-protein foods like poultry, beef, and lamb.

Rosemary may help with detoxification; taste changes; indigestion, flatulence, and other digestive problems; and loss of appetite. Try drinking up to 3 cups of rosemary leaf tea daily for help with these problems.

 

Turmeric
Turmeric is an herb in the ginger family; it's one of the ingredients that make many curries yellow and gives it its distinctive flavor. Curcumin appears to be the active compound in turmeric. This compound has demonstrated antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, potentially protecting against cancer development.
Turmeric extract supplements are currently being studied to see if they have a role in preventing and treating some cancers, including colon, prostate, breast, and skin cancers. Although results appear promising, they have largely been observed in laboratory and animal studies, so it’s unclear whether these results will ultimately translate to humans.

Chile Pepper
Chile peppers contain capsaicin, a compound that can relieve pain. When capsaicin is applied topically to the skin, it causes the release of a chemical called substance P. Upon continued use, the amount of substance P eventually produced in that area decreases, reducing pain in the area.
But this doesn’t mean you should go rubbing chile peppers where you have pain. Chile peppers need to be handled very carefully, because they can cause burns if they come in contact with the skin.
Therefore, if you have pain and want to harness the power of chile peppers, ask your oncologist or physician about prescribing a capsaicin cream. It has shown pretty good results with regard to treating neuropathic pain (sharp, shocking pain that follows the path of a nerve) after surgery for cancer.
Another benefit of chile peppers is that they may help with indigestion. Seems counterintuitive, right? But some studies have shown that ingesting small amounts of cayenne may reduce indigestion.

 

Garlic

Garlic belongs to the Allium class of bulb-shaped plants, which also includes chives, leeks, onions, shallots, and scallions. Garlic has a high sulfur content and is also a good source of arginine, oligosaccharides, flavonoids, and selenium, all of which may be beneficial to health. Garlic’s active compound, called allicin, gives it its characteristic odor and is produced when garlic bulbs are chopped, crushed, or otherwise damaged.
Several studies suggest that increased garlic intake reduces the risk of cancers of the stomach, colon, esophagus, pancreas, and breast. It appears that garlic may protect against cancer through numerous mechanisms, including by inhibiting bacterial infections and the formation of cancer-causing substances, promoting DNA repair, and inducing cell death. Garlic supports detoxification and may also support the immune system and help reduce blood pressure.

Peppermint
Peppermint is a natural hybrid cross between water mint and spearmint. It has been used for thousands of years as a digestive aid to relieve gas, indigestion, cramps, and diarrhea. It may also help with symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome and food poisoning. Peppermint appears to calm the muscles of the stomach and improve the flow of bile, enabling food to pass through the stomach more quickly.
If your cancer or treatment is causing an upset stomach, try drinking a cup of peppermint tea. Many commercial varieties are on the market, or you can make your own by boiling dried peppermint leaves in water or adding fresh leaves to boiled water and letting them steep for a few minutes until the tea reaches the desired strength.
Peppermint can also soothe a sore throat. For this reason, it is also sometimes used to relieve the painful mouth sores that can occur from chemotherapy and radiation, or is a key ingredient in treatments for this condition.

Chamomile
Chamomile is thought to have medicinal benefits and has been used throughout history to treat a variety of conditions. Chamomile may help with sleep issues; if sleep is a problem for you, try drinking a strong chamomile tea shortly before bedtime.
Chamomile mouthwash has also been studied for preventing and treating mouth sores from chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Although the results are mixed, there is no harm in giving it a try, provided your oncologist is not opposed. If given the green light, simply make the tea, let it cool, and rinse and gargle as often as desired.
Chamomile tea may be another way to manage digestive problems, including stomach cramps. Chamomile appears to help relax muscle contractions, particularly the smooth muscles of the intestines.
(source: Dummies.com)

 

 

Why you're always tired?

by Linda Melone

Lack of sleep isn't the only thing sapping your energy. Little things you do (and don't do) can exhaust you both mentally and physically, which can make getting through your day a chore. Here, experts reveal common bad habits that can make you feel tired, plus simple lifestyle tweaks that will put the pep back in your step.

1. You skip exercise when your tired.  Skipping your workout to save energy actually works against you. In a University of Georgia study, sedentary but otherwise healthy adults who began exercising lightly three days a week for as little as 20 minutes at a time reported feeling less fatigued and more energized after six weeks. Regular exercise boosts strength and endurance, helps make your cardiovascular system run more efficiently, and delivers oxygen and nutrients to your tissues. So next time you're tempted to crash on the couch, at least go for a brisk walk—you won't regret it.
2. You don't drink enough water.  Being even slightly dehydrated—as little as 2% of normal fluid loss—takes a toll on energy levels, says Amy Goodson, RD, a dietitian for Texas Health Ben Hogan Sports Medicine. Dehydration causes a reduction in blood volume, explains Goodson, which makes the blood thicker. This requires your heart to pump less efficiently, reducing the speed at which oxygen and nutrients reach your muscles and organs. To calculate your normal fluid needs, take your weight in pounds, divide in half and drink that number of ounces of fluid a day, Goodson recommends.
3. You're not consuming enough iron.  An iron deficiency can leave you feeling sluggish, irritable, weak, and unable to focus. "It makes you tired because less oxygen travels to the muscles and cells," says Goodson. Boost your iron intake to reduce your risk of anemia: load up on lean beef, kidney beans, tofu, eggs (including the yolk), dark green leafy vegetables, nuts, and peanut butter, and pair them with foods high in vitamin C (vitamin C improves iron absorption when eaten together), suggests Goodson. Note: an iron deficiency may be due to an underlying health problem, so if you're experiencing these symptoms of iron deficiency, you should visit your doc.
4. You are perfectionist.  Striving to be perfect—which, let's face it, is impossible—makes you work much harder and longer than necessary, says Irene S. Levine, PhD, professor of psychiatry at the New York University School of Medicine. "You set goals that are so unrealistic that they are difficult or impossible to achieve, and in the end, there is no sense of self-satisfaction." Levine recommends setting a time limit for yourself on your projects, and taking care to obey it. In time, you'll realize that the extra time you were taking wasn't actually improving your work.
5. You make mountain out of molehill. If you assume that you're about to get fired when your boss calls you into an unexpected meeting, or you're too afraid to ride your bike because you worry you'll get into an accident, then you're guilty of "catastrophizing," or expecting that the worst-case scenario will always occur. This anxiety can paralyze you and make you mentally exhausted, says Levine. When you catch yourself having these thoughts, take a deep breath and ask yourself how likely it is that the worst really will happen. Getting outdoors, meditating, exercising, or sharing your concerns with a friend may help you better cope and become more realistic.
6. You skip breakfast. The food you eat fuels your body, and when you sleep, your body continues using what you consumed at dinner the night before to keep your blood pumping and oxygen flowing. So, when you wake up in the morning, you need to refuel with breakfast. Skip it, and you'll feel sluggish. "Eating breakfast is like starting a fire in your body by kickstarting your metabolism," Goodson says. Goodson recommends a breakfast that includes whole grains, lean protein, and healthy fat. Good examples include oatmeal with protein powder and a dab of peanut butter; a smoothie made with fruit, protein powder, low-fat milk, and almond butter; or eggs with two slices of whole-wheat toast and low-fat Greek yogurt.
7. You live on junk food. Foods loaded with sugar and simple carbs (like the ones you'll find in a box or at the drive-thru window) rank high on the glycemic index (GI), an indicator of how rapidly carbohydrates increase blood sugar. Constant blood sugar spikes followed by sharp drops cause fatigue over the course of the day, says Goodson. Keep blood sugar steady by having a lean protein along with a whole grain at every meal, says Goodson. Good choices include chicken (baked, not fried) and brown rice, salmon and sweet potato, or salad with chicken and fruit. 
8. You have trouble saying 'no'. People-pleasing often comes at the expense of your own energy and happiness. To make matters worse, it can make you resentful and angry over time. So whether it's your kid's coach asking you to bake cookies for her soccer team or your boss seeing if you can work on a Saturday, you don't have to say yes. Train yourself to say 'no' out loud, suggests Susan Albers, a licensed clinical psychologist with Cleveland Clinic and author of Eat.Q.: Unlock the Weight-Loss Power of Emotional Intelligence. "Try it alone in your car," she says. "Hearing yourself say the word aloud makes it easier to say it when the next opportunity calls for it."
9. You have a lot of messy. A cluttered desk mentally exhausts you by restricting your ability to focus and limits your brain's ability to process information, according to a Princeton University study. "At the end of each day, make sure your work and personal items are organized and put away," suggests Lombardo. "It will help you have a positive start to your day the next morning." If your office needs major reorganizing, avoid becoming totally overwhelmed by taking it one step at a time: start by tidying what you can see, then move through your desk and cabinets drawer by drawer.
10. You work through vacation. Checking your email when you should be relaxing by the pool puts you at risk of burnout, says Lombardo. Unplugging and allowing yourself to truly unwind allows your mind and body to rejuvenate and return to the office stronger. "When you truly take breaks, you will be more creative, productive, and effective when you return," says Lombardo.
11. You have a glass of alcohol before sleep. A nightcap sounds like a good way to unwind before falling asleep, but it can easily backfire. Alcohol initially depresses the central nervous system, producing a sedative effect, says Allen Towfigh, MD, medical director of New York Neurology & Sleep Medicine, P.C., in New York City. "But it ultimately sabotages sleep maintenance." Alcohol creates a rebound effect as it's metabolized, which creates an abrupt surge in the adrenaline system, he says. This is why you're more likely to wake up in the middle of the night after you've been drinking. Dr. Towfigh recommends stopping all alcohol three to four hours before bedtime.
12. You rely on caffeine to get through the the day. Starting your morning with a java jolt is no big deal—in fact, studies show that up to three daily cups of coffee is good for you—but using caffeine improperly can seriously disrupt your sleep-wake cycle, says Dr. Towfigh. Caffeine blocks adenosine, the byproduct of active cells that drives you to sleep as it accumulates, he explains. A study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine revealed that consuming caffeine even six hours prior to bedtime affects sleep, so cut yourself off by mid-afternoon and watch out for these surprising sources of caffeine. 
13. Stay up late on weekends.  Burning the midnight oil on Saturday night and then sleeping in Sunday morning leads to difficulty falling asleep Sunday night—and a sleep-deprived Monday morning, says Dr. Towfigh. Since staying in can cramp your social life, try to wake up close to your normal time the following morning, and then take a power nap in the afternoon. "Napping for 20 minutes or so allows the body to recharge without entering the deeper stages of sleep, which can cause you to wake up more tired," he says.
14. Everyone gets distracted occasionally, but if you have real trouble with impulsive behavior, or an inability to pay attention or sit still, you could have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). 

14 ways to make your beauty

How old are you, really?

by Aviva Patz

The answer is more complicated than counting the number of candles you blew out on your last birthday cake. Your daily habits can either add or subtract years from your life—like how much you exercise, or how stressed you allow yourself to be. Read on for 14 things you can start doing today to live a longer, healthier life. 

1. Drop some pounds. Being obese increases the risk of diabetes, cancer and heart disease, possibly shaving up to 12 years off your life, per an analysis in the journal Obesity. But being too thin can hike your risk of osteoporosis and poor immune function. So aim to stay at a weight that's healthy for you.
2. Regularly exceeding one drink a day or three in one sitting can damage organs, weaken the immune system and increase the risk of some cancers.
3. Easy your stress.Chronic stress makes us feel old—and actually ages us: In a 2012 study, Austrian researchers found that work-related tension harms DNA in our cells, speeding up the shortening of telomeres—which protect the ends of our chromosomes and which may indicate our life expectancy. Of course, it's impossible to completely obliterate stress. "What's important is how you manage it," says Thomas Perls, MD, associate professor at Boston University school of Medicine and creator of the Living to 100 Life Expectancy Calculator. Practice yoga, pray, meditate, relax in the shower or do whatever else chills you out.
4. Keep learning.  Having more education lengthens your life span, according to a study in the journal Health Affairs, for a number of reasons. Extra schooling may help you become better informed about how to live a healthy life. And educated folks, as a group, have a higher income, which means greater access to good health care and insurance.
5. Connect.  More and more research points to the value of having friends, and not just on Facebook. An Oxford University study found that being married makes you less likely to die of heart disease, which researchers suggest may be due to partners encouraging the other to seek early medical treatment. Same goes for friendships: Australian research showed that people with the most buddies lived 22 percent longer than those with the smallest circle. "Having positive, meaningful, intimate relationships is critical to most people's well-being," says Linda Fried, MD, dean of Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.
6. Extend a hand.  Volunteering is linked to a lower risk of death, a University of Michigan study suggests. But you don't have to log hours at a soup kitchen: Simply helping friends and family—say, by tutoring your niece or assisting your neighbor with her groceries—lowers blood pressure, according to researchers at the University of Tennessee and Johns Hopkins University.
7. Work out often. Exercising regularly—ideally at least three days of cardio and two days of strength training a week—may help slow the aging process, Canadian doctors reported. "Being physically active is like keeping the car engine tuned," Dr. Fried says. "Even if there's decline with age, it's less severe." You were never an athlete? Don't worry: Starting to work out now can reduce your likelihood of becoming ill going forward, a 2014 study suggests.
8. Consider your protein. A diet rich in processed meat—including hot dogs, sausage, cured bacon and cured deli meats—has been linked to a higher risk of heart disease, diabetes and colon cancer. Limit your intake as much as possible.
9. Give up smoking. Lighting up increases your risk of not only lung cancer but also heart disease and cancer of almost every other organ. "Just one cigarette a day can take 15 years off your life," Dr. Perls says. Though you won't instantly revert to pre-smoking health, kicking butts will cut your added cardiovascular risk in half after a year and to that of a nonsmoker after 15. 
10. Enjoy your life.  Good news for java lovers: Research indicates that drinking it regularly may protect against diabetes, cirrhosis and liver cancer. And Harvard research suggests that drinking 3 1/2 cups a day may lower risk of heart disease. Read more about the health benefits of coffee. 
11. Sleep better.  For evidence that you can—and should—make slumber a priority, look no further than a 2013 study from the University of Surrey in England, which compared a group who got less than six hours of sleep a night with a group who got 8 1/2 hours. After just one week, snoozing less had altered the expression of 711 genes, including ones involved in metabolism, inflammation and immunity, which may raise the risk of conditions from heart disease to obesity.
12. Have more sex.The feel-good rush you get from it helps you fight stress and depression, jolt the immune system and lower blood pressure. 
13. Go Mediterranean. In a 2013 Annals of Internal Medicine study, women who followed a Mediterranean-style diet were 40 percent more likely to live past 70 without major chronic illness than those with less healthy diets. Eat lots of veggies, fruit, fish and whole grains, and avoid simple carbs, such as pasta and sugar ("age accelerators," Dr. Perls calls them). Try these Mediterranean diet recipes. 
14. Know your history. Have one or more relatives who lived into their 90s? You may be genetically blessed. But that doesn't mean you should quit the gym and live on doughnuts. "Before you get to extreme ages, healthy lifestyle is more critical than genes," Dr. Perls says. So thank your ancestors, but stick to vegetables and cardio as life insurance. 

How to Losing Weight Without Trying

Painless weight loss tricks

by Carey Rossi

Meticulous meal planning. Counting every calorie you consume. Spending an entire weekend cooking healthy meals for the following week. Finding even more time to exercise. Sure, these weight-loss strategies work, but they can be awfully time consuming. Enter our slacker's guide to weight loss. The following 16 no-effort tweaks can be applied to your current routine instantly. 

Indulge your Candy Crush addiction

Turns out playing video games reduces the vividness and frequency of cravings compared with waiting it out, according to new research in the journal Appetite. (Study participants played Tetris.) Why? Because playing games distracts your laser focus on about that pint of ooey-gooey chocolate ice cream sitting in your freezer. 

Keep good food close

Laziness plays a bigger role in your food choices—both good and bad—than you might think, suggests another study published in Appetite. Undergraduates at Saint Bonaventure University in Upstate New York were separated into three groups: one that sat with apple slices within reach and buttered popcorn roughly six feet away, one with the popcorn within reach and the apple slices six feet away, and one with both snacks within reach. Even though the participants told the researchers they preferred to eat the popcorn over the apples, they ate whatever was nearest to them.

Sleep in

There's no better way to indulge in your lazy tendencies than to get more sleep. Sleeping fewer than than five hours a night could send the scale soaring 30% higher than if you got seven hours or more, suggests a study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

Order your drinks unsweetened

"Order a plain latte instead of flavored, plain iced tea, plain coffee," says Beth Saltz, RD. Opting for the plain latte over the flavored will save you 40 calories per 16-ounce serving and forgoing the half and half in your coffee will save you up to 20 calories and 2 grams of fat per one-tablespoon serving of the creamy stuff.

Eat sitting down

"You would be amazed how many calories you consume without paying attention, especially from tray-passed foods and buffets at parties or get-togethers," Saltz says. Mindless eating is the enemy of weight loss. Studies out of Cornell University's Food and Brand Lab show we unconsciously eat more out of bigger containers, and in social situations. "If you're sitting down at a table, though, you will be more mindful of what you are eating and keep extra calories from sneaking in from tray-passed snacks and buffet food," she says. To reduce temptation even more, sit further away from the food.

Save the salad for last

Salad comes with your meal; just eat it at the end of your meal. "Rather than taking seconds of the main course, a salad can be a very filling, low-calorie option," says Debra Wein, RD, president of Wellness Workdays, a leading provider of worksite wellness programs. "By eating it last, it will give your brain a chance to catch up with your stomach so you realize that you aren't as hungry as when you started your meal. Just make sure you skip the creamy dressings." 

Relax

A low-stress lifestyle may keep belly fat away, suggests research published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology. For a year, researchers from the University of California at San Francisco followed 61 healthy women; 33 were chronically stressed while the other 28 were not. All were asked to keep a record of their consumption of high sugar, high fat foods. Researchers found that eating these unhealthy foods frequently predicted metabolic risk, including a larger waistline, more belly fat, higher oxidative damage, and more insulin resistance—but only in the high-stress group. Women in the low-stress group who also ate a lot of high fat, high sugar foods did not experience the same negative metabolic effects.

Forget about diet soda

Research out of the University of Texas at Austin found that people who drank diet soda tended to have larger waists. After following 474 people for about a decade, they found that those who drank diet soda had a 70% greater increase in waist circumferences compared with non-drinkers. What's more: people who consumed two or more diet sodas a day saw a 500% greater increase. (Here are 10 more reasons you should give up diet soda.)

Make water your go-to drink

Sure, we've all been told we should make sure to drink enough water, but it bears repeating—research shows it can be an effective weight-loss aid. In one Virginia Tech study, overweight people who followed a low-calorie diet and drank two eight-ounce glasses of water before every meal lost an average of 15.5 pounds over three months. People who reduced their calorie intake but didn't down the H20 dropped just 11 pounds. 

Grab Greek yogurt or cottage cheese for breakfast

Both are easy, no-cook breakfasts that give your body a big dose of calcium and nearly 20 grams of protein, says registered dietician Tiffani Buchus, who is the co-author of No Excuses! 50 Healthy Ways to ROCK Breakfast! In a recent study, women who consumed about 30 grams of protein at breakfast reported feeling fuller for longer and consuming fewer calories at lunch than those who ate just three grams of protein.

Opt for raw

When you're hungry, grabbing a piece of fruit is easy—no cooking is required. "Fruits are naturally sweet, high in fiber, and full of hydration," says Wein. "If you fill up on fruits, you'll be less likely to want to eat other foods." Raw vegetables can have the same effect.

Don't drown your food

Bypassing dips and dressings can help shave off calories. "While a few dabs won't break you, a little here and a little there will jeopardize your weight loss efforts," says Buchus. Most creamy dips can rack up the calorie count to over 100 calories and 10 to 15 grams fat for only four tablespoons.

Limit your frozen yogurt

Are you a fro-yo fiend? Keep your self-serve in check by employing a dollar limit. "Most yogurt is 20 to 30 calories per ounce, so calories add up quickly even before toppings," Saltz says. "If you stay under a certain dollar limit—I suggest $3— you will be sure to also limit your calories. Just weigh your yogurt on the scale at the register and they can easily tell you what amount you've hit. The right amount of yogurt is about a fist-sized portion, and the right amount of topping is thumb-sized."

Feed your salsa or curry obsession

By embracing spicy food, you could be tricking your body into eating less, suggests a study in the June 2014 issue of Appetite. In the small Danish study, adding one gram of red chili pepper to each meal kept participants more satiated and full whether they consumed 100% or only 75% of their daily calories and prevented them from overeating after dinner. You can put this to work for you very easily since one gram is approximately one-fourth of a teaspoon.