Cancer is the Answer

Heart Disease, Cancer and Stroke. These have been the top three killers in this country, in that order, for some time now.

Yesterday the World Health Organization came out saying that cancer would be moving to number 1 next year.

In a separate article, the immediate cost of cancer was at $232 BILLION in 200 and projected to top $300 BILLION in 2020.

If you factor in loss of work productivity, those numbers go over $960 BILLION and $1.4 TRILLION respectively.

That's a lot of money. Even by our government's standards.

So we are investing a QUARTER OF A TRILLION dollars a year, are we getting a good return on that investment?

I don't mean to be callous, I have had people in my family die from cancer just like you have and have people in my family who have cancer right now. Cancer is a big deal and I do not take it lightly.

Which is exactly why I am writing this post.

Did you know that before he left office, President Nixon declared "war" on cancer in the early 70's pledging millions to erradicate it?

Did you know that cancer was the #14 killer in the country at that time?

Are we winning the war? I think not.

Not that Livestrong, Race for the Cure, the Jimmy V Foundation and the like don't have value and are not trying their best, but frankly, they are putting their money in the wrong place if they are just supporting medical research.

There is obviously a broader problem than something medicine can simply fix if after pouring TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS into the problem, it continues to get worse.

I don't pretend I know the cure for cancer, but I do know one area we should look real close at and that is our lifestyle.

The physical, nutritional and mental health of this country and declined sharply in the last 35 years and we need to look real hard at that to find the answer to the cancer problem rather than raising more money for another treatment that just puts a band-aid on a TRILLION DOLLAR problem.

Nap Better than Starbucks

I am a big fan of naps. Take them often myself and you should to.

A new study that just appeared in the New York Times looked at the value of a nap over a caffeine pill.

The nappers had better motor skills, perception and verbal skills above and beyond the caffeine group.

What does this mean?

SLOW DOWN!

Quit rushing from one thing to another, guzzling down Red Bull's to get you through. Cut back on your to-do list, take a break and you will perform much better at the things you want to accomplish.

Randy Stonehill has a song and the chorus goes, "I'm in a hurry to get things done. I rush and rush until life's no fun. All I've really gotta do is live and die. I'm in a hurry and don't know why."

A pretty profound statement and not so bad advice.

No sugar, No flu

Parenting magazine just came out with a good article on 5 ways to fight the flu naturally. It is focused on children, but as the articlet admits, these rules are for adults too.

The first one is one of those rules that falls into the category of, "you don't know what you don't know."

Did you know that sugar weakens your immune system?

If you answered yes, then why do you eat and drink sugary things when you are sick? You are only slowing down the healing process.

If you answered know, than consider this quote:

There exists a direct link between the amount of these foods (sugary foods) that your child consumes and his/her health.

A direct link. Not an indirect one. A direct one.

Knowing this. Is candy and soda a good idea when you are sick?

What about cereal, yogurt, orange juice? These are all typically high sugar foods and should be avoided as well.

You might say, "vitamin C is good for me." Yes it is, but it is better to eat an orange than have processed orange juice. If you want the benefit of vitamin C without the sugar, get a good whole-food vitamin C supplement.

Read the labels. If it is high in sugar, avoid it when you are under the weather, let alone all together.

Scroll down to see my article on the flu season for some more facts.

Is your Middle Schoolers Health in a Mid-Life Crisis?

I need to make something clear. I love kids. Telling them they are fat is not way to get them healthy and leaner. I show this picture from the NY Times to get your attention and substantiate a very scary point about the health of our children.

A new study has come out showing that obese 13 year olds have the arteries of a 45 year old leading to a much great risk of heart disease, the number one killer in this country.

Let's just get this silly arguement out of the way. This is not genetic. No kid genetically eats junk on a consistent basis. This is all because of the diet we feed our children.

To be brutally honest, we are doing this to our children.

Right now over a quarter of all children under 18 in this country are considered obese... and the number keeps growing.

One of the author's of the study, Dr. Carl Lavie a leading heart surgeon, said this:

"There is concern that if the current obesity epidemic continues [and it actually seems to be worsening], we will soon see an abrupt end to the steady improvement in life expectancy in the U.S."

Let that sink in for a moment. The country with the greatest health care system in the world. The country that spends more on health care than any other two countries combined is actually decreasing in life expectancy because we are eating ourselves to death.

Does that make sense?

Here's the thing. The solution is easy. Adopt healthier habits and TEACH THEM TO YOUR CHILDREN.

Runners Live Longer

If you have read any of my previous posts, you know I love to run.

I love the challenge. Even after running thousands of miles, it still isn't "easy".

I love the health benefits. When I am training for a race, I am in the best shape of my life and have more energy than any other time.

Now I know I am going to live longer too.

That's right, in a study done at Stanford University researchers began studying 538 middle-aged runners back in the 1980s.

At the time, critics were convinced, as many are still today, that runners would suffer serious injuries and predicted an epidemic of knee replacements.

21 years of research show quite the opposite is true.

Data from the Stanford study, which was recently published in two peer-reviewed journals, show that the runners did not have higher rates of osteoarthritis and total knee replacements.

And the onset of disabilities appeared 12 to 16 years later in the runners' group vs. the nonrunners'.

That's huge; imagine living independently or delaying the use of a cane for an extra decade or more.

There were also half as many deaths in the runners' group than in the nonrunners' during the study.

So yes, running can be abusive to the body, but the body was also made to run.

It was not made to sit in front of a computer for 8 hours, have a 1 hour commute each way in a car and sit in front of t.v. for 3 hours before going to bed to do it all over again the next day.

That is what is truly dangerous to the body.

Annual Tummy Ache

It's Halloween time again. Cute kids, cute costumes, lots of candy.

It is that last part I want to talk about. Do you know American's spend over $2 Billion on Halloween candy?

What are you getting for that $2 Billion investment?

If you like sweets, your sweet tooth fix. But you also get and increase in sugar. What's so bad about that? I'm happy you asked.

Let's gloss right over the dental cavity issue. We have talked about that for years.

Do you know increasing your sugar in your diet immediately puts your body into a stress state? Meaning your body is no longer functioning as normal, it is now functioning like you are being chased by a lion and not the cute 18 month old in a lion costume.

What happens in the stress state is that vital blood rushes from your organs to your arms and legs so you are ready to run at a moment's notice. Now your organs, which keep you alive, do not have the nurtrition they need to take care of you.

Would you consider this a bad thing? I hope so or you are prioritizing that Snickers way too much.

It also drastically lowers your immunity. Little Billy getting a cold around this time of the year isn't because of the weather. It is because with all the excess sugar Halloween brings, his immune system has dropped drastically making him a lot more susceptible to common ailments.

Never mind how addictive sugar is and the long-term consequences of type II diabetes, obesity and early death that can come with that.

I don't write this to ruin your Halloween. Heck, I'll have some candy myself this Halloween. I write this to make sure you do not go in excess. That you enjoy all the treats of the season conservatively.

Having ADHD = The Greatest Olympic Hero

ADHD is a term that is used a lot in our society. Statstics show that 3 to 5% of children have it, but if you visit any elementary school, you will see alot more kids taking drugs like Ritalin and Concerta.

While I have a lot to say about those drugs, this article isn't about that. It is about the benefits of ADHD.

Benefits you ask?

Yes, there are benefits.

ADHD is classifed is someone who can not focus on certain things well. Generally these are broken down to the basics of reading, writing and artithmitic.

So should we addict our kids to mind-altering drugs to get them focused? And decrease brain activity since that is how those drugs work?

No, of course not. Do what Michael Phelps mom did. Her son didn't want to read books so she taught him how to read by reading the sports section. He didn't want to sit still, so she got him invovled in swimming where he focused all his energy on being his best. She was amazed that he would sit still for four hours at a swim meet, but not for 30 minutes in a class.

The secret to their success... channel all of that energy into something productive.

Now, not everyone can be a world class swimmer, but everyone is passionate about something. If you child likes dancing, have them learn to read through dance books and magazines. Get them involved in dance programs. Let them focus that energy so they can experience success when they focus all that energy.

It is debateable if ADHD is overblown in this country or not. It is not debateable that all kids need focus and focusing on things they enjoy is a whole lot easier than asking them to focus on things that bore them.

Read the article attached and learn how Michael Phelps mom adapted learning to bring out the best in Michael.