Take your health into your own hands

Take your health into your own hands

Take your health into your own hands

The diet for cancer prevention and treatment

It is now proven that too much sugar, meat and refined foods increase our risk of getting sick, while whole grains and vegetables protect us.

But what kind of diet can be recommended for a cancer patient? Guidance and guidelines on diet and lifestyles to be maintained, echoing those of the European Code Against Cancer and drawing on studies on the effects of diet on the prevention, progression and treatment of the disease.

What kind of diet can one recommend, then, to a cancer patient based on what is known today-keeping slim and proven that those who are overweight get sicker and if sick have a harder time getting well.
Particularly dangerous seems to be the fat deposited inside the abdomen so it is important to keep slim but especially that the waist circumference is not more than 80 88 cm in women 94-102 in men a calorie restriction without maintenance of about 25 -30% fewer calories chest to an ad libitum diet instead prolongs life and reduces the incidence of cancer in animals in the case of cancer patients however caloric restriction is not enough if it is not also associated with protein restriction of course it remains that you are sick and undernourished you need to feed it which is sometimes difficult because advanced cancers often cause anorexia the weight loss of cancer patients would depend mainly on the production of inflammatory substances by the tumor as we will see later with diet however much can be done to reduce this state do exercise another knowledge repeatedly confirmed and whoever does exercise gets sick less and that sick people who exercise have a better prognosis it is therefore recommended to take a brisk walk every day for at least 30 consecutive minutes or and an hour of gym or sports at least every other day keep your blood sugar low high blood sugar is also a risk factor to keep it low you need to avoid refined flours 00 and 0 white bread Commercial sweets potatoes white rice corn flakes white rice cornflakes very sugary fruits avoid sugar glucose and fructose syrup and get used progressively agustin less sweets also avoid foods high in saturated fats red meats cold cuts and cheeses instead eat whole grains regularly better if combined with gummy vegetables seeds and oil fruits keep insulin low in addition to foods with low glycemic index it is best to avoid milk even skim milk that raises insulin keep low Growth factors avoid milk and avoid Foods very rich in protein especially animal but also plant proteins such as legumes although present in every meal should be consumed in moderation there are no contraindications even for moderate consumption of traditional of soy miso tofu tempeh keep inflammation levels down promote inflammation all animal foods except fish preferably small fish because large fish are much more polluted on the other hand have anti-inflammatory action whole grains and many other plant foods especially those containing omega 3 fats flaxseed soybeans wild herbs onions and apples and in general to vegetables with the exception of solanaceae tomatoes eggplants and peppers that are best avoided it is prudent also to avoid Foods rich in polyamines substances essential to cell proliferation. Tomatoes eggplants peppers citrus fruits bananas and kiwis and tropical fruits there are increasing indications instead that short periods of fasting i.e., a couple of days a week can increase the effectiveness of cancer therapies in summary therefore we can say that the recommendations coincide with those for cancer prevention of the World Cancer Research Fund that today have been taken up by the European Code Against Cancer although with the clarifications seen regarding some fruits and vegetables to be avoided.

How important is sports for children

The vacations are almost over, September is approaching, and all the children are about to return to their school desks. Homework returns, friends are reunited, and the usual daily routne begins again. In addition to school, however, it would be highly recommended to engage the little ones in an extracurricular activity that is perhaps even more fun and dynamic for them: sports.

Why should children play a sport ?

Sports activity has always been recommended from an early age. This is for several reasons, first of all it is the most effective and efficient way to toughen children’s physiques as they grow. Muscles and bone structure are strengthened, and many diseases resulting from a sedentary and monotonous life (made even more so by children’s increasingly intensive use of technological devices such as smartphones, tablets, PCs, and game consoles), especially those related to nutrition and weight, are also prevented. The latter condition unfortunately affects a large number of boys and girls too often “parked” in front of TV screens.

Sports are also an excellent response to stress, feelings of loneliness, and help combat anxiety and depression. For these reasons, very often children who start a sports activity early on also perform better in school and develop their learning skills more. In addition, sports allow the child to store up a wealth of motor experience that will be invaluable throughout his or her life and will give him or her an advantage, especially in comparison with those who, on the contrary, have never participated in a sporting activity.

Sports and socialization

Another reason why sports are very useful for a child’s growth is related to the aspects of sociality and relationships with others. In fact, practicing a physical activity, especially group and team activities, helps children from an early age to relate to their peers, to play, to have fun together and to team up to achieve their team’s goals. In doing so, children gain a greater sense of responsibility that will motivate them to work harder and harder to help their teammates and lead them to victory. The important thing, however, is that there is always healthy competition and that it is very clear to everyone that the main purpose of a sporting activity, especially at that age, is primarily to have fun beyond the result.

In order to fulfill this important rule, the constant presence of parents is essential, and they should take a constant interest in their little one’s activities, accompanying and supervising him or her throughout the sports journey. Another key figure is also that of the instructor, who is a real reference point for the child. This is a figure who must go beyond mere technical teaching of the discipline but, on the contrary, must have excellent skills empathic, must be able to relate to children, listen to them, understand them, and instill in them a healthy love of sports through motivation and support during training.

The 7 main benefits

We have already seen how sports activity for young children is of paramount importance. In fact, there are numerous benefits of physical activity at the youngest age. Of all the 7 most important are:

  • Develops social skills: through sports, especially team sports, children are able to overcome their shyness and relate to others more easily and naturally. This interaction is driven by feelings common to all group members, such as team spirit, camaraderie, mutual loyalty, and above all, a desire to have fun.
  • Desire to improve oneself: through physical activity, a strong desire develops in the child to improve his or her skills, becoming better and better at the sport he or she plays, either for personal satisfaction or for competitive purposes.
  • Rules: with sports, children perceive more the importance of rules, which are the same for all team members and must be followed in order not to be excluded from the group.
  • Hygiene: it sounds strange but sports activity also improves children’s sense of hygiene. Indeed, they learn that after a physical activity it is important to take care of their own hygiene, out of respect for themselves but especially for others.
  • Obesity prevention: through a more dynamic and active lifestyle
  • Promotes sleep: after an intense training session, there is nothing better than a good, rejuvenating nap
  • Improves muscle elasticity, strength and posture

We are what we eat

Our bodies grow and develop as a result of the foods we ingest. It can be said, as already proposed in the title of this passage, that“we are what we eat.” This is a statement that respects the concept that a healthy and
proper nutrition
is the fundamental key to the development of an equally healthy and strong body. In fact, our body is an expression of the quality of our nutrition, and it perfectly reflects the properties of the foods we ingest, cook and assimilate. For this reason, it is really important to eat a proper diet that provides us with all the nutrients our bodies need to develop and grow healthy. In fact, an incorrect dietary style can greatly increase the risk of diseases for our bodies, some of which could prove fatal to our existence.

A healthy diet

As mentioned above, our body is an expression of what we ingest. For the latter to develop healthy and strong, it is necessary for our diet to be complete, varied and, above all, contain the nutrients that are essential for our growth. Fruits, vegetables, grains and noble proteins are just some of the foods recommended for our daily requirements of vitamins, minerals, proteins and other substances that benefit the health of our bodies. Proper nutrition is also a decisive weapon in the prevention (and/or treatment) of some very dangerous diseases for our bodies, such as obesity, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, metabolic diseases and some forms of cancer.

This is because each product of the earth brings specific benefits to a particular organ of our body and, often, they happen to vaguely resemble the organ to which they bring benefit: such as the nuts, whose shape is unmistakably similar to that of our brain, and it is to the latter that they bring great benefits due to the substances contained within them such as Omega-3, antioxidants, folic acid and vitamin E; or as the tomato, which resembles the heart more than any other food, rich in lycopene, an excellent nutrient for the heart and blood; the mushrooms, the side portion of which is extremely similar to the shape of the ear human, contain vitamin D, which is important for the prevention of hearing loss; and finally the avocado, which symbolically recalls the uterus female, which is able to balance hormones and prevent cervical cancer.

The art of cooking

These are just a few examples that make us aware of how closely related the concepts of healthy eating and well-being of the body are. Of course, many of these foods are not taken in by humans as they are harvested in nature, but pass through the practice of cooking, which is also of great importance. Cooking in fact means transforming nature’s products into healthy foods that retain their original properties and enhance their taste, celebrating our senses. Cooking has always had a strong symbolic value for humans, and the figure of the cook (or of the chef ) has become more and more sought-after and appreciated in all parts of the world, especially when it comes to “healthy” which favors foods with low fat and high nutritional value for the body.

Life in the city: what are the pros and cons ?

The topic we will address in this article represents a question that all of us at least once in our lives have asked ourselves, but which remains unanswered to this day: is it better to live in the city or in the country ? Specifically here we will attempt to analyze what are the pros and cons of living in a large city or metropolis. Before going any further, however, it is essential to point out that, with regard to this issue, much depends on each of us’ personality, our habits, character, and above all, the lifestyle we are accustomed to keeping and which suits us best. So before making a particular choice, whether country or city, it is good to know ourselves and our daily living habits first.

Having made this necessary introduction, let us try to define what the advantages and disadvantages of living in a big city might be.

The advantages of living in the city

Certainly city life is totally different and, in some ways, opposite to country life. First, saying city most of the time is equivalent to saying chaos, but there is not always a negative meaning to this definition. Life in the metropolis is in fact anything but boring, and every day you have the opportunity to do something different, whether it is dinner at a new restaurant, a new movie coming out in theaters, a concert in a pub, a particular street party, a game of bowling, or a ride on the rides. The list could really be endless. That is precisely the main advantage of big cities, which is the ability to do anything we can think of, because everything will be available at all hours and within a few minutes’ drive.

In the city we also have the opportunity to dress as we please since, given the large number of people with different tastes, styles and traditions, no one will particularly pay attention to our clothing. In terms of food, too, we have the opportunity to try any kind of ethnic cuisine, as restaurants offering cuisines from other nations can be found scattered in various parts of the city. And what’s more, should we not feel so much like getting to the stove, we will have the option of ordering something to eat via phone or smartphone app and waiting for the delivery guy to do“the dirty work” for us.

What’s more, we have the ability to get around by transportation, leaving cars at home, there are gyms, clubs, restaurants, stores selling anything and everything on every corner, and, no small feat, supermarkets open even 24 hours a day.

The disadvantages of living in the city

But all that glitters is not gold. In fact, in the city we can say goodbye to tranquility, silence and relaxation. Life in large metropolises, as everyone knows by now, is hectic, noisy and often very confusing. We will struggle with traffic, mile-long lines to get into the hottest club of the moment, and super-crowded stores for the recently available sales. In the city, food products are often not always very fresh and of high quality (as opposed to the countryside), despite being available year-round. But the greatest inconvenience is related to cars. There is a high risk of running into fines for the various ZTL zones, ecopasses, reserved parking spaces, not to mention the difficulty in finding parking or driving in traffic, especially if the light is green and you do not start instantly.

Last, but not least, is pollution. In the city, pollution levels (of soil, air, water and noise) are considerably more other than in the countryside, with major repercussions on the health of individuals.

Obesity, disease or choice?

In 2013, theAmerican Medical Association (AMA) declared obesity a disease, requiring a range of interventions to promote its prevention and treatment.

Five years later, U.S. health care professionals are still not fully aware of this, the surprising results of a survey conducted for Medscape, the well-known medical portal, reveal.

When asked whether obesity should be considered a disease, only 57 percent of respondents answered in the affirmative, and more than one-third of health professionals do not consider it a disease state, a percentage that is even higher among primary care physicians.

According to experts, the persistence of this belief is an obstacle in finally addressing a situation that is reaching pandemic proportions. “It’s time for us to recognize obesity as a disease, ” says endocrinologist Akshay Jain. Until we medical professionals take obesity seriously, we will be ineffective in treating its biopsychosocial and economic consequences. Defining obesity as a disease is the first step toward objectively assessing the factors that cause it and its prevention and treatment.”. There are several reasons why obesity is to be considered a disease: first, it is associated with impaired body function; second, it results from the dysfunction of a complex system of physiological regulation, fostered by multiple factors particularly present in today’s societies.

Finally, it should not be forgotten that obesity causes, worsens, or accelerates more than 160 comorbid conditions that arise as metabolic, structural, inflammatory, degenerative, neoplastic, or psychological complications of obesity itself, significantly affect the quality of life and also its duration.

So that the misconception that obesity is simply a choice can be overcome, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists has proposed to change its name and rename it as “chronic adipose disease,” so that it is readily recognized as a real health threat and not just a cosmetic problem.

Keeping fit without a gym?

Do you hate the gym, don’t do any kind of sports continuously, but want to lose a few pounds and keep fit? Good news: you can. Just move every day and make movement a way of life. The ways are many: some easy to guess, others less so; often funny, sometimes downright pleasant.
Here are a few.
 But to achieve appreciable effects, remember also to follow a healthy and balanced diet.

Customized cardiovascular risk calculators

For more than two decades now, cardiologists have been developing algorithms to calculate the cardiovascular risk, i.e., the probability that a person may be a victim of a heart attack or brain stroke over the next 5-10 years and plan, based on the outcome, preventive and therapeutic strategies aimed at minimizing it.

Hand in hand with the improvement of knowledge, algorithms have been periodically reviewed and refined to make the estimate of the increasingly precise risk, but until now the calculation system used was essentially unambiguous and internationally shared. At most, it was provided for the use of somewhat different parameters in Europe and the United States, in view of the different average characteristics of the population and of the different preventive approaches.

Based on the teachings of personalized medicine, it is now understood that in order to properly assess cardiovascular risk and optimize lifestyle guidance and drug therapies it is crucial to employ different calculators in different categories of patients, taking into account age (in particular, above or below 70 years of age), the presence of type 2 diabetes (a disease that multiplies the risk of cardiovascular disease 2 to 4 times that of unaffected persons), concomitant cardiovascular disease (e.g., atrial fibrillation or heart failure), or a history of acute events (myocardial infarction or stroke/TIA), as well as additional diseases (such as rheumatoid arthritis) and the therapies needed to treat them, which can increase overall cardiovascular risk.

To facilitate physicians and patients in accessing and properly using these algorithms, an international group of experts belonging to several clinical and academic centers and scientific societies in the cardiovascular area have developed U-PREVENT : a freely searchable website (in English and Dutch) by all persons interested in calculating their own cardiovascular risk, that of a family member or, in the case of physicians, of the patients they follow.

For patients, having a simple system to know their cardiovascular risk is important in order to understand when it is appropriate to see their doctor and to be encouraged to faithfully follow his or her preventive and treatment advice. But the U-PREVENT system is even more useful for physicians, as the indications provided by the algorithm are based on the integration of all the best scientific evidence obtained in clinical and epidemiological studies and allow the best strategy to be defined for each patient, on a personalized basis, to protect him or her from cardiovascular events.

In addition to calculating the 5- or 10-year cardiovascular risk, U-PREVENT can be exploited to estimate the preventive effect of major drug therapies (in particular, antihypertensive, cholesterol-lowering, and antithrombotic drugs, in the case of nondiabetic persons), thus enabling physicians to assess which treatments single or in combination may better protect the patient in later years and to what extent.

In addition, the site provides sources from the literature and material educational to support a better understanding of computers, their use and their meaning, broken down according to user profiles, that is, patient, physician or researcher. If to spontaneously use U-PREVENT is the patient and the result shows a nonnegligible cardiovascular risk, the advice is to always consult with your physician for an interpretation competent of the outcome and any appropriate further investigation.

Source

Rossello X et al. Risk prediction tools in cardiovascular disease prevention. Eur J Prev Cardiol 2019; doi:10.1177/2047487319846715 (https://www.escardio.org/The-ESC/Press-Office/Press-releases/Predicting-how-long-you-can-live-in-good-health)

How to retire and be happy

There are those who dream of it for years, thinking it will never come, and there are those who, after waiting for it for a long time, find themselves experiencing it with a certain bewilderment. Because retiring means radically changing one’s pace of life, social relationships, the way one perceives oneself in relation to the world, and, last but not least, taking note of the fact that one has aged and that this aging is recognized by law. Living the time of retirement well and enjoying to the fullest the time and greater peace of mind it grants is possible, but you need to know how to do it, what mistakes not to make, and what aspects to focus on. Try this quiz to see if you are a potential “model retiree” and to get some helpful hints on how to become one.

NUTRITION AND DIET
 
NATURE, SPORTS, PLACES
 
CULTIVATING HEALTH
 
MENOPAUSE
 
MOM IN SHAPE
 
TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE
 
HEART SURGERY
 
MEDICINES AND MEDICAL DEVICES
 
PARENTING
 
THE CULTURE OF HEALTH
 
HEALTH UTILITIES
 
GENERAL MEDICINE
 
NATURAL MEDICINE, THERMAL
 
MIND AND BRAIN
 
NEUROVEGETATIVE DYSTONIA
 
WAYS OF BEING
 
HEALTH AND SOCIETY
 
HEALTHCARE AND PATIENTS
 
SEXUALITY
 
OLDER AGE
 
CANCERS
 
EMERGENCIES
 
NUTRITION AND DIET
 
NATURE, SPORTS, PLACES
 
CULTIVATING HEALTH
 
MENOPAUSE
 
MOM IN SHAPE
 
TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE
 
HEART SURGERY
 
MEDICINES AND MEDICAL DEVICES
 
PARENTING
 
THE CULTURE OF HEALTH
 
HEALTH UTILITIES
 
GENERAL MEDICINE
 
NATURAL MEDICINE, THERMAL
 
MIND AND BRAIN
 
NEUROVEGETATIVE DYSTONIA
 
WAYS OF BEING
 
HEALTH AND SOCIETY
 
HEALTHCARE AND PATIENTS
 
SEXUALITY
 
OLDER AGE
 
CANCERS
 
EMERGENCIES
 
DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
 
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
 
UROGENITAL SYSTEM
 
HEART AND CIRCULATION
 
SKIN
 
INFECTIOUS DISEASES
 
EYES
 
EARS, NOSE, AND THROAT
 
BONES AND LIGAMENTS
 
ENDOCRINE SYSTEM
 
NERVOUS SYSTEM
 
DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
 
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
 
UROGENITAL SYSTEM
 
HEART AND CIRCULATION
 
SKIN
 
INFECTIOUS DISEASES
 
EYES
 
EARS, NOSE, AND THROAT
 
BONES AND LIGAMENTS
 
ENDOCRINE SYSTEM
 
NERVOUS SYSTEM
 

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