Staying Healthy and Fighting Cancer

We read today that genetics plays a big role in what diseases we could get but scientists are beginning to see that environment is a much bigger predictor than genetics. According to the AARP Magazine, scientist David Servan-Schreiber estimates that genetic factors contribute to only 15% of our overall cancer risk. The other 85% is our food, exercise (or lack of it), stress levels and overall lifestyle choices.

While it will be hard for me to give up my cookies and cakes, I am happy that my wine and chocolate consumption has a medicinal benefit. Some of what David said surprised me. Here are David's list of cancer fighter behaviors that help us live a much healthier life:

1. Here is something that makes my heart palpatate - Sugar fuels cancer growth and triggers inflammation. David says avoid refined sugar wherever it lurks - even in less top-of-mind foods such as sodas and ketchup, Also avoid white flour which turns into sugar in the body.

2. Eat foods that fight cancer - Herbs and Spices like thyme, rosemary, mint, basil, sage, tumeric and ginger. Foods Rich in omega-3 fatty acids such as salmon, sardines, mackerel, walnuts, green vegetables. Cruciferous vegetables - broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage. Garlic, onions, leeks. Raspberries, blueberries, blackberries. Dark chocolate. Beverages such as green tea, pomegranate juice and even red wine in moderation.

3. Exercise can help stave off cancer. Regular walking such as 30 minutes six times a week can help in the recuperation of breast cancer for example.

4. Stress weakens your immune system so find ways to reduce or manage your stress. Try meditation or yoga to help you process stress more beneficially.

5. Remove common household toxins. This really gave me pause - Substances that can impair your body's cancer fighting abilities include certain preservatives in cosmetics (parabens and phthalates). Teflon released from scrtached pans (toss 'em!). Percholorethylene from dry cleaning. Gases given off from by new polyvinyl chloride products such as some home repair items like pipes. Bisphenol A from water heated in hard plastics.

It is never too late to revise your diet, exercise and general health regimes. Try some of these best selling books to help you make the best changes for you:

Nature's Cancer Fighting Foods

The Cancer Lifeline Cookbook: Recipes, Ideas, and Advice to Optimize the Lives of People Living with Cancer

Healing Foods that Boost Your Immune System

Are They Lying? How Can you Tell?

As it turns out, we really can't tell when someone is lying. That is despite what we are lead to believe by such television programs as "Lie to Me". Apparantly according to the Washington Post, it is virtually impossible to know when someone is lying.

Brain studies actually show that lying is a natural response that does not cause any unusual brain patterns or activity and therefore cannot be measured accurately and consistently. So body language, hints of facial expressions and certain actions are simply unreliable. Oh dear.

Lie To Me is based on the entirely serious work of Paul Ekman, the famed psychologist and author, who sold Fox his professional life rights for the series and acts as its consultant. Ekman, 75, has spent more than four decades studying nonverbal communication and its sexy sidekick, truth detection. His firm runs seminars for people -- say, security staffers at airports -- who want to study his "micro-expression expression training tool" system to see who might actually be dangerous. Here's the kicker: You can't. "We've been testing people's ability to discern a lie for 15 years now and haven't noticed any real change over that time," he says in a telephone interview. "We've tested about 15,000 people in every profession you can think of -- CIA, judges, lawyers. Less than 1 percent are any good at it. Most people are only at about the level of flipping a coin." He writes: "Most liars can fool most of the people most of the time."

Even those folks who specialize in lie detection such as police or FBI interrogaters (and who are good at their jobs) are not good at detecting lies at home. Cops are good at detecting lies about crimes and therapists are good at detecting lies about emotions but in their personal lives they are clueless.

Read more about this fascinating area of research in the Washinton Post. And if you need a good guide to teach you how to "read" others, try these Books on Reading Facial Expressions

Horoscope for Week of March 30, 2009

The Sun enters Aries this week. Welcome Spring and the start of the new solar year! This is the time when we are given a burst of fresh and vital energy that takes us in new directions. Pack a map, lunch and water and start exploring. For added inspiration read Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia. If you enjoy travel as a way to connect with and benefit the world, Lonely Planet has the travel guide for you.

 

(Gregory Peck has Sun in Aries)

 

ARIES   (MARCH 21 - APRIL 20)
Rams are encouraged to get out in the world and make a name for themselves. What will that name be...? Avoid rushing into new things or exacting change just for the sake of change this week. If you plan carefully and ask for help, your new projects of today will become important monuments of tomorrow. Build on solid ground and not shifting sands.

 

TAURUS   (APRIL 21 - MAY 21)
Bulls cannot keep a secret this week. Nor should they. So spill it all, ready or not. The volcanic and honest surge may make you feel a little uneasy at first, but you’ll soon feel in control again and ready to grab at new opportunities. Perhaps it’s time to get involved with a great charity or community cause. Pile up those good karma points in time for the steamy summer heat.

 

GEMINI   (MAY 22 - JUNE 21)
Twins find comfort and conviviality among good friends and familiar social groups. Your personal goals are now in sync with the group dynamic. But can you have too much of a good thing? You may jump into social circles that become engulfing time consuming whirlpools. Maybe it’s time to reassess your position. Is it time to strike a new pose? How about reclining?

 

CANCER   (JUNE 22 - JULY 23)
You have a short window of opportunity to demand your professional due rewards. Weigh your words carefully before you bleat. It would be a shame to get noticed by the big bosses for being an carp rather than a Crab. Demands can shake up the landscape. Who knows; you could wind up on top of the heap. Err, let’s hope it’s not the scrap heap...

 

LEO   (JULY 24 - AUGUST 23)
Lions can take on the world this week. Be careful not to bite off more than you can chew, tempting though it may be. You may be too too much for some folks as your cherry bombs turn into nuclear explosions. It’s fine to want to change the global landscape but avoid a scorched earth policy. Detonate cherries with whipped cream in the comfort of your own home.

 

VIRGO   (AUGUST 24 - SEPTEMBER 23)
Do you feel liberated and feisty? Sexual heat is turned up high so set the oven on broil and see who cooks. Be discerning in your choice of lovers; Rushing in with an ill conceived choice turns into the date from hell. Try instead to take the slow and cautious route, at least initially. There is time to speed ahead once you have a chance to look at the condition of the road.

 

LIBRA   (SEPTEMBER 24 - OCTOBER 23)
Life centers around relationships. Libras ache for a special mate and this is the week to connect with someone very special. Could your unbridled passion overshadow your common sense? Don’t let your yearning to be in a committed relationship lead you down a primrose path to nowhere. All give and no take makes friendly Libra a schmiel.

 

SCORPIO   (OCTOBER 24 - NOVEMBER 22)
Work goes much easier this week. Even onerous tasks go more smoothly. Plan carefully. Be careful of climbing on that organizational treadmill unprepared, Scorp; You easily and unknowingly can accelerate your speed from a jaunt to a dash. Also avoid overdoing it in the exercise department. You could overwork the wrong body part and pull a muscle.

 

SAGITTARIUS   (NOVEMBER 23 - DECEMBER 22)
Archers can tap into their artistic muse or hop on the train to Party Central. But hop on carefully. Your enthusiasm and pushiness can toss you off at the next station. It would be a shame to trudge back home with your tail between your legs. However, if you approach fun things in life with a moderate outlook, who knows where your tail will wag?

 

CAPRICORN   (DECEMBER 23 - JANUARY 20)
Give more attention to your home life. Caps can plan a redecoration or renovation now when confidence and  satisfaction is high. How much can you handle at once? A minor home project could turn major. Knock down a wall and the ceiling could crash. This also goes for any latent family issues. Hold off on tete a tetes until you have carefully thought it out.

 

AQUARIUS   (JANUARY 21 - FEBRUARY 19)
Aquarians find that their words have uncontrollable power and frankness this week. This energy is so unbridled you’ll find that while you get your point across, it will be more like hitting someone with an anvil rather than your usual diplomatic feather duster. Heck, don’t be afraid to stir up some dust and be sure not to sweep anything under the rug. 

 

PISCES   (FEBRUARY 20 - MARCH 20)
Think your finances are under control? Think again Fish! You may behave like a lunatic spendthrift wreaking jolly havoc with even the best laid balance sheet. Of course with a little forethought you can win most of the time. Don’t risk more than you can comfortably afford to lose but also keep in mind that life is too short to skimp. Opportunity knocks and then it pounds.

Can’t get enough? Don't miss out -- click here to subscribe to my Cosmic World news feed. And take a look at Lichtenstein’s astrology book "HerScopes" -- it's an international sensation. Buy it and feel the vibration. (c) 2009 THE STARRY EYE, LLC., All Rights Reserved. For Entertainment Purposes Only.
----------------------

ADVERTISEMENT

Lucky Numbers for the Week of March 27, 2009

Lottery ads tell us you only need a dollar and a dream. But I think it is also helpful to have a list of lucky numbers to help spur the good fortune ... or fortunes.

So with that in mind, I decided that we could use some lucky numbers that can be used in any helpful way. I gazed into a pool of water, Nostradamus-like, and contemplated the cosmos. Then I mixed the tarot cards and allowed the spirits to guide me to the cards that represent the lucky numbers for this week. Nothing is guaranteed but who knows ....?

I choose eight numbers because 8 is the number of wealth.

Here are the lucky numbers for the week of March 27-April 2, 2009:

6, 10, 12, 34, 46, 55, 61, 66 

There are many ways to improve your luck. Check out this list of books that offer ranges of techniques and places to apply your newfound abilities: Improve Your Luck

Italian Superstitions

Italians have a lot of superstitions. (Maybe not as many as other groups but still, many).

According to the Italian Superstitions website Italyville.com here are a few:

• Never lay a loaf of bread upside down…. since bread is the body of Christ, it’s disrespectful (to leave Jesus on his head that is)
• Follow that up with never stick a knife into a loaf of bread… which obviously doesn’t include cutting it.
• Never cross arms when shaking hands in a group or toasting in a group… bad luck.
• Never toast with a glass of water.
• Always look into the other person’s eyes when toasting…. 7 years bad sex.
• The dreaded owl!  Owls are bad luck.
• The number 17…. not good.  My brother was going to get married on the 17th… my mother put a stop to that.
• I also remember that I’m not supposed to trim my nails on Thursday for some reason but I can’t remember why.
• Spilling wine at the dinner table can be easily remedied by dabbing a little of the spilled wine behind each ear.

Check and see if your favorite superstition is among these reference guides: Superstition Guides