October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Samantha
Adapted from Yen Ang published writings.
I have been away from Malaysia for a long time, close to 30 years. Now that I am back, it is not shocking that I am facing some culture shock. Among the things that shock me is the fact that Malaysians now are so similar to the Americans in terms of our health status and diseases pattern. This is bad news.
Take a look of our health profile as a nation: • 32% of us are overweight • 11% of us are diabetes • 53% of us have high cholesterol • 60 % of us don’t exercise • And a whopping 73% of us don’t eat enough vegetables and fruits
No wonder the two diseases that kill the most number of people in Malaysia in 2006 were heart disease and cancer.
I’m sure the nation health status was not like that some 30 years ago. How did we get into this mess?
We are eating and living more and more like the Americas: McDonald, KFC, pizza, donuts, Starbucks, lattes, and lots of time on internet, twitter, facebook and TV watching. And so we are suffering and dying like the Americans. That’s how.
But we really don’t have to. We want to learn and import the best technology from the Americans and the West, but we don’t have to eat and die like them.
One way to stop this worrisome trend is to go back to the way our grandma and grandpa lived and ate: A plant-based diet, and more physical activity. Spend more time in nature, walk in the botanical garden, look at the Penang Bridge, breathe in some fresh air, and eat less processed food.
Get out of this mess now.
Yours in wellness,
Yen Ang DrPH, RD, ACSM Lifestyle Intervention consultant Adventist Wellness Center
Happy reading
Alzheimer’s disease is a brain disorder named for German physician Alois Alzheimer, who first described it in 1906.
http://www.wellnessnrecreation.com
8 October 2009
World Sight Day is an annual day of awareness held on the second Thursday of October, to focus global attention on blindness and vision impairment. This year, it focuses on gender and eye health–equal access to care.
World Sight Day is the main advocacy event for “VISION 2020: The Right to Sight”, a global effort to prevent blindness. VISION 2020 is coordinated by WHO, the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness and public and private partners.
27 September 2009
Cardiovascular diseases are the world’s largest killers, claiming 17.5 million lives a year. Risk factors for heart disease and stroke include raised blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels, smoking, inadequate intake of fruit and vegetables, overweight, obesity and physical inactivity.
In partnership with WHO, the World Heart Federation organizes awareness events in more than 100 countries - including health checks, organized walks, runs and fitness sessions, public talks, stage shows, scientific forums, exhibitions, concerts, carnivals and sports tournaments.
28 AUGUST 2009 | GENEVA — Monitoring of outbreaks from different parts of the world provides sufficient information to make some tentative conclusions about how the influenza pandemic might evolve in the coming months.
WHO is advising countries in the northern hemisphere to prepare for a second wave of pandemic spread. Countries with tropical climates, where the pandemic virus arrived later than elsewhere, also need to prepare for an increasing number of cases.
Countries in temperate parts of the southern hemisphere should remain vigilant. As experience has shown, localized “hot spots†of increasing transmission can continue to occur even when the pandemic has peaked at the national level.
Continue reading
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/notes/h1n1_second_wave_20090828/en/index.html
Clean Up the World Weekend, 18-20 September 2009
Now celebrating its 17th year, Clean Up the World is one of the largest community-based environmental campaigns in the world. Held in conjunction with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), an estimated 35 million volunteers from more than 120 countries are now taking part annually.
Clean Up the World is a not-for-profit, non government, apolitical organisation that unites communities through a common focus: to address local environmental issues by inviting organisations to become members, assist them carry out their plans and activities and work with them to inspire volunteers to join them.
In 2009, Clean Up the World, will encourage participants around the globe to take action at a local level to address the very global issue of climate change. The 2009 tag line is: “Communities Uniting to Combat Climate Change“.
This theme reflects UNEP’s World Environment Day slogan: “Your Planet Needs You-UNite to Combat Climate Change’‘.
The issue: climate change
Although climate change can seem like a complex issue there are a wide variety of simple actions that individuals and communities can take to make a difference. Here are just a few of the possible options that Members can choose from:
Joining Clean Up the World is simple. It’s as easy as contacting our friendly team:
Learn more about the campaign:
“Sam and Esther Follow Up Story.” This is a scene from the film “The Fragrant Spirit of Life,” a San Damiano Foundation production released in 2008. We found Sam, Esther, and Jane outside the small village of Serere in eastern Uganda. They are being cared for through the amazing work of the nonprofit organization Village2Village.
Watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v7ZQUzr0yo
Related Links
http://www.village2villageproject.org
http://www.sandamianofoundation.org
Breasts represent sensitivity and nurturing, intimacy and sexuality. The power of the breast has been a focus in fashion since Edwardian times and saw the first harness-like patent in 1863. The modern day version of the bra didn’t appear on the scene until 1913 - but you can bet that women as far back as you can imagine fashioned some makeshift animal skin supportive garment when needed. But what does this seemingly innocuous garment have to do with breast cancer rates rising to affect 1 out of 7 woman today?
What’s a bra got to do with it? ………..
Pic 1. The lymphatic system of the breast.
Pic 2. Side cut of the breast.
Pic 3. Breast cancer and corresponding lymph nodes.
Continue reading http://structuralevolution.org/blog/2009/08/03/bra-breast-cancer-link/
BRAS AND BREAST CANCER by Nguyen Phawk Yu, M.D.
For years, a lot of articles with regards to the causes of breast cancer point to an unhealthy diet and lack of exercise as the major links to this disease which happens to be the biggest killer among women during these last two decades. These studies would have been almost credible if it were not for the fact that several women (including Linda McCartney) who have been religious vegetarians and exercise-freaks have also been unfortunate in suffering breast cancer. Perhaps the most convincing article I have ever read with regards to this matter, published in Chinese, is one which links breast cancer to the wearing of bras.
In the “Bra and Breast Cancer Study” in the United States, it was discovered that women with breast cancer had a history of sporting tighter and longer bra-wearing than did the women who had not (yet) developed the disease. In fact, virtually all of the cancer group wore bras over 12 hours daily with 18% even sleeping with their bras which means they wore bras 24 hours daily. In contrast, the comparison groups had 25% of the women either bra-free or wearing bras less than 12 hours daily. Only 3% of this group slept with their bras on. This study revealed a significant link between bras and breast cancer that is three times greater than the link between cigarette smoking and lung cancer!
There was a 125 fold increase in breast cancer incidence between women who were bra-free and those who wore bras 24 hours daily. Wearing a bra over 12 hours daily conferred a 113 fold increase in breast cancer incidence! Bras apply pressure to the breasts, especially to the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system consists of tiny, thin-walled vessels that drain from the breast tissue, removing toxins, cell debris, cancer cells, viruses, bacteria, and other products from the breasts. All of our tissues drain through the lymphatics, which is essentially the circulatory pathway of the immune system.
However, unlike arteries and veins, these vessels have no internal pressure. As a result, they are easily compressed by external pressure (a bra, for instance) leading to the congestion of the tissues that would otherwise have been drained.
When a woman wears a tight bra, she subjects her breasts to pressure, closing off the lymphatic pathway from the breast to the nodes. This causes fluid build-up, swelling, tenderness and cyst formation. Toxins must be flushed out via the lymphatics. However, a bra-constricted breast cannot adequately perform this cleansing process, resulting in toxin accumulation in the breast.
Truthfully, bras are creating droopy, weak breasts…the breast relies on the bra for artificial support, the body loses its ability to support the breast by itself. This is why many women feel uncomfortable without a bra. What is the solution to breast cancer then? DON’T WEAR A TIGHT BRA! And maybe sleep without them. There is a remarkable success rate for recovery from fibrocystic breast disease within 10 days to two weeks of going bra-free. Many women have tried going bra-less and recorded a miraculous improvement in their health! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thank you for your kind attention,
Nguyen Phawk Yu, M.D.
Adapted from Nguyen Phawk Yu, M.D. Articles
