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Sometimes the strongest cravings for food happen when you’re at your weakest point emotionally. You may turn to food for comfort consciously or unconsciously when you’re facing a difficult problem, stress or just looking to keep yourself occupied.

But emotional eating can sabotage your weight-loss efforts. Emotional eating often leads to eating too much, especially too much of high-calorie, sweet, fatty foods. But the good news is that if you’re prone to emotional eating, you can take steps to regain control of your eating habits and get back on track with your weight-loss goals.

The connection between mood, food and weight loss.

Emotional eating is eating as a way to suppress or soothe negative emotions, such as stress, anger, fear, boredom, sadness and loneliness. Both major life events and the hassles of daily life can trigger negative emotions that lead to emotional eating and disrupt your weight-loss efforts. These triggers may include:

• Unemployment
• Financial pressure
• Health problems
• Relationship conflicts
• Work stress
• Bad weather
• Fatigue

Continue reading ‘Weight-loss help: Gain control of emotional eating.’ »

Are you the parent of a student athlete? If you are, your life is probably as hectic as your child’s. But in your daily rounds of carpools, practices and games, have you taken the time to talk to your child about the dangers of performance-enhancing drugs? Pro athletes and Olympians aren’t the only ones lured by the promise of a shortcut to increased strength and stamina. Kids in high school and middle school are using these products, too. And your child could be among them.

What are performance-enhancing drugs and supplements?

Performance-enhancing drugs and supplements are used to boost athletic performance, ward off fatigue and enhance physical appearance. They’re also taken to increase muscle mass and strength. But they can cause serious harm. Here’s a look at some of the substances your son or daughter might be using.

• Creatine. Creatine is a naturally occurring compound in the body that is also sold as an over-the-counter supplement. It’s primarily used to enhance recovery after a workout and increase muscle mass and strength. Creatine is popular with athletes who participate in sports in which short bursts of power are required. Examples include football, gymnastics, hockey and wrestling. Side effects include weight gain, nausea and muscle cramps. High doses of creatine have the potential to harm the kidneys.
• Anabolic steroids. Anabolic steroids are synthetic versions of testosterone. They build muscle and increase strength, and are particularly popular with bodybuilders and football players. Anabolic steroids can halt bone growth and result in a permanently short stature, so they’re particularly dangerous for still-growing adolescents. Steroids can also damage the heart and liver.
• Steroid precursors. Steroid precursors, such as androstenedione (”andro”) and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), are substances that the body converts into anabolic steroids. They are used to increase muscle mass.

The Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004 made most steroid precursors illegal without a prescription. DHEA is the only one that is still available in over-the-counter preparations. Side effects of steroid precursors are similar to those for steroids.

Continue reading ‘Performance-enhancing drugs and your teen athlete.’ »

Sex education is offered in many schools, but don’t count on classroom instruction alone. Sex education needs to happen at home, too. Here’s help talking to your teen about sex.

Sex education basics may be covered in health class, but your teen might not hear or understand everything he or she needs to know to make tough choices about sex. That’s where you come in. Awkward as it may be, sex education is a parent’s responsibility. By reinforcing and supplementing what your teen learns in school, you can set the stage for a lifetime of healthy sexuality.

Breaking the ice.

Sex is a staple of news, entertainment and advertising. It’s often hard to avoid this ever-present topic. But when parents and teens need to talk, it’s not always so easy. If you wait for the perfect moment, you might miss the best opportunities. Instead, think of sex education as an ongoing conversation. Here are some ideas to help you get started and keep the discussion going.

• Seize the moment. When a TV program or music video raises issues about responsible sexual behavior, use it as a springboard for discussion. Remember that everyday moments such as riding in the car or putting away groceries sometimes offer the best opportunities to talk.
• Be honest.

If you’re uncomfortable, say so but explain that it’s important to keep talking. If you don’t know how to answer your teen’s questions, offer to find the answers or look them up together.

Continue reading ‘Tween and teen health: – when and how to deal with sex education.’ »

Centers for Disease Control predicts that diabetes will double by year 2025. By mere extrapolation it therefore stands to reason that diagnosis of Pancreatic cancer will also increase, albeit not by the same ratio. The incidence of cancer of the pancreas is far less funded when compared to other cancers such as breast, prostate, lung and colon just to name some of the more common ones.

What Is Pancreatic Cancer?

The pancreas is a gland organ that is located in the abdomen. It is part of the digestive system and produces important enzymes and hormones that help break down foods. The pancreas has an endocrine function because it releases juices directly into the bloodstream, and it has an exocrine function because it releases juices into ducts.

Enzymes, or digestive juices, produced by the pancreas are secreted into the small intestine to further break down food after it has left the stomach. The gland also produces the hormone insulin and secretes it into the bloodstream in order to regulate the body’s glucose or sugar level.

What Causes Pancreatic Cancer?

Cancer is ultimately the result of cells that uncontrollably grow and do not die. Normal cells in the body follow an orderly path of growth, division, and death. Programmed cell death is called apoptosis, and when this process breaks down, cancer results. Pancreatic cancer cells do not experience programmatic death, but instead continue to grow and divide. Although scientists do not know exactly what causes these cells to behave this way, they have identified several potential risk factors.

Genes – the DNA type.

Cells can experience uncontrolled growth if there is damage or mutations in the DNA, and therefore, damage to the genes involved in cell division.
Four key types of genes are responsible for the cell division process:

• Oncogenes tell cells when to divide.
• Tumor suppressor genes tell cells when not to divide.
• Suicide genes control apoptosis and tell cells to kill themselves if something goes wrong.
• DNA-repair genes instruct cells to repair damaged DNA.

Cancer occurs when a cell’s gene mutations make the cell unable to correct DNA damage and unable to commit suicide. Similarly, cancer is a result of mutations that inhibit oncogene and tumor suppressor gene functions, leading to uncontrollable cell growth.

• If you have DNA mutations of tumor suppressor genes that lead to pancreatic cancer, it is likely that the mutation was a result of factors that affected DNA after you were born rather than a result of inheritance from parents.

Genes – The Family Type.

Cancer can be the result of a genetic predisposition that is inherited from family members. It is possible to be born with certain genetic mutations or a fault in a gene that makes one statistically more likely to develop cancer later in life. However only about 10% of pancreatic cancers are though to be caused by inherited gene mutations. Genetic syndromes that are associated with pancreatic cancer include hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome, melanoma, pancreatitis, and non-polyposis colorectal cancer (Lynch syndrome).

Traits, Habits, And DIET

Pancreatic cancers are more likely to exist in men than in women, and among African-Americans than among whites. Smoking cigarettes increases one’s risk of pancreatic cancer by a factor of 2 or 3. Even smokeless tobacco has been noted as a risk factor.

Diet and obesity have also been linked to cancers of the pancreas. People who do not exercise much and who are obese are more likely to develop pancreatic cancer. In addition, those who eat diets low in vegetables and fruits and high in red meat and fat are more likely to be diagnosed with the disease. Alcohol consumption is also considered a risk factor for pancreatic cancer. Long term, heavy drinking leads to chronic pancreatitis, which is a known risk factor for pancreatic cancer.

What Are The Symptoms Of Pancreatic Cancer?

• Pain in the upper abdomen from the tumor pushing against nerves.
• A painless yellowing of the skin and eyes and darkening of the urine called jaundice, created when the cancer interferes with the bile duct and the liver.
• Loss of appetite, nausea, and vomiting.
• Significant weight loss and weakness.
• Pale or grey stool and steatorrhea (excess fat in stool).

These symptoms of pancreatic cancer have numerous other causes, making it difficult to diagnose the disease before it is in an advanced stage.

Cancers of the pancreas are also associated with Trousseau’s sign – spontaneous blood clots formed in the portal blood vessels, deep veins of the arms and legs, or other superficial veins. Clinical depression is another symptom that is sometimes reported before the cancer is diagnosed.

If the cancer spreads, or metastasizes, additional symptoms can present themselves in the newly affected area. Symptoms of metastasis ultimately depend on the location to which the cancer has spread.

Islet cell or neuroendocrine cancers of the pancreas may cause the organ to produce too much insulin or hormones. This may lead to weak or dizzy feelings, chills, muscle spasms, or diarrhea.

In this video “Faces of Hope” shows a new opportunity to stay above the wave and to fight pancreatic cancer.

PLEASE click on the play arrow.