7 Questions to Ask Your Doctor if you Have a Major Decline in Sex Drive

1. Could it be caused by medications I'm taking? Loss of libido is a common side effect to some prescription medications.

2. I'm angry/stressed/tired/overwhelmed — could this be part of the problem? Emotions can wreak havoc with hormone levels and the endocrine system, and that can put a damper on your desire.

3. Am I overweight? High cholesterol and insulin resistance — two common medical conditions associated with being overweight — can affect sexual performance.

4. Could I be suffering from depression? Depressed people are rarely interested in sex.

5. Could I have a hormonal problem? Imbalances of testosterone in men and estrogen in women can lower libido.

6. I experience pain during sex — enough that I don't want to have sex much anymore. What's causing it? The problem could range from the relatively easy to correct (such as not enough foreplay) to a more severe underlying condition (such as an estrogen deficiency).

7. I haven't been able to achieve an orgasm in a while. What's happening to me? The problem could be related to medication you're taking, or it could be a harder-to-pinpoint psychological issue. Either way, your doctor will be able to help.

The Best Window Cleaner

A little dab of this and that from your kitchen cupboard will provide you with the best window cleaner!

SIMPLE SOLUTION:
Around Earth Day 1990, every newspaper in the country (or so it seemed) offered recipes for nontoxic cleaning with the basics we all have in our kitchen cupboards, and the recipe for windows was invariably just plain vinegar and water with the option of drying the windows with old newspapers.

People by the thousands tried this and swore off cleaning with homemade recipes for good because the formula left streaks on their windows.

Unfortunately, the commercial products they had used for so many years had left a wax buildup and vinegar alone wouldn’t do the job of removing the residue. Adding dab of dish soap to the vinegar and water would have removed the buildup.

THE BEST WINDOW CLEANER
Make a great all-purpose window cleaner by combining 1/4 cup vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon liquid soap or detergent, and 2 cups of water in a spray bottle. Combine in a spray bottle. Shake to blend.

10 simple ways to strengthen digestion

In Ayurveda, the body is seen as a single integrated system in which all the parts work in tandem to create balance and health. The body's ability to heal itself is its most significant quality, with healing defined as the process of the body returning to its natural functions. According to Ayurveda, the smooth operation of these functions forms the pillars of good health: effortless menstruation, regular elimination, restful sleep, and strong digestion.

Digestion plays a crucial role in healing, because our physiology depends on digestion for constant renewal. A holistic interpretation of digestion is to see it as the means of extracting intelligence from food and then processing it in a way that supports the inherent wisdom of the body as a whole.

Try these Ayurvedic tips to help ensure that your digestion is comfortable and efficient.

1. Eat in a settled and quiet atmosphere.
Try to set everything else aside at mealtimes to allow your body to concentrate on eating and digesting. When you put your attention solely on your meal, you are able to savor all the flavors with discernment.

2. Take a few minutes to rest quietly after your meal.
When you are finished eating, relaxing kick-starts the digestive process in an effortless way. A sense of calm before, during, and after mealtimes can be a major benefit to digestion and general health.

3. Always sit down to eat.
Sitting down relaxes the digestive tract, focuses awareness on the act of eating, and enhances your enjoyment of food.

4. Don't eat when you're upset.
Eating when you are emotionally unsettled can trigger gastrointestinal discomfort. If you're upset at mealtimes, postpone eating until you feel more composed.

5. Avoid overeating.
Ayurveda suggests we eat only to about three-fourths of our actual capacity. Eating beyond this point doesn't allow the stomach to function properly.

6. Avoid cold foods and iced drinks.
Cold foods and drinks put out the digestive fire, inhibit our digestive enzymes, and numb our taste buds.

7. Don't talk while chewing your food.
The acts of chewing and swallowing are what really allows us to deeply extract the flavor of our food. Talking while there is food in your mouth distracts you from what you are tasting.

8. Eat at a moderate pace.
This means eating neither too quickly nor too slowly. Getting into the habit of putting your fork or spoon down between bites helps set a steady pace.

9. Don't eat until your previous meal has been digested.
Eating only when your stomach is calling for more requires a high level of body consciousness. For most people, complete digestion takes from three to six hours. If you have to snack, keep it simple -- a piece of fruit or a warm beverage.

10. Favor meals made with freshly cooked foods.
Fresh foods are intelligent foods and contain the greatest life force. A delicious, freshly prepared meal stimulates the appetite and gets the secretion of digestive enzymes going even before you start to eat.

Food colourings

Wow- so it's not just my imagination that when my children eat foods processed with artificial colors, they behave differently. A British group of investigators performed a randomized blinded trial among 153 3 year-olds and 144 8 to 9 year-olds. Kids were randomly assigned to receive a beverage containing sodium benzoate and one of two 'mixes' of artificial food color and additives, or a placebo drink. They found the kids exposed to these food additives were more likely to be hyperactive.

The amount of artificial coloring and sodium benzoate given to these children is equivalent to what you might find in 4 ounces of candy, for example.

PREVIOUS RESEARCH

A previous study by the same senior investigator in 2005 found similar findings- in that study that added and removed these offending agents and found differences in behavior within the same individual. A study by a group of different investigators looked at this issue back in 1994 and found kids suspected of hyperactivity had dramatic improvements in behavior with removal of artificial colors and then found a dose-response relationship between consumption of tartrazine and irritability, restlessness, and poor sleep. Tartrazine is derived from coal tar and found in a wide range of foods such as yoghurt, chips, instant puddings, soft drinks and many more.

WHICH PRODUCTS CONTAIN SODIUM BENZOATE AND ARTIFICIAL COLORINGS?

Sodium Benzoate is a preservative found in fruit juice, preserves, carbonated drinks, and pickles. In addition to causing behavioral problems in children, when combined with ascorbic acid it forms benzene, a known cancer-causing compound. Despite FDA urging, companies continued using this compound in products containing ascorbic acid and therefore in 2006 a lawsuit was filed and Coca-cola, PepsiCo, and other soft-drink companies were forced to reformualte their beverages.

Artificial coloring is found in processed foods that usually have little nutritional value. The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) provides a terrific Table on Food Additives. They describe artificial colorings as "synthetic chemicals that do not occur in nature. Because colorings are used almost solely in foods of low nutritional value (candy, soda pop, gelatin desserts, etc.), you should simply avoid all artificially colored foods. In addition to problems mentioned below, colorings cause hyperactivity in some sensitive children. The use of coloring usually indicates that fruit or other natural ingredient has not been used."

Here is a summary of the CSPI findings and recommendations:

Avoid

• Blue 1- Beverages, candy, baked goods; Inadequately tested; suggestions of a small cancer risk
• Blue 2 - Pet food, beverages, candy; the largest study suggested, but did not prove, that this dye caused brain tumors in male mice. The FDA concluded that there is "reasonable certainty of no harm."
• Green 3- Candy, beverages; a 1981 industry-sponsored study gave hints of bladder cancer, but FDA re-analyzed the data using other statistical tests and concluded that the dye was safe.
• Red 3- Cherries in fruit cocktail, candy, baked goods; The evidence that this dye caused thyroid tumors in rats is "convincing," according to a 1983 review committee report requested by FDA. FDA's recommendation that the dye be banned was overruled by pressure from elsewhere in the Reagan Administration.
• Yellow 6- Beverages, sausage, baked goods, candy, gelatin; industry-sponsored animal tests indicated that this dye, the third most widely used, causes tumors of the adrenal gland and kidney. In addition, small amounts of several carcinogens contaminate Yellow 6. However, the FDA reviewed those data and found reasons to conclude that Yellow 6 does not pose a significant cancer risk to humans. Yellow 6 may also cause occasional allergic reactions.

Try to Avoid

• Citrus Red 2- Skin of some Florida oranges only; studies indicated that this additive causes cancer. The dye does not seep through the orange skin into the pulp. No risk except when eating peel.
• Red 40- Soda pop, candy, gelatin desserts, pastry, pet food, sausage; The most widely used food dye. While this is one of the most-tested food dyes, the key mouse tests were flawed and inconclusive. An FDA review committee acknowledged problems, but said evidence of harm was not "consistent" or "substantial." Like other dyes, Red 40 is used mainly in junk foods.
• Yellow 5 -Gelatin dessert, candy, pet food, baked goods; the second most widely used coloring causes mild allergic reactions, primarily in aspirin-sensitive persons.

EXPERT COMMENTARY ON THE RECENT STUDY

Dr. Howard Bauchner, the Associate Editor for General Medicine Journal Watch, had this to say:

"These results will likely fuel parental concern that food additives, such as tartrazine, sunset yellow, and allura red, either cause or increase behaviors consistent with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The study lends credence to such concerns although it certainly doesn't tell us whether food additives are a major contributor to ADHD. A more meticulous study is unlikely."

WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT IT?

• Avoid 'junk food' which is virtually guaranteed to contain these food additives.
• Read my post on 'Learning to Read Food Labels' to better understand how to find healthier foods for you and your family, in general.
• See the Food Additive Table to learn more about Food Additives.

Breast cancer prevention: Lifestyle choices and more

Can healthy eating and regular exercise really contribute to breast cancer prevention? So far, the evidence says yes. What's more, if you combine these risk-reducing habits with limiting your exposure to substances that promote the disease, you'll benefit even more.

When it comes to breast cancer prevention, the risks you can't control - such as your age and genetic makeup - may loom large. But there are some breast cancer prevention steps you can always take on your own. Although these measures provide no guarantee that you won't develop the disease, they'll give you a start toward breast cancer prevention.

Diet and exercise as breast cancer prevention strategies

Among the easiest things to control are what you eat and drink and how active you are. Here are some strategies that may help you decrease your risk of breast cancer:

• Limit alcohol. A strong link exists between alcohol consumption and breast cancer. The type of alcohol consumed - wine, beer or mixed drinks - seems to make no difference. To help protect against breast cancer, limit alcohol to less than one drink a day or avoid alcohol completely.
• Maintain a healthy weight. There's a clear link between obesity - weighing more than is appropriate for your age and height - and breast cancer. This is especially true if you gain the weight later in life, particularly after menopause. Excess fatty tissue is a source of circulating estrogen in your body. And breast cancer risk is linked to how much estrogen you're exposed to during your lifetime.
• Stay physically active. Regular exercise can help you maintain a healthy weight and, as a consequence, may aid in lowering your risk of breast cancer. Aim for at least 30 minutes of exercise on most days of the week. If you haven't been particularly active in the past, start your exercise program slowly and gradually work up to a greater intensity. Try to include weight-bearing exercises such as walking, jogging or aerobics. These have the added benefit of keeping your bones strong.
• Consider limiting fat in your diet. Results from the most definitive study of dietary fat and breast cancer risk to date suggest a slight decrease in risk of invasive breast cancer for women who eat a low-fat diet. But the effect is modest at best. However, by reducing the amount of fat in your diet, you may decrease your risk of other diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and stroke. And a low-fat diet may protect against breast cancer in another way if it helps you maintain a healthy weight - another factor in breast cancer risk. For a protective benefit, limit fat intake to less than 35 percent of your daily calories and restrict foods high in saturated fat.

Hormone therapy: Long-term use may undermine breast cancer prevention

Talk with your doctor about discontinuing long-term hormone therapy. Study results from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) raised concerns about the use of hormone therapy for symptoms of menopause. Among other problems, long-term treatment with estrogen-progestin combinations, such as those found in the drug Prempro, increased the risk of breast cancer in women who participated in the trial.

The WHI investigators also reported that women who developed breast cancer while in the study and who were taking hormone therapy had more aggressive and larger tumors. And the women in the study taking hormone therapy were also found to have more abnormal mammograms - requiring additional imaging methods, such as ultrasound - due to the hormones' effects on breast tissue density.

If you're taking hormone therapy for menopausal symptoms, ask your doctor about your options. You may be able to manage your menopausal symptoms with exercise, dietary changes or nonhormonal therapies that have been shown to provide some relief. If none of these is effective, you may decide that the benefits of short-term hormone therapy outweigh the risks. In that case, your doctor will likely encourage you to use the lowest dose of hormone therapy for the shortest period of time.

Birth control pills and breast cancer prevention: No easy answers

There's no evidence of an across-the-board link between birth control pill use and breast cancer risk. Analysis of combined data from many older studies suggests a slight increase in risk of premenopausal breast cancer. The pills used in these studies, however, include preparations that contained higher estrogen doses than what is available in preparations prescribed today. The analysis of these older oral contraceptives also showed that women who took the pill for four or more years before their first full-term pregnancy had a larger increase in premenopausal breast cancer risk. Still, experts analyzing all the risk data estimate that birth control pill use causes, at most, 4.7 out of 10,000 cases of premenopausal breast cancer.

Pesticides and antibiotics: Be cautious

Breast cancer incidence may be linked to both pesticide exposure and overuse of antibiotics. But research isn't conclusive. Until further studies are conducted and more is known about these possible links, be aware of how these substances might counterbalance your efforts at breast cancer prevention.

• Exposure to pesticides. The molecular structure of some pesticides closely resembles that of estrogen. This means they may attach to estrogen receptor sites in your body. Although studies haven't found a definite link between most pesticides and breast cancer, researchers have learned that women with elevated levels of pesticides in their breast tissue have a greater breast cancer risk.
• Unnecessary antibiotics. Scientists recently found a link between antibiotic use and breast cancer - the longer antibiotics were used, the greater the risk of breast cancer. Researchers caution, however, that other factors, such as underlying illness or a weakened immune system, rather than antibiotics themselves, may account for the elevated cancer risk.

New directions in research

Scientists are continually making new discoveries that may impact breast cancer prevention. Among the most promising agents are retinoids and flaxseed.

• Retinoids. Natural or synthetic forms of vitamin A (retinoids) may have the ability to destroy or inhibit the growth of cancer cells. Unlike other experimental therapies, retinoids may be effective in premenopausal women and in those whose tumors aren't estrogen-positive. Research is ongoing.
• Flaxseed. Phytoestrogens are naturally occurring compounds that lower circulating estrogens in your body. Flaxseed is particularly high in one phytoestrogen, lignan, which appears to decrease estrogen production and which may inhibit the growth of some breast cancers.

Do what you can

In addition to lifestyle changes, be vigilant about early detection of breast cancer. Start having yearly mammograms at age 40. If you notice any breast changes, such as a new lump or skin changes, make an appointment to see your doctor for evaluation.

Nothing you do can guarantee your life will be cancer-free. But if you practice healthy habits and consult your doctor about extra measures you can take, you may at least reduce your risk of this potentially fatal disease.

Setting Goals for Weight Loss

One question I get frequently is what are realistic weight loss goals for overweight and obese individuals? I think that setting weight loss goals requires a balance between being realistic on one hand and not discouraging people from working hard to achieve weight loss on the other hand. In our weight management program we tell people that the active weight loss period is six months. At the end of 6 months, they need shift their focus to keeping off the weight loss they have achieved. We discuss the fact that the higher their weight loss goal, the more permanent behavior change will be needed to achieve and maintain their goal weight.

For most people, we recommend setting an initial weight loss goal of 10% of beginning weight. If people achieve this, they should celebrate success and can go on to a second higher goal This is realistic, since most people will likely not achieve more than 10% weight loss in 6 months. It also does not discourage those few individuals who can achieve greater weight loss. Keep in mind that the very best weight management programs achieve an average weight loss of 7-10% over 6 months. Achieving a 10% wieght loss can dramatically improve health and quality of life for most people. We also tell people that if they find they can sustain a lifestyle that allows them to keep off the weight they lose, they can go back through another weight loss period and lose more weight. It is very important that they realize this will require even more behavior change. At the end of the day, we try to help people achieve a weight that they are comfortable with and a lifestyle that they can sustain permanently. Many people reach a point where they would like to lose more weight but do not feel that they can change their lifestyle any further. I believe that most people can achieve an acceptable weight, even if it is not their dream weight.

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