Women's Life Link Be Well, Be Happy, Be YOU!
To Do Or Not To Do
Many women have been alarmed by the recent recommendations for breast cancer screening. It’s not surprising that those who have already been getting annual mammograms or are approaching the age of forty are confused about what they should do. I know because I’m one of them. I’ve had one mammogram (my baseline at age 40) and then I got pregnant. Because I’m still nursing my youngest, I haven’t had another one. I will be forty-four this year and am a little unsure about my own take on the new deal.
As substantial reports and articles have come out supporting both sides of the fence (mammo or no mammo), we at least have ample opportunity to make an educated choice for ourselves. However, if insurance companies jump on the band wagon for the delay to get the screening, we have a major problem. Consider how many women ages 40-50 will not receive the test simply because they won’t or can’t pay the bill. This might not be such a bad thing if it weren’t for the fact that mammography is the best tool we have for detecting early breast cancer and has contributed to a decline in BC deaths since 1990.
The good news is that there are up-and-coming technologies that will ensure that few, if any, women will go through overdiagnosis and unnecessary procedures and stress (one of the factors driving the new recommendations). With BRCA testing at the forefront of determining who is at high risk for the disease, the sorting process should get easier and more efficient in the future.
As far as the most controversial part of all this, the “no mammo” for ladies between 40 and 50 who are at low to moderate risk, it’s a tough call, especially if you know someone who had or died from BC at a young age. Understand that it is your choice, not the committee’s, not the doctor’s, and certainly not the insurance company’s. If money is an issue, there are organizations that can help with the cost. The best thing any of us can do is live as healthfully as we can and be informed about your risks.
What About That Vitamin D?
We’ve all shopped for and purchased vitamin and mineral supplements at one time or another. Hopefully, you are doing it more often than not. However, the fact that we take supplements doesn’t mean that we are necessarily getting what we need. Let me explain. Research is surfacing, and making an impact, that says that dosage recommendations for some vitamins (primarily D) have not been at optimal levels. Health gurus like Dr. Mercola have been preaching this message loudly from whatever platforms they have.
Among the latest news releases on Mercola.com is “The British Medical Journal has published a remarkable paper confirming that low vitamin D levels obtained in the past are a risk factor for developing colon cancer in the future.” Not only that, but that anyone with the intake of as little as 3,000 IUs daily of vitamin A will actually negate the benefits of vitamin D they do get.
If you keep up with the Mercola site, other health journals, or have read any of my articles on Vitamin D, you know that the FDAs recommended daily allowance of 400 IUs is not even close to what experts are now saying that we need. Additionally, we need to be aware of the ratio between A and D to ensure that we are not opposing the benefits of D. According to Dr. Mercola’s site, “Dr. Cannell has stated in earlier writings on this topic, the ideal way to obtain the proper vitamin A to D ratio is to obtain it the way your body was designed to obtain it:
•Vitamin A through your diet, in the form of colorful vegetables
•Vitamin D through daily sun exposure on your skin”
For more info on this important finding, visit Mercola.com or the Vitamin D Council.
Chiropractic Care: Can It Be Gentle?
Yes! If you think you have to undergo the popping and cracking from hell to benefit from chiropractic care, you have been misinformed. I have received chiropractic treatment for well over fifteen years now and have never been harmed or shocked by any manipulation or procedure the doctor does. In fact, I can easily say that it has helped me obtain higher levels of health that I would not have been able to otherwise.
More recently (within the past year) I have discoved a chiropractor who uses a technique that is truly amazing in its ability to work gently and efficiently. Never in the history of chiropractic has there been the level of help and expertise that exists in these “state of the art” techniques. The methods are even safer, more comfortable and more effective than ever before.
Dr. Heidi Kline from the Chiropractic and Wellness Center here in Indianapolis has mastered this therapy. Using a tool called the activator, she is able to adjust only what needs to be instead of the cookie-cutter manipulations that some chiropractors use.
I’ve been lucky to have had great doctors who don’t do this. Dr’s Killingbeck and Tuckey, Linwood Chiropractic, are also two that I’ve had the pleasure of working with in the past. Though their approach is different than Dr. Kline’s, they still apply therapy according to the individuals needs and do it with extreme care. So, if you’ve been wondering whether it could work for you, I say do your research and ask a lot of questions before you get any adjustments done.
Be mindful of any decisions you make concerning your health and wellness. After all, we can and should be our own advocates for what is right for us. Your questions and comments are always welcome here. Be well-be beautiful.
***The content of this article is strictly informational and is not meant to replace the advice of your health care provider. Women’s Life Link, its authors, associates, linked sites, and commentators do not claim that any of the content will diagnose or lead to a cure or improvement of any disease or condition.
Chiropractic treatment method fully a natural treatment method the reality is there are no side effect of this method. As I found in my long experience chiropractic treatment method is really powerful to solve the problems with nervous system. I think this is only one viable treatment method which can solve an nervous problems permanently.
So if we are to get vitamin D from the sun how do we do this when more than half the skin care products on the market, including makeup, now have spf in them?
I’ve thought for years it was unhealthy to completely avoid the sun. It’s illogical to think, whether you believe we evolved or were created, that we live in an environment where something that surrounds us each and every day in nature is completely bad for us. That they are now saying we need even more vitamin D might be because more and more people are using products, and lifestyles, that block the sun.
I totally agree with what you are saying. You can still apply sunscreen to your face for protection but allow yourself 15-20 minutes exposure to other bare skin, legs, arms, chest. Unless you are intentionally avoiding the sun altogether, you are probably getting in your time. Just driving with your arm out the window usually does the trick. Winter is trickier though. We really have to make ourselves get out in the sun when it’s cold out.