I’ve been having annual mammograms since I was 40 and I’m now 58 – that’s a lot of radiation!  And now I’ve had radiation for thyroid cancer.  Who knew that was gonna happen?  So you can understand why I’m good with NOT having annual mammograms anymore.  But what’s the alternative? Studies show that a breast thermogram identifies precancerous or cancerous cells earlier BEFORE THE FORMATION OF A TUMOR, produces clearer results, and doesn’t hurt the body.  Even pregnant and nursing women can have thermography and it’s a good choice for (more…)

Divorce is now filed by three times more women over 40 than it was in the early 90’s, with women in 30 or 40-year marriages citing self-fulfillment and lack of connection as the reason they’re ending their marriages.  Think Tipper and Al Gore, who exemplify this “we just grew apart” trend in which infidelity is seldom a factor.  “I have 25 or 30 more years, I want to enjoy them,” is the thinking of these robust, financially independent women.  But if you’re going to be dating again, please, please read the article  by Susan Brown on Oprah.com,  “A Warning For Women.”   An attractive, successful grandma, Susan dated an equally attractive Frenchman named Philippe Padieu – and later found out he was dating nine other women at the same time!  She and five other women contracted HIV/AIDS from him, took him to court, and put him away for 45 years.  Here’s her advice: “Nice-looking, polite gentlemen can indeed carry deadly diseases and nice, old grandmas can get them…Bring your own condom…Insist on using the condom (more…)

There’s a lot of chatter online about the soup diet because it does work!  The liquid and vegetables create stomach-filling volume and the can is automatic portion control – but only if you realize that most cans are 2 servings.  Two of the online favorites are Progresso’s Light Zesty Santa Fe Style Chicken (80 cals/12 carb/2 fiber/460 sodium) and High Fiber Chicken Tuscany (130/20/7/690) and – let’s be honest – most of us eat the whole can, maybe pouring off some broth to cut down on salt.  I also liked Progresso’s Chunky Tomato Reduced Sodium (100/17/3/480), though I did kinda miss that grilled cheese sandwich my mom used to give me with tomato soup.  My favorite soup was Annie Chun’s Udon Soup Bowl (110/22/1/460) in it’s own bowl made of cornstarch, with other flavors available like (more…)

Vitamin D has been touted as the new wonder pill for everything from osteoporosis to cancer prevention to dementia! If you live up north, it’s safe to say you should be taking at least 1,000 IU/day when you shun the sun.  Next time you have blood work, have your D level tested.  Riding shotgun with D3 and magnesium should be K2, the hot new player on the bone-building front. Vitamin D3 helps us absorb calcium and K2 makes sure that the calcium gets bound to our bones.  That’s important because we don’t want the calcium showing up in our blood vessels or our heart – add these co-factors and some fish oil to send the calcium to the bones.  Bone Solid, a unique calcium/C/D/K blend by Country Life, is on the leading edge or add Nutrilite’s 2000 IU “D3 plus K2” to your existing calcium supplement.  People on blood-thinning meds should not take Vitamin K2. Ladies, the long-term on the biophosphinate bone meds is showing some brittle bones susceptible to fracture, so get your calcium co-factors together instead!

Bad news fellow carb lovers – studies suggest that too many grain foods lead to bone and muscle loss by creating an acid load in the body.  Kidney function declines as we age, so the body can’t easily handle the extra acid load created by bread, rice, and, sadly, rolled oats.  Fruits and vegetables neutralize the high-acid foods, especially raisins, apricots, bananas, kiwi fruit, spinach and zucchini, so be sure and throw some raisins in your oatmeal and jack up the produce consumption.  Lean protein like chicken, turkey, and cottage cheese have other benefits but are also high in acid, so don’t go crazy with those either.  Bottom line for bones = fruits, vegetables & most beans, not grains and proteins.  Researchers are studying the use of potassium bicarbonate to alkalinize the body and results have been good in bone turnover and muscle retention.  Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) has too much calcium-leaching salt for most over-50’s to use for this purpose.