If you’re on the raw food diet and looking for some special holiday foods, then you’ll love this post. If not, you may even still decide to try out a few recipes using raw foods. Advocates of the raw food diet believe it helps increase your energy, while also helping you lose weight and maintain healthier-looking skin.
Susan Schenck, author of The Live Food Factor, The Comprehensive Guide to the Ultimate Diet for Body, Mind, Spirit & Planet (Jan. 09), has shared some raw food recipes! Visit LiveFoodFactor.com for more info.

All recipes courtesy The Live Food Factor.
Holiday Salad

5-6 cups spinach …read more

As someone who doesn’t like crowds, I’ve never understood the appeal of Black Friday on November 27. The day after Thanksgiving deals are never good enough to lure me out of my house. In general, I do my holiday shopping online or during the week when stores aren’t crowded.
I can understand that Black Friday is a holiday tradition for many people. To some, it’s as serious or essential as hot cocoa or pretty bows on presents. However, there are a couple of reasons to re-consider that tradition this year.

First, as I know you’ve heard, there’s a flu pandemic. If you …read more

GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) is no fun. Yet, it’s one of those common ailments in life that we must try to treat for better health.
Chronic heartburn and acid regurgitation (or reflux) are two of the most well-known symptoms of GERD, but there are several other lesser-known symptoms as well. In addition, some people with GERD don’t have symptoms and may not realize they have the condition unless complications, such as Barrett’s esophagus, result.
According to the International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders, less common symptoms of GERD include: belching, difficulty or pain when swallowing, waterbrash (sudden excess of saliva), dysphagia (the …read more

I read the The Whole Food Guide to Strong Bones by Annemarie Colbin, Ph.D. at an interesting time in my life when it seems that more than ever my doctors want to push pills on me to prevent problems that may never exist anyway. (I received a complimentary copy of the book for review.)
The advice given in this book is often quite different from what you’d hear from your specialist or primary care doctor. I won’t say I agree 100% with everything Colbin says in her book, but she does present a different view than you’d normally hear in your …read more

Some women may not need to get a Pap test each year. And teens could skip the test until age 21.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) issued their newly revised, evidence-based cervical cancer screening guidelines on Friday. They’re published in the December issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

The new guidelines advise that most women under 30 years old should have a cervical screening (Pap test) once every two years rather than annually. Women age 30 and older may be re-screened once every three years provided that they’ve had three consecutive negative cervical cytology test results. According to ACOG, women …read more

There’s a new non-invasive technology to help conquer a little-known problem in breast cancer treatment, and I asked a radiation oncologist some questions to help us better understand the development.
Many breast cancer patients aren’t aware that their lumpectomy cavity — or area where the cancerous tumor was removed from — can move and change shape from day-to-day after surgery and before radiation treatment begins. Lumpectomy cavity movement makes delivering targeted radiation more difficult, possibly leading to under-treatment or to unnecessary exposure of healthy tissue to radiation.

Physicians are beginning to address the challenge of lumpectomy movement with a new FDA-cleared application …read more

You don’t have to give up carbs, but eating the right carbs can make a big difference in achieving your goals.
Registered dietitian Elizabeth Somer, M.A., R.D., author of the new book Eat Your Way To Happiness, has some tips to share below in “10 Steps for a Carb Makeover.” The tips may help you work with your carb cravings to make better food choices.
If you like the tips, you might want to check out Eat Your Way To Happiness. In the new book, Somer presents easy recipes to add to your daily routine to help energize you, elevate your mood …read more

Today marks the 34th Great American Smokeout. Visit cancer.org to learn more about all the reasons you should quit, plus a guide to quitting and planning your quit day.
For women who want to quit smoking, there’s more good news on a how to better make that commitment. Some women choose their appearance over health, continuing to smoke to avoid the weight gain that may come from the absence of nicotine. However, one new study says that need not be the case.
A new analysis of the results of several studies reveals that women who quit smoking while also receiving treatment for …read more

If you’re wondering what’s wrong with the US Preventive Services Task Force, you’re probably not alone. The task force, composed of 16 health care experts that reviewed medical data, announced earlier this week that women ages 40-49 should perhaps not bother getting a mammogram (CNN: “Task force opposes routine mammograms for women age 40-49″).
Their reasoning is essentially that it doesn’t save enough lives and causes anxiety over false positives and unnecessary biopsies. Only 15% of women in their 40s are diagnosed with breast cancer via mammograms. Isn’t that enough?

Today, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius commented on the controversy …read more

Today is Prematurity Awareness Day, and the March of Dimes just released their Premature Birth Report Card. (The entire month of November is also Prematurity Awareness Month.)
Once again this year, the US has barely passed the test. However, seven states did improve their performance over last year. Some strides that were made include: 33 states and DC reduced the percentage of women of childbearing age who smoke, while 21 states and DC reduced the percentage of uninsured women of childbearing age.
Despite the improvements, the overall grade for the US remained a “D” for the second consecutive year. No state earned …read more