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We know that the food we choose to put into our body can have a huge affect on our health and quality of life, but many of us still choose to eat unhealthy foods.  Let’s face it, the unhealthy stuff tastes really good, and we don’t usually have cravings for healthy food.  That’s exactly why obesity is such a large problem for both adults and children in our country…But is dieting the answer?  I don’t think so.  As we all know, dieting can often lead to a roller coaster of weight loss and weight gain, that leaves many weighing more in the long run.

So if dieting isn’t the answer…What is?

Well, I don’t think there is just one answer to this question.  There are a million reasons why people become overweight, and once overweight, weight loss can be very difficult.  That’s why focusing on a healthy eating lifestyle needs to be more important than actual dieting and weight loss.

The thing is – Your overall health is not determined simply by the numbers on a scale or where you fall on a BMI chart.  It’s much more complicated than that.  Obviously, these things are important guidelines, but they are certainly not the holy grail of good health.

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I was honored to be asked to attend the Avon Foundation’s Breast Cancer Forum earlier this week in San Francisco.  And I have so much to share with everyone about all that I learned there.  I decided to do that in a series of posts rather than just one big one.

Here is some of what I’ll be sharing over the next several days…

-  Video interviews with Dr. Laura Esserman on new mammogram recommendations.

-  Video reactions of attendees to Dr. Esserman’s discussion on new mammogram recommendations.

-  Advances in Imaging Technologies to help improve early detection and diagnosis of breast cancer.

-  Is fear of unnecessary biopsies having an impact on early breast cancer detection?

-  Results of survey on the early impact of the new breast cancer screening guidelines.

-  The latest research on Inflammatory Breast Cancer…Signs and symptoms for early diagnosis, new treatment recommendations, understanding why this type of breast cancer can be so deadly.

-  Reaching the medically under-served, uninsured, and under-insured.

-  Nutrition and physical activity in breast cancer.

-  Most effective ways to explain risk factors in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment.

As I post on these topics, I will also include links to them on this post.

For most of us food is more than just the nourishment needed for our survival, it’s also an emotional roller coaster (with many ups and downs).  One slice of chocolate cake can take us from desire, to exhilaration, to satisfaction, and often land us right into guilt.  Which is exactly why they call it a guilty pleasure.  But should we really feel guilty for eating something simply for the pleasure of it?  Of course not.  So why do we?

I’ll be the first person to admit that sometimes it’s easy to get sucked into that (post indulging) guilt.  But the truth is, the guilt can actually be the catalyst that spirals us into more emotional eating and even more guilt.  The remedy is to not allow yourself to fall victim to overeating guilt from the start.

When you make a mistake, treat yourself with kindness.

As with everything in life, we need to embrace our imperfections.  And regardless of how committed we are to a particular diet or healthy eating program, we always have to leave room for occasional guilty pleasures.  Try to focus on the “pleasure” part a guilty pleasures.  If you’re going to over indulge, at least enjoy every moment and savor every bite of your indulgence.

Here are some tips to help you avoid overeating and the guilt that often follows…

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By now most of us have heard that there are many health benefits to red wine and dark chocolate.  But what is it about these two (seemingly not so healthy) foods that make them good for us?  And…Is it possible to get too much of a good thing?

In this post we’ll take a look at these two foods and their surprising health benefits.

Let’s start with my personal favorite – dark chocolate.

Today you can buy just about every type of chocolate candy (from M&Ms to Kit-Kats) in dark chocolate.  But, it’s not just any chocolate that’s good for you…It must be dark chocolate with a high percentage (70%) of cocoa, to get more of the health-enhancing antioxidants.

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Would you like a little dog food and ammonia with your burger?   [cross-posted to BlogHer Health & Wellness]

Question. Would you eat dog food?

No?

What if it was mixed in with your hamburger meat? Would you eat it then?

What if I told you it wasn’t your choice? What if it was already in the burgers you are eating?

Don’t shoot the messenger. Anyway, it’s not like they are just putting dog food into your burger, they are adding ammonia first to kill off the E. coli. Well that’s a relief. And if the USDA says it’s safe, it shouldn’t matter whether you know about it or not. Right?

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Would you be willing to make changes in your lifestyle to reduce your chances of heart disease?  — cross-posted to BlogHer Health & Wellness

February is National Heart Health Month…During this month we try to bring awareness to the symptoms and prevention of heart disease.  Although many forms of heart disease are preventable, it continues to be the leading cause of death in women.   According to the American Heart Association, each year nearly half a million women die of heart disease.

The biggest factors that contribute to heart disease are smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, family history and age.  Even though you can’t do much about your family history or your age, you can make lifestyle changes to avoid many of the other risk factors. Here is a list of what doctors recommend:

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Earlier this week I was part of a conference call with Carnie Wilson, who was recently featured on the Dr. Oz Show to talk about her food and alcohol addiction.

Carnie Wilson has always struggled with her weight.  She even had gastric bypass surgery in 1999.  Then after going through two pregnancies, and gaining 50 pounds each time, she found herself battling the extra weight all over again.

Carnie told us that the show was “very dramatic,” and “the fact that he had labeled me morbidly obese really shocked me.” But, she also says, “Dr. Oz was one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met.”   Carnie was confused when Dr. Oz told her that she was pre-diabetic – “I was actually in shock because I just had blood work done.  All that blood work came back normal.  To this day I am not pre-diabetic,” she said in the press call. “If he wants to call me that, it’s fine, but my glucose levels are at a normal range.”

After watching the show, I can understand how Carnie may have been shocked by some of the things Dr. Oz was saying to her.  It’s funny to me how Dr. Oz seems to try so hard to make medical issues more understandable to the average person, but he didn’t clarify many of the comments he was making about Carnie.  For instance, doctors refer to patients as “morbidly obese” strictly based on their weight and BMI.   But clearly, although Carnie may fit the medical definition of morbidly obese, she is obviously in a much healthier place than she was in the past.   And when Dr. Oz checks her glucose level, he does so by using a method diabetics use to keep track of their blood sugar throughout the day. Carnie’s doctor would be using a much more accurate method that involves fasting blood work, and that’s why she is so certain she is not pre-diabetic…she probably isn’t.

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Troubling news about teens and sex…Teen pregnancy rates are up after a ten year decline.  There is no doubt that teen pregnancy is on the rise.  The question is…What can we do about it?

It seems obvious that abstinence-only programs aren’t working to reduce teen pregnancy.  If you ask me, it’s not the “abstinence” part that is the problem, it’s the “only” part.  I’m not against teaching abstinence as part of a sex education program, but to only teach abstinence seem irresponsible.

So then, what is the best way to reduce teen pregnancy?

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I think it is well known that as we get older we have a more difficult time getting pregnant, but I was shocked to hear these new statistics on fertility.  It seems that 90 percent of a woman’s eggs are gone by age 30, and only 3 percent remain by age 40.  Ninety Percent of eggs are GONE!  That’s a huge number.  That’s a scary number.

From ABC News – Fertility: 90% of eggs gone by age 30!

It’s common knowledge that women have more difficulty conceiving as they age, but this is the very first study believed to quantify the number of eggs lost and it shows that the decline is more rapid than previously believed. Over time, the quality of ovarian eggs also deteriorates, increasing the difficulty of conception and the risk of having an unhealthy baby.  The study was based on information collected from 325 women of varying ages in the United Kingdom, the United States and Europe.

Dr. Marie Savard, “Good Morning America” medical contributor, visited “GMA” to discuss the issue and its implications for moms-to-be. “Women lose eggs a lot faster than we thought,” she said. As you get older, conceiving is “much more difficult…Even all those assisted reproductive techniques are challenges.”
“That biological clock does tick,” she said, adding that her advice to women who want kids is, “the sooner the better.”

I imagine this news is going to cause a great deal of anxiety to women in their 30′s who were holding off having children.  What do they do?  Do they drop everything and try to have a baby before their eggs run out?  And how will this affect women who want to pursue a career before motherhood?  Are women going to have to start choosing motherhood over career for fear of future infertility?

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January was Thyroid Awareness Month, and since an estimated 20 million Americans have some form of thyroid disease (and up to 60% of them don’t even know it), awareness is more important than ever. Could you be one of the millions unknowingly suffering from this complicated medical condition?

Unfortunately, thyroid disease can be very hard to diagnose.  Not only can blood tests be inconclusive, but the symptoms are often associated with other health problems.

Knowing the symptoms and risk factors for thyroid disease is the best place to start.

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