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Interesting that breast cancer is far more common in industrialized countries than in 3rd world countries, and far more common in cities than in less densely populated regions. Women in certain professions (like nursing) are at greater risk. But this risk factor is easily controllable, if you know about it.

We probably all know someone who has either breast or prostate cancer, as they are the most commonly diagnosed cancers in females and males respectively. Although family history is an uncontrollable risk factor in both cancers, there are many other risk factors that we can control, and may determine whether or not cancer develops.

There is more and more evidence linking artificial evening and night-time light to the growth of cancer cells. The risk of breast cancer is five times higher in industrial nations lit with electric lights than in the underdeveloped countries of the world.

A study done in 2001 by the Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Centre in Seattle found that women who worked the graveyard shift had a 60% greater risk of getting breast cancer than those that did not.

Women that regularly sleep nine hours a night have less than a third the cancer rates of those that regularly sleep seven, according to a Finnish study published in Cancer Research in 2005. Interestingly, it does not seem to be the sleep that matters, but rather the hours spent in darkness.

Melatonin is the immune hormone that is secreted in darkness. Melatonin is supposed to be at its peak between 1 and 2am, and if we are still up with the lights on at that time, very little or no melatonin will be secreted.

Melatonin seems to stop cancer cells cold, and puts them to sleep for the night. Breast cancer grows in the presence of light, because of the absence of melatonin.

In a very interesting study published in Dec. of 2005 and funded by the NIH, rats that were implanted with human breast cancer were either given melatonin rich blood from women that had been in complete darkness for 2 hours, or blood from women that were exposed to bright light.

The tumors in the rats that were given blood with the lowest melatonin concentrations (the blood that came from women exposed to light) multiplied the fastest.

Melatonin seems to block the ability of cancer cells to metabolize linoleic acid, the omega 6 fatty acid that is found in vegetable oils, thereby preventing the cancer cells from dividing. Melatonin also seems to have a role in controlling the excess production of estrogen and estradiol, another factor in the growth of breast cancer.

The recent statistics that have come out have indicated a big drop in rates of breast cancer, and it is believed that this drop was due to the reduced use of hormone replacement therapy in 2002, solidifying the theory that high estrogen levels play a roll in developing breast and also cervical cancer.

Estrogen dominance may also occur as a result of chronically high insulin levels, so decrease your sugar and starchy carbohydrates if there is breast cancer in your family, and get your dark time, as melatonin also seems to have a role in controlling the excess production of estrogen and estradiol.

It is interesting to note that decreased melatonin levels due to too little dark time results in increased levels of cortisol, which in turn translates into higher insulin levels, which leads to problems with type 2 diabetes and heart disease in addition to cancer.

So, the bottom line is that getting enough hours in complete darkness is vital to hormone regulation, which is vital to optimal health.

Although there is less research with regard to the protective effects of melatonin on prostate cancer, the research that is there certainly does support the hypothesis, and more research is ongoing. Melatonin seems to be protective in some other cancers as well, such as skin cancer.

The message for us all? Get to bed early enough that you will get 9 hours of dark time, and use a red night light if you need to use the bathroom in the night. If going to bed early on a regular basis is impossible for you, get black-out drapes and make sure you get you can sleep in long enough in the morning to get your nine hours of dark time.

Another super useful trick is to put on your sun glasses at 10pm – use yellow lenses that cut out all blue light, as it is the blue light that is problematic. This would be a great strategy if you are working night shifts. It may also make it easier to fall asleep when you finally do make it to bed.

Reducing your consumption of omega 6 fatty acids – vegetable oils like soy, canola, sunflower etc, grain-fed beef etc., and increase omega 3 intake from fish oils in order to improve the omega 6 to omega 3 ratio may also assist in reducing your risk of getting cancer.

Related tips:
Light Pollution Messes With Your Hormones
Vegetable Oils – Friend or Foe?
Essential Fats – Omega 3 to Omega 6 Ratio

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I believe that my cavity-free teeth are largely due to the fact that I grew up on fluoride pills, and I am most grateful to my parents for that blessing. I’m not sure how young I was when the fluoride was started, but the dosage increased gradually as I got older, probably based on my bodyweight. And at some point, the dentist told my parents to stop giving me the pills, and they did. Because of the wonderful result I personally had with taking fluoride, the controversy over fluoridated water confused me. I didn’t understand why certain communities were fighting so hard to stop their water from being fluoridated, when obviously it does such a wonderful job of preventing tooth decay. So, here is the argument against. You decide.

Fluorine must be put into water in the form of a compound, as alone it is very reactive. So the question becomes, what kind of fluoride is being put in your water? Calcium fluoride is naturally found in water, but that form is very difficult for the body to absorb, and probably wouldn’t do much to help our teeth. Sodium fluoride is much more absorbable by the body, but that may not be the form that is put in municipal water supplies because it is more expensive than other alternatives. It is possible that municipalities are using silicofluorides, as they are far cheaper. This type of fluoride could be a problem, as it is a toxic waste from phosphate fertilizer pollution scrubbers and it contains arsenic, mercury, lead and beryllium. Unfortunately, even if you chose to avoid drinking the water or washing your produce in it, you would absorb the toxins through your skin in the bath or shower, as well as in juice or food such as canned soup that is made with fluoridated water.

And then there is the question of dosage. If fluoride is put into the water supply, there is no control over the amount people drink or absorb through their skin. Young children may get far too much fluoride for their body-size and weight, and infants being fed formula mixed with water may be getting 100 to 200 times the fluoride that breast-fed babies are getting. Fluorine is a toxic substance and it is bio-accumulative. There is some evidence that fluoride can be damaging to the development of an infant’s brain, and babies in general are much more vulnerable to environmental toxins. Dental fluorosis, a condition that damages to the cells that form the teeth and makes them yellow and mottled, is also linked to bone fractures, possibly bone cancer, a lowering of fertility and IQ, and it seems to increase the uptake of aluminum. And it is now known that fluoride works best when topically applied, such as in toothpaste, so the question becomes, "is it ethical to force a population to ingest fluoride without their permission considering the risks?" It may be wise to tell your children not to eat or swallow fluoridated toothpaste, particularly if your water is fluoridated, as they may be getting too much.

And then there are the mounting studies that show that tooth decay is declining as quickly in those that have had no exposure to fluoride. In fact, in New Zealand, children with no water fluoridation, no fluoridated toothpaste, and no fluoride applied to teeth at the dentist have slightly better teeth than those who were exposed to fluoride. Could it be that a good quality diet may be what makes for good teeth? It is interesting to note that water fluoridation is not approved by the FDA, and the AMA "is not prepared to state that no harm will be done to any person by water fluoridation."

So, what do you think? Should our water be fluoridated or not? And if you live in a community that has fluoridated water, and you decide that this is something you don’t want, what can you do? Most water filters do not remove fluoride, so read your filter labels carefully. Reverse osmosis apparently does, but this can be expensive. Here is an example of a company that focuses on filtering fluoride, should you feel you need to. Just be certain that the filter you choose also filters out heavy metals, chlorine, benzene, pesticides etc. And if you don’t want to use fluoridated toothpaste either, here is sea salt / baking soda alternative that is apparently very good at removing the bacteria and parasites that causes plaque formation.

Related tips:
Mercury, a strong nerve poison

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What did you do with your old cell phone?  Not the one you are using now, but the one you retired?  Did you just toss it?  What about your old computer?  VCR?

E-waste is anything electronic including keyboards, circuit boards, PDAs, routers, printers etc., and it is now the fastest growing source of consumer waste. 

Because of all the really awful stuff in them, like mercury, lead, cadmium, arsenic, and brominated flame retardants for example, land-filling these products is a very bad idea, as these toxins leach into the soil and into drinking water. 

Incinerating e-waste sends the toxins into the air.  Many of these toxic materials are very persistent and stay in the environment for long periods of time, accumulating in the tissue of plants and animals, slowly building up in the food chain, and can contribute to health problems such as cancer, and neurological, immune, endocrine, developmental and reproductive disorders. 

Children, with their smaller body size and developing systems are more vulnerable to these persistent bio-accumulative toxins.

As usual, the EU is way ahead of North America with regard to regulating these toxic substances.  As of July ’06, no new electric or electronic product on the market in the EU can contain lead, brominated flame retardants or cadmium. 

And of course, because of the new regulations, companies were forced to innovate to maintain market-share, and the result is slightly less toxic items coming to market.

But perhaps we need to think twice before rushing out to buy these electronic gadgets.  Can you make do without?  Do you really need the latest and greatest, or can you manage with what you’ve got for another few years if you upgrade memory etc? 

And what do we do with our current electronic garbage when we really must make a change? Please don’t dump it in the garbage, that’s for sure!

Some computer companies like IBM, and HP now have return programs so check with your manufacturer.    Many schools, libraries, non-profit organizations, retirement homes will gladly take your old computer. 

In Canada, contact the Electronic Recycling Association and they will pick up your computer(s) from your home, business, or government office and donate it for free. 

On the left sidebar of the ERA there is a link for pick-up in the US and United Kingdom as well.  Here is a list of where you can donate your old phone in Canada. 

In the States, look for a phone recycling program near you here.  Most communities have or are developing computer and other e-waste recycling programs, so google e-waste and your community, and find out where you can recycle the stuff near you. 

If these products cannot be refurbished and  reused, they are taken apart carefully to remove the metals, separate out the plastics and the glass. 

Many of the companies that do this aim for zero waste going to landfill, and there can be a good profit in this service, so if there is no e-waste recycling available near you yet, I suggest you hang onto your old electronic equipment, as this service will come to you soon. 

There is too much harm to our environment and therefore our health by simply allowing electronic trash to go to landfill.

Related tips:
Mercury, a strong nerve poison

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The first two questions are easy – do some form of exercise almost every day. If you are going to the gym, your work-outs should not be longer than an hour, unless you are an elite athlete training for some sport. And even then, if your time is used wisely, you will get more bang for the buck with shorter workouts. Many athletes over train, and either wind up injured or sick and tired by overtaxing their system. It is important to understand that it is between workouts that you actually get stronger and more fit, as you recover from your previous workout.

Weight training or other forms of resistance training should be done 2 to 3 times a week, with at least one day off between sessions. During the weight-training session you are actually breaking down muscle tissue, so you leave the gym much weaker than when you entered, and it takes at least 48 hours for those muscles to repair themselves and become stronger than before the workout. Therefore, strengthening the same muscle groups two days in a row does not allow for enough time between workouts for the muscles to regenerate, resulting in weaker rather than stronger muscles. If you are still sore when you go back for your next workout, rather than doing another tough strengthening workout, lighten the weights, and do more repetitions which will get the blood flowing to those sore muscles, and you will probably leave feeling less sore. Or, take another day off and go hard when you have completely recovered.

Cardiovascular training can be done daily, but I would suggest taking at least one day off a week to make sure your body has a day to completely recover.  If you are doing cardio 6 days a week, examine your motives.  Are you training for an event?  Are you trying to burn fat?  If fat burning is your reason for spending hours doing cardio, think again. You will get much better results weight training, particularly if you set up a weight circuit using large muscle groups and moving quickly between exercises.  Weight training increases your metabolism so you burn more calories all day and all night.

Stretching is frequently dropped when time is short, but stretching decreases compressive forces in your body, and can do a lot to reduce pain. Stretching needs to be done at least 5 days a week to get results. Stretch the tight muscles rather than the loose ones. Simple concept, but we often enjoy stretching the areas where we are flexible already, and don’t like stretching where we are not. Stretching the tight muscles will improve muscle balance and help your body function better. Use an exercise professional like a Chek Practitioner or personal trainer to design a program for you based on your needs.

How hard to exercise depends on your health.  If you have no health issues, you jump out of bed in the morning full of energy and you don’t require coffee to get you through your day, you can exercise hard, and high intensity workouts will increase your fitness and wellbeing more effectively than low intensity workouts.  If you have health concerns or you are dragging yourself through your day, perhaps using caffeine or another pick-me-up, exercising hard is a bad idea. You want to train yourself rather than drain yourself.  After your exercise session you should feel energized.  If you feel like crawling into bed, the workout was too hard.  I love Paul Chek’s analogy of the body as a stress bucket.  If your stress bucket is overflowing and you are in pain or you have no energy, adding the stress of hard exercise that fires up the sympathetic nervous system will make things worse.  You still need to exercise, but a more gentle approach is necessary. Yoga, Tai Chi, or Qi Gong tend to be calmer forms of exercise that can actually poke holes in the stress bucket and thereby help to heal you.

On another note, I would like to introduce you to Nadine Ijaz and her Food Apothecaria. Her selection may be small, but she has thoroughly researched the foods and products she offers to be the best for our health and for environmental sustainability. Some examples of her quality foods include pasture-fed butter, quality high vitamin cod-liver oil, salad dressings made from unrefined oils, raw honey where the bees have NOT been given antibiotics (I still can’t believe that even bees are given antibiotics!), to organic miso made with sea salt rather than processed salt. Her items are not packaged in plastic, but in glass or paper, which is better for your health, and the environment.  She will ship anywhere, but shipping is extra.

Related tips::
Resistance Training
S-T-R-E-T-C-H and Feel Better!
Heart-Rate Training
Want Fat Loss? Aerobic Exercise Alone is Not the Answer

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