Another cancer link?

I have always felt that everything out there either causes cancer or prevents it. When someone very important to me was diagnosed with cancer, however, it became a little more important to know how to keep your body healthy.

According to the article, "Late shift work is linked to cancer," there is a new study that suggest that working at night my increase the chances of getting cancer. This sounds like another one of those myths, but there is significant evidence to back it up.

This cancer risk is increased because the circadian rhythm, which is the body's biological clock, is disrupted when people work or are up all night.

"The hormone melatonin, which can suppress tumor development, is normally produced at night," and, "light shuts down melatonin production, so people working in artificial light at night may have lower melatonin levels," states the article.

So what is the answer for changing these outcomes? Some companies are trying different types of lighting to see how that affects their employees. Or maybe the answer just lies in the idea that maybe night workers sleep in a darkened room when they get off their late shift.

For more information on cancer, check out the American Cancer Society.

Slow start to the season

Colorado's ski resorts are having a rough time opening up for the ski season this year. With an unusually warm fall behind us, many people are anxious to get up to the mountains and hit the slopes.

According to the article, "Rockies ski resorts hoping for snow," this late season is not completely unusual, and there are many different reasons for why the mountains have not gotten their deep-freeze.

One of those reasons may be that most ski resorts try to open up by the traditional Thanksgiving weekend, but as this year's Thanksgiving was unusually early, that may have hampered the snow.

Most resorts now make snow to aid them in opening earlier and to make the snow better for skiiers. But in order to make snow, the temperature needs to be around zero and with no humidity. Here in Colorado, "resort operators say it's been about 10 degrees above normal for the past couple of weeks," according to the article.

I went up snowboarding this last weekend, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and was very excited to hit the slopes. But when we got to Winter Park, there were only two lifts and three runs open. The snow was decent, but the runs were pretty busy and iced over fairly quickly.

Hopefully, the snow gods will grace Colorado, and the other ski states, soon so all the ski and snowboard buffs will get their snow fix.

How to strenghten your immune system

Many people know when it starts to get cold that they need to stock up on cold and flu medications for the winter. But what many people don't know is that eating healthy can strengthen your immune system as well.

According to the article, "Follow this eat-right plan to fortify your immune system," there are a number of ways that eating healthy can not only make you feel better but actually keep you from getting sick.

Some tips the article recommends are: drink green tea and consume the right amount of calories for you.

Green tea contains an anti-oxidant called "EGCG" that when up against viruses or influenza, it inhibits them from replicating and therefore is easier to fight off.

Making sure that you are not eating too many or too little calories is important as well. Too little calories can increase the susceptibility of getting sick. Consuming too many calories can "lead to increased production of compounds called prostaglandins, which have a suppressive effect on T-lymphocyte cell production. Fewer T-cells patrolling the body increases the chances of an antigen taking hold," states the article.

To find how the best amount of calories for you, check out www.mypyramid.gov which recommends the right amount based on a number of different things.

Exercising Pregnant Women

I always thought pregnant women were not supposed to exercise because something could happen to the baby. But according to the article, "Pregnant Exercisers Test Limits," that is not true.

Some fears for doctors include pulling abdominal muscles for runners, or raising body temperatures that could harm the baby. One woman was 11 weeks pregnant and swam 30 miles across the English Channel, in 9 hours and 30 minutes.

Another ran seven-minute miles until she was 39 weeks pregnant.

But it is hard to determine what is a good standard for everyone because no one is really willing to endanger their unborn child. Advice can go from stopping all exercise to "listen to your body."

A 1980's theory is to keep your heart rate below 140 when exercising, which keeps you from overexerting yourself, but some doctors like Dr. Shangold, feel this isn't effective. Dr. Shangold is an expert recommended by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

"Heart rate is not a useful parameter to monitor during pregnancy,” said Dr. Shangold. “It varies widely during pregnancy and the heart rate response to exercise also varies widely."

Exercising is very important in many women's life, and pregnancy should not keep a woman from doing something she loves unless she can't handle it.

Exercise your brain

While brain exercises lke sudoku and Brain Age (a Ninteno DS game) may help keep you mentally sharp, it doesn't help in all areas of the brain.

According to the article, "Exercise on the brain," one of the best ways to keep the brain sharp is by exercising. This helps the kind of thinking that is called executive function.

Those are, "the set of abilities that allows you to select behavior that’s appropriate to the situation, inhibit inappropriate behavior and focus on the job at hand," according to the article.

Normally, executive function begins to decline as people age, around the 70's. But, according to the article, elderly people who were athletic most of their lives have better executive function than those who did not. Even those who are older and their executive function is already declining, can improve their executive function by exercising.

So how does exercising help the brain? Exercising helps slow the "age-related shrinkage of the frontal cortex, which is important for executive functions," according to the article.

Exercise also helps cardiovascular health, which is the heart, and that in turn can help prevent heart attacks and strokes, which damage the brain as well. And exercise releases proteins that can stimulate growth in the number of connections between neurons that can help in the hippocampus, the part of the brain that stores memories.

3 foods everyone should eat

Many people are wary of foods they heard were bad for them. For a long time, people were worried about eating peanut butter because they thought it was bad for you. While it is high in fat, those fatty oils can help out skin, for people with eczema, or can help lower cholestrol.

According to the article "5 foods that should have a place in your diet," coffee and avocados are other examples of food people only eat when they splurge or eat with guilt.

Like the benefits of peanut butter, avocados may be able to prevent cancer by inhibiting the growth of the cancer cells. Avocados are full of antioxidants as well as the good, heart-healthy fat.

Coffee is also known to have some benefits. According to a study, coffee can improve memory in older adults, can improve eye-hand coordination and may lower the risk of type 2 diabetes. This all has to be done in moderation, however, to prevent the jitters.

The infamous Staph

Maybe infamous is not the right word. But it seems to have scared a lot of people in the past few weeks, and since everyone seems to be talking about it, maybe it is infamous.

According to the article, "Staph at the Gym? Not if you're careful," staph is usually found in places like hospitals and nursing homes, but lately has been found in other places, like schools. Staph can be shared through things like razors or sports equipment, but most importantly through skin contact.

People with burns, cuts or eczema have a higher chance of getting staph, especially in humid places or with a lot of sweat, according to the website TeenHeath, Staph Infections.

That being said, staph is not usually found in gyms. It is possible on surfaces like the grips of cardio machines, but since gyms usually tend to be air conditioned, it is not very likely. The best way to prevent a staph infections is to wash your hands very throughly and keep all wounds covered.