It is almost impossible for you or your physician to accurately assess your risk factors for breast cancer when so many factors (including whether or not you work the night shift and your genetics) are possible or known contributors to developing this only partially gender biased disease.

However, when you have an annual examination, your physician should be assessing your risk level – probably using the Gail Model from the National Cancer Institute. If they feel anything suspicious or believe that you are at high risk, they should recommend a mammogram, which is often the end of the story.

That is, unless you have a higher lifetime risk of breast cancer, whereas the American Cancer Society recommends further following up with an MRI for any patient with an elevated lifetime risk.

Out of 1246 Patients Referred for MRI Follow-ups, Only 173 Went – Why??

This is where things can get all scientific with more stats and so on, but the ones above from the journal, Academic Radiology, are convincing enough for us to know that hardly any patients are taking these recommendations. Let’s explore a few possibilities of why this disconnect is so pervasive.

MRI Recommendations Often Don’t Get to Patients

Mammogram results get sent to general physicians along with recommendations for an MRI or follow-up testing. Unfortunately, these things can slip through the cracks. Knowing whether you are at high-risk can foster your mind to follow up yourself with your mammogram results, not wait on a doctor to do it for you.

Insurance Coverage More Available but Most Clinics Aren’t On Board

Surprisingly, most insurance companies joined the cause to allow women to take charge of their health by covering the cost of MRIs when the proper recommendations are made. However, there seems to be a disconnection between physicians and clinics and the health care system. Unfortunately, many do not ever advise their high-risk patients for a potentially life saving MRI.

Are People Their Own Worst Enemy When it Comes to Breast Cancer?

Honestly, they certainly can be. A large number of those 1246 patients decided not to return out of fear of the unknown. Understandable, but unwise. Every day counts with cancer, particularly in the younger population.

Financial reasons may seem quite valid when it comes to paying out of pocket for an MRI when even many insured struggle to meet their deductible. Again, understandable. So, how much did they decide their life was worth when making that call?

Don’t become part of these statistics or those pertaining to breast cancer victims. Inquire about your risk factors with every checkup and find out how you can take better control of your medical care.

The post New Breast Cancer Screening Advances are Unpopular with Patients appeared first on Balance Magazine.

Logging Miles for a Cause

It could be possible that some women need a deeper motivation beyond themselves for losing weight. For some it’s being healthy for their kids, and for others, its achieving a sense of personal accomplishment. But for those who still need a little extra motivation, charity could hold the answer.

Women are known for being naturally compassionate and generous. The Corporation for National and Community Service reports that women are far more likely to volunteer than men are – evidence of the female response to people and organizations in need. Furthermore, Time Magazine reports that women are much more financially generous than men are, meaning they are more likely to raise money or personally donate to a cause.

By combining charitable causes with fitness, some women are achieving better health while simultaneously raising awareness for charitable organizations. The average woman will burn through approximately 80 to 100 calories per mile walked, which can add up to a fat loss of several pounds during the training phase of a half marathon.

Several races are organized around a charitable cause. The Susan G. Komen races are among the popular charity events for women, raising money for breast cancer research. Hundreds of these races occur around the country each year, with women electing to walk or run as little as 5 kilometers or as far as 60 miles. But it isn’t just breast cancer awareness that women are getting their heart rates up for. A host of other organizations, including the Girl Scouts of America, benefit from various races around the country.

But even if your favorite charity isn’t the subject of an official race, it doesn’t mean you can’t lace up your running shoes for your cause. Some charities, like Charity:Water, allow donors to organize their own campaigns to raise money for their organizations. Sponsors can pledge money for every mile you run or pound you lose, with donations going directly to the organization in your name.

Achieve Your Fitness Goals Through Charity

If your past efforts to lose weight or tone up have fallen flat, try motivating yourself with compassion. Visit your local gym or a running club to find out about upcoming charity races that you can begin training for. You’ll weigh less and feel great inside and out.

The post Achieve Your Fitness Goals Through Charity appeared first on Balance Magazine.

For today’s busy women, convenience is essential when it comes to purchases. Let’s face it: We just don’t always have time to get to the mall, or even to the local Wal-Mart, to do the shopping. Sometimes shopping online is the easiest solution. However, that doesn’t change the fact that many women are beauty junkies or product lovers who would love to try out new beauty and body care products.

It’s hard to even know what the new trends really are, let alone shop for them, when you don’t have enough time in every day. The new trend of beauty subscription boxes has emerged as a solution for the time-strapped woman who wants to introduce a bit of pampering and fun into her life.

Beauty Box Options

Beauty boxes like Ipsy, Birchbox, and GlossyBox offer subscribers the opportunity to receive a monthly “goodie bag” full of deluxe sized makeup and body care products for $10 per month ($21 for the higher-end GlossyBox.) All the companies offer 5 products each month and send out items including bath products, makeup, hair care products, and nail polish. Perfume samples are also a frequent inclusion in the BirchBox boxes.

Benefits of Beauty Boxes

These boxes allow you to try a range of products that are currently hot beauty trends without having to pay the often sky-high prices for the full sized products. Another bonus of the sample beauty boxes is that you’ll often be provided with a discount code to use at the online merchants who made the beauty products should you decide you like the item enough to buy. In this way you can often score discounts of anywhere from 10 to 50 percent on some high end beauty and pampering products. In general, each box is worth considerably more in retail value than what you paid. For example, recent ipsy bags were valued at $45 retail, and recent BirchBoxes topped the $40 retail mark as well.

High-End Beauty Boxes

For those who want to try ultra high-end beauty products like Le Metier de Beaute beauty cream ($225 for a single ounce!) GlossyBox gives you that opportunity for just $21 per month. The boxes contain five deluxe (sometimes even full size) samples from very high-end beauty and body care companies. The retail value of these boxes frequently lands in the $50 to $80 range. Pretty impressive value from a monthly $21 investment!

If you just don’t have the time or the desire to stalk the department stores and the fashion mags for the latest beauty and body care trends and the greatest new products, these beauty boxes are a fun little gift you can give yourself each month.

The post Subscription Beauty Boxes: Hot New Beauty and Style Trend appeared first on Balance Magazine.

Each year, spring rolls around with relief from the frigid temperatures and snow woes of winter. For seasonal allergy sufferers, though, spring comes with a whole new set of pains. Like all medications, decongestants and antihistamines taken for allergies have their share of side effects, and aren’t recommended for long-term use. So, instead of stocking up on medication this season, stock up on these foods that help alleviate allergy symptoms.

Fresh Fruit

Spring and summer are high time for fresh fruits, so you have multiple antioxidant-heavy, vitamin-rich options. Citrus fruits bursting with vitamin C, like oranges and grapefruit, fight histamines that cause allergy symptoms, while fruits high in quercetin reduce inflammation, which alleviates swelling in the nasal passages. Quercetin-heavy fruits include apples, pears, peaches, cherries and grapes.

Omega-3s

Omega-3 fatty acids are health power houses that should be part of any healthy diet, but increasing omega-3 consumption during allergy season reduces inflammation and helps you breathe easier. Foods rich in omega-3s include fish, such as salmon, albacore and mackerel, nuts and pumpkin seeds, kidney and pinto beans, and avocados.

Spices

The spicy foods you eat that always open up your nasal passages, they do so for a reason. These foods contains chemicals that product their hot taste and cause their powerful effects on the body, which is why they are worth incorporating into your diet in greater quantity during allergy season.

Onions and Apples

Onions, like apples, contain quercetin, which reduces inflammation, but they also contain an enzyme known as lachrymatory-factor synthase, an irritant you know well if you have ever cut into a potent onion and welled up with tears. While it’s a pain to cry while cooking, it also clears out your sinuses.

Garlic and Ginger

Garlic and ginger both contain naturally occurring chemicals that reduce inflammation, according to UCLA’s Integrative Medicine, but garlic also thins mucus. The capsaicin in cayenne and other peppers are also mucus-thinning and stimulate the sinuses, which, according to UCLA, increases air circulation.

According to Time Magazine, a study of children in Crete found that those who ate diets high in fruits, vegetables, nuts, olive oil and fish suffered fewer symptoms of allergies and asthma. What you eat matters, and having a pantry full of foods that enhance immunities, reduce inflammation, and are high in antioxidants can get you through the allergy season without reaching for a bottle of pills.

The post Fighting Spring Allergies with the Right Foods appeared first on Balance Magazine.

The most startling revelations concerning the dangers of energy drinks come from a recent study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which indicates that emergency room visits related to consuming these “little helpers” have doubled during the five-year span between 2007 and 2011. Now for the most disturbing part – most of these incidences involved young adults or teens. Half of those victims admitted to downing more than one energy drink, which typically contains the equivalent of five cups of caffeinated coffee!

The Health Risks of Energy Drinks

You might think that you are doing yourself a favor by snagging an energy drink boost before a big meeting at the office or prior to working out, but your heart likely disagrees. If elevated blood pressure, heart rate, and increased anxiety aren’t enough to make you think twice about your beverage selection, perhaps the intense amount of sugar, herbal stimulants, and the complete lack of nutritional value of energy drinks will.

Improve Performance with Healthy Choices

When you actually have the time (and make the effort) to work out, rest assured that energy drinks don’t improve performance. In fact, as a diuretic, any consumer can easily become dehydrated while attempting to improve their health and performance under the spell of energy drinks. Opt out of this trap and make your workout a healthy one that counts. Seek smart workout enhancements like water, juice-infused smoothies, and any magnesium-rich foods you can get your hands on.

We hate to say it, but just about any other caffeine-laden beverage you select will likely be a healthier option than these glamorized toxins in a can. Make the informed choice for you and your youngsters the next time temptation to snag one of these drinks hits you.

The post The Dangers of Energy Drinks Exposed appeared first on Balance Magazine.

When counting sheep, lavender infused pillows, and the coziest pajamas you own simply refuse to help sweep you into dreamland, consider integrating some of these rest-inducing foods into your dinner menu.

Something Fishy

Fish containing high volumes of Vitamin B6 can foster a solid night’s sleep, and yellow fin tuna and salmon are first-rate choices. If you don’t like “fishy fish” then the mild and pleasing taste of white-flaked fish like cod might satiate the palate while boosting B6 levels. Vitamin B6 regulates the manufacture of Melatonin, which controls your sleep cycle and circadian rhythms.

Pass the Chickpeas, Please

Chickpeas are extremely flexible and tasty provisions that add a nice, nutritious flare to many dishes. Chickpeas possess high amounts of Vitamin B6 to help foster better sleep patterns. One idea is to put together a creamy topping with both chickpeas and yogurt for those fish dishes to double up on this sleep-inducing vitamin.

Kale & Yogurt

Not together, of course, unless you are a truly creative gal! However, both Kale and yogurt provide a substantial quantity of calcium, which can assist you in catching some Zzz’s. Kale makes a succulent side dish and can be consumed raw or lightly steamed. These foods can induce sleep for the same reason that warm milk before bed does – high levels of calcium, which encourages the brain to manufacture Melatonin.

Go Bananas

Rich in potassium and Vitamin B6, bananas can play a vital role in fueling the production of our sleepy time friend, melatonin. Don’t forget to grab a bunch of organic bananas while you are in the produce section snagging some Kale.

What about Whole Grains

Whole grains are loaded with magnesium, an essential mineral for any woman’s health, and it naturally helps your body wind down after a long day. Magnesium works in combination with calcium to loosen up muscles, which can help your shut-eye a much more restful experience.

Jasmine Rice

Add jasmine rice to your evening side dish list. This sleep-friendly food is high on the glycemic index, and several studies indicate that consumers of jasmine rice tend to fall asleep significantly quicker than long-grain or white rice consumers do.

Incorporate a few of these natural sleep aids into your afternoon and evening diet, and start getting the sleep you need to be a truly balanced and healthy woman.

The post Seven Sensational Sleep Inducing Foods appeared first on Balance Magazine.

You committed to shedding those extra pounds and meeting your weight loss goal in 2013. If a good diet and increased exercise seemingly are not enough to get the results you want, you may need to ramp up your internal personal trainer – your metabolism.

To some extent, your metabolism works at preset levels largely determined by genetics and gender. Fortunately, you still have some control over things, and there are several easy ways to boost your metabolism to increase weight loss safely and naturally.

1. Have Breakfast with a Cup of Joe

Tired of hearing that breakfast is the most important meal of the day? Too bad, because it’s true! Your body is instinctively paranoid, and your body goes into starvation mode when given no nutrients to sustain it throughout the day. Your metabolism nosedives into slow motion to conserve energy when denied its essential morning fare. Join the Sisterhood of the Traveling Coffee Mugs to help fuel weight loss. Caffeine can boost metabolism by 16 percent.

2. Choose Organic Foods

You wouldn’t sprinkle pesticide atop your dinner like salt, right? Of course not. If your foods are not certified organics then you don’t have to – pesticides are likely already there in surplus.

Studies indicate that dieters with high levels of organochlorides (pesticide chemicals) harboring in their fat cells have a high susceptibility to disruptions in thyroid function. Pesticides stall metabolism, and choosing organics is an easy way to kick start it back into action and keep it there.

3. Shake Up Your Workout

Step up the intensity of your routine with sprint intervals during your cardio workout. Whether walking, jogging or working with a treadmill, rower, or other machine, ramp up the pace in ten second intervals between 20-second intermissions of standard tempo. Interval training elevates metabolism tremendously and can help you lose five times more body fat.

4. Avoid Boozing it Up

Happy hour or wine with dinner is so tempting, but nothing could be worse for weight loss than alcohol. A mere two alcoholic beverages can hinder fat burning by an astonishing 73 percent. As the liver converts alcohol into acetate, it begins utilizing the chemical for fuel rather than stored fat.

5. Get Some Rest Already

Eight hours of rest are necessary for your body and metabolism to stay in sync. Countless studies show that getting less than eight hours of shuteye throws off Leptin and Ghrelin hormones, which are the regulators of appetite and energy use.

Stick with your resolution, and try these metabolism-boosting tricks to propel your weight loss to succeed in 2013.

The post 2013 New Years Weight Loss Goal appeared first on Balance Magazine.

Interestingly, in a recent survey commission by Healthy Women, a leading women’s health resource, 40 percent of women claim to have little to no concern about ever having a stroke. The majority of the same participants also thought breast cancer to be five times more of a threat to their health than stroke, and most could only name two symptoms of stroke.

What is a Stroke?

There are two primary kinds of stroke: transient ischemic attacks (TIA) and hemorrhagic stroke. Both are the result of blood clots that reach the brain. TIA’s are mini-strokes that come on suddenly, but the symptoms typically cease within an hour or two after the clot breaks up, and they cause no permanent damage. Hemorrhagic strokes occur when the blood clot ruptures, and these often cause permanent disabilities in areas the body that depended on tissues in the brain that die because of the rupture.

Stroke symptoms are fairly cut and dry in general, but the symptoms of a stroke in women may include other signs that you need to be aware of.

Risk Factors for Stroke in Women

Much like heart attacks, the typical risk factors for stroke include having a family history of stroke, high blood pressure or cholesterol, smoking, diabetes, obesity, and a sedentary lifestyle.

As usual, women have even more to be concerned about within the scope of stroke risk factors. Those unique to women include:

• Being pregnant increases blood pressure and stress on the heart.
• Taking birth control pills
• Use of Hormone Replacement Therapy
• High triglyceride levels
• Being a migraine sufferer can increase risks as much as six times.

Symptoms of a Stroke in Women

General symptoms of stroke include numbness or weaknesses in the face or limbs that often present in only one side of the body, but these can be asymmetrical in nature. Blurry vision, trouble speaking, confusion, lack of coordination, and a sudden severe headache are other indicators that one is having a stroke.

Again, women in particular can suffer additional onset of sudden symptoms including:

• Facial and limb pain
• Hiccups
• Nausea
• General weakness
• Chest pain
• Heart palpitations
• Shortness of breath

Experiencing these symptoms can be frightening, but as a woman, you know how to keep your cool. Call 911 immediately! Depending on the type of stoke occurring, new medicines are available for administration within three hours of onset to minimize any permanent damage.

Empower Yourself with Knowledge about Strokes in Women

Take control of your overall health and well-being by learning how to recognize these signs and risks of a stroke, especially those factors that are unique to women. Don’t become a statistic due to ignorance – leave that up to the guys.

The post Stroke in Women – Symptoms, Risks, and Prevention appeared first on Balance Magazine.

Important Tips

Keeping active in winter is a great way to stay healthy. Downhill skiing can burn more than 300 calories an hour! However, activities enjoyed at higher altitudes can increase your risk for skin damage caused by harmful UV rays. According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, “UV radiation exposure increases 4 to 5 percent with every 1,000 feet above sea level.” Once you’ve reached altitudes of about 10,000 the UV radiation can be as much as 45 percent more than UV rays experienced at sea level.

When you’re swooshing down the slopes, you’re exposed to the sun’s rays as they reflect off the snow. Sunscreen is a must to protect your skin from these damaging rays. The Skin Cancer Foundation suggests several tips for winter sun protection:

• Always wear sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher when enjoying outdoor activities, even on cloudy days.
• Apply at least a teaspoon of sunscreen to your face and enough sunscreen to cover any other exposed areas of skin.
• Opt for sunscreen with a skin softener as winter winds on ski slopes can be harsh and drying to your skin.
• Always wear a lip balm with at least a SPF 15 as well to protect your lips from chapping and damage.
• Be sure to reapply your sunscreen every two hours.
• Goggles and wrap-around sunglasses not only protect your eyes from the sting of snow as you make your way down the slopes, but they protect the sensitive skin around your eyes from sunburn.

Limit Your Risk

Did you know that more than 90 percent of skin cancers are related sun exposure? Too much sun exposure can contribute to premature aging of the skin as well as unsightly skin discolorations. Wearing sunscreen in winter (and year round) can help reduce your risk for skin cancers and other skin damage.

The post Sunscreen in Winter appeared first on Balance Magazine.

What are you breathing?

Inside, your air quality is affected by many factors. These include pollutants such as:

• Tobacco smoke
• Fumes from cleaning products
• Candle smoke
• Mold and pollen
• Pet dander

Secondhand smoke, also known as environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), has more than 50 cancer-causing substances. If you’re regularly exposed to secondhand smoke, be aware—it not only can contribute to cancer but also can be an asthma trigger. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) reports, more women die from asthma than men each year with female deaths accounting for about 65 percent of all asthma deaths.

What changes can be made to improve air quality?

You can begin improvements to your indoor air quality by not allowing any tobacco smoke in your home. When using cleaning products, solvents or paints (spray or room paints) exercise caution. Make sure the room is well ventilated and opt for VOC (volatile organic compound) free products. You can find indoor paint in modern, fun colors that will cover in a single coat. Several major brands offer VOC-free paint including Benjamin Moore, Olympic and Sherwin-Williams.

Candles can make a room feel cozy or romantic, but regularly burning candles made from paraffin can release pollutants into the air you don’t want to breathe. Choose soy candles instead or even electric candles to enjoy the ambiance without compromising your IAQ.

Pollen, mold and pet dander all act as triggers for allergies and asthma. Reduce these indoor air pollutants by using a quality air filter in your home’s heating and cooling system. Forget the cheap flat-panel fiberglass filter, select pleated filters rated at least a MERV 8 and designed to trap these specific allergens.

Did you know? Running a humidifier can help improve your IAQ as well provide necessary moisture to help keep dry, itchy skin at bay. The EPA recommends keeping your home humidity level above 30 percent for the best health benefits.

The post IAQ and Women’s Health appeared first on Balance Magazine.