Is This Multiple Choice?

Honestly, the more health news I hear and read, the more confused I get.  Just the other day, I was listening to a TV show discuss what type of diet is best for your problem "areas."  If you have a big stomach, you should try to avoid carbohydrates, they said.  OK, I made up some deviled eggs and we grilled hamburgers and brats on the grill for the Fourth of July and I tried to stay away from the carbs.  But wait......

If you had a big bottom or hips, you could eat carbs but needed to lay off the excess protein.  So what if you are "blessed" with both a big stomach AND big hips?  I cut a piece of cake and enjoyed some frosting while I thought about my dilemma.

The Commander and I are both trying to take some eye supplements to help guard against any future macular degeneration.  This is at the advice of our eye doctors.  Yet I just read an article in the paper the other day that some studies show there "might" be a benefit to taking supplements for your eyes and other research shows no known benefits.

I also take Calcium supplements with Vitamin D, as recommended by my physician.  Well, now a federal panel is saying that we shouldn't be doing that if we're post-menopausal since there is no indication that it helps prevent cancer or fractures.  Since there is a slight increase in risk of kidney stones from taking Calcium and Vit. D, now they think the risk outweighs the possible benefit.  Huh?  Oh, but wait....the panel goes on to say that if you are over 65, apparently you are at an increased risk of falling and thus maybe the Vitamin D would help you avoid a fracture so maybe you would want to continue taking your calcium supplements after all.  I have a few more years before I reach 65.  Maybe these experts will be able to come to some sort of agreement by then.

I watched a show on Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) the other day and took note of the symptoms that indicate you might have IBS.  I have just about every symptom.  I'm also lactose-intolerant so between dairy and stress, there is usually something that has my body in an uproar.   This morning I read an article that suggested you might want to cut back on fiber if you have a problem with IBS symptoms.  Well, that's ducky.  In the meantime, my physician has been after me for years to eat more fiber to help bring down my cholesterol AND to provide more roughage to act as a preventative against colon polyps.  My husband would be happy if I never served him another helping of lentils or other dried legumes because he's diabetic and they cause his sugar levels to spike.  Honestly, I'd like to drown my frustrations in rum cake.

I've added several teaspoons of sunflower seeds before meals and a dose of Pyruvate to try to keep the fat intake in my diet from attaching to the organs in my stomach area.  Who knows if it will work?  I tried Ezekiel bread spread with some quacamole dip for breakfast (also recommended).  The bread wasn't bad but the guacamole was SO garlicky that I could have taken on a den of vampires at 8 a.m. with only a sneeze.  Oy!

At least there was one bit of good news in the paper the other day.  Scientists think they are close to coming up with a system of tests that will use our saliva instead of our blood for patient health tests.  I'll spit to that!  I'd much rather get swabbed than stuck with a needle.

With all the conflicting information out there in the medical world right now, I guess we have several choices. We can:
a.  Pick the course of action that we like the best.
b.  Continue with what we are currently doing or taking.
c.  Consult our health care professionals for advice.
d.  None of the above.

Depending on my mood on any given day, I've tried all four choices.  Prost!

ENOUGH with the Studies!

Just when I thought I'd read enough bad news about recent medical studies, out comes another one.  Yes, today's paper had another dose of sunshine for all of you meat-eaters out there.  In case you didn't see it, this latest study that was published on Monday looked at eating habits of adults (over 100,000 of them) over a period of twenty years.

Here's the bad news:  Those who ate just a tiny 3-oz. serving of red meat had a 13% greater risk of dying over the course of the study.  If you have the misfortune to be a big bacon, sausage, or kielbasa fan (or fan of any processed meat, for that matter), your chances of dying increased to 20% higher than those who weren't eating that stuff.

That may be bad news for all of you meat-lovers but it isn't such bad news for me.  Apparently I've had the right idea all along.  You see, my philosophy has been to skip the meat whenever possible and just stick with desserts, although I DO have a weakness for extra-crispy bacon.

Guess I'll go bake some cookies and eat a dozen or two to help increase my projected lifespan....at least until the next report is published.  Prost!

So THAT'S My Excuse!

There I was yesterday, happily reading the paper when I stumbled across an article that has particular significance to me.  It seems that a recent medical study was done on women who had been treated with chemotherapy for breast cancer using the typical 3-drug regimen.  These women had undergone chemotherapy on average about 21 years ago.  Now this is where it gets really interesting.  They were tested against a control group of women who had never had chemotherapy.  The results?  The women who had received chemotherapy scored SIGNIFICANTLY worse in cognitive tests, memory functions, and other tests related to the brain's functioning.

Apparently this is the first study to suggest that "chemo brain" might actually persist permanently after treatment.  For those of you unfamiliar with the term "chemo brain", let me give you an example.  When I was undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer, my aunt from Wisconsin came out to Pennsylvania to stay with us for a week's visit.  Months later, after I'd finished my treatments and was doing some scrapbooking, I was astonished to come across pictures of this aunt and me at our house.  I had NO recollection of her coming out for a visit.  Chemotherapy can make you feel like you are in a mental fog or it can leave you with whole gaps in your memory.  It's a weird sensation but one that I certainly never thought would be branding you long after treatments were completed.  Previous medical thinking was that this "chemo brain" phenomenon might last as long as five years but not longer.  This new study shakes up this thinking AND has  relevance to a lot of people. More and more women are surviving and thriving long past the five-year point after chemotherapy, thank the dear Lord!

"Well, that explains a lot," I told the Commander.  "Now we know why I've had problems over the past years with memorizing things and why my reasoning skills have become so convoluted."

"That might explain things for you," he replied, "But what about me?  Why do I have problems remembering things?"

"Oh, that's easy," I said.  "You're old.  I just have chemo brain."

I laughed (well, actually I cackled but let's not get nasty about it, eh?).

Later, I was telling all this to my daughter during our weekly phone call.

"Just think what a genius I could have been all these years if I hadn't had that chemo," I told her.  "Instead I've had to settle for just being brilliant."

"Jeez, Mom, you're not too conceited, are you," she laughed.

"Nope, just realistic," I replied.

 Of course, I might have been in a fog at the time brought on by prolapsed chemo brain, which shall now be my excuse of choice for every stupid thing I do in the future.  And that, my friends, only goes to show that there is a silver lining to everything if you use your cognitive skills to find it, reduced though they may be.