Keep Your Colon Healthy

From Health magazine

Do you realize that exercising regularly can cut your risk of colon cancer by as much as 40%? More than four in five Americans have no idea, according to a study from the Fox Chase Cancer Center.

Here, a few more tips to help you fight the third-leading cause of cancer deaths among women.

Quit. Women who smoke a lot hike their risk of developing colon cancer by 82%.

Up your D. People with high levels of vitamin D in their blood enjoy a 30 percent decrease in the risk of colon polyps—the precursors to cancer. Grab an extra serving of D-fortified milk (or yogurt).

Get checked sooner. A new study from Columbia University suggests that having a colonoscopy a decade earlier than usual (the average age is 50) may be worthwhile. Check with your doctor, and be sure to ask about the less-invasive virtual colonoscopy, now considered the equal of the traditional exam.

Last Updated: February 23, 2009
Filed Under: News You Need

Keep Your Colon Healthy

From Health magazine

Do you realize that exercising regularly can cut your risk of colon cancer by as much as 40%? More than four in five Americans have no idea, according to a study from the Fox Chase Cancer Center.

Here, a few more tips to help you fight the third-leading cause of cancer deaths among women.

Quit. Women who smoke a lot hike their risk of developing colon cancer by 82%.

Up your D. People with high levels of vitamin D in their blood enjoy a 30 percent decrease in the risk of colon polyps—the precursors to cancer. Grab an extra serving of D-fortified milk (or yogurt).

Get checked sooner. A new study from Columbia University suggests that having a colonoscopy a decade earlier than usual (the average age is 50) may be worthwhile. Check with your doctor, and be sure to ask about the less-invasive virtual colonoscopy, now considered the equal of the traditional exam.

Last Updated: February 23, 2009
Filed Under: News You Need

1 in 3 Smokers Would Kick Habit to Protect Pet

By Mara Betsch

Pet owners will often go to any length to protect the health of their furry and feathered friends. Now a new survey suggests that one in three smokers would consider kicking the habit after learning that smoking poses a danger to pets.

Secondhand smoke causes almost 50,000 deaths in adult nonsmokers in the United States each year, and there’s a mountain of evidence that secondhand smoke can affect a pet’s health as well. George Korin is a New York City veterinarian who has “seen bronchial disease in both dogs and cats, either due to home environment or air quality.” Studies have linked smoke exposure to oral cancer and lymphoma in cats and nasal and lung cancer in dogs, says Korin, who was not involved in the new survey.

Even birds can be victims: A 2007 study found a link between secondhand smoke, lung cancer, and eye, skin, and heart problems in pet birds.

The results of the current survey—which included nearly 3,300 pet owners and was published in the journal Tobacco Control—are not a surprise, according to Korin. He’s found that pet owners will do just about anything to safeguard their animals’ health, including faithfully placing dogs with spinal paralysis into special carts each day so they have greater mobility.

“People are motivated to help their pets,” says Korin. “At the least, they will do their very best to arrive at a diagnosis, even it involves fairly expensive procedures such as MRIs and CT scans.” Pet owners spent an estimated .5 billion in the United States in 2008 on pet supplies and over-the-counter medications.

In the survey, 28.4% of smokers said they would consider quitting after learning that secondhand smoke posed a danger to their pet. One in five smoking pet owners said they would ban smoking inside their home.

For doctors who treat people, this could be one more way to motivate smokers to kick the habit. “Clearly people love their pets,” says study author Sharon Milberger, ScD, of the Henry Ford Health System’s Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention in Detroit. “This may be a way to reach them.”

Because its participants were mostly from southeastern Michigan, researchers can’t be sure it’s representative of pet owners nationwide. And they’re not sure if pet owners who say they’d quit smoking for an animal would actually do so.

“What people say and do are two different things, but it’s an opportunity for additional research,” says Milberger.

Currently, the researchers are conducting a follow-up study that tracks pet owners who smoke to see if this motivation actually changes their behavior.

“We’ll have to get a better sense of how this information could motivate people, but it potentially could be a way to target smokers from a new angle,” she says.

Last Updated: February 19, 2009
Filed Under: Healing Pets

Social Smokers Aren’t Hooked on Nicotine, Just Smoking

By Ray Hainer

There’s a species of smoker among us that is common yet poorly understood. Their habitat consists of parties, barbecues, and the sidewalks outside bars and restaurants. They prefer to scrounge for their cigarettes, and if they do buy a pack, they’re apt to nurse it for a week or more. You may hear them say, “I’m not a smoker,” or “Only on weekends.”

These are “social smokers”—and there are more of them than you might think.

Smoking is often characterized as an all-or-nothing activity—on doctor’s office questionnaires it’s usually a yes-or-no question, for instance—but by some estimates, anywhere from one-fifth to one-third of adults who smoke don’t light up every day. While some of these so-called nondaily smokers smoke regularly but sparingly, up to 30% likely fall into the social-smoker category.

Hard numbers are difficult to come by, in part because the definition of a social smoker is so vague. A 2007 study of social smoking among college students—one of very few that have been published on the subject—found the term was used “loosely and inconsistently,” even among researchers. But most people know a social smoker when they see one. They smoke occasionally, almost always in groups, and more often than not while drinking alcohol. By definition, they do not consider themselves addicted to nicotine. Many started smoking casually in high school or college but never graduated to a daily habit.

“If I’m out drinking, or hanging out with people who are smoking, then I usually get the urge to smoke,” says Vickie, 45, from New York City. “But I might smoke Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and then not smoke for a week.” 

Vickie’s friend Katherine, 46, has smoked intermittently since her college days, but she limits it to specific times and places. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a cigarette before 7 p.m.,” she says. “I have smoked alone, but very, very rarely, and I don’t think I’ve bought a pack in 20 years. I know that I could put it down at any time.” Though she sometimes goes for months without smoking, she may smoke a whole pack in a weekend if some old friends are in town or if she’s on vacation. “Smoking is a small indulgence that I sometimes do,” says Katherine, “sort of like eating too much ice cream.”

Last Updated: February 19, 2009
Filed Under: Mother and Daughter