Cancer. I've seen it up close and personal and it's not pretty. My sister had stage 3 breast cancer when she was 31 back in 1998. She went through chemotherapy, stem cell transplant, surgery, and radiation. She had an aggressive cancer and she needed aggressive treatment. She survived the disease and the treatment (Go Deb!). She's one of the lucky ones.

Cancer is just all too prevalent these days. Each year 12.7 million people in the world learn they have cancer, and 7.6 million people die from the disease. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the U.S., beat out only by heart disease. The good news is that, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one-third of cancer deaths can be avoided through prevention, and another third through early detection and treatment.

For those with cancer, nutrition can promote general well-being and support the body's innate healing process. It can work complementary to conventional treatment by reducing side effects and increasing the efficacy of treatment. It is interesting to note that women who have had breast cancer die of heart disease more often than they do from the cancer itself, likely because of the aggressive treatments needed to battle the cancer. Taking this into consideration can impact nutritional and supplemental recommendations.

There is mounting research showing that nutrition, lifestyle, and environmental changes can help with the prevention of cancer as well as with support during cancer treatment. Cancer rates vary across countries, associated with processed and refined diets. The rate of tumors that progress to detection is 5 to 10 times greater in high risk (poor diet) countries than low risk (healthy diet) countries. If we want to give ourselves the best chance for disease prevention and health promotion, we need to eat and live well.

In the interest of not making this blog too lengthy (okay, not lengthier than it already is), I'll focus on a client I worked with recently who had Stage 1 breast cancer a year prior. She had a lumpectomy and radiation for treatment. Although this blog emphasizes breast cancer, many of the recommendations are beneficial for other types of cancer (and for health in general). Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women in the U.S. (the lifetime risk is 1 in 8) and is second only to lung cancer for the most common cause of cancer death.

For diet, I recommended the following:

• Emphasize phytonutrients with anti-cancer properties. By eating a rainbow assortment of fruits and vegetables, particularly the dark color produce, you don't have to know about which food gives you what benefit but you are assured of getting the variety of nutrients. Antioxidants are abundant in fruits and vegetables, but can also be found in beans, nuts, herbs, and grains. They help fight free radicals which are known to promote cancer. Some examples of good phytonutrients are:
       – Lignans - flaxseeds
       – Ellagic acid - grapes, strawberries, raspberries
       – Chlorophyll - Brussels sprouts, leafy greens
       – Carotenoids - carrots, yams, squash
       – Categchins - green tea
       – Sulforaphane - brocolli sprouts
       – Curcumin - turmeric
       – Allyl sulfides - garlic, onions
• Choose an anti-inflammatory diet. An anti-inflammatory diet is important because inflammation increases the growth of blood vessels that feed the cancer. For a low inflammatory diet, avoid processed foods, trans fats, and high lectin foods. Lectins are carbohydrate binding proteins found in plants. High lectin foods include legumes, grains, and nightshade vegetables (tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, and peppers). It is also beneficial to eat foods high in omega-3s and to eliminate food allergens (top offenders are gluten, dairy, and soy).
• Balance blood sugar. The insulin surges from the lack of blood sugar regulation feeds inflammation. To balance blood sugar, eat protein with all meals and snacks.
• Get Omega-3s. My client does not like fish, so I recommended she take a fish oil supplement. If you like fish, good omega-3 choices include salmon, mackerel, halibut, and sardines. Fish oil contains EPA and DHA which keep the blood from clotting too quickly and provide anti-inflammatory benefits. Other good sources of Omega-3s include walnuts, flaxseed, and chia seeds.
• Eat organic foods, especially for the higher pesticide produce.
• Buy hormone-free meats. Foods that are not hormone-free could contain estrogenic hormones that are given to animals to promote growth.
• Limit packaged foods, trans fat, hydrogenated oils, and refined sugar. Limiting sugar is essential for those with cancer because insulin surges feed inflammation.
• Avoid carcinogenic foods such as foods that are smoked, barbecued, or treated with nitrates.
• Eat whole grains. My client does not eat a lot of carbs because she is concerned they will make her gain weight. When she does eat carbs, it is wheat bread or cereal. I suggested she'd benefit from substituting these carbs with better grains like brown rice or quinoa. This will help increase her fiber intake and help keep her full longer. Some studies show that fiber is beneficial for breast cancer prevention.
• Reduce caffeine and alcohol. (Drink more water.) Some studies show that consuming as few as three alcoholic drinks a week increases the potential for breast cancer by 50%. Alcohol may interfere with the liver's ability to detoxify chemicals and excess estrogen in the body. My client used to drink a lot of caffeinated beverages throughout the day. Coffee is an adrenal stimulant and burdens the liver so that it is less able to detoxify the body. Switching to decaffeinated green tea would be a good substitution.
• Do a detox. Detoxing periodically is a great cancer prevention strategy. Detoxing helps to keep the immune system healthy, keeps inflammation down, and helps reduce free radical damage. For those with cancer, I would not recommend doing a detox until a year after treatment when the body is strong enough.

If you are interested, you can download a handout I created highlighting key anticancer foods including green tea, turmeric, cruciferous vegetables, berries, and garlic & onions.well.

Cancer and health, like "Autoimmune Disease and Health", is a four quadrant endeavor. It is important that you are healthy in all aspects of your life—Mind, Body, Relationships, and Environment.

For lifestyle, I recommended a few changes as well:

• Reduce stress. My client has a lot of stress in her life. We talked about what type of stress-reducing activities would work for her. After tossing out a few ideas, she liked "kitty meditation." Three times a week, she committed to spending 5-10 minutes doing nothing but snuggling with her cats. During this time, she is mindful—hearing the sound of the purr and feeling the softness of the fur. For more ideas on finding your own style of meditation, read Meditation with Hollywood. Other ideas she came up with was walking with her husband after dinner and taking 5 minute work breaks with relaxing music or guided meditations recorded on her iPod. She also decided to try listening to relaxing music on her drive home instead of listening to news radio. What are the ways that you can reduce stress in your life?
• Exercise more. My client did not exercise very much. I recommended that she get a pedometer and aim for 10,000 steps a day. This is good for people who like structures and goals. Another idea is to make walk or gym dates with a friend. You are more likely to cancel out on yourself than a friend. One study showed that women who engaged in up to 2 hours of brisk walking a week had an 18% lower risk of getting breast cancer. Exercise is also great for reducing stress. For other exercise ideas, read Movement by Gypsy.
• Reduce exposure to radiation. Opt out of the radiation machines at the airport, requesting a body pat-down instead. I do this all of the time. And, I know my next recommendation may be controversial, but I suggest that my clients who have had breast cancer or are concerned about breast cancer do their research about mammograms. I am also at risk for breast cancer and for me, personally, I get mammograms sparingly. I don't get them yearly. I do them every other year. Instead, I do yearly MRIs. Other good detection techniques include regular self and physician exams. Mammograms provide direct radiation to the breast. Radiation causes free radicals which promote cancer. A Canadian study of almost 90,000 women aged 40-49 at 15 hospitals across Canada found a 30-50% increase in deaths from breast cancer among women over 40 who had annual mammograms versus those who were given only physical exams. Everyone needs do their own research, weigh the options, and make the decision that is best for them.
• Reduce exposure to toxins by choosing natural beauty and cleaning products. Another good idea is to get an air cleaner in your house.

There are several supplements I have recommended for my cilent.

• Vitamin D. In an initial blood test, my client showed a Vitamin D level of 25ng/ml. She now takes Vitamin D to get her up into the 60 to 80 range.
• Omega-3 fish oils. As mentioned above, omega-3s are great for reducing inflammation and so much more.
• DIM is a supplement that can bind to estrogen receptors, displacing the body's estrogen which is beneficial for those concerned about breast cancer risk.
• Curcumin. As mentioned above, curcumin is a powerful antioxidant.
• Sulphoraphane. As mentioned above, this is a powerful phytonutrient and has anticancer properties. I recommended a supplement that is a cultivated form of broccoli seed.

I don't have all the answers. No one does. For my own health, I do the research and make the best decisions for me. As a health coach, I can give recommendations to my clients based on what I have learned from studying the research and working with other clients, but ultimately my clients are the ones that need to make the best decisions for themselves. There are no guarantees that if we live well, we won't get cancer or another disease. But, for me, there is enough evidence showing that how we live and what we eat can impact our health. I want to give myself the best fighting chance I can to stay healthy.

This is part of a series looking at specific diseases and what can be done from a nutritional and lifestyle standpoint. Also part of this series is Autoimmune Disease and Health, Heart Disease and Health, Diabetes and Health, and more. These will be forthcoming.

_________

Dina Colman, MA, MBA is an author, healthy living coach, and founder of Four Quadrant Living. Dina has a private practice helping clients live healthier and happier lives. Her book, Four Quadrant Living: Making Healthy Living Your New Way of Life, guides readers to make healthy living a part of their daily lives, leading to greater health, vitality, and happiness. Contact Dina at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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So, what does this look like? Basically it means eating real food—opting for fruits, vegetables, and lean meats. A low allergenic diet means removing top allergenic foods like gluten, dairy, soy, and nuts. For a low inflammatory diet, it means avoiding processed foods, trans fats, and high lectin foods. Lectins are carbohydrate binding proteins found in plants. High lectin foods include legumes, grains, and nightshade vegetables (tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, and peppers). I also recommend removing caffeine, sodas, and sugar from the diet.

Managing blood sugar regulation means eating every few hours and including a protein with all meals and snacks. Eating high antioxidant foods means eating the rainbow of fruits and vegetables. For those with autoimmune conditions, it is important to buy organic, especially for the high pesticide produce.

There are blood tests that can be done to determine which foods you are sensitive to. Another way is to do a detox diet removing all possible allergenic and inflammatory foods and then reintroduce them one by one to see which ones cause problems. For those with active flare-ups or advanced autoimmune diseases, I recommend doing a detox diet as the first order of business to detoxify the body and calm down the inflammation.

___________

I am offering a 25% discount to anyone who wants nutritional consulting and health coaching for an autoimmune disease. Just mention this blog.

Dina Colman, MA, MBA is an author, healthy living coach, and founder of Four Quadrant Living. Dina has a private practice helping clients live healthier and happier lives. Her book, Four Quadrant Living: Making Healthy Living Your New Way of Life, guides readers to make healthy living a part of their daily lives, leading to greater health, vitality, and happiness. Contact Dina at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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I don't get it. Seriously, why do people think it is okay to litter? The other day I was in the car waiting for my husband to get some items at the grocery store and I saw a guy come out of the store with a pack of cigarettes. He opened his pack on his way to the car, leaving the wrapper on the ground. I was so annoyed with this behavior that I just could not let it go. I got out of the car and went over to him and picked up his trash and said something like, "Why do you think it is okay to litter?" I did not wait around long enough for a response, but I'm hoping that the embarrassment of someone seeing him do it and then pick up his trash will at least shame him into not doing it anymore (or at least to think twice about it).

This is not an isolated incident. Within the same week, I saw a woman carrying her Starbucks coffee, and granted, she did have her hands full, but she dropped her napkin. She saw it fall behind her and she just walked on. I spoke loudly about how unbelievable it is that people don't pick up after themselves. I picked up her trash and threw it away. What is with people? Why do they feel entitled to leave their trash on the streets? Is it really that hard to make it to a trash can?

I just looked up some statistics and found that over 51 billion pieces of litter land on U.S. roadways each year. Motorists (52%) and pedestrians (23%) are the biggest contributors to litter. On roadways, tobacco products, mostly cigarette butts, are the most littered item (38%), followed by paper (22%) and plastic (19%). Off roadways, mostly at entrances to businesses, transportation, and other places where items must be discarded before entering, the top littered items are confection (e.g. candy, chocolate, gum) at 54% and cigarette butts at 30%. The reasons for why people litter include the following: people don't care, litter begets litter, ignorance, lack of pride, and lack of consequence for their actions.

There are many reasons why it's not a good idea to litter. To highlight a few,

• Houses for sale in litter neighborhoods are valued lower, estimated at a 7% decrease in property value.
• Fires started by litter causes millions of dollars of damages every year.
• Every year there are numerous vehicle accidents caused by attempting to avoid litter in the roadways.
• Millions of birds, fish, and animals die annually from litter.
• Litter carries germs.
• Litter costs money. Litter cleanup costs the U.S. almost $11.5 billion each year. 

(Statistics from Keep America Beautiful)

Littering is illegal in all states in the U.S. In California, penal code 374 says it is illegal to litter and penal code 23111 says it is illegal to throw a lit cigarette out of a moving vehicle (this one really irks my husband). The fine for littering ranges from $100 to $1,000. I contacted the police departments in my city, Danville, and nearby Walnut Creek, to see if the police actually give tickets for littering. Danville police said they do, mostly for cigarette butts. My friend who works in the Walnut Creek Police Department said he has stopped people who litter—sometimes citing them and sometimes making them pick up after themselves. I would imagine both would be effective coming from the police.

In my research for writing this blog, I came across a site, LitterButt, that lets you tell on litter bugs who throw trash from a car. You report the license plate number and the offender receives a letter from the state notifying them they were caught littering. No fines are levied, though they are informed of littering fines. Three states currently participate—Pennsylvania, Texas, and North Carolina. I think this is pretty cool. Too bad California doesn't participate. The site does have ways to take action to try to get other states to participate, making it very easy with a written form to submit online to your state governor. This site has a wealth of information including litter laws by state, statistics, and effective ways to reduce litter.

So, what can we, as concerned citizens do? Educate! People who are aware of the dangers of litter often make more of an effort to not leave their trash behind. Call people out when you see them littering to let them know it's not okay (if the person seems approachable). Teach our children not to litter. Pick up litter when you see it. Others may notice you doing it and follow your example. Encourage our police departments to more proactively enforce the law.

Now that I'm armed with more information, I plan to handle my conversations with litter bugs a little more maturely. Rather than speaking loudly in my disapproving tone or saying something and leaving, I plan to try to engage them in conversation and educate them. I'll tell them them that not only is it harming our environment, but also it is illegal with serious fines.

Who else will join me in the "No More Litter Bugs!" campaign?
_________

Dina Colman, MA, MBA is an author, healthy living coach, and founder of Four Quadrant Living. Dina has a private practice helping clients live healthier and happier lives. Her book, Four Quadrant Living: Making Healthy Living Your New Way of Life, guides readers to make healthy living a part of their daily lives, leading to greater health, vitality, and happiness. Contact Dina at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Sometimes I feel like the Environment quadrant is the ugly stepchild of the four quadrants. When I'm talking about the four quadrants, people seem the least interested in the Environment in the context of health. It's not as much in our awareness when we think of healthy living. Each week, I blog about one of the four quadrants so that each one is covered in a month. This week, it's time to feature the Environment. Rather than focus on something specific related to the environment like I usually do, this blog is about giving a general shout-out to it and bringing it into the spotlight. Today, the Environment is the belle of the ball.

Of the four quadrants, the environment is the one that people think least relates to their own health. There is a lot of focus on the Body quadrant as it relates to health—nutrition, exercise, sleep. There is a fair amount of focus on the Mind quadrant and its connection to health in the form of stress management. Although we may not think about Relationships in terms of our connection to health, we get it. When we spend time with toxic people, we don't feel good. In contrast, the Environment is seen as somehow separate from us. It is viewed as external rather than internal. But the truth is, we are intimately connected to our environment. If we keep the environment healthy, we keep ourselves healthy.

According to the World Health Organization, 25% of health problems are caused by environmental factors. Toxins in the environment have been linked to numerous diseases and health conditions, including asthma, allergies, premature birth, learning disabilities, early puberty, diabetes, reduced fertility, and even many cancers.

Environmental factors that affect our health can be found everywhere—both indoors and outdoors, as well as at work and at home. We ingest the toxins in many ways—through our skin, nose, mouth, and ears. This includes polluted air and water, excessive noise, radiation, hazardous wastes, chemical-filled cleaning products, pesticides, and food and food container contaminants. Some we have control over and some we don’t, but the idea is to lower our toxic load where we can— to do our best to make our environment healthy so that we can be healthy.

According to the Federation of State Public Interest Research Groups, scientists have found more than 100 potentially dangerous industrial chemicals and pollutants in the body of the average American. Read that sentence again. That's scary. Many of the chemicals used in products are introduced into our society and are only later realized to be harmful to our health. Unintentionally, we are the guinea pigs for these chemicals, and the price is high. For example, DDT and PCBs, once used abundantly, were banned in the 1970s when it was recognized how harmful they were. What chemical that is commonly used today will we find out in the future is actually toxic to our health?

I think about the Environment quadrant in connection with health in a variety of contexts. For example, I think about it in terms of cleaning up my personal environment which includes using green cleaning products in my home, using air purifiers to clean the air, removing shoes to keep toxins out, and gardening organically to keep chemicals out of my yard. I also think about it in terms of cleaning up the larger environment which includes reducing my use of plastic bottles, carrying my own reusable shopping bags, stopping catalogs, being kind to wildlife, and using less energy. In addition to greening my personal and expanded environments, I also think about the Environment in terms of the solace and peace it provides me. Creating my home as a safe and clean sanctuary is not only good for my physical health, but also my mental health. Being out in nature is also good for my health. Studies show that even just five minutes of exercising outdoors can be beneficial to us—increasing our self-esteem, improving mood, and decreasing anxiety. There are many ways that our health is intertwined with our environment.

if you are ready to dance with the belle of the ball instead of ignoring the ugly stepchild, here are some ideas from past blogs and the Four Quadrant Living website to help you create an environment that can promote your health. You can just read through the list as a reminder or click on the links if you want more detail.

• Environment Topics - reduce, reuse, recycle, stop catalogs, clean green, properly dispose of toxic waste, use less energy and water, walk or bike instead, say no to plastic, save lives (adopt & spay), travel lightly, simply be (in nature)
• Plastic At Home, Really? - say no to plastic, use cloth instead of paper napkins, be creative with gift wrap, print on both sides
• Shoeless Sanctuary - leave shoes at the door, clean green, avoid non-stick cookware, remodel green, set bugs free, get an air cleaner, garden organically
• Don't Judge A Weed - garden organically
• Free Space, Free Mind - remove clutter (a decluttered environment makes for a decluttered mind)
• Frying the Birds - be kind to wildlife
• My Love Affair with a Mountain, Peace by Nature - find solace (and health) in nature

What changes can you make in the Environment quadrant to promote your overall health?
_________

Dina Colman, MA, MBA is an author, healthy living coach, and founder of Four Quadrant Living. Dina has a private practice helping clients live healthier and happier lives. Her book, Four Quadrant Living: Making Healthy Living Your New Way of Life, guides readers to make healthy living a part of their daily lives, leading to greater health, vitality, and happiness. Contact Dina at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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The phone rings. In the blink of an eye, life, as you know it, is gone. I've gotten that call a few times in my life. In 1998, I was walking the streets of San Francisco after a business meeting when my sister called to tell me she was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer. In 2000, my sister-in-law left a frantic and disturbing message about my father-in-law being dead at the bottom of the pool. Three years later we got a call from my mother-in-law going to the hospital with stomach pains. She was dead a week later from pancreatic cancer. This past Friday, I got a call from a close friend who is vacationing in Hawaii with a friend. He called to say that the friend he is traveling with suffered a brain aneurism. This vibrant, 40-something woman was enjoying her vacation one day, and the next, she is in a coma fighting for her life.

Everyone has their story of someone they know who ________ (fill in the blank) — was diagnosed with cancer, died from a heart attack suddenly, has Alzheimer's. Sometimes the person is young, sometimes they are old. It's tragic and it shakes us to the core. It jolts us into a very present awareness of life and our fleeting time here. We vow to live healthier, live in the moment, appreciate life. Yet, invariably the daily grind of life (with its drama, politics, pressures, expectations) resumes control and takes us away from what is important. We are back to sweating the small stuff, holding grudges, spending too much time on the unimportant. It's not realistic to "live every day like it's our last" because we have very real responsibilities that might prevent us from doing so. However, death can give us the gift of life if we have a healthy relationship with it.

I have definitely changed my life because of all of the illness and death that have happened in my life. I am hyper-aware of our limited time on this earth. Up until my sister was diagnosed with cancer, I lived for the future. What I did in the present was typically focused on what it would bring me in the future. Watching my 33-year-old sister go through chemotherapy, stem cell transplant, surgery, and radiation is etched in my brain. My sister is 13 years cancer-free (yay!), but I carry her tough fight with me always. Because of it, I changed my career path to do something I'm passionate about. I make time for the important people in my life and tell them I love them. I care about my health. I am kind to myself and others. I (try to) live in the moment.

While I think this is all a positive side of these sad happenings, there is a dark side. I worry a lot. I worry about the phone ringing and my life changing in an instant. I worry about losing my dad, my mom, my sister, my husband, my friends, my pets. I worry about them getting cancer, dying, having a stroke. I can be having an amazing holiday dinner with my family and instead of relishing in the joyous moment, I'm truly, physically sad because I know that some day I won't be able to celebrate this occasion with all of them. The reality of life is that we die. Yes, this awareness makes me appreciate the moment—which is a good thing. However, I'm so worried about the uncertain certain future that it also has the opposite effect of taking me out of the present moment—which is not a good thing. 

There has to be a balance. Death gives us the gift of life. It is a reminder that our time is finite. But fearing it does us no good because it takes us out of the present. We have no control over when illness or death will arrive for us or our loved ones, but we do have control over how we choose to live our lives.

Have you found life through death? If it has been a while and some of those life lessons have been lost, try not to wait for the phone to ring to be a reminder of who and what is important to you. You've got one life. Take control and make it the life you want.
_________

Dina Colman, MA, MBA is an author, healthy living coach, and founder of Four Quadrant Living. Dina has a private practice helping clients live healthier and happier lives. Her book, Four Quadrant Living: Making Healthy Living Your New Way of Life, guides readers to make healthy living a part of their daily lives, leading to greater health, vitality, and happiness. Contact Dina at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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In the musical, "Oliver!", hungry orphan, Oliver Twist, who is eating yet another bowl of gruel sings about "Food, Glorious Food." What I just learned recently about the U.S. standards for food makes me feel that the options for glorious food available in this country are getting more and more limited. Next time I'm in the supermarket, I may just break into song about "Food, Unglorious Food."

Milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy, and wheat. These eight foods account for 90% of food allergies. When I was growing up, I never heard about food allergies. Now, it seems all too common. According to a study released in 2008 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there was an 18% increase in food allergies between 1997 and 2007. Today, 8% of children have a food allergy.

What is a food allergy? A food allergy is a condition in which the immune system incorrectly identifies a food protein as a threat and attempts to protect the body against it by releasing chemicals into the blood. The release of these chemicals results in the symptoms of an allergic reaction. So, the question is, what is in our food now that wasn't before? The answer is disturbing.

Beginning in the 1990s, new proteins were engineered into our food supply in order to maximize the profitability for the food industry. This makes perfect sense from a business standpoint, but it's unfortunate from a health standpoint. Milk is the most common allergy in the U.S. In 1994, in order to drive profits for dairy, scientists created a new genetically engineered protein and synthetic growth hormone to inject into cows to make them produce more milk. As a result, the cows got sick which meant an increase in the use of antibiotics.

Here's where it gets most disturbing. There were no human trials conducted. Governments around the world said that they were not going to allow this into their milk supply since it was not proven safe. Countries like Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and all 27 countries in Europe did not allow it. But, guess what happened in the U.S.? We said that since it hadn't been proven unsafe, we'd allow it.

We didn't stop at milk. Scientists have engineered soy such that it is able to withstand increasing dosages of weedkiller. Soy is a top allergen. Corn has also been engineered. Scientists injected insecticide into the corn seed so that it releases its own insecticide. Cool from a science and business standpoint. Not so cool from a health perspective.

If other countries do not allow these genetically modified foods, how do global companies like Kraft and Coca Cola sell product to them? They make different products! That's right. Here's an example. Mac & Cheese in the U.K. has very different ingredients than the U.S. version. Because these countries mentioned above do not allow things like artificial growth hormones, food dyes derived from petrochemicals, and genetically engineered ingredients into their food supplies, global companies must make a different version to compete in the marketplace abroad.

Here is a look at the difference between U.S. and U.K. Kraft Mac & Cheese.

U.S. Version of Kraft Mac & Cheese:

Enriched Macaroni Product (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate [Iron], Thiamin Mononitrate [Vitamin B1], Riboflavin [Vitamin B2], Folic Acid), Cheese Sauce Mix (Whey, Modified Food Starch, Whey Protein Concentrate, Cheddar Cheese [Milk, Cheese Culture, Salt, Enzymes], Salt, Calcium Carbonate, Potassium Chloride, Contains Less Than 2% of Parmesan Cheese [Part-Skim Milk, Cheese Culture, Salt, Enzymes, Dried Buttermilk, Sodium Tripolyphosphate, Blue Cheese [Milk, Cheese Culture, Salt, Enzymes], Sodium Phosphate, Medium Chain Triglycerides, Cream, Citric Acid, Lactic Acid, Enzymes, Yellow 5, Yellow 6).

U.K. Version of Kraft Mac & Cheese:

Macaroni (Durum Wheat Semolina), Cheese (10%), Whey Powder (from milk), Lactose, Salt, Emulsifying Salts (E339, E341), Colours (Paprika Extract, Beta-Carotene)

I'll take the U.K. version any day. No dyes and fewer (better) ingredients, Instead of using Yellow 5 and 6 to get the desired color, they use paprika extract and beta-carotene. Great idea. Why are we using dyes in our country?

I am completely blown away that we are allowing this to happen in our country. The U.S. has the highest rate of cancer in the world and we spend more on health care than any country. Clearly, we are doing something wrong. As voters, we should encourage the government to follow suit like the other countries. As consumers, we should demand the healthier version of food products. As eaters, we should opt for whole foods that do not contain hormones or pesticides, or that have been genetically modified. For ideas on how to stay healthy even with the less than desirable products on our supermarket shelves, read Eat This Way and Buy (Some) Organic

Usually I end my blogs with a question asking how you, the reader, will make a change. But, honestly, right now I am too disappointed with the U.S. government for not better regulating our food sources and with global companies like Kraft who are making different versions and selling us the crappy one. So, my question goes to them. Can't you see that your short-sighted quest for profit is actually costing you more money down the road in managing disease and health care in this country? _________

Dina Colman, MA, MBA is an author, healthy living coach, and founder of Four Quadrant Living. Dina has a private practice helping clients live healthier and happier lives. Her book, Four Quadrant Living: Making Healthy Living Your New Way of Life, guides readers to make healthy living a part of their daily lives, leading to greater health, vitality, and happiness. Contact Dina at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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How far will we go for beauty? Apparently, pretty far. I just recently heard about a product called Latisse. It helps your eyelashes grow longer. It originated from a group of popular medications called topical prostaglandins, drugs used for glaucoma patients. A side effect of this product is hypertrichosis, a condition characterized by darkening, thickening, and lengthening of the eyelashes. The product people use to lengthen their eyelashes is actually a side effect of a drug used to treat a serious medical condition. So people who do not have glaucoma are taking a prescription medication for the benefit of its side effect. Really?

As if this weren't enough, having thin eyelashes is actually a medical condition of its own now. Latisse received FDA approval for the treatment of "inadequate eyelashes". Who determined that thick eyelashes are desirable and beautiful? Hair in other parts of our body is undesirable. What if we saw eyelashes as one of the undesirable places for hair to grow out of? It is so subjective, yet people are now taking a prescription medication to have thicker lashes.

It's not just eyelashes that we have medicalized in this country. Natural life events like puberty, childbirth, menopause, and aging have also become medicalized. These stages in life are now "conditions" that require drugs and doctors. The media and pharmaceutical companies are creating disease and selling the cure. We are buying it. Melody Petersen, in Our Daily Meds, gives some powerful and disturbing examples. One such example is the disease of bad breath. Pharmaceutical company, Warner-Lambert, expanded the market for Listerine mouthwash in the 1920s by creating public anxiety about halitosis, better known as bad breath. Based on a widespread ad campaign that blamed halitosis for job and relationship troubles, Listerine's net earnings increased forty-fold. One of the ads said, "You 5,000,000 women who want to get married: How's your breath today?" Suddenly bad breath was a social ill and medical condition. Promoting the more serious sounding monikers, halitosis and hypotrichosis (the opposite of hypertrichosis), seems to legitimize the medical treatment of them.

Have you been lured into the frenzy? When I was a teenager, my mom took me to a dermatologist who put me on Accutane to help with my acne. Accutane is a pretty serious drug with plenty of short-term and long-term side effects. I was a normal teenager with a few pimples. I did not need to be on Accutane, but at the time, we didn't know any better. Perhaps the drug makes sense for people with severe acne, but that wasn't me. I cringe at the thought of having taken it. My sister was recently taking allergy medication because the hair dye she was using made her scalp itch. Ultimately she switched hair dyes, but where does it end?

I recently saw an article whose headline read, "If you can't tone it, tan it!". The article talked about how being tan can help you look skinnier. It made me think about how we define beauty. There used to be a time when being pale was desirable because it meant you weren't working in the fields. Similarly, being heavier was a sign of prosperity and fertility. I just wonder—with all of the plucking, tweezing, waxing, tanning, dyeing, injecting, and medicating—what disease are we trying to cure? Is it the disease of "unattractiveness"? How can we cure a disease when the diagnosis of unattractiveness is so subjective and seems to change over time and with geographic boundaries?

I'm not saying we shouldn't do anything in the name of "beauty" because that isn't realistic. We are all products of our socialization. From an early age, we are told what beauty looks like; it is deeply engrained in us. But, I am saying we should make it a conscious choice and not let it completely consume us. Do it because it makes YOU feel better about yourself. Think about everything you are putting on and in your body and recognize the impact it has on your mental and physical health. For me, I choose to dye my hair. For you, it may be thick eyelashes or a tan. Just make sure you are doing it for the right reasons and that you are doing it mindfully. Yes, I dye my hair, but I keep the rest of my beauty regime simple. And, I use natural products for my shampoos, conditioners, lotions, and makeup. It's all about balance. Don't let your quest for beauty compromise your health. If we focused more time on being ourselves and less time trying to live up to this model of what society says is beautiful (at this moment in time and in this part of the world), we might be happier. We'd certainly have more time for fun!

Look in the mirror and find beauty in what you see—inside and out. What beauty rituals can you let go of for better overall health?


For more information about the perils of prescription drugs, see Just Say No (to Prescription Drugs). For more information on choosing less toxic beauty products, see Going Au Natural.

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Dina Colman, MA, MBA is an author, healthy living coach, and founder of Four Quadrant Living. Dina has a private practice helping clients live healthier and happier lives. Her book, Four Quadrant Living: Making Healthy Living Your New Way of Life, guides readers to make healthy living a part of their daily lives, leading to greater health, vitality, and happiness. Contact Dina at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Black Friday. Cyber Monday. Hanukkah. Christmas. New Year’s Eve. The holiday madness begins in November and lasts through the New Year. I'm not a holiday grinch, but I cringe at the waste that comes from the holiday season every year. From Thanksgiving to New Years Day, household waste in the U.S. increases by more than 25%. The waste comes in the form of food, shopping bags, holiday cards, packaging, wrapping paper, bows, ribbons, and more. This adds up to an additional one million tons a week to our landfills during this time (United States Environmental Protection Agency).

Think about the bags of trash you end up with at the end of the night after opening gifts. Trash bags are piled high with ribbon, paper, and packaging—much of it which is not recyclable. This trash sits in landfill for hundreds of years before it decomposes. Give a gift to the environment this holiday season and reduce waste. Here are some ideas.

• Reduce the number of holiday cards you send. Did you know that the 2.65 billion holiday cards sold each year in the U.S. could fill a football field 10 stories high? If we each send one card less, we'd save 50,000 cubic yards of paper (The Use Less Stuff Report). How about sending electronic cards or posting a holiday video to your friends on YouTube? For paper or photo cards, think about just sending to those friends and family who are out-of-town that you do not see as often. This will save you both time and money. I stopped sending holiday cards a few years ago and I don't miss that extra “to-do" around the holidays.

• Go potted or rent. Each year 50 million Christmas trees are purchased in the U.S., and of those, about 30 million go to landfill (The Use Less Stuff Report). Artificial trees can be reused, but are not ideal for the environment either. They are made of PVC (a harmful plastic), are typically shipped from outside the U.S. (consuming resources to get to their final destination), and are not recyclable or biodegradable. Instead, go for a potted tree that can be replanted after the holiday season. If you don't want to plant it in your yard, you can find another spot for it. The Original Christmas Tree Company has some ideas. There are also companies that rent trees, such as Rent a Living Christmas Tree.

• Go homemade. Give homemade gifts instead of packaged ones. The sentiment will last a lifetime. At my dad's house, we now give homemade gifts instead of bought ones. We have done this for the past four years. We draw names and make a gift for one person. I cherish the photo calendar my dad made me, the painted box with uplifting sayings my sister made me, the wood-carved wine holder my sister's boyfriend made me, and the decorated frames my stepmom gave me. I don't remember all of the other gifts I have gotten from them over the years, but I will always remember what they made for me.

• Give less. If you are not ready to give up gift giving entirely, how about drawing names and just buying for one person? This means less time in the mall and lower January credit card bills. For less packaging waste, good gift ideas are movie tickets, spa certificates, gift cards, or vouchers for an activity with you. Another great idea is to make a donation to an organization that has meaning for the person you are gifting. For me, it's not just about the money—it's about the time and pressure of gift giving. There is so much frenzy during the holiday season that is only exacerbated by the obligation of gift giving. Let's give ourselves a chance to enjoy the holiday season without putting so many demands on our time (and pocketbook).

• Spend time, not money. Create traditions that your family looks forward to over the holidays, reducing the importance of material items and increasing the importance of family time. Some of my favorite traditions are building ginger bread houses, cooking together, building puzzles, playing games, and driving through the neighborhood listening to holiday music, and seeing the holiday lights.

• Be creative with gift wrap. Try using newspapers, magazines, old calendars, or scarves to wrap presents. Choose wrapping paper with recycled content. Don't throw out the scraps. Use them and wrap a gift with several scrap pieces. Go light (or not at all) on the tissue paper. Instead of throwing out (or recycling) all of the tissue paper, boxes, and gift wrap, save it for next year. My sister and her boyfriend outdid themselves last year when they wrapped my gifts in fresh banana leaves that could be returned to nature after I opened my gifts.
  

• Forgo the ribbons and bows. If every family reused just two feet of holiday ribbon, the 38,000 miles of ribbon saved could tie a bow around the entire planet (The Use Less Stuff Report). It’s the gift inside that matters, not the packaging.

• Save energy. I enjoy the holiday lights as much as the next person but they do use a lot of energy. If you are in the market for new lights, buy LED ones which save energy.

• Pay it forward. My friends, Tracy and Vinny, have a holiday party every year where the price of admission is a new, unwrapped toy for the Toys for Tots program which gives gifts to children in need. What a great way to get in the true spirit of reaching out to and helping others.
  

Okay, so maybe I am a bit of a holiday grinch—limited holiday cards, rented Christmas trees, and homemade gifts? I've made most of these changes over the years, and I have to say—the holidays are much less stressful (and more meaningful) for me than they used to be. I have time to enjoy the season and my family. I'm not running around like a crazy person making sure I have gifts for everyone, holiday cards filled out, and gifts wrapped. It's liberating.

On the other hand, I do enjoy getting into the holiday spirit with listening to the holiday music, seeing the lights, and receiving the photo cards and witty letters from my friends. Four Quadrant Living not about depriving ourselves of the things that bring us pleasure. Pleasure is a key component of our health. So, if there are certain items listed above that bring you joy during the holiday season, by all means, do them. Just do them mindfully, recognizing the impact on the health of the environment, those around you, and even yourself.

You don't have to make all of the changes, but is there one change for this holiday season that you can make as a gift to yourself, as well as to the environment?

It is November which means the holidays are rapidly approaching. Later this month we will be tempted by pumpkin pie and stuffing. Soon after that it will be December and the temptations of sweets and desserts will abound. There is no doubt that the stress of the holidays and the availability of unhealthy food can be a challenge to our healthy eating plan.

Here are a few ideas to stay healthy during the holidays.

1. Eat mindfully. For example, when you are at the Thanksgiving table, mindfully eat your favorite foods. Savor the stuffing and pumpkin pie. Part of health is pleasure. If we deprive ourselves of our favorite foods or feel we cannot (or should not) join in with special meal sharing with our friends and family, it affects our health in other ways. Stressing about eating is counterproductive to our health. Give yourself permission to enjoy the holiday meals. Just enjoy them mindfully.

2. Throw it out. If there is leftover Halloween candy or food from a holiday party, it is okay to throw it out. If someone bakes you cookies, you can freeze some for later. Do not feel obligated to eat all of the unhealthful food that comes your way. It is okay to mindfully indulge, but there is no reason to mindlessly indulge daily from now until New Years. It may seem like a waste of money to throw out food, but it is better than compromising your health.

3. Eat your vegetables. Load up on vegetables so you fill up with healthy foods. This will help prevent you from going overboard with the not-so-healthy food choices.

4. Go small. Use smaller serving plates to keep portions under control. We consume an average of 92% of what we put on our plate, so it is worth paying attention to what we feed ourselves. A two inch difference in plate diameter—from 12" to 10" plates—results in 22% fewer calories being served. Assuming a typical dinner has 800 calories, a smaller plate would lead to weight loss of approximately 18 pounds per year for an average size adult (Small Plate Movement).

5. Switch it up. Eat with your non-dominant hand to slow down your eating.

6. Leave it. Decide that it is okay to leave food on your plate if you are full.

7. Wait. If you are still hungry, allow a few minutes before reaching for seconds. It takes 20 minutes for the fullness in our stomach to reach our brains which is why we can reach the point of being stuffed. Waiting before you go in for seconds may give you enough time to realize that you are not hungry anymore.

The holidays do not need to mean the choice between weight gain or deprivation. Find the middle ground and enjoy your favorite foods this holiday season.

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Dina Colman, MA, MBA is an author, healthy living coach, and founder of Four Quadrant Living. Dina has a private practice helping clients live healthier and happier lives. Her book, Four Quadrant Living: Making Healthy Living Your New Way of Life, guides readers to make healthy living a part of their daily lives, leading to greater health, vitality, and happiness. Contact Dina at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.