Sandyorganic's Weblog

I will be signing copies of my award winning guide to health, “Organic for Health,” at Books-A-Million in Venice, FL Sat 21, 1:00.

sandyorganic — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 15:15:35 +0000

I( will be sighing copies of my award winning guide to health, “Organic for Health<” at Books-A-Million in Venice, FL Feb 21, 1:00.

Thanks!

Sandy Powers

America’s Life Expectancy lags Behind Other Countries

sandyorganic — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 15:55:15 +0000

America’s Life Expectancy Lags Behind Other Countries

In international rankings, the life expectancy of Americans has been slipping. People in 41 countries are living longer than Americans. Where do these people live? In Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, Singapore, Jordan, Israel, to name only a few. This statistic is surprising since the United States has the most advance health care in the world. The question to ask is: how can this be?

Two indicators are commonly involved in life expectancy: Lifestyles and Nutrition.

Let’s examine each of these. First, Lifestyles.

Lifestyles: Americans are exercising more than ever. Gyms have been popping up all over the country in the last decade. Americans are working out, riding bikes, walking. (Mall walking has almost become a sport.) Yet, Americans 55 and over are much sicker than their British counterparts, according to an article in The Journal of the American Medical Association.

Nutrition: Studies have shown nutrition plays an important role in preventing heart disease, cancer, Parkinson’s disease, leukemia, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Yet, as Americans improved their diets by eating more fruits and vegetables, there didn’t seem to be a corresponding reduction in the incidences of these diseases. Scientists are beginning to recognize another factor is involved in preventing these and other diseases: how our food is grown.

Most of the food we buy in the grocery store is conventionally grown with toxic pesticides, not only with the food grown in the United States but in the food that is imported. The US chemical industry exports tons of toxic pesticides—often banned in the United States— to third world countries from which we import food. Few regulations exist in these countries on the applications of these toxins. And even if there were, there is no one to enforce the regulations.

More than twenty-five percent of all fresh and frozen produce is the US is imported, fifty percent from Mexico. Mexico also happens to be one of largest pesticide importer in Latin America. Now, we have a “circle of poison.” We sell toxic pesticides to Mexico to grow the toxic food we import to eat.

The EPA ranks pesticide residues as one of the leading health problems in the United States. The National Academy of Scientists estimates that in the next 50 years, pesticide residues will cause one million additional cases of cancer in the United States. No wonder the United States ranks 42 in life expectancy.

What can we do to increase our life expectancy and the life expectancy of our children? We eliminate as much toxic pesticides in our food by switching to organic foods, by buying fruits and vegetables from local farmers who use little such pesticides, and by growing some of own fruits and vegetables. That’s what those other 41 countries do.

Is Your Mammogram Working For You?

sandyorganic — Fri, 09 May 2008 13:24:09 +0000

Is Your Mammogram Working For You?

By Sandy Powers

In 2005, I had my yearly wellness check-up with my gynecologist.

“Breast exam fine,” he said. “If your Pap test is normal, I’ll send a card. Otherwise, I’ll call. And here’s your order for a mammogram.”

A scene repeated throughout the years but this time it was going to be different.

My Pap test came back negative. One down and one to go, I thought as I made my mammogram appointment. A few days after my mammogram, the radiologist called.

“I’d like you to have an ultrasound,” she said.

“An ultrasound? What for?” I asked.

“I think I see something. It may be nothing, but I want to make sure,” she explained.

The next day I went in for an ultrasound. A few hours later she called. “The ultrasound didn’t show anything, but I would feel better if you had a diagnostic mammogram– just to be sure,” she repeated.

“Sure,” I agreed, reassured by the ultrasound. It probably was nothing. But I was wrong. The diagnostic mammogram showed a tumor in the back of the breast close to the chest wall. The biopsy confirmed it was cancer. My best option was a mastectomy.

I am a breast cancer survivor of 3 years. I’m one of the lucky ones. I had a radiologist “who wanted to be sure.” Many women do monthly breast exams and have a yearly screening mammogram and as long as the doctor doesn’t call for more, they believe they are free and clear. Not so. My cancerous tumor could not be felt, even by the surgeon who performed the biopsy and knew exactly where it was. My screening mammogram never really showed anything. If I hadn’t had a radiologist “who wanted to be sure,” I probably wouldn’t be writing this article today.

Over 20 per cent of breast cancers are missed because of the poor quality of the screening mammograms and the inaccuracy of the radiologists who are reading the film. A publication of the New England Journal of Medicine reported that women with dense breasts, or who had a last menstrual period within 12 months of their mammogram or who are younger than age 50 may benefit from having a digital rather than a film (or regular screening) mammogram. “This digital mammography study demonstrates how new technologies are expanding our ability to detect breast cancer earlier in more women,” continued the report. (Don’t lock yourself in the “under 50″ part. Older women can also benefit.)

Digital mammograms are not as available as screening mammograms are. In fact, only about 35 per cent of U.S. mammography units are digital, the other 65 per cent are conventional, or screening. Call your local hospital to find a breast-imaging center. Check the yellow pages under “mammograms” to see who offers digital mammograms. If it doesn’t say digital, it’s not digital.

Your life is worth the extra effort. More than 40,000 women will die in the United States from breast cancer this year. Don’t be one of them.

A cancer survivor with liver problems, Sandy Powers turned to organic foods after her mastectomy to heal her liver and fight cancer recurrence. She shares her research, her amazing results, and her recipes packed with antioxidants and immune boosters in her book, “Organic for Health,” which is on file with Oprah. Sandy is a frequent guest on talk radio shows across the country and a speaker on health issues to various organizations.

sdepour@comcast.net

http://www/organicforhealthsite.com