Redbook magazine, in conjunction with the non-profit National Women’s Health Resource Center, conducted a survey of women to find out what are the most common health concerns of women.

• 51% - Breast cancer
• 48% - Diabetes
• 31% - Lung Cancer

The interesting thing is, those are not the leading cause of death among women, at least not broken down in that manner. The top 3, according to the CDC, are:

1. Heart disease
2. Cancer
3. Stroke

Breast Cancer is the biggest concern among women today. All those monthly self-exam campaigns work! And you should be vigilant and do those exams, get regular check-ups, and watch for signs. Thanks to all the early detection, survival rates are higher, and the message it out. Only 40% of those worried about Breast Cancer were worried about dying. Be proactive!

Tags: breast cancer, cancer, check-ups, diabetes, heart disease, lung cancer, research study, self-exam, stroke, survey

Dan Shapley from The Daily Green posted an article based on the US FDA study of lead in vitamins targeted at women and children. Out of the 324 items tested, only 4 were completely lead free.

The FDA did not feel that the level of lead found makes the vitamins unsafe. But lead is a concern for pregnant women and children 6 and under.

In his article, Dan Shapley makes a list of the greatest and least lead exposure in easy to read vitamin charts organized by user categories. You can get the complete list on the FDA website, but it easier a little harder to read.  I would suggest giving one of them a look, to make sure your vitamins aren’t on the greatest exposure list. To me it’s better to be on the safe side.

Tags: fda lead in vitamins study, lead, viamins

All you have to do is sign up for the Kashi Community. When you register you are taken to a link to print out a $2.00 off any Kashi product coupon.

Kashi’s 7 grains are oats, long grain brown rice, rye, hard red winter wheat, triticale, buckwheat, barley, sesame seeds. It’s a tasty and super nutritious combination.

Kashi products are an easy way to add more fiber into your diet. They even have frozen pizza and a great black bean mango frozen meal!

Tags: coupon, healthy coupons, kashi, kashi community

Eggs are, well, supposed to be bad for you right? It is drummed into our heads that eggs are an unhealthy food choice with too much cholesterol. A new study, soon to be released in The European Journal of Nutrition says something completely different about The incredible edible egg™.

Researchers had some participants in a clinical study follow a calorie restricted diet that included a breakfast of two eggs each day. At the end of the 12 week study the participants in that group lost weight and lowered their cholesterol, despite eating 100% of the daily allowance of cholesterol in those two eggs alone.

Dr Griffin said: ‘There is no convincing evidence to link an increased intake of dietary cholesterol or eggs with coronary heart disease. Indeed, eggs make a nutritional contribution to a healthy, calorie-restricted diet.’

Why did this work? Researchers believe that the eggs made for a nutritious breakfast that kept the participants full throughout the morning, thereby staving off the “grazing” that is the death knell of even the most carefully prepared meal plans. The key is that eggs are low in saturated fat, which is still thought to directly contribute to cholestrol levels in the blood.

Tags: breakfast, cholesterol, diet, Healthy Living, research study, weight loss

Your lunch is wearing off. You’re not that hungry, but you need a lift. Why not try some veggie juice? V-8 is the most advertised brand, and it’s pretty good if you aren’t watching your sodium. If you are, you should not drink regular V-8, only buy low-sodium V-8.

One serving only has 70 calories, lots of potassium, Vitamins A and C. But 1 serving also has 690mg of sodium.  The maximum recommend about of sodium per day is 1500mg, so that’s over 1/3 of your limit.  Even their V-8 diet only includes 6 oz. of V-8 a day, and a regular can is 11.5 oz.

You can just make your own.  Here are links to two recipes from The Natural Health Circus and one for a homemade low sodium one from Low Sodium Cooking.

Tags: Recipes, v-8, veggie juice

A just-released study, published in the British Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, has reported a connection between the use of saffron and a reduction in PMS symptoms. Saffron has been used to treat depression for many years and since PMS and depression share many symptoms, the results of the study were not unexpected for believers.

Researchers divided the women into two groups. One group took a daily saffron pill and the other took a placebo. They repeated this throughout two complete cycles. At the end of the study, three quarters of the women who received the saffron reported a 50% drop in their PMS symptoms. That’s 50% less crying, 50% less anger, 50% less mood swings, depression, and cravings. That’s some nice benefit! If you can get similar benefit out of a natural herb, as you can from something like Zoloft, it’s worth a look.

Tags: herbs, menstruation, pms, research study, saffron, supplements