Screening, Lung Cancer and Menthol Cigarettes

In March of this year (2010) my brother in law and close friend died from Lung Cancer at the relatively young age of 55. He was an extremely well rounded, intelligent and charismatic individual. He maintained the balance of academia and autodidactism that's ironically becoming a scarce commodity in the information age. Having said qualities, he was fully cognizant of the fact that his smoking habit (menthols were his cigarettes of choice) could severely limit his life span. In the 25 years that I knew him he made several attempts to quit smoking (using myriad methodologies). He exercised regularly, ate a well balanced diet and passed his routine check-ups with flying colors. So when I heard about the proposed use of CT scans to detect Lung Cancer it forced me to ruminate over its potential efficacy: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/05/health/research/05cancer.html?ref=health

Clearly smoking isn't an easy addiction to overcome. Smoking cessation is a billion dollar industry in and of itself: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/104949.php

This isn't surprising given how much research and development appears to have been used to create and maintain loyal (read addicted) users:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090110085918.htm

http://ntr.oxfordjournals.org/content/12/4/398.short

It's no secret that smoking is "...bad for you..." and that you should never start. Regardless, prohibition will not, nor in my opinion should it, be used to prevent smoking. Once the protocols are perfected having CT scans as an additional diagnostic tool could give individual smokers much early warnings. That said, it could also give some smokers a false sense of security. At the end of the day, smoking prevention/education and finding an effective cessation methodology continue to be the most powerful weapon against cigarette impelled lung cancer.

A few breakfast options/substitutions. Most contain whole foods and are minimally processed

A few breakfast options/substitutions. Most contain whole foods and are minimally processed.

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Yogurts (preferably plain):

Greek Yogurt

Cascade Fresh

Horizons

Brown Cow

Steel Cut oats :

Bob’s Red Mill

Trader Joe’s

McCann’s

Bacon :

Applegate Farms

Niman Ranch

Trader Joe’s

Eggs

Admittedly, there are issues with what constitutes free range and humanely kept chickens. That being said, most of us don’t have access to freshly laid eggs and from a health standpoint the following types of eggs are more ideal:

Free range

Free range flax seed fed

Protein bars :

Lara Bars

Luna Bars and Clif Bars

Organic Food bars

We'll be posting more options during the week. If you have any specific questions or suggestions feel free to post them on the event wall.

Grass fed Beef and other meats

The debate over the composition and benefits of Grass fed Beef versus Grain fed Beef has garnered a substantial amount of publicity over the past couple of years. There have been myriad empirical studies carried out and published about Grass Fed Beef. All meat is definitely not created/grown equally. As an unapologetic Omnivore meat is a staple of my diet. That said, the quality and origins of the meat that I typically ingest is of supreme import.

The majority of arguments center around whether or not Grass Fed Beef is healthier and more environmentally friendly than the commercially processed Grain fed Beef. The overwhelming majority of empirical and, admittedly less persuasive, anecdotal evidence leans strongly in favor of Grass Fed Beef. Grass Fed Beef may be slightly more expensive, but it's naturally leaner contains significantly higher levels of both Omega 3 fatty acid and linoleic acid.

The following hubpage contains quite a bit of useful information on the subject:

http://hubpages.com/hub/epicureanhealth

A few issues that the page didn't address is that many commercial farms are now attempting to fool consumers into believing that their Beef is grass fed. What's often done is that they will give the cattle access to both grains, corn, and grass. Thereby, circumventing the current rules and regulations about organically grown animals. The truth is in the meat itself. One simple method of recognizing Grass Fed Beef is by looking at the fatty tissue that surrounds the meat. Instead of being white like your typical corn fed beef it will yellow. Grass Fed ground beef is typically more dense as well.

It can be difficult to find Grass Fed Beef in supermarkets. Moreover, the ubiquitous problem of confusing food labels rears it's head again. Fortunately, there are resources, such as the following to help:

http://www.foodrenegade.com/decoding-supermarket-beef-labels/

Not unlike the arguments made by proponents of High Fructose Corn Syrup there will continue to be arguments for Grain fed Beef. Fortunately, there's even stronger empirical evidence to support the merits of Grass Fed Beef over the Grain Fed variety. It may be slightly more expensive but when you factor in the health benefits Grass Fed Beef is clearly a healthy component to an omnivorous diet.

Ks3(Keep safe, smart, strong),

JD Blackstar