On January 1st, many of you resolved to make positive changes in your life in 2011. One of those changes may have been to be more eco-friendly. But be very careful if that involves using reusable bags -- they are hiding a nasty secret. Half of the reusable bags tested by researchers at the University of Arizona were contaminated by fecal bacteria. Seventeen percent tested positive for E. coli. Need I say more? If you use the same reusable bags to transport clothing and shoes that you use to transport groceries you can easily transfer bacteria. Make sure to designate bags for groceries only and wash all your reusable bags in hot water regularly to prevent the built up of illness causing bacteria. Health magazine editors recently posted this question on Pollydaddy.com: What would you give up to lose 10 pounds by tomorrow? The results . . . 6% answered my wedding band, 7% my dog, 26% $1000 and 61% nothing. I am really not sure what that tells us about making good health decisions but thought it was interesting/odd enough to share.
I was shocked to learn that half of women over the age of 40, even those with health insurance, are not getting mammograms. In 2009, when asked what she would have done differently in her life Elizabeth Edwards said, “Well, for one thing, I would have had regular mammograms.” After being diagnosed with advanced stage breast cancer, Mrs. Edwards admitted she had not had a mammogram in 4 years. Of course this is a topic near and dear to my heart. I guess that is why I find it unbelievable that a well-educated, wealthy, mother of small children who had access to the best medical care in the world made the choice not to have a yearly breast exam. An exam that most likely would have saved her life.
If you are over 40 and are not getting regular mammograms or you are a younger woman and have not had a breast exam by a trained medical professional in over a year – shame on you. If I stop telling you to make the time to be good to you – shame on me.
Good Health!
Terry
“We cannot control the wind, but we have the power to adjust the sails.”
~Chinese Proverb
