Cancer is a message to change

I met a really inspiring man just last week. His name is Greg Anderson.

I think his story is truly amazing. He was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in December 1984 and was given 30 days to live. So what did he do?

He didn't fold his arms and wait to die, like many others might have done. Mr Anderson refused to accept the hopelessness of his prognosis. He knew that many people had survived cancer even when it was supposedly "terminal" and he went in search of survivors. He interviewed over 16,000 of them and studied what they had done and he came up with a strategy for surviving cancer.

For Mr Anderson a cancer diagnosis is not a death sentence, but simply a message to change. He changed his lifestyle and he survived. And, like a man on a mission, he decided to help other people survive and even prevent cancer. So in 1985 he and his wife set up a non-profit organization called Cancer Recovery Foundation whose mission is "to educate, empower and encourage cancer patients and family members in the integration of body, mind and spirit into a whole-person health recovery strategy".

The holistic health concept formulated by Mr Anderson resonate with me and I have a lot to learn from this inspirational man. The most important lesson for me is the power of the human mind and spirit over the body. How encouraging that is!

Why British women have cosmetic surgery?

A recent research carried out at the University of Aberdeen by a sociology lecturer, Dr Debra Gimlin, found that:

• British women were more likely than American women to have cosmetic operations to please their partners ("to suit the desires of a particular man"). In contrast, American women had the surgery "for themselves".
• British women were more likely than American women to conceal their surgery from friends and family.

Interesting, huh? You can read more about the research here. I remember reading elsewhere that the suicide rate for women who have had cosmetic surgery is higher than that for other women. I think that's quite sad.

All of the 60 women interviewed by Dr Gimlin for the Aberdeen University research were concerned about their physical appearance. No earth-shattering revelation there. One of the women was a British barkeeper who said she had cosmetic surgery because her husband complained that having children had ruined her figure. Don't ask me why she didn't try to lose weight without having cosmetic surgery like I did after I had my son.

And do you wonder like I do why more men don't have surgery to please their partners?

Any thoughts on that? I'd like to hear them.

What's dark and has cancer-fighting properties?

Many people know that fruits and vegetables are good for the health. Of course, knowledge isn't the same as taking action.

A new US research shows that anthocyanins, the compounds which colour red, purple and blue fruits and vegetables their dark colour, may slow the growth of colon cancer cells.

Some of the fruits that contain these compounds are purplecorn, bilberry, chokeberries, black carrots and radishes. More details in this article.

A spokesperson for Cancer Research UK said knowledge about these cancer-fighting compounds in fruits and vegetables could help scientists develop drugs to prevent or treat bowel cancer. Drugs? Why not encourage people to include these foods in their diet?

Getting paid to lose weight

Imagine getting paid to lose weight.

As a weight loss coach, I've come across people who know they're overweight but are not interested in losing weight even when they know that doing so would improve their health. I wonder whether some of these people would lose weight if they were paid to do so.

Residents of the Italian town of Varallo have been offered money by the mayor in return for losing weight. More on this here. I'd be interested to see how many overweight people are motivated to shape up.

Botox, anyone?

No, I'm not offering Botox treatments. Sorry, if that's not what you were expecting, but stick with me a little longer and you'll be glad you did.


I just read about a UK clothing catalogue (Grattan, if you must know) that is offering Botox treatments. Botox is a diluted form of the botulism bacterium that is used to paralyze muscles, and it is becoming used more and more in the UK as a wrinkle remover.


The Grattan catalogue offer has been criticized by the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons ). The BAAPS has warned the public against buying cosmetic treatments "off the shelf", because, unlike clothes, such treatments cannot later be returned or exchanged for a different size. In fact Botox injections may have harmful side effects on some people, according to a recent statement by the manufacturers of Botox. The BAAPS also stressed the need for proper consultation and informed consent before Botox treatment is carried out. More in this article.


Do you know anyone who is thinking of getting a Botox makeover? If so, I suggest you ask them to read this. Even if they decide to go ahead with the treatment, at least they will know there are potential dangers. And if they are interested in trying a natural alternative to Botox, ask them to contact me through my blog (blatant self-promotion, I know).

Office printer alert

Perhaps some laser printers ought to carry a health warning like those you see on many cigarette packs.

A team of Australian scientists carried out tests on a range of printer models and found that a third of them emit tiny particles of material that can get into the lungs and cause health problems.

The printers that were used in the research were located in an open plan office. I don't care much for open plan offices and this research finding provides yet another reason to avoid them, in my opinion. The levels of the particles released by the printers in the study showed a 500 percent increase during working hours.

Read more about the research here and feel free to pass this on to anyone you know that works in an open plan office.

Can Obesity Spread?

The "obesity epidemic" may be real, after all. Those whose close friends are obese are likely to become obese themselves, according to a new study that was carried out in the US. It was reported in the New York Times - read "Find Yourself Packing it On? Blame Friends" here.

I am so determined to stay slim that I will not gain weight even if my close friends were overweight. But I can see how obesity can become more acceptable among close friends.

So, what do you think of this research? And what would you do if your close friend became obese?