Avoid the pink product mania and participate in Breast Cancer Awareness Month by supporting good organizations instead.

We’re sick of the commercialization of the breast.

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and for several weeks we’ve become increasingly blown away by the amount of pink junk being pitched our way in the name of “awareness.”

What does awareness really mean? Is it buying a cute pair of pink socks? Is it painting your nails with bubblegum polish? Is it downing a package of pink cookies?

Breast cancer is real. It’s not cute and it’s not fun, and much like viral campaigns have been said to cheapen real cancer fights, pink products are just another thing on the list that might us feel good about promoting a cause but in reality don’t truly engage us on the issue. And that leaves a lot of us stuck with pink fatigue.

Breast cancer has touched everyone on our staff in some way. No doubt you can say the same. We emphatically support breast cancer awareness. That doesn’t mean we have to like a good cause being pinkified in order to hawk yet more retail. Especially when the products supporting the cause are themselves toxic.

Cheap jewelry

Pink silicone rings and cheap charm bracelets probably made in a sweatshop; do we really need to be sporting these to show our support?

Pink Gemstones

Because nothing says healthy like mining the earth for toxic materials.

Perfume

According to Breast Cancer Action, Susan G. Komen for the Cure’s new perfume “Promise Me” contains chemicals “not listed on the label that are regulated as toxic and hazardous.”

Makeup and Accessories

Instead of getting sucked in by pink brushes and palettes, opt for green beauty products that are natural and toxin free.

Cookies and Cupcakes

What better way to honor breast cancer than by eating goodies made solely with processed ingredients and chemicals?

We’ll stick with our Pink Lady organic apples from the farmers’ market, thanks.

We’re all for businesses supporting good causes with their money, but let’s take a moment to think about our individual actions. Think about what would happen if instead of buying more junk we don’t really need, we gave it all to an organization doing breast cancer research and education.

Buying things we don’t need isn’t going to solve breast cancer, and wearing pink isn’t going to make someone living with cancer better. So what can you do? Here are five organizations we think are doing a good thing when it comes to breast cancer awareness and research. Support them.

1. Breast Cancer Fund - Devoted to exposing and eliminating the environmental causes of breast cancer
2. American Cancer Society - A nationwide, community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem
3. National Breast Cancer Foundation – Give a mammogram to an uninsured woman
4. Think Before You Pink - An initiative of Breast Cancer Action, a watch dog of the breast cancer movement
5. National Breast Cancer Coalition – a coalition that includes hundreds of organizations, representing several million patients, professionals, women, their families and friends

Images: Azrol Azmi, The Breast Cancer Site, Gemvara, Promise Me, Target, Pink Ribbon Shop

So what can we do about it? We can start by fighting breast cancer with our grocery lists. Recently, I spoke with nutritionist Mary Vance to get the 411 on top foods to fight cancer. As Mary told me, “eat a plant-based diet of whole foods and organic meats. And eat out of the box. Stay away from refined and processed foods that contain chemicals.” Done and deliciously done.

Further, Mary suggests antioxidant-rich foods that fight free radicals, the source of cellular and DNA damage. And organic foods are a must, as the chemicals used in herbicides and pesticides are stored in our body’s fat cells where they can cause hormonal imbalance and DNA damage.

But what to eat specifically?

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Broccoli Yes, the green stuff your mother pushed onto your plate really might be the ultimate super food. Broccoli contains the highest levels of indole-3 carbinol, which experts report can slow cell proliferation. Researchers in Berkeley have found that broccoli can stop the growth of cancer cells – though they caution it is still in clinical trials with humans. In the meantime? Eat more broccoli.

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Berries As Mary Vance shares, “blueberries and raspberries are especially high in cancer-fighting antioxidants. Antioxidants keep you looking young, too.” Strawberries and blackberries also contain ellagic acid, which is called a powerful cancer fighter.

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Cod Liver Oil Not so tasty, true. But cod liver oil is an excellent source of vitamin D, a must for cancer prevention. Researchers suggest that Vitamin D slows the growth of cancer cells.

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Ginger Research has shown that ginger can kill cancer cells. J. Rebecca Liu is an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor who studies cancer. As she told WebMD, ginger tricks cancer cells into “essentially commit suicide by digesting themselves.” And this is done all without harming surrounding cells.

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Tomatoes The red favorite of salads is high in lycopene, which is an antioxidant that attacks those free radical baddies thought to trigger cancer. Some studies link it to a reduced rate of breast cancer. Experts suggest eating it with olive oil, as the oil serves to activate the lycopene.

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Garlic Garlic contains “organic allyl sulfur components are effective inhibitors of the cancer process.”  It is also thought to stimulate the immune system.

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Tea Tea is high in flavanoids, which are known for their antioxidant benefits. As WebMD reports, one study “analyzing the lifestyle habits of nearly 3,000 people, showed that postmenopausal women who got the most flavonoids were 46 percent less likely to develop breast cancer than those who got the least.” We’ll drink to that.

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Mushrooms Mary Vance explains fungi “such as shiitake and reishi boost immune function and attack cancer cells.” Mushrooms contain the lectin protein, which attacks cancerous cells and prevents them from multiplying.

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Leafy Greens Spinach, lettuce, and Swiss chard – oh my! These foods contain cancer-fighting antioxidants and minerals. The American Institute for Cancer Research reports that some chemicals in these foods can limit the growth of some cancer cells.

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Orange Juice Orange juice is awesome. It’s tasty as all heck – and it fights cancer. Organic juice is high in folate. Rachael Stolzenberg-Solomon is a researcher at the National Cancer Institute. As she told WebMD, “The thought is that when someone has low levels of folate, it’s more likely for mutations in DNA to occur.” Pour yourself a glass of orange juice and drink to good health!

Images: wishuponacupcake, jacoulter, gudmunda, bizzzarro, heymrleej, the_ewan, felipe_gabaldon, kankan, fotoosvanrobin, careytilden, mamchenkov

October was National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. But just because leaves are largely fallen and pumpkins are patching up doesn’t mean that breast cancer awareness should wait another year. The Center for Disease Control shares that breast cancer is the most common kind of cancer in all women and the most common cause of cancer death among Hispanic women. It is the second most common form of cancer among white, black, Asian or Pacific Islander, and American Indian or Alaska Native women.

So what can we do about it? We can start by fighting breast cancer with our grocery lists. Recently, I spoke with nutritionist Mary Vance to get the 411 on top foods to fight cancer. As Mary told me, “eat a plant-based diet of whole foods and organic meats. And eat out of the box. Stay away from refined and processed foods that contain chemicals.” Done and deliciously done.

Further, Mary suggests antioxidant-rich foods that fight free radicals, the source of cellular and DNA damage. And organic foods are a must, as the chemicals used in herbicides and pesticides are stored in our body’s fat cells where they can cause hormonal imbalance and DNA damage.

But what to eat specifically?

Broccoli Yes, the green stuff your mother pushed onto your plate really might be the ultimate super food. Broccoli contains the highest levels of indole-3 carbinol, which experts report can slow cell proliferation. Researchers in Berkeley have found that broccoli can stop the growth of cancer cells – though they caution it is still in clinical trials with humans. In the meantime? Eat more broccoli.

Berries As Mary Vance shares, “blueberries and raspberries are especially high in cancer-fighting antioxidants. Antioxidants keep you looking young, too.” Strawberries and blackberries also contain ellagic acid, which is called a powerful cancer fighter.

Cod Liver Oil Not so tasty, true. But cod liver oil is an excellent source of vitamin D, a must for cancer prevention. Researchers suggest that Vitamin D slows the growth of cancer cells.

Ginger Research has shown that ginger can kill cancer cells. J. Rebecca Liu is an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor who studies cancer. As she told WebMD, ginger tricks cancer cells into “essentially commit suicide by digesting themselves.” And this is done all without harming surrounding cells.

Tomatoes The red favorite of salads is high in lycopene, which is an antioxidant that attacks those free radical baddies thought to trigger cancer. Some studies link it to a reduced rate of breast cancer. Experts suggest eating it with olive oil, as the oil serves to activate the lycopene.

Garlic Garlic contains “organic allyl sulfur components are effective inhibitors of the cancer process.”  It is also thought to stimulate the immune system.

Tea Tea is high in flavanoids, which are known for their antioxidant benefits. As WebMD reports, one study “analyzing the lifestyle habits of nearly 3,000 people, showed that postmenopausal women who got the most flavonoids were 46 percent less likely to develop breast cancer than those who got the least.” We’ll drink to that.

Mushrooms Mary Vance explains fungi “such as shiitake and reishi boost immune function and attack cancer cells.” Mushrooms contain the lectin protein, which attacks cancerous cells and prevents them from multiplying.

Leafy Greens Spinach, lettuce, and Swiss chard – oh my! These foods contain cancer-fighting antioxidants and minerals. The American Institute for Cancer Research reports that some chemicals in these foods can limit the growth of some cancer cells.

Orange Juice Orange juice is awesome. It’s tasty as all heck – and it fights cancer. Organic juice is high in folate. Rachael Stolzenberg-Solomon is a researcher at the National Cancer Institute. As she told WebMD, “The thought is that when someone has low levels of folate, it’s more likely for mutations in DNA to occur.” Pour yourself a glass of orange juice and drink to good health!

Images: wishuponacupcake, jacoulter, gudmunda, bizzzarro, heymrleej, the_ewan, felipe_gabaldon, kankan, fotoosvanrobin, careytilden, mamchenkov

We all continue to be somewhat baffled over how often to get mammograms and whom to trust as the last word on this critical issue for women. Hey, we all want to grow up to be old women, right?

Weeks after the release of the report on new recommendations for mammograms by the 16-member U.S. Preventative Task Force, the firestorm rages on, even splitting parties as Republicans argue that the recommendations could be used to ration healthcare under reform legislation before Congress, a charge Democrats denied.

According to Reuters, Republican Representative Joe Barton suggested in a congressional hearing that under Democratic healthcare reform legislation passed by the House of Representatives, the task force could decide which preventive services, including mammograms, would be covered for many Americans.

“To have a task force make the recommendation that has been made, and to have in this bill the authority that’s given to various unelected bureaucrats to make healthcare decisions, including coverage frequency, in my opinion, is wrong,” Barton told the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s subcommittee on health.

The Senate is debating its version of healthcare reform legislation, seen as President Barack Obama’s top domestic priority, especially among American cancer doctors, who are outraged about the challenge to the accepted guidelines. It has touched off a heated debate among those doctors, as well as various groups.

The American Cancer Society, perhaps the most prominent of these groups, says it is sticking to the current recommendation to start annual mammogram screening at age 40 because the breast X-rays have been proven to save lives by spotting tumors early on when they are most easily treated.

Current standards say women 40 and older should get mammograms every year, while the revised recommendations suggest only we gals over 50 get screened, and that they do so every other year. Women over 74 can dispense with the test altogether, says our government.

An analysis by ABC News suggests money is the motivation. Professor Theodore Marmor, a health care policy specialist at Yale University, said cost-benefit analysis is routine in the health insurance biz.

“Although screening every woman between the ages of 40 and 50 would turn up some breast cancer”¦the question is what is the cost per diagnosis per relevant harm,” says Marmor.

“The question is going to be, between the ages of 40 and 50, what is the frequency with which you are going to find a true positive cancer finding, how many cases would we miss, how many of those cases would develop into cancer and what is it going to cost to treat them,” says Ian Duncan, president of Solucia, a company that provides actuarial health care analysis for insurers.

Duncan explains further that mammograms are actually a value-based benefit because they are preventative and only run about $125 per exam.

It’s  believed the new research doesn’t take into consideration the savings of newer technologies in screenings. ABC reports that digital mammograms are 1.5 to 4 times more expensive than conventional film-based mammograms, according to the National Cancer Institute, which also reported in 2005 that only 8 percent of the country’s breast imaging units provide the technique.

Either way, should we be thinking about money when it comes to prevention and saving lives?

“I definitely think this is the beginning of rationed care and I am very upset that women are the first to get slammed with this,” said Dr. Elizabeth Vliet, a women’s health care specialist based in Tucson, Ariz., and an opponent of health care reform. “I think that this change is designed to cut costs, not improve women’s health.”

Meantime, we women must decide for ourselves. What else is new?

Personally, at 51, I’m usually a year late in getting my own exam so I’m not overwhelmed by this debate. I don’t beat up on myself when I’m late but I know I cannot let it go too long. I know because of the number of women lost to this horrible disease, and the pink ribbons that symbolize we must keep asking the important questions and donating to our own cause when we can. I trust the pink panel more than the government panel. How ’bout you?

Image: About.com

“When you watch the commercials you can tell they’re made of cheap stuff,” says my astute oldest daughter about the fleece blanket sensation known as the Snuggieâ„¢. “The people wearing them are just so cheesy, like the man in the leopard one who says he’s so glad he found a fun designer print that suits his personality.”

Snuggie consumers proudly wear the Made-in-China label on their sleeves, not considering the synthetic polyester fabric they’re breathing in all the while they’re adjusting their thermostats in the thin, robe-like throws. I find they leave me as cold as those stinky, plastic sealed airline blankets gifted to us on flights.

I’m not the only one with a chilly view of the blankets. There’s the YouTube ad that parodies by Snuggieâ„¢ haters, such as one done in the mockumentary format of The Office in which an employer forces her people to wear the wraps at work, despite their protests. A piece in Time shares one young man’s review: “It’s a bathrobe. That is really long. That you wear backwards.”

So far, five million and counting have bought into the ads depicting gray-haired ladies knitting on the sofa, moms reading on the sofa, great aunts chatting away on the phone on the sofa. One thing is clear: Folks just don’t get off that sofa when they’re folded into a Snuggie. Call it a straight jacket for polluted planet!

Allstar Products Group, Inc., the maker of the blanket, set up a Facebook Fan page and attracted 5,000 users in addition to an official online fan club site. That’s a lot of fleece.

Among the enthusiastic takers is my 10-year-old daughter, who went behind her green-leaning parents to ask a relative to buy her one for her birthday in the original royal blue.

She’s a big infomercial hound, my youngest, often repeating lines from the ads when we are out buying necessities for the house. “Mom, you should get the Ped Egg because it’s like having a professional spa treatment right in your own home,” she advises.

She had a fever over the weekend and taking away that Snuggie was harder than wrestling a cheese stick away from my pug. Pugs have little teeth, but they’ll take you down over cheese, and so will Lauren over a cheesy blanket.

“My friend Simon had one and I thought it would be warm for camp because I sleep right near the window,” says my daughter. “I also like it when I’m sick cause it makes me feel all snuggie.”

We don’t buy polyester bedding and we don’t want our kid dragging around a toxic security blanket. Yet burning it could create a micro Valdez. Which begs the question, how do you safely dispose of Mr. Snuggieâ„¢?

Because of the questionable chemicals in the fiber, I find it ironic how American Allstar Group’s publicity machine has tied in “the country’s favorite blanket with sleeves” with one of the country’s most pernicious diseases – breast cancer.

In May, they introduced the limited edition pink blanket for breast cancer. The company says it will donate $50,000 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation on behalf of the product.

I suppose the irony is that many of the questions posed to researchers at Cancer.Org relate to the link between toxins in textiles and breast cancer. One reader was wondering about her mother who had he worked at a chain of stores in which she cut cloth materials containing the kind of junk that is used to produce my daughter’s favorite throw.

If the Snuggie is such a mega hit and has made tons of dough for Allstar, why hasn’t an organic textile company made their own version of a healthy fleece blanket with sleeves?

“The Snuggie is a safe product, as it is approved and certified by all relevant industry standards,” I’m told by Anne Flynn, Director of Marketing at Allstar. “Snuggie is currently in the process of evaluating other materials, including natural, eco-friendly options, to meet consumer needs.”

Until we meet the eco Snuggie, the only newly unveiled additions introduced for the coming winter are styles for kids, dogs, a more plush version of the current design, and black and purple tie-dye fashions for the holidays.

I did find a few greener options, such as a Bear Adventure Warm Me Up made of recycled synthetics from Blankets and More (being introduced November 1st), and a cozy kimono for the preemie baby. There’s also the 85% recycled materials Peekaru, shown above (top left), for mom and baby.

Otherwise, the market is wide open for a healthier blanket with sleeves. My friends at Chia better get right on it!

This is the latest installment in Luanne’s column, Life in the Green Lane.

Images: Bread and Sham, All Left Turns, SFGate, MomLogic, Snuggieâ„¢ Fan Club

Something as simple and natural as a daily apple may help in the fight against breast cancer.

According to research scientist Rui Hai Liu, M.D., Ph.D., of Cornell University, the results are favorable. His research program at Cornell University focuses on diet and cancer, and the effect of functional foods on chronic disease, cardiovascular disease, and aging.

In a recent paper published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Liu’s study demonstrated that whole apple extracts effectively inhibited mammary cancer growth in rats, therefore leading him and his team to believe that apples may very well be an effective strategy for cancer protection. Especially good to learn as apples are major contributors of phytochemicals in human diets.

In an interview with the American Federation for Aging Research, Liu said he and his colleagues were able to show that phytochemicals in fresh apples could greatly inhibit the growth of liver and colon cancer cells.

Specifically, his research showed that 50 mg of apple extracts taken from the skins, inhibited colon cancer cells by 43 percent. And apple flesh extracts inhibited the colon cancer cells by 29 percent.

The same dosage of apple extracts with skins, he said,inhibited liver cancer cells by 57 percent, and the extracts inhibited liver cancer cells by 40 percent.

Liu’s team also treated rats with a known mammary carcinogen, and were able to block mammary cancer formation. This is the first study of the effects of apples on cancer prevention in animals.

Liu said that while there is a good chance it will work in humans, they still have to confirm this premise with additional tests. But why wait for the results? An apple a day is a healthy way to get a head start.

Image: Energetic Spirit