Weekly Health Updates

Mental Attitude: Depressed People Are More Likely To Smoke.

*43% of adults with depression are current smokers, compared to 22% without depression.

*Adults with depression are less likely to quit smoking.

*The percentage of smokers increases as depression severity increases.

*28% of depressed smokers smoke more than a pack a day, compared to 15% without depression.

*51% of depressed smokers smoke their first cigarette within the first 5 minutes of the day compared to 30% with no depression.

National Center for Health Statistics, April, 2010.

Health Alert: Addicted To Drugs? 80% of US adults, 175 million, report taking Over The Counter medications; 15% daily; 14% several times per week; 27% several times per month. 90% of people over 65 take at least one prescription drug per week; 45% use acetaminophen; 60% use various NSAIDs; 18% use aspirin.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Diet: Menu Labeling! The new health reform bill includes a provision requiring calorie labeling on chain restaurant menus, menu boards and drive-through displays. It also requires these establishments to provide additional nutrition information in the restaurant, upon request. Educated consumers are better prepared to make informed decisions. Nutrition information on menus makes an impact on food purchases by prompting customers to choose lower calorie food and beverage selections and spurring the industry to create healthier menu offerings. American Heart Association, 2010

Exercise: Movement Is Life. Regular exercise improves circulation, enhances flexibility and gives you a greater ability to accomplish physical tasks, without risking injury. It takes only 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.
US Department of Health and Human Services' Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans

Chiropractic and Physical Therapy: Pain Free? Strains on the tissues of your spine build-up gradually from the repetitive activities of daily living. In time, the tissue will be stressed enough to cause pain as chemical by-products become trapped in the tense tissue. Maintaining proper spine and joint motion through chiropractic care and physical therapy can prevent and decrease pain.

Wellness/Prevention: Toothpaste With Triclosan/Copolymer Kills Harmful Germs. Your mouth is home to 800-1,000 different kinds of bacteria. Toothpaste containing triclosan/copolymer is better than regular fluoride toothpastes at killing these bacteria. Triclosan has been shown to inhibit plaque and gingivitis. The copolymer helps to keep triclosan in your mouth for a longer period of time, which boosts its ability to inhibit oral bacteria.
General Dentistry, Jan/Feb 2010


Quote: "Having good health is very different from only being not sick."
~ Seneca The Younger, 50 AD

Research on Colon Cancer

By Jennifer Warner
WebMD Health News

Reviewed By Laura J. Martin, MD, MPH

March 4, 2010 -- A blood test may soon be able to predict which colon cancers are likely to spread to other parts of the body, according to a new study.

Researchers found two proteins in the blood that may serve as potential biomarkers of colon cancers that are more aggressive and likely to spread.

Colon cancer is a leading cause of cancer death in the U.S. with more than 50,000 deaths reported each year. Surgery is the main treatment for the disease, but almost half of those treated for colon cancer experience a recurrence of the disease within five years due to cancer cells spreading to other parts of the body.

Researchers say determining which colon cancers will spread is difficult because there are no reliable chemical markers in the body for predicting its spread, known in medical terms as metastasis.

In the study, published in the Journal of Proteome Research, Chinese researchers compared proteins produced by the original colon cancer tumor cells to those of metastasized cells from a single person with colon cancer.

The results highlighted two proteins that occurred at much higher levels in the metastatic cells than in the original colon cancer cells.

Although further research is needed to confirm these findings, researchers say the proteins may bring them a step closer to understanding the disease.

"The identified candidate proteins," write researchers Hua Xue of Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China, and colleagues, "will facilitate our understanding toward the molecular mechanism of [colorectal cancer] metastasis as well as providing useful biomarkers for cancer prevention, detection and intervention in the future."

A Very Good Reason You Should Read This Right Now

Health care is a huge topic these days, and it should be.  Your health is the most important thing you possess.  If you lose your health, nothing else matters. But, most people think staying healthy is much more complicated than it really is, at least for most people. For most, staying healthy is NOT about new drug discoveries and wonder cures.  Instead, staying healthy is about consistently doing the simple things that keep you functioning properly- for years and years. And the recurring theme in this blog is just that.  You must do these simple things - for the rest of your life.

As you will see in this blog, research has just shown doing something very simple can extend your life.  But you must continue to do it. It's just like brushing your teeth- if you stop, bad things happen. The key to living a happy, healthy and long life is the commitment to doing the simple things that will kepp you healthy. So what are you waiting for?  It will only take you about 10 minutes to read, but may have a big impact of your life.

For more extensive research about health issue that may affect you, subscribe to advancedwellnessmarlboro.blogspot.com, where Dr. Joseph Cilea provides expert health and nutrition analysis. Or if you live in the central New Jersey area and you have questions regarding your health or that of a loved one call- 732-719-8148.