Is Cancer Preventable?

According to the Prevent Cancer Foundation, only five percent of cancers are hereditary. Of course, not all cancers are preventable; unfortunately healthy people get cancer all the time. However, there are some actions you can take to reduce your risk of getting certain types of cancers, such as:

• Skin cancer
• Lung cancer
• Breast cancer
• Oral cancer
• Cervical cancer
• Colon cancer
• Prostate cancer

Take Control of Your Cancer Risk

The healthier the lifestyle you follow, the less chance you will have at developing certain cancers. What does “healthy lifestyle” mean? It means more than simply eating a healthy diet. It means being proactive about your health – and your entire family’s health – by:

• Avoiding processed foods – choose “natural, fresh” foods typically found on the perimeter of grocery stores
• Regularly exercising and staying physically active
• Avoiding tobacco and exposure to cigarette smoke
• Keeping your body weight within healthy limits
• Protecting your skin from the sun’s harmful rays by applying and reapplying sunscreen with UVB and UVA protection – all year long – and wearing protective eyewear when outdoors
• Staying away from tanning beds
• Practicing safe sex by using condoms and limiting your sexual partners
• Never sharing needles
• Getting vaccinated for the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) for cervical cancer and Hepatitis B (a virus that infects the liver)
• Visiting your doctor and dentist for regular health screenings, especially if you have a family history of cancer – early detection is often vital to surviving cancer
• Performing regular self-checks to identify changes in your own body and immediately scheduling an appointment with your doctor for full testing if you find anything suspicious

The bottom line is that yes, some cancers are preventable. When you follow the lifestyle choices listed above, you may not only reduce your risk for cancer you will also have more energy and will feel better overall. 

To schedule a preventative cancer screening or get on the path toward a healthier lifestyle, contact Dr. Marilyn Kutzscher in San Francisco at 415-923-3560 or marilynkmd.com.

KaChoo! Is it a Cold or the Flu?

You know the feeling. It starts with a slight tickle in your throat, or the feeling that something “isn’t quite right.” Then…boom! You’re sick.

But how do you know if you have a common cold or the full-blown flu?

The flu typically comes on fast, while a cold can start slowly and gradually become worse. The symptoms of each condition are different, too.

Flu Symptoms

• High fever
• Extreme muscle aching over your entire body
• Major fatigue
• Headache
• Sore throat
• Nasal discharge
• Dry cough
• Vomiting or stomach pain (in children)

Flu symptoms can last one to two weeks. Flu complications can lead to pneumonia, dehydration, sinus infections, ear infections, hospitalization or even death.

Cold Symptoms

• Nasal congestion
• Runny nose
• Sneezing
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Itchy throat
• Fatigue
• Mild cough

A cold typically lasts about three days, but congestion may continue a week or more. Sometimes cold complications develop, which can lead to sinus infections, bronchitis, ear infections or asthma attacks.

The seasonal flu is caused by a flu virus; many colds are also caused by viruses. Antibiotic treatment is not typically prescribed for viruses. However, if your cold develops into a bacterial infection, antibiotic treatment is very effective.

If you’re experiencing cold or flu symptoms, contact Dr. Marilyn Kutzscher in San Francisco at 415-923-3560 or marilynkmd.com to schedule an appointment. While viral infections must typically run their course, Dr. Kutzscher may identify certain illness strains that would respond to medication. 

Here Comes the Flu (Season!)

It is estimated that between 5% - 20% of people in the United States get the flu every year. Flu season starts in the fall and really gains strength in January and February. But this pesky virus can continue wreaking havoc well into the spring months.

Seasonal flu is a contagious respiratory illness that can lead to other complications: 

• Pneumonia
• Dehydration
• Sinus infections
• Ear infections
• Hospitalization
• Death in severe cases

It is spread when flu germ droplets land on you via coughs, sneezes or by touching a surface that is laced with the virus. These germ droplets can be anywhere: on shopping cart handles, school desks, phones, books, door handles, etc. The flu virus can live on hard surfaces up to eight hours! To minimize your risk of getting the flu, keep your distance from people who are sick, frequently wash your hands and avoid touching your mouth, nose or eyes.

Your best defense against the flu? Get a flu vaccine! Seasonal flu vaccines work by causing antibodies to grow in the body two weeks after vaccination. This year’s vaccines protect against four types of viruses. The type of protection included in each year’s vaccination is different to keep up with the changing flu viruses. The flu vaccine is available as a flu shot or as a nasal spray. 

Don’t fall victim to the old wives’ tale that you’ll get the flu when you get the vaccine! The flu vaccine will NOT cause you to get the flu because the vaccines either do NOT have a flu vaccine virus at all or because the virus has been killed. Some people might feel slightly “under the weather” after the flu shot, but this is not the flu and the symptoms will be short-lived.

If you’re ready to combat the flu this season, contact Dr. Marilyn Kutzscher in San Francisco at 415-923-3560 or marilynkmd.com to schedule your flu shot. If you think you've already contracted the flu, stay home, get plenty of rest, drink lots of fluids and limit your contact with others. 

Sleep Article

In an age in which many focus (as they ought to) on making healthy decisions throughout the day, it is surprising how few take active steps toward making the night as healthy and productive as possible.  Sleep comprises roughly a third of our lives, yet many know close to nothing about it, much less how to maximize its restful and restorative effects.  Despite what many assume, sleep is an active process, optimized by following a few simple tips on sleep:   

1. Establish a regular sleep schedule.  Decide on a wake time and try not to stray from it by more than an hour.  If you like to nap in the afternoon, take that nap around the same time -- and for a set amount of time -- every day.  Finally, go to bed when your body tells you it is tired. (This time might vary slightly based on how strenuous your day has been, but will probably be fairly consistent.) Your circadian “clock” uses signals (hormones) to prime your body for the activity it expects you to engage in at that time of day.  If you are driving during your typical naptime, the “sleepy” signals could pose a danger for drowsy driving. 
2. Use your bed for sleep and sleep alone.  In doing so, you will train your mind and body to associate your bed only with sleep, helping to cut down on the time from when your head hits the pillow to when your are fast asleep.  You should also do your best to fall asleep only in your bed. 
3. Optimize your napping.  Naps should be shorter than 45 minutes or longer than two hours.  Naps for durations that fall in between these times will usually result in you waking up from a deep sleep.  This could, in turn, leave you feeling even more exhausted than you were before your nap. 
4. Don’t lie awake in bed.  If you are struggling to fall asleep or awaken in the night and cannot fall back asleep, leave your bed and do something sleep-inducing until the urge to sleep returns. 
5. Establish regular meal times.  These will affect your circadian cycle, influencing the times at which you feel awake and sleepy.  Furthermore, many of us find it difficult to fall asleep soon after a large or heavy meal.  Eat strategically. 
6. Establish a regular exercise routine.  Some find that exercising in the morning helps them feel awake all day; others prefer to exercise in the afternoon.  Do what feels right for you, but avoid exercising within two hours of the time you intend to go to bed. 
7. Give yourself some time to “wind down” at the end of the day.  Relax by doing something like reading a book, taking a bath, listening to music, or meditating.  Avoid activities that necessitate bright light or looking directly at a light source.  Even watching TV or staring at a computer monitor can trick your brain into thinking it is too light outside for bedtime. 
8. Make your bedroom a sanctuary for sleep.   Keep the temperature at a comfortable sleeping level, buy blackout curtains if light hinders your sleep, and keep noise to a minimum. 
9. Keep a careful eye on what you put in your body.  Caffeine makes many of us unable to sleep.  If you are sensitive, avoid caffeine in the afternoon and evening.  Alcohol is also known to disturb sleep.  It has the potential to limit quantity and certainly disrupts the quality of these important hours of rest. 
10. Don’t watch the clock!  Putting too much stock in the time can make your mind whir and fret.  This can be destructive, leading you to squander potential sleep time.

Whether you suffer from insomnia or are merely trying to stay a bit more awake and alert throughout the day, these simple bits of advice can help make your night as healthy and productive as the rest of your day.

Choose the Right Calories for Life

If you’re trying to cut calories to lose weight and get healthier, are you confident you are cutting the right calories? In our last blog we discussed a type of sugar, fructose, and how the overconsumption of this poison is contributing to increasing levels of obesity, diabetes and heart disease in America. Cutting out or at least cutting way back on foods that contain high-fructose corn syrup is a great start.

But in your quest to drop pounds, you may be cutting out important calories that will actually help to speed up your metabolism and keep your insides healthy.

Glucose is another type of sugar, but this is actually an important energy source for life. Glucose comes from the carbohydrates we eat. We burn glucose to produce energy.

Protein requires twice as much energy output to process than carbohydrates do. This means that your body will work harder to move these types of foods through the body. Protein also helps keep hunger at bay, but make sure you’re choosing lean proteins or you’ll be working against yourself again.

Fiber is necessary to keep your bowels in healthy working order, lower cholesterol levels and control blood sugar. Men under age 50 need 38 grams of fiber each day; women need 25 grams. Fiber from some foods, like almonds, will delay absorption of a portion of the calories into your bloodstream so they are delivered into the intestines and eliminated. Fiber also helps to satisfy hunger without overeating.

Fats come in different forms: Trans fats can clog your arteries while omega-3 fatty acids are essential to our overall health. We need healthy fats in our diet; without them our bodies won’t work as effectively. You can get these good fats by consuming foods like fish, nuts, olive oil and flax in moderation.

The bottom line is that you need to be smart in your food choices, whether or not you are trying to lose weight. For more tips on how to eat healthier, contact Dr. Marilyn Kutzscher in San Francisco at 415-923-3560 or marilynkmd.com.

Tracking Down Your Sugar Sources

When you think about cutting sugar out of your diet, you might think that staying away from candy bars, sodas and ice cream cones will do the trick. The truth is high fructose corn syrup (one type of sugar) is found in some of the most unlikely food sources. Consider these seemingly “healthy” foods that often have sugar added to them:

• Bread, tortillas, muffins
• Ketchup
• Pickles
• Soy sauce
• Yogurt
• Energy bars
• Cured meats
• Waters and sports drinks
• Salad dressings, especially fat-free varieties
• Baked beans
• Soups
• Crackers
• Dried fruit
• Juices

American consumption of processed and “convenient” packaged foods (and, therefore, fructose) has increased steadily over the past century. Some studies have shown that Americans increased their fructose consumption from 15 grams a day to 73 grams a day OR over the past 120+ years. Add to that the fact that we are not using our bodies physically in the manner requisite to earlier times, and we have a recipe for disaster. This increase in grams sets fructose at 12% of the average American’s total calories every day.

Why? Many of these “empty” calories come from sugary sodas. However, some experts say that 80% of the foods we buy at the grocery store in America have added sugar (but they tend to call it by different names on the labels). Let’s face it: Foods that have added sugar taste better so consumers tend to buy them more often. This equates to a win for the food industry but a loss for the overall health of Americans.

It is this rise in fructose in our diets that may be contributing to the rise in obesity, diabetes and heart disease. In fact, it is estimated that 1/3 of all Americans will have diabetes by the year 2050. Studies have shown that when sugar is more readily available, the prevalence of diabetes increases.

What can you do? Read labels. Choose whole, unprocessed foods. Be aware of what you’re putting into your body – if you don’t know what an ingredient on a label is, research it online first or choose a different food. Don’t let excess sugar “poison” ruin your life.

For more tips on how to reduce your sugar intake, contact Dr. Marilyn Kutzscher in San Francisco at 415-923-3560 or marilynkmd.com.