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When most women think about cancer, they think PINK for breast cancer. It's true that 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. However, there are other female and non gender specific cancers that women need to have on their health radar as well!

The good news is that for many cancers we have good information on how to reduce risk and therefore delay or prevent a diagnosis of cancer. Here are 3 important things that all women need to know about cancer prevention.

1. The Don't List!

I usually like to focus on the positive, but there are a few things that women definitely need to avoid to keep their immune systems strong and lower their risk of cancer. To get the negative over with, here are the things to avoid!

• Tobacco. Tobacco not only increases risk for lung cancer, but throat, mouth and esophageal cancer as well, not to mention the increase in heart disease, and emphysema. Plus, if you smoke tobacco, you are increasing the cancer risk for your friends and family who are breathing in the second hand smoke.
• Sun. Some sun is good for you (10 - 15 minutes/day), but if you have to go out in the sun for any longer, be sure to use sun screen and wear protective clothes. Don't forget to cover your kids too!
• Unsafe Sex. HPV (human papillomavirus) - a sexually transmitted disease - is known to increase a woman's risk for cervical cancer. Women need to be smart about controlling their exposure to HPV. A vaccination is now available so parents and young women should talk to their health care professionals about being vaccinated.
  
• Excess Alcohol. Alcohol is known to increase risk for throat and mouth cancers and may increase risk for breast cancer. It is suggested that women not exceed 1 drink per day. (1 drink = 12 oz. of beer; 5 oz. of wine and 1 oz. of liquor). If you save all your drinks for the weekend, that's not healthy either!

2. Prevent Cancer Every Day!

One of the most important factors to your cancer risk are the things that you do (or don't do) every day. Eat and Exercise! or Food & Fitness as I like to say! You might not realize that experts think 1/3 of ALL cancers are thought to be related to the food we eat and fitness level we maintain.

Some foods can decrease cancer risk while other foods increase it. The most important thing is to make sure you have plenty of plant foods every day (focus on those fruits and veggies!) without consuming too many calories.

The other part of your everyday cancer prevention plan is to get at least 30 minutes of physical activity each day. It doesn't have to be all at once, but by the end of the day, you want those minutes to add up.

Don't have time during the week to exercise? Make the most of your weekends! Go for a long hike or bike ride to make up for less time exercising during the week.

Stay tuned for Tip #3 and a cancer fighting recipe in my next post! Click HERE to sign up for our e-newsletter and have these posts emailed to you!

Want to know what other Dietitian's are saying about women's health? Check out the RD Blogfest topics below!

Stay Healthy!
- Julie

Angela White at Blisstree's Breastfeeding 1-2-3 - Helpful Skills of Breastfeeding Counselors
Angie Tillman, RD, LDN, CDE - You Are Beautiful Today
Anthony J. Sepe - Women's Health and Migraines
Ashley Colpaart - Women's health through women
Charisse McElwaine - Spending too much time on the "throne?"
Danielle Omar - Yoga, Mindful Eating and Food Confidence
Diane Preves M.S.,R.D - Balance for Health
Joan Sather - A Woman's Healthy Choices Affect More Than Herself
Laura Wittke - Fibro Study Recruits Participants
Liz Marr, MS, RD - Reflecting on Family Food Ways and Women's Work
Marjorie Geiser, MBA, RD, NSCA-CPT - Healthy Women, Healthy Business: How Your Health Impacts a Powerful Business
Marsha Hudnall - Breakfast Protein Helps Light Eaters Feel Full
Michelle Loy, MPH, MS, RD - A Nutritionista's Super Foods for Super Skin
Monika Woolsey, MS, RD - To effectively work with PCOS is to understand a woman's health issues throughout her life
Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog - How breastfeeding helps you, too
Rebecca Scritchfield, MA, RD, LD - Four Keys to Wellness, Just for Women
Renata Mangrum, MPH, RD - The busy busy woman
Robin Plotkin, RD, LD - Feeding the Appetites of the Culinary, Epicurious and Nutrition Worlds-One Bite at a Time
Sharon Solomon - Calories, longevity and do I care
Terri L Mozingo, RD, CDN & D. Milton Stokes, MPH, RD, CDN of One Source Nutrition, LLC - Crossing the Line: From Health to Hurt
Wendy Jo Peterson, RD - Watch Your Garden Grow

Microwave Exercise

Many people think that exercise doesn't count unless it's 30 minutes at a time. THAT IS NOT TRUE!! Any amount of exercise is good for you no matter how long or short you are doing it.

One of the groups of survivors that I work with recently did a series called "Setting Your Exercise Goals: Making Your Good Intentions a Reality".

One of the things that we identified in the group was what types of exercise you can do in as little as 2 or 3 minutes, or the amount of time you might be waiting for the microwave.

Here are some quick exercise ideas:

• Push-ups (on the wall or counter works just fine!)
• Calf raises (from a standing position, raise up on your tiptoes - try it without holding on to the counter and it's even harder! To make it more intense, squeeze your glutes while you raise your heels off the ground!)
• Take cans in and out of the top shelf of the cupboard. (the heavier the better!)
• Walk the stairs in your house until the microwave beeps
• Jump rope (without the jump-rope!)
• Write the ABC's with your foot. (Note, you cannot write the ABC's with your foot on the ground - try balancing on one foot while doing the ABC's with the other. Or you can do them seated.)
  

Those should get you started! Every 3 minutes will add up. Just find 10 times a day that you can do these and you are doing 30 minutes of exercise! You'll be surprised about how sore you can get in 3 minutes!

I'd love to hear what you do for exercise while the microwave runs!
- Julie

Here we are at Part II on exercise and cancer. In Part I we established that being physically active every day can reduce risk of cancer and improve your quality of life. We also established the difference between physical activity and exercise.

We created a Well Beyond Cancer team for the president's challenge (click here to join) and already have 8 people registered on the team!

• Our group member name is: Well Beyond Cancer
• Our group ID Number is:  67303

This site can be used to track the amount of time you exercise.

Now comes the practical part where we talk about how much exercise we should have each day.

How Much Do I Need?

The recommendations for cancer prevention and healthy survivorship are to have 60 minutes of moderate or 30 minutes of vigorous physical activity every day. It may seem like experts are always changing this recommendation. I don't see it as changing, but rather the recommendation is being reworded to make more sense to the average person's activity level. 

If you think about it, the "average person" is constantly changing. On average, we're watching more TV, sitting at the computer, or playing more video games, instead of being active in the house, yard, or playing at the park. Therefore, it's necessary to tell people to get 1 hour of intentional activity every day instead of the past recommendation of 30 minutes 3-4 days/week. 

All of your physical activity doesn't have to be at one time. You can spread it out throughout the day, or have certain days where you are more active than others. I have days where I might do 1-2 hours of vigorous activity. Other days I might have 15 minutes here and there or a leisure 60 minute walk. It all adds up to my weekly total of at least 7 hours.

Rather than beating yourself up for not working out, find a way that you can fit some physical activity into your day. Can you do things at work differently so that you fit more activity in? I think of this as being paid to exercise! Use the stairs, even if you don't work on the second floor. If you're at a desk, set an alarm on your calendar to get moving every hour. Walk while talking on the phone or keep some free weights in your office.  If you must procrastinate, procrastinate actively! 

Instead of watching TV at night record the show and take a walk instead. A 1 hour show recorded and watched without commercials give you 20 extra minutes that day. Or you can exercise while watching it. Better yet, don't watch it and you've earned an entire hour!

The Bottom Line:

When it comes to exercise, the bottom line is that doing something is better than doing nothing. Don't get caught in the mindset that you have to work out for a long amount of time for it to matter. Any amount of time counts.

On a slightly unrelated note, a friend of mine wrote a post this week that I found very meaningful. If you're a cancer survivor, friend or family of a survivor I think you'll relate. If you're not, her post can give you a glimpse into the world of a cancer survivor. Thanks Sara for sharing your story! Check it out at www.sarapattersononline.com.

Have a great weekend. Remember to spend time with your loved ones and show them that you care. :)
- Julie

Since Monday is President's Day, I thought I'd talk about something I remember about the president I learned in elementary school: The Presidential Fitness Award!

Oh the good old days when I had PE (physical education) every day... I will always remember my PE teacher in her stylish workout suits, and my brother getting the fastest mile in the school when he was in 4th grade. I think today we have a problem, now that elementary kids only get 1 day or less of PE class each week... but anyway, back to my post!

Most people know that exercise is good for them. We try to fit it into our already busy days and then feel guilty when we don't. Health professionals have been telling us to do more physical activity during the day. Park farther away from the grocery store. Take the stairs. In other words, incorporate physical activity into your daily activities.

But what exactly is the difference between physical activity and exercise? And how much is enough? Hopefully these next 2 posts will will help clear those questions up for you!

Exercise and Cancer Prevention

All forms of physical activity are known to protect against some and possibly all cancers. Research so far is strongest suggesting exercise is good for prevention of colon, breast, and endometrial cancers. We also know that physical activity protects against weight gain, overweight, and obesity.  All three are risk factors for cancer, as well as diseases other than cancer, like diabetes.

And for those of us who might have a little vanity, physical activity helps to maintain a nice physique and muscle tone!

Finally, and most importantly, is the positive attitude and self esteem that exercise helps to maintain.

Physical Activity and Exercise:  What's the Difference?

The difference between physical activity and exercise is pretty easy to understand. We define physical activity as daily activities that involve movement. They burn extra calories and include activities like dancing, raking leaves, walking, taking the stairs, etc.

Exercise is a specific type of physical activity that includes planned, structured, and repetitive bodily movement done specifically to improve or maintain physical fitness. Brisk walking, swimming, and lifting weights are examples of exercise.

My next post will address how much physical activity you should be getting to reduce your risk of cancer. Until then, check out The President's Challenge. I have created a group and would love for you to join it! Login as an individual (click here) and be sure to indicate which group you are joining.

• Our group member name is: Well Beyond Cancer
• Our group ID Number is:  67303

We can all log our time and work as a team to increase physical fitness. What more appropriate thing to do on president's day than take the challenge!

- Julie