The beautiful young Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie recently announced she had a double mastectomy to reduce her risks of getting breast cancer.
The actress took this step because she carries a faulty gene, which means she is more prone to suffer from breast or ovarian cancer in the future. The brave actress made the decision to perform a preventive double mastectomy and may indeed go on to have other preventative procedures.
In speaking publicly about this personal matter she hopes to help other women and mothers who are worried about cancer.
Angelina made a personal decision based on her doctor’s consultation, but the news was still alarming to many of us that a healthy young woman should feel the need to do something so radical. A double mastectomy is a major operation and many women who have had such operations will say that they were deeply traumatized; and most women would not be able to spring out of bed within days and get back to work looking as beautiful as Angelina Jolie. A mastectomy is a major operation and it must be remembered that Angelina was a healthy young woman who did not have cancer.
Clearly the ordeal of watching her mother suffer from ovarian cancer had such a strong impact that she felt this was the best decision for her and her family. She made the decision to be proactive rather than wait and take the chance. Her risk of getting cancer was based on a scientific estimation, which is not a 100 percent accurate prognosis. This does lead to questions as to where cancer treatment is going. Is it a good decision to opt for pre-disease mutilation or are there other ways to be proactive in preventing cancer?
Instinctively we know that if we have a strong incidence of cancer in the family we need to take greater care of our health. It is important for us all to be proactive and take a responsible role in safeguarding our own good health by eating healthy fresh food and exercising regularly.
Nutrition plays a central role in health and wellbeing; everyone knows the role of food in helping people recovery from illness. Doctors are not always mindful of the impact of healthy nutrition, when addressing patients.
When a patient visits a doctor with a complaint, the doctor’s priority is to talk about treatment and they may have little time to talk about diet and exercise. They may just have time to offer encouragement to follow a healthy diet. Being healthy is something we should all be encouraged to do to prevent illness, as there is a strong correlation between health and eating habits.
Leading a balanced life is as important as exercising. Eating simple, healthy, colorful food and making water your main drink for the day as well as leading a calm and happy life keeps the body and mind healthy and well balanced.
So why do health professionals give so little time to preventing illness?
Some leading specialists I have spoken to recently said they were embarrassed that they never advised patients on nutrition because their urgent priority was treatment.
Doctors do take the effects of junk food diets and foods that are known to be harmful very seriously. Being healthy and exercising can influence your future health. Eating a Mediterranean style diet is a key to a long and healthy life according to studies.
Keys to a healthy diet:
Physical exercise; good nutrition; good hydration; and reducing stress are all important factors in building a strong immune system.
My Healthy Recipe of the Week:
Banana Milk Shake
Full of calcium for healthy bones.
You will need 3 glasses and a blender:
Ingredients
• 2 bananas
• 1 cup of cold milk
• 6-8 tbsp of vanilla ice-cream
How to make, step-by-step:
Skin and slice bananas into blender cup.
Add ice cream and all milk.
Cover blender and turn it on high speed for 2 minutes
Pour it into 3 glasses, and enjoy.
Ask Alva
I keep losing weight only to put it back on again. How can I stop this from happening? Lula
Be patient. Don’t try to lose too much too soon. A healthy way to lose weight is to cut down gradually by acquiring health-eating habits. One main meal; two light meals; two snacks (one snack must be healthy such as fruit). Email me for a copy of my healthy eating plan to
[email protected].
— Alva
Email: [email protected]
