StrongWomen Newsletter
Issue 132, November - December 2009
I hope you find this newsletter helpful, and that you share it with your friends. Feel free to forward, post or reprint it – but please credit strongwomen.com for the information and don’t change the content.
By Miriam E. Nelson, PhD
Author of
Strong Women Stay Young
Strong Women Stay Slim
Strong Women, Strong Bones
Strong Women Eat Well
Strong Women and Men Beat Arthritis
The Strong Women’s Journal
Strong Women, Strong Hearts
Strong Women, Strong Backs
Founder of www.StrongWomen.com
IN THIS MONTH'S ISSUE
- The New Mammography Guidelines
- Upcoming StrongWomen Workshops
- Reader Questions and Answers
- Cocoa Krispies® and Immunity
- Can Turkey Pan Drippings Hurt My Dog?
- Success Stories
- Recipe - Wheatberries with Cranberry and Honey- Orange Dressing
THE NEW MAMMOGRAPHY GUIDELINES
In November 2009 the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) issued new guidelines for mammography screening for breast cancer. The USPSTF is a respected group of health care experts in the field that review research and make recommendations about preventive health care. Its recommendations are considered the gold standard for health care practice. There has been a media frenzy reporting on the new guidelines. Women have been instructed for years to get their first mammogram at age 40 (and then every year thereafter). The new guidelines recommend that women at low risk for breast cancer get their first mammogram at age 50 and then every two years until age 74. These recommendations are based on the latest research and not on any need to reduce spending on preventive services. I have followed this debate for years and anticipated the change. The data are conclusive. There is no added benefit for low- risk women to start mammogram screenings at age 40. Although there is some potential harm from the added radiation and treatment of early stage cancers, that may disappear on their own. No doubt, we need to learn more about the biology of breast cancer. And we need more research on screening and early detection. Most importantly, we need research that will provide us with the knowledge on how to prevent breast cancer in the first place. The new recommendations are:
- Screening mammography should not be done routinely for all women age 40 to 49 years. Women and their doctors should base the decision to start mammography before age 50 on a woman's individual breast cancer risk and her understanding of the benefits and harms.
- Women ages 50 to 74 years should have mammography every two years.
More evidence is needed for the USPSTF to recommend for or against screening mammography after age 74 years. The new guidelines also note that:
- The USPSTF recommends against teaching patients breast self-examination. Available studies do not provide enough information to know whether breast examination by a trained medical professional adds benefit beyond mammography.
- There is not enough information to know whether newer types of mammography (digital mammography) or magnetic resonance imaging are any better than regular film mammography results.
If you would like to read more about this issue, I recommend the November 2009 blogs on the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation website. http://blog.dslrf.org/? m=200911. I wish you and your family a very healthy and happy holiday.
Be Well,
Miriam E. Nelson, Ph.D.
For more information on the USPSTF guidelines go to:
www.ahrq.gov/clinic/USpstf/uspsbrca.htm
Be Well,
Miriam E. Nelson, Ph.D.
UPCOMING STRONGWOMEN WORKSHOPS
The following information is for upcoming StrongWomen Program workshops. In order to be eligible for StrongWomen training, you must be actively strength training right now, and you must have a firm commitment to starting a program in your community. This training teaches you how to "lead" a StrongWomen Program, and should not be attended simply for informational/personal purposes.Click Here for additional upcoming workshops.
Date: January 20, 2010
Location: Green Bay WI
Contact: Angela Flickinger
Phone: (608) 757-5689
Email: flickinger@ces.uwex.edu
Registration Deadline: December 20, 2009
Date: February 26, 2010
Location: Fort Collins, CO
Contact: Shirley Perryman, MS, RD
Phone: (970) 491-2404
Email: perryman@colostate.edu
Registration Deadline: February 10, 2010
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Q: I was in the cereal aisle of my local grocery store recently and saw a huge banner on the front of Cocoa Krispies® that said, "Now Helps Support Your Child's Immunity." This can't be true, can it?
A: While Kellogg denies that this front of package health claim was prompted by the H1N1 flu epidemic, I don't believe it. Kellogg went from 10 percent of the daily value to 25 percent of the daily value for vitamins A, B, C, and E. These vitamins are important for your immune system so Kellogg thought by law they were allowed to print this on the front of the cereal box. The law states that you can place a health claim on the package if nutrient “x” supports or helps health concern “y.” For example, if a product has calcium as an ingredient, the package can state, helps protect your bones. It is not stating that it prevents osteoporosis; just that it helps your bones. Kellogg went too far with this health claim, because there is no evidence that a chocolaty, sweetened cereal with some added vitamins will improve a child's immune system.
The Attorney for San Francisco challenged Kellogg on the basis of false advertising. Kellogg has backed down and removed the health claim from the package. Many of us at Tufts went to the supermarket and bought a box of the cereal to use in our classes as an example of food marketing gone awry.
For more on the topic, I encourage you to read Marion Nestle's December 1, 2009 blog on her website: www.foodpolitics .com
Q: This is a question about my pet, rather than me. I hope it is okay. A friend of mine told me not to let my dog lick the turkey platter after Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner because it can make dogs sick. Is this true? I really like giving my dog this treat.
A: While it feels really good to give your dog a holiday treat, please refrain. Allowing a dog to consume table scraps, especially meat drippings, can make your dog very sick. Large amounts of fat can give your dog acute pancreatitis and send him or her right to the emergency room. Pancreatitis is very dangerous and painful for your dog. Your dog can enjoy the holidays with some appropriate dog treats or bones from the butcher; but don't give your dog the turkey platter drippings!
FROM THE MAILBOX: SUCCESS STORIES FROM INSPIRING WOMEN
I turned 50 this year and in the fall I ran my favorite race - The Women's Four Miler in Charlottesville, Virginia. It is an annual road race that draws 2,800 women of all shapes, sizes, and speeds. I started running when I was 35 years of age. I don't push speed because I want to be running this race when I am 70; but it was a beautiful day, cool and dry, and spirits were high, as they always are at this event.
The running felt great, and to my surprise, I came in second in my age group and only a few seconds behind the time I ran four years ago. I am not one to blow my own horn, but I was really pleased that the race director later awarded me the "Golden Decade Speedster Award." I don't know about the golden decade part, but I love being called a speedster! The Women's Four Miler is a race to benefit cancer research. The white fences along the rolling hills of the course list names of women who have died from cancer and also cancer survivors. It is always an inspiration to run by them. My own mother died of cancer at age 51. This race was for her.
-- Jenny
RECIPE OF THE MONTH
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