Years ago, when our grandfather quit smoking, he would habitually reach into his pocket for his phantom cigarettes. At the time, we didn’t realize the difficulty of quitting smoking, but over the years we’ve seen many people close to us struggle to quit tobacco. Since November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month, the American Cancer Society encourages the 20.6 percent of Americans who smoke to choose Nov. 19, the Great American Smokeout, as the day to kick the nicotine habit.
At a book party for the The Inner Game of Stress (Random House. 2009) by W. Timothy Gallwey with Edd Hanzelik, M.D., and John Horton, M.D., we were inspired by the subtitle “outsmart life’s challenges and fulfill your potential.” We posed a scenario to Horton: What if we’ve been health-conscious our whole lives and then as we pass 40 stressful health issues start cropping up? For example, our blood work comes back with borderline-high cholesterol, causing visions of Lipitor prescriptions to dance in our heads? “You have inner resources beyond what you realize,” Horton told us. “You need to learn to tap into your best inner resources, your more evolved self, in order to handle issues of aging and just about anything else.”
We recently attended the cocktail reception at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York City for the 2009 Alzheimer’s Association Rita Hayworth Gala, taking place Oct. 27 at the Waldorf-Astoria. In attendance was the Hollywood legend’s daughter Princess Yasmin Aga Khan. She launched the galas in 1985 in honor of her mother, who died from the disease in 1987, and since their inception the galas have raised more than $53 million for the Alzheimer’s Association.
According to an American Cancer Society report, breast-cancer deaths in the United States have decreased about 2 percent every year since 1990. We believe that heightened awareness of the importance of early detection is partially to credit. During Breast Cancer Awareness Month, many beauty companies highlight products that donate to breast-cancer research and education groups. Click “full article” to see some of our favorites!
We recently attended the ninth annual Les Girls cabaret in Hollywood, the annual celeb-studded fundraiser for the National Breast Cancer Coalition. We were pleased to see so many stars out in force. Many in the show have a loved one who had breast cancer, including Modern Family’s Ty Burrell and Mad Men’s Bryan Batt (left), whose mothers survived it.
When we heard about the possible new AIDS vaccine from Thailand, the doctor on the morning program we were watching singled out sex workers and drug users as those at risk for HIV. We knew that a few weeks earlier, we wouldn’t have worried that the statement unfairly marginalized those who were HIV-positive, or that it made AIDS seem like a distant problem. But we had just finished reading I Have Something to Tell You (Atria Books, 2009), the new memoir by Regan Hofmann, who writes about her life after she was diagnosed as HIV-positive in 1996. Beautiful, successful and intelligent, Hofmann is proof that HIV can happen to anyone.
We know several brave women who have battled breast cancer, and National Breast Cancer Awareness Month throughout October is a special time for them and the other 2.5 million survivors in the United States. In honor of the occasion, Odwalla has launched its Pink Poetry Superfood fruit smoothie, packed with antioxidant vitamins A, C and E, as well as iron and calcium, which are often lacking in women’s diets. The company is donating $25,000 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, a not-for-profit that funds breast-cancer research and awareness programs.
We’ve been told we type loudly — we blame our heavy fingers on learning to type on a manual typewriter. Though we may never thoroughly adjust to touch screens and laptop keyboards, our fingers no longer hurt after a lot of typing. However, extended time in front of the computer can cause new issues, such as carpal tunnel syndrome, which women are three times more likely to develop than men. We’ve seen the typical wrist rests and cushions, but we were intrigued by the iBracelet ($10.99) from Wellgate for Women, which specializes in women-specific pain-relief products, such as wrist, ankle and knee supports. The support looks like a bracelet of large beads — available in white pearl, black pearl or violet — but is made of a soft, pliable material.
Ever since we read a New York magazine article about calorie restriction, we’ve been fascinated with the practice, developed to increase longevity and slow the aging process. Proponents, such as those in the Calorie Restriction Society, eat a nutrient-dense diet consisting of 20–25 percent fewer calories than the recommended amount — about 1,200–1,600 for women. At first, we were incredulous — who has discipline or desire to follow such a regimen of meticulous calorie-counting? But recent studies on mice and humans have substantiated the benefits of the diet, including decreases of age-related disease.
International Massage Week begins July 19, and we, of course, plan to mark the occasion with some celebratory rubdowns. What better way to start a week designed to raise awareness of the benefits of massage than by having your worries kneaded away?
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