Source: CNN.com

The CNN.com Health section details a listing of healthy food types that should be an important part of everyone's diet. Eating well is an essential element of a healthy lifestyle and the foods listed are excellent sources of general nutrition.

1. Calcium. Calcium is a key element for healthy bones and many other body functions. While many people get calcium form milk and other dairy products, there are a variety of other food types that can one use to get calcium. These include:
   
   
   
   • Cornmeal
   
   
   • Wheat flour
   
   
   • Collards
   
   
   • Rhubarb
   
   
   • Sardines
   
   
   • Spinach
   
   
   • Soybeans
   
   
   • among others
   
   


2. Vitamin C. Vitamin is an excellent addition to any diet. It helps one's body repair itself when damaged or depressed and also provides preventative maintenance by helping the body fight diseases and possibly cancer. Sources of Vitamin C include:
   
   
   
   • Oranges/orange juice
   
   
   • Peppers (sweet and chili)
   
   
   • Grapefruit juice
   
   
   • Papayas
   
   
   • Strawberries
   
   
   • among others
   
   


3. Fiber. Fiber is an important element for the digestive system, as well as other internal organs, such as the heart. Sources of fiber include:
   
   
   
   • Barley
   
   
   • Bulgur
   
   
   • Beans
   
   
   • Peas
   
   
   • Wheat flour, whole-grain
   
   
   • Oat bran
   
   
   • among others
   
   
   
   
4. Anti-oxidants. Anti-oxidants are a type of chemical found in certain foods that research shows may help protect the body from a variety of serious ailments, including cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer's. Sources of anti-oxidants include:
   
   
   
   • Beans
   
   
   • Blueberries
   
   
   • Cranberries
   
   
   • Artichokes
   
   
   • Blackberries
   
   
   • Prunes
   
   
   • among others
   
   
   
   
5. Folic acid.
Folic acid is found in certain foods and helps promote efficient mitosis (cell division) and red cell development. There is evidence that it can reduce the development of certain types of cancers. Sources of folic acid include:



• Turkey/chicken giblets


• Lentils


• Cowpeas/Black eyed peas


• Orange Juice


• Beans (specifically kidney, pinto, navy)


• among others




6. Iron. Iron is essential to the proper flow of oxygen in the blood. Iron deficiencies can lead to anemia, which leaves people weak and tired. Sources of iron include:
   
   
   
   • Mollusks, clams
   
   
   • Turkey or chicken giblets
   
   
   • Enriched whole wheat flour
   
   
   • Enriched rice
   
   
   • Soybeans
   
   
   • among others
   
   
   
   
   

Labels: cancer, general

Source: New York Times

Research into the cognitive functions of people who've undergone high-dose chemotherapy has shown that a small number of survivors show some long-term neurological effects from the treatment. The phenomena, now known as "chemo brain", had been anecdotally noted by a number of patients but oncologists were historically dismissive of claims regarding long-term neurological effects of the chemo. However, recent research on this subject estimates that as many as fifteen percent of patients, many of them women, do show symptoms of chemo brain. The cognitive effects are rarely life-threatening, but they do impact the daily lives of these survivors and often take the form of short-term memory loss, proneness to confusion and an inability, or at least a slower ability, to choose among a set of dichotomous options.

The majority of patients who've undergone chemotherapy do show limited, short-term signs of neurological impairment, such as memory loss and poor concentration, but most get over these effects and return to one hundred percent cognitive ability within a few months. It is not yet understood why survivors with chemo brain do not regain full neurological ability and the answer to this question is still years away. However, the identification of chemo brain as a real condition has been an important development in the lives of all survivors, as it has provided some legitimacy to the effects that each struggles with in the wake of their chemotherapy.

Labels: cancer, general