Health Tip: Breast Self-Exams
Women should examine their breasts regularly to detect lumps or abnormalities that could signal breast cancer. An exam should be done once a month, several days after the last day of a woman's period.
Here are the five basic steps to a breast self-exam, courtesy of Breastcancer.org:
* Standing with your shoulders straight and your arms on your hips, face a mirror. Look for any differences in size, shape, color, swelling or bulging of the skin, changes in the nipple, or any signs of redness or rash.
* Raise your arms, and examine your breasts for any of those differences.
* Gently squeeze each nipple to check for any discharge.
* Lie down, and feel each breast with the hand of the opposite arm. Feel all the tissue, applying pressure to check deep tissue for any lumps or abnormalities.
* Examine the breasts while you are standing or sitting, gently examining the entire breast. You may want to try this method in the shower, while the skin is slippery.
Health Tip: Dangerous Dieting
The right way to diet and lose weight is slowly, over time, and while eating a balanced diet with plenty of healthy foods, the American Heart Association says.
Diets that encourage eating only one type of food or encourage rapid weight loss can be dangerous to your health.
The association offers this list of the possible risks posed by fad diets:
* Nutritional deficiencies caused by a lack of a balanced diet.
* Lack of physical activity from emphasis on diet only can increase the risk of heart disease.
* Lack of variety in foods can cause boredom and frustration, and make it difficult to maintain the diet for more than a brief period.
* Severe restrictions on the foods you can eat may make it difficult to establish and maintain a healthy diet in the future.
* Many quick weight-loss diets are based on unfounded claims that may do more harm than good.
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