We know the main risk factors that promote abnormal cervical cells include using the birth control pill, increasing age, infection with the Human Papilloma Virus—HPV (the virus that also causes warts), smoking, and nutritional deficiencies of folic acid, vitamin A and vitamin C.

We definitely do not want to ignore abnormal PAP test results. In North America, we grade our PAP tests based on this scale: a CINI, CINII, CINIII, or a CINIV. A CINIV is cancer. Most women are not treated until they have an invasive CINIII. Always ask what grade your test is. Too many women are advised that they have an abnormal test result, told to come back in six months for another test, but not given any suggestions for how to get their cervical cells to return to normal. Yes, sometimes abnormal cells return to normal with no treatment, but what if simply taking a nutritional supplement could ensure a normal PAP?

We know that HPV is implicated in a large majority of cervical dysplasia and cervical cancer cases. New research has shown that a nutrient called Indole-3-carbinol (I3C) can reverse abnormal cervical lesions before they have a chance to develop into cancer. In one of many studies 30 women with CINII and CINIII cervical lesions took 200mg of I3C daily for six months. Fifty percent in the treatment group had complete regression of their lesions, while none in the placebo group experienced any change in their lesions.

There are other nutrients that also help balance female hormones, protect us from abnormal cell growth and reduce our risk of breast cancer that I believe we should be taking everyday. These include:

• Indole-3-carbinol (I3C) not only keeps our PAP smears normal but it also helps to break down cancer-causing estrogens to non-toxic forms. I3C is the most heavily researched nutrient shown to inhibit breast cancer tumors. We should call this the “breast cancer prevention nutrient.”
• Calcium D-glucarate is a powerful detoxifier of excess and toxic estrogens from the liver. D-glucarate is very important as it ensures that toxins are excreted and not released elsewhere in the body. If you think about toxins as being wrapped up and packaged for removal from the body then D-glucarate ensures that somewhere along the way the package does not open and the toxic contents spill out. It is most often used in combination with I3C.
• Green Tea Extract contains polyphenols, catechins and flavonoids shown to be protective against estrogen-dominant breast cancers. Research used the standardized extracts. Daily consumption of green tea is also cancer protective.
• Curcumin is the yellow pigment of turmeric. Research using it in capsules found it be a powerful anti-inflammatory agent and to inhibit all steps of cancer formation: initiation, promotion, and progression. Curcumin also protects against inflammatory calcium loss from our bones.
• Milk Thistle enhances detoxification from the liver, inhibits breast cancer cells from replicating and reduces the toxic effects of chemotherapy. Our hormones are processed and packaged in the liver, and a healthy liver is essential to healthy hormones.
• Rosemary Extract, a potent antioxidant, inhibits breast cancer development, and it helps to detoxify carcinogenic estrogens.
• Lycopene was recently shown to reduce a women’s risk of breast cancer by 36 percent when those women took 6.5 mg per day.
• Sulfurophane, from broccoli sprout extract, has been shown to stimulate the body’s production of detoxification enzymes that eliminate xenoestrogens. Recent research points to this nutrient as a powerful anti-breast cancer agent. A modified sulfurophane is slated to be the next hot cancer drug.
• Lignans found in flaxseed have been found to reduce the growth of breast cancer tumors, increase the excretion of toxic estrogens and inhibit hormone dominant cancers. Researchers at the University of Toronto believe that daily consumption of lignans can prevent breast cancer.
• Omega 3s from fish oil, when taken in 3 gram per day doses, were found to improve the fatty acid composition of women’s breast tissue, thereby lowering breast cancer risk.

Cervical dysplasia and cervical cancer can be prevented. Have your annual PAP smear and make sure your mom has hers as well. Too many women after menopause are not having annual tests. PAP tests save lives! Smart women also take their multivitamin with minerals everyday and include Indole-3carbinol and the nutrients mentioned above to reduce their risk of cancer and hormonal problems.

The post This Test Could Save Lives – 30 Percent of Women Have Not Had It. appeared first on Total Health Magazine.

Exercise Timing
One of the questions I am asked most often is: “Should I work out in the morning or the evening?” To enhance fat burning, the best time to work out is in the morning. Once you do 10 minutes of this fun program and eat protein for breakfast, you will rev up your fat-burning furnace by 25 to 40 percent and it will last for 12 or more hours throughout the day. Also, often after a hard day at home or the office, we don’t feel like exercising and we don’t want to rev up our metabolism a few hours before we go to sleep.

So, set your alarm 10 minutes earlier, have fun with this exercise regimen and you will be rewarded with a tighter, stronger body. Consistency is the key. Get out of bed, put on a T-shirt and shorts, get your water bottle and towel, and get started. Exercise, then hit the shower, and eat breakfast. Start Day 1 on Monday so that Day 6 and Day 7 will be Saturday and Sunday, which are usually the days we do more outdoor or family-oriented aerobic activities.

Fitness Fun 10 minutes a Day
Warm-up before you begin. Stretch your arms to the ceiling. Breathe deeply. Then reach towards the floor. Breathe deeply. Jog gently in place for 30 to 60 seconds. Drink water before you begin and remember to drink more water between the two sets of exercises. Dehydration can make you feel weak and dizzy.

The goal is to work up to three sets of each exercise with successively heavier weights. Start with the lighter weight and increase the weight slowly. Depending on your level of fitness, you may increase weight and repetitions more quickly. Whatever your level of fitness, build on your previous day’s success; if on Day 1 you lifted a light weight only three times, try to lift four times on Day 2. Then move on to a heavier weight and so on until you finally reach the goal of three sets of repetitions using successively heavier weights. The fact that you are trying is success. And remember, no matter what your age or fitness level, you will be able to do these exercises, so just have fun.

Day 1

Shapely arms:
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and extend your arms down the side of your body. With a light dumbbell in each hand, take a couple of deep breaths, exhale and curl both arms to a 90-degree angle. Make sure your elbows are at your sides and not bending outward. Hold for two seconds. Inhale as you lower the weight. If you are pushing your stomach out and bending backward, the weight is too heavy. Make sure you are standing straight and strong. Exhale and repeat the exercise 10 times. Do not pause between curls. Pick the medium weight and repeat 10 curls. Then choose the heaviest weight and repeat more 10 curls. If you find that you cannot complete the last set of 10 curls, then use the medium weight for both the second and third set of repetitions It is best to do the required 30 curls even if you have to use the smallest weight initially. This exercise also improves neck muscles and tightens sagging chins.

Arms without wings:

This is the exercise that makes the backs of your arms beautiful while also toning your abdominal muscles. Lie on the floor with your knees bent and the soles of your feet flat on the floor. Hold the lightest dumbbell by your ears with your elbows pointing up to the ceiling. Exhale as you raise the weight from your ears toward the ceiling. Your arms should be straight up now. Hold for two seconds and inhale as you lower the weight. Repeat 10 times. Do not pause between curls. Next, choose the medium weight and repeat 10 curls. Then use the heaviest weight and repeat 10 curls. To really get the benefit of this exercise, hold your abdominal muscles tight and push your lower back toward the floor after you inhale. Focus on your breathing. If you can’t complete all three sets with successively heavier weights, just use the lowest weight at the beginning and within a couple of weeks you will be able to progress to the heavier weight.

Day 2

Sexy calves:
Stand tall with your feet shoulder-width apart. Hold the lightest dumbbells in each hand with your arms at your side. Keep your shoulders back but relaxed, not pulled up toward your ears. Exhale as you raise your heels. You should now be up on the bottom of the front of your feet, but not so high that you end up on your tiptoes. Hold for two seconds. Inhale as you slowly lower your heels. Repeat for 10 lifts. Next, pick your medium weight and repeat. Then use the heaviest weight and repeat for 10 more lifts. Beautiful calves are the end result of this exercise. Once this exercise becomes effortless, instead of moving to heavier weights, add ankle weights while holding the dumbbells for increased results.

Tight thighs and cellulite reducer:
This is my favourite exercise as it gives the fastest results. Stand with your feet slightly wider than your shoulders, with your arms at your sides. Keep your back straight. Exhale as you squat down to about 90 degrees with your butt out, as if you were going to sit down. Your knees should be in line with your toes. Hold for one or two seconds. Inhale as you straighten up. This is called a squat. Do 10 squats, then rest for a count of 10. Do 10 more squats. Soon you will be able to do an additional 10 squats for a full 30 squats. This exercise sculpts great legs, and helps tighten the skin on your upper thighs and butt to reduce cellulite. Once you get very good at this exercise, add wrist weights.

Day 3

Chest and breast press:
Lie on your back with your knees bent and the soles of your feet flat on the floor. Hold your lightest dumbbell in each hand with your arms out from your body like a cross. Bend your arms at the elbows toward the ceiling. Exhale as you push the weight up toward the ceiling. Hold for a count of two and inhale as you bring the weight back to the starting position. Repeat for 10 presses. Then change to your medium weight and repeat for 10 presses. Finally, choose your heavier weight and repeat. This exercise makes for strong arms and builds chest muscles. It also tightens sagging breasts in women.

Tight abdomen:
We all want tight abdominals. You may be able to do only a few of these exercises at the beginning. Start slowly and add a few more repetitions every time you do this exercise, but try to do as many as you can, up to 10 in each set.

Lie on the floor on your back with your knees bent and the soles of your feet flat on the floor. Cross your arms over your chest. Exhale as you curl up toward your knees. If you can raise yourself only a few inches off the floor, don’t worry – it will get easier. Make sure your lower back is not arched upward. Repeat as many as you can. Remember, the more you do this exercise, the tighter your abdominals will become and the inches will fall off soon. You can do it.

Day 4

Butt lift:
Kneel on a rug or mat on all fours. You should have your hands and feet positioned so that you feel steady. While keeping your head up (do not look at the floor), exhale and raise your right leg until your thigh is even with your back and push toward the ceiling. Hold for one second and inhale as you return your knee to the original position. Do 10 repetitions for the right leg, and then repeat for the left leg. This exercise gives you the greatest butt lift. As you get better at this exercise, increase the number of repetitions to 15, and then 20 per leg.

Even better butt lift:
Pick a sturdy chair and lie on the floor on your back with the chair at your feet. Place your palms flat on the floor with your arms at your sides. Lift your legs and put your heels firmly on the chair. Exhale as you contract the backs of your thighs and lift your butt toward the ceiling. Hold for two seconds. Inhale as you slowly lower your body back to the starting position. Do 10 repetitions. Stop, rest for 10 seconds, do 10 more repetitions, and then the last 10 repetitions. Once you feel strong doing 10 repetitions, add another five, and so on.

Day 5

Shoulder lift:
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, your back straight, and your arms at your sides. Grip a light dumbbell in each hand then raise your arms out from your sides with your palms facing upward, until your arms are level with your shoulders. When you raise your arms to shoulder height, turn your palms down and hold for one second. Inhale as you lower the weight. Repeat 10 times. With the medium weight, repeat 10 times. Finally, do 10 more with your heavy weight. If you push out your stomach or arch your back, you are using too heavy a weight. Either use a lighter weight or reduce the number of repetitions.

No more back fat:
Sit in an armless chair. Pick up a dumbbell in each hand. Lean forward with your arms at the side of the chair and exhale as you point your elbows toward the ceiling. Stop when your hands are at the height of your thighs. Hold for two seconds and inhale as you lower your arms. Do this 10 times. Next, repeat 10 times with a medium weight. Finally, repeat with the heavier weight. This exercise gets rid of the flab that women accumulate on their back around their bra strap and strengthens back muscles.

Day 6 and Day 7

Move your body:

Go for a walk in the park, bicycle with your kids, swim, golf, play tennis, garden, or go dancing. Do anything that requires you to move your body. Add some exercise variety today and tomorrow. You have done fabulously and should be proud of yourself. Even after five days most people feel stronger and want to exercise. It is so easy to fit 10 minutes of exercise into your day. If you miss a day because you slept through your alarm, just remember to do your exercises the next day. Repeat these exercises as recommended and in a few weeks your body will reward you with tight muscles and a slimmer, sexier you.

The post Ten Minutes a Day Keeps the Fat at Bay appeared first on Total Health Magazine.