Welcome to the April issue of Your Healthy Life. This is a great month for the planet—as well as your health—supported by a plethora of important national health observances. See which may apply to you and make the effort to learn more. It feels good to take charge of your wellness!

Here is a list of some very important April health observances:

• Alcohol Awareness Month from the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc.
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) Awareness Month from the International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders
• National Occupational Therapy Month from the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.
• National STD Awareness Month from the American Social Health Association
• National Youth Sports Safety Month from the National Youth Sports Safety Foundation
• National Donate Life Month from the Department of Health and Human Services
• Sexual Assault Awareness Month from the National Sexual Violence Resource Center
• Candlelight Vigil for Eating Disorders Awareness from the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders
• Sports Eye Safety Month from the American Academy of Ophthalmology
• Alcohol-Free Weekend from the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence
• National Minority Cancer Awareness Week from the National Cancer Institute Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities
• National Facial Protection Month from the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons

...and among the most important of all, Cancer Control Month, brought to us by the American Cancer Society.

Are you doing all you can to reduce your risk of developing cancer?
Do you know how much your daily diet and lifestyle choices affect your risk?

See Health Tips and Updates section to learn more, and to find out how you can determine your level of antioxidant protection right now.

Don't miss out on your FREE ($25 value) Antioxidant Scan this month!

Important weeks this month, include:

Best wishes for personal and planetary health this month—and every month to come. I hope to meet you in person at one of our April events!

Please send questions and comments to kiki@aboutnhs.com.

Peace and Health on Earth,

Are you doing all you can to reduce your risk of developing cancer? Do you know how much your daily diet and lifestyle choices affect your risk? One of the most powerful cancer-protective moves you can make is to ensure you are consuming enough antioxidants through food and supplements to protect you from the daily free radical assault we all experience. We are under constant attack by free radicals, generated by stress, smoking, sunlight, pesticides, pollution, airline travel, medications, foods, x-rays, exercise, chlorine-treated water, even your own body processes.

How do antioxidants come to the rescue? Antioxidants—found primarily in fruits and vegetables, as well as high-quality, well-absorbed vitamin/mineral supplements—have the ability to neutralize free radicals. Antioxidants are your body's defense against destructive free radicals, therefore minimizing your risk of premature aging, sickness and disease.

How do antioxidants protect you from the development of cancer in particular? There are many forms of cancer, but basically all involve the abnormal growth of cells. Each cell contains DNA that controls cell growth, development and replication. When free radicals damage the DNA, it can begin the process of replicating damaged cells, which can become cancer.

One of the critical roles antioxidants play in the body is to protect DNA from this free radical damage. Certain antioxidants can even repair damaged DNA before it replicates. Clearly, the importance of maintaining proper antioxidant levels cannot be overstated.

Fortunately, you can now derive an accurate measure of your antioxidant status, which is directly linked to your risk for degenerative disease. The Pharmanex® BioPhotonic Scanner is the world's first measuring tool using laser light technology to document the level of antioxidants in your body. You can now obtain an accurate measurement of your personal antioxidant level.

Pharmanex® BioPhotonic Scanner

Your Antioxidant Score is a measurement of the presence of carotenoid antioxidants in your skin. Carotenoids neutralize damaging free radical molecules and are absorbed in human plasma and tissue, providing an excellent indicator of a person's overall antioxidant health status. Your Antioxidant Score shows the stable level of carotenoid antioxidants in your skin—providing you with an accurate and reliable biomarker of your antioxidant defense level. Your Antioxidant Score will help you determine whether you are consuming an adequate amount of antioxidant nutrients through food and supplements, and how you can improve your level of antioxidant protection.

Since most Americans are not getting the 5-9 fruit and vegetables servings recommended by the American Cancer Society, nutritional supplementation is important. In the June 19, 2002 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), researchers from the Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health stated in a landmark review that all adults should take a multi-vitamin/mineral supplement daily. We are now all under doctor's orders to take our vitamins!

Scientists who have measured antioxidant metabolism for decades, like Dr. Lester Packer, have expressed the wish that this technology was available 40 years ago as they began research on antioxidants. "This kind of tool is going to become very valuable, not only in assessing the health status of people, but using it in an investigative way to determine how changing your lifestyle may improve your antioxidant status." Lester Packer, Ph.D.

For more information, contact kiki@aboutnhs.com.

If you don't change what you eat, change how you eat it. For example:

• If you love high-fat croissants, do as the French often do: Eat only half and spread it with fruit preserves instead of butter. Refrain from ever using croissants as sandwich bread!
• If you love quesadillas—which typically feature high-fat cheese—treat them as a meal, not an appetizer. Lighten them up by asking for reduced fat cheese (or better yet, soy cheese!) and by choosing vegetable filling instead of meat.
• Re-think your morning bagel. Buy the mini-ones or hollow out the big ones. Get the whole-grain kind and top it with peanut butter (a healthy fat), instead of saturated-fat laden cream cheese.

Source: Fitness Magazine, August 2003

World Health Day is celebrated annually on April 7. The theme for World Health Day 2004 is Road Safety. On this day around the globe, hundreds of organizations will host events to help raise awareness about road traffic injuries, their grave consequences and enormous costs to society.

According to the World Health Organization, road traffic injuries are a deadly scourge, taking the lives of 1.2 million men, women and children around the world each year. Hundreds of thousands more are injured on our roads, some of whom become permanently disabled.

Yet the knowledge currently exists to take action on a number of fronts to prevent these needless deaths and disabilities, and the immense loss and suffering they cause. Many programs and policies exist to prevent traffic accidents. They include strategies to address rates of speed and alcohol consumption; promotion of helmets and seat belts and other restraints; and greater visibility of people walking and cycling. We might also add refraining from ever using a cell phone while driving unless you are wearing a headset or use another hands-free device.

A concerted effort on the part of governments and their partners to improve road safety can make a world of difference. They will also contribute to spreading the word that such injuries can be prevented. We invite you to join WHO and these many organizations to celebrate World Health Day 2004. Join us in making the roads safer.

Don't miss out on the Center for Informed Food Choices 3rd Comedy Show Fundraiser, and support two great causes, CIFC and the National Radio Project.

For ticket information and reservations, visit www.informedeating.org or call 510.465.0322.