PROCEDURE

healthnumbers

PHOTOGRAPH BY GETTY IMAGES minutes of moderate-intensity exercise weekly. “This is the minimum amount a healthy adult should aim for,” says Catrine Tudor-Locke, Ph.D., professor and chair of the department of kinesiology at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, who insists that more is better. Before you hit the pavement with a pedometer, test it first by taking 20 steps. If the count falls between 19 and 21, that’s within a good margin of error.

INCHES, MAXIMUM WAISTLINE If your waistline measures 35 inches or more, that’s a red flag, no matter what the scale says. The concern? Toxic visceral fat, which is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol, heart disease, and cancer, Peeke says.

GRAMS OF FIBER EVERY DAY According to the National Fiber Council, adults on average ingest only 10 to 15 grams daily through diet, but you should shoot for 20 to 30 grams. That will keep your bowel movements regular and ward of disease-promoting inflammation, says New York City gastroenterologist Valerie AntoineGustave, M.D., M.P.H.

MG/DL, MAXIMUM TRIGLYCERIDE LEVEL Total cholesterol usually steals the spotlight, but triglycerides—fat in blood—may be more critical. “Higher triglyceride levels raise heart-disease risk in women,” says Caroline Cederquist, M.D., weight management physician in Naples, Florida, and author of The MD Factor Diet (BenBella Books, Inc.). While levels below 150 mg⁄dL are normal, ideally, you should be under 100 mg⁄dL. To lower your levels, decrease your intake of simple sugars and simple carbohydrates, says Cederquist.

1,500 MILLIGRAMS, MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF SODIUM PER DAY While you need salt to survive, too much of it can lead to high blood pressure and increase your risk of heart-attack risk, says Laxmi Mehta, M.D., clinical director of the Women’s Cardiovascular Health Program at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio. Like sugar, salt is hidden in many processed foods, so stick to whole foods and ditch the salt-shaker habit. FRIENDS IN YOUR INNER CIRCLES Friendships consist of various layers, but the center two make up the strongest bonds. “The interaction you have with these layers stimulates the production of endorphins, the brain’s natural pain killer, and boosts the immune system to help you resist diseases,” says Robin Dunbar, Ph.D., professor of evolutionary psychology at the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Your first layer contains five friends and family who provide you the most emotional support. Those 10 in your second layer are your best friends with whom you spend most of your time.

ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE EACH DAY

Alcohol in moderation does have its benefits, including lowering incidents of diabetes and reducing heart-disease risk, according to Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Stick to no more than a drink a day, says Peeke, but women with a family history of alcoholism should nix alcohol. Didn’t get your one a day? Just as you can’t bank lost sleep, you can’t bank missed drinks. INTERNATIONAL UNITS (IU), MINIMUM AMOUNT OF VITAMIN D If you’re not spending enough time in the sun, you may be low in vitamin D, which has been associated with numerous benefits, including protection from depression and stronger bones, Peeke says. Yet guidelines of 600 IU fall short of what numerous organizations recommend. The Vitamin D Council, for one, suggests adults get 5,000 IU daily. Get your vitamin D levels tested so you know how much is right for you. HOURS OF SLEEP The National Sleep Foundation recommends adults ages 26 to 64 get seven to nine hours of shut-eye a night. Six hours may be okay for some people; just don’t dip below that. TEASPOONS, MAXIMUM, OF ADDED SUGAR IN A DAY The average American consumes 22 teaspoons of added sugar daily, which may be responsible for the rise in obesity and diabetes, says Mehta. New labeling laws will soon make it easier to spot hidden sugars. Until then, cut your intake by eliminating sugar-sweetened beverages, choosing whole foods over processed foods, and limiting sugar-laden condiments like ketchup.

healthgiving

Carole Nugent President of Royal Dames, center, Jackie Travisano E.V.P. and C.O.O. of Nova, and Alice Lucia Jackson S.V.P. Jones Lang LaSalle.

ONE ROYAL DAME

As president of Florida’s Royal Dames of Cancer Research, Carole Nugent’s royal decree is to wipe out the Big C.

By Shirley Venice

all it coincidence, or kismet, but in 2011 Carole Nugent found herself exactly where she needed to be. At the moment a dear friend was diagnosed with breast cancer, Nugent was offered an honor she couldn’t refuse: co-chairing Fort Lauderdale’s renowned Tiara Ball, the philanthropic fete of the season created by the nearly 50-year-old cancerfighting force, the Royal Dames of Cancer Research.

But don’t let the name fool you—the Tiara Ball isn’t all

Appu Rathinavelu, Ph.D., Exectutive Director of NSU’s RumbaughGoodwin Institute for Cancer Research. bubble-filled flutes and grand gowns. It raises money—lots of it—to fuel the fight to end cancer. As president of the Royals since 2013, Nugent and her co-Dames brought in a record-busting $6 million for Nova Southeastern University Rumbaugh-Goodwin Institute for Cancer Research (RGI). It just takes the right combo of grit and sparkle.

What has been the driving force behind the Dames over the decades? The Royal Dames started out as a sisterhood of dedicated women and we still are today. Membership is by invitation only and on the recommendation of three members. We are considered one of the oldest continuing, non-profit organizations in Broward County.

What research have you funded and what difference has it made? We focus mainly on breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers. Through our funding, RGI has received several patents. Two are for the cancer-fighting drugs F16 and JFD-WS. Talks are underway to license both of these drugs for clinical trials here in the U.S. and abroad. Very recently, we also received a Korean patent for the JFD drug.

What’s the most exciting part of your work? To be part of taking a drug from test tube to the brink of clinical trials is quite an accomplishment. Most drugs don’t get out of the experimental stages. RGI has received two prestigious grants to advance studies in a new cancer treatment strategy using phycocyanin, a compound extracted from algae that grows in our own Florida Everglades. RGI is also developing a cancer metastasis prediction system for prostate cancer, which we hope will work like prediction systems developed for breast cancer.

You get a lot accomplished for a small group. How do you do it? National organizations usually have a paid CEO with a large staff. I think a nonprofit should be lean and mean. We are completely voluntary with no paid positions. RGI at Nova Southeastern University encourages all the Dames to come and see the scientists at work. We know where our money is going because we see our funds in action.

What moments have really moved you as a Royal Dame? Cancer is an insidious disease. I don’t think there are too many of us who have had a relative or a friend who has not battled cancer. Last year, for the first time at our Tiara Ball, we decided to honor people who have faced this formidable foe. This year our honoree was to have been Doreen Koenig, who was, along with her husband, Keith, the founder of City Furniture in Florida. Doreen was so excited about being honored. She fought valiantly, but she lost her battle with cancer. We are committed this year to honoring her memory. It has inspired us to be more determined than ever to keep fighting and to keep raising funds.

PHOTOGRAPH BY GETTY IMAGES

NATURAL RESOURCES

How essential oils can help you muddle through this holiday’s harshest maladies. By Amy Zavatto

e’d all like peace on earth; but this holiday season, you’d probably settle for a little peace of mind. Stress, sleeplessness, financial and social anxiety, and even depression grip many of us during these seemingly happy but helter-skelter months. The real gift you need is relief.

Enter essential oils, concentrated, pure extractions from plants that many practitioners of both eastern and western medicine believe have the power to ease what ails you—or, at the very least, to tamp the urge to rip December right out of the calendar.

SMELL YOURSELF WELL

The blues and its colorful compatriots are a growing source of code red, with 40 million adults suffering from some form of anxiety disorder in the U.S. alone, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. While essential oils and aromatherapy are certainly not a cure, they are an excellent ingredient in a holistic prescription for better mental health.

“Natural essential oils combat conditions like depression, stress, exhaustion, and sleeplessness,” says Claudia Maghidman, medical aesthetician and owner of theHealth & Skin Center of Miami.

How do they work? Dr. Gabrielle Francis, a naturopathic doctor, chiropractor, acupuncturist with her company the Herban Alchemist, andauthor of The Rockstar Remedy (Harper Collins), says essential oils are, in effect, a plant’simmune system. “The component that gives them their strongaroma protects from bacteria, viruses, and other microbes,” she says. “They will do the same for you.”

“I frequently recommend essential oils to my patients,” says Sheenie Ambardar, M.D., a Beverly Hills, California, psychiatrist and psychotherapist, “usually as anadjunct to other treatment modalities.”

Ambardar is not the only western medical professional in this camp. “The ‘smell’ receptors in your nose communicate with parts of your brain [the amygdala and hippocampus] that are storehouses for emotions and memories,” says Laurie Tomsa, R.N., an outpatient care manager and certified aromatherapist at Cancer Treatment Centers of America at Midwestern Regional Medical Center in Zion, Illinois. “When you breathe in essential oil molecules, some researchers believe they stimulate these brain centers and influence physical, emotional, and mental health.”

healtheast meets west

SALVE OR SNAKE OIL?

A true essential oil is an extremely concentrated liquid. “It takes 16 pounds of peppermint leavesto yield 1 ounce of essential oil,” says Celeste Hilling, founder and CEO of Skin Authority in

Carlsbad, California. “They are very different than common carrier oils orfragrance oils found in most beauty products,” which are often synthetic, she warns. And to be effective, many essential oils must be diluted with a carrier oil like jojoba, sweet almond, coconut, or olive before applying. So which oils will work for problems that plague your psyche?

➜ Depression Clary sage oil is a great spirit-lifting scent that also promotes relaxation and eases

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tension, offers Karen Page, an herbal expert with Penn Herb in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Farah Abassi, founder of Aroma360, suggests orange essential oil. “It is high in cineol,” she says, which “can stimulate blood flow to the emotional centers of our brains, help fight depression, and reduce stress.”

➜ Stress and Anxiety When the holiday crowds and bottleneck traffic start to wear on your nerves, Page recommends a spicy, stress-relieving scent like coriander oil to melt away stress and tension. She also suggests California lemon oil to lift spirits, increase alertness, and enhance your general sense of well-being.

➜ Sleeplessness Lavender oil is excellent for mood disorders and chronic insomnia.“Studies suggest that it calms the nervous system by reducing serum cortisollevels and promotes the relaxation response,” says. Dr. Ambardar. Try combing it with sandalwood, says Abassi. “Put a few drops on a cotton ball and place it in your pillow case to take you into an even more restful sleep.”

➜ Anger To keep cool, Page likes the rich, earthy-musty scent of vetier essential oil. “[It] soothes away tension and irritability,” she says.

Abassi swears by cinnamon to reduce blood pressure—and rekindle your holiday spirit. “Fill an empty spray bottle with 1 cup of distilled water, 6 drops of cinnamon essential oil, and 3 drops of clove oil. Shake well and let it sit for a few hours,” then spray, she says.

➜ Exhaustion For pep in your step, Dr. Francis likes basil oil to stimulate adrenal glands and ease mental fatigue. To refresh and revive, Page prescribes juniper berry oil or peppermint oil. “Peppermint awakens the mind and revitalizes the body,” she says.

PHOTOGRAPH BY GETTY IMAGES