The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in delays in screening for breast, cervical, colorectal, prostate, and lung cancers, which could lead to cancers that are undiagnosed, untreated, and present at advanced stages.
The American Cancer Society (ACS) has launched a Get Screened campaign with multiple new resources developed encouraging people to schedule regular cancer screening tests. This public screening campaign is one of six components of our effort to make sure people are getting their recommended cancer screening tests.
Check out our public landing page www.cancer.org/getscreened.
By Kathy Hoss, MBA, CHC
"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”
– Hippocrates (c. 460 BC – c. 375 BC)
In the health and wellness world, we often refer to this phrase to emphasize the importance of food as medicine and nutrition to prevent or cure disease.
Food is the #1 determinant of health and disease during your lifetime. Your relationship with food is fundamental to how you approach eating and enjoying food.
Food is many things to different people and at different times. We eat food for many reasons and associate food with many life experiences. Food is for energy and sustainment, for fun and celebrations, for sharing with family & friends, for dealing with emotions, for taking us to the spices and delicacies around the world, for traditions and rituals, for holidays, and for so much more.
But more than anything, food is medicine and is the best tool we have to prevent or cure disease.
Mounting research shows that there is no magic bullet to treat heart disease, cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis, allergies, digestive disorders, headaches, fatigue, or any of the myriad problems we suffer from in the 21st century. But increasing evidence also shows that food is the most powerful tool we have not just to prevent, but also treat, cure, and reverse most chronic illnesses. Furthermore, the same basic principles of food apply in most cases dealing with most of these health issues including cancer prevention, heart disease, depression, dementia, and fixes most chronic illnesses.
Food can change everything. By learning about holistic wellness and nutrition, you can prevent and reverse chronic disease, reduce health crises, and empower yourself to take control of your health and well-being.
Here Are Some Basic Principles Of Enjoying Food As Medicine
1. Learn about your bio-individuality. When it comes to food, no one size fits all. Be your own advocate. Be mindful of how your body and emotions respond to different food experiences. Individual experimentation with diets that eliminate sugar, gluten, dairy, food additives, animal products, red meat, caffeine, etc… can be a powerful tool in finding each person’s bio-individual needs. Pay close attention to the outcomes and document your results.We may be the same age and ethnicity, and very similar health status, but have different deficiencies and requirements. Sometimes you may need a nutritionally oriented physician, nutritionist and health coach to work with you to determine your deficiencies and requirements.
2. Be mindful of food as medication. It is the single most important thing you can control when it comes to your health. For most individuals eating properly is more important than any medication your doctor will prescribe. Seeing your food as medicine helps you make better choices about what to eat in order to make the best decisions for your own well-being. When it comes to food, no one size fits all. Be your own advocate. Be mindful of how your body and emotions respond to different food experiences.
3. Eat in harmony with nature. Eat whole foods as nature made them without artificial additives and preservatives. Consider an anti-inflammatory whole foods plant-based diet with as little processed food and added sugar as possible. Vegetables and fruits are much less calorie-dense than meat and dairy products. Eat a variety of healthy foods, increase the number of plant species in herbs and spices, increase fruits and vegetable, choose good carbohydrates, include good sources of fiber and beneficial fats only. Limit meats, refined carbohydrates and salt intake.
4. Use foods rather than supplements to treat and prevent chronic illness when and if possible. Whole foods contain a number of substances that work synergistically and may be far more effective than supplements that just deliver one of them. For example, eating a whole tomato will not only contain the powerful antioxidant lycopene that you can get from a supplement but also a number of other antioxidants, along with vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that work together to prevent heart disease by decreasing cholesterol and lipid levels and stopping abnormal blood clotting.
5. Learn healthy ways to better manage & handle stress. Stress is unavoidable and we all experience stress in different ways and different times in our lives. However, learning tools to improve how we experience and process stress will impact how we benefit from food as medicine. Stress inhibits and interferes with every aspect of digestive functioning and with the efficient use of nutrients. When you are stressed, you don’t make very good biological use of even the most healthy diets. When possible, work with health professionals who can support the treatment of chronic conditions with nutrition and stress management (as well as exercise) rather than medication. Many of the prescriptions we use only treat symptoms and do not address causes. And they have very significant and often dangerous side-effects and may not be necessary.
And lastly, focus on your relationship with food. Raise awareness about how, when and why you eat as well as what you eat. Learning to eat slowly and mindfully, recognizing hunger signals, emotional eating, etc… will increase your enjoyment of meals, reduce your consumption of food, and help you make food choices that are better for you.
I founded my company on the idea of having a sustainable approach. I use the framework of “Eat. Play. Balance." to address the many factors that prevent or are detrimental to maintaining a healthy and happy lifestyle. Optimizing health and longevity though eating the right foods, incorporating emotional and physical play to create a sense of harmony.
For more information about wellness and the “Eat. Play. Balance.™ ” approach to health, please contact Kathy Hoss or visit eatplaybalance.com.
About the author: Kathy Hoss Consulting is a health and wellness coaching business. Kathy is a holistic wellness coach, influencer, speaker, event producer and advocate that helps corporations & individuals with nutrition and lifestyle choices to improve health and wellness. She is a graduate of Institute for Integrative Nutrition and UCLA Anderson school of management (MBA).
New Year New You: 10 ways to start the new year by taking care of your mental health and responding better to stress
Resilience is a muscle, so let’s build it.
Now that 2022 is here, you might be thinking about your resolutions for this new year. Along with your resolutions, consider focusing on creating goals. Goals are more specific efforts involving planning and taking action to ensure that we can make positive changes for the new year and beyond. While many people may think about goals focused on their careers or their finances, it is also good to make mental health goals. Health and emotional goals have the potential to make a significant improvement on all areas of our lives.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “Mental health is a state of well-being in which an individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.”
Factors in people’s lives, interpersonal connections, and physical factors can all contribute to mental health disruptions. Looking after mental health can preserve a person’s ability to enjoy life. Doing this involves reaching a balance between life activities, responsibilities, and efforts to achieve psychological resilience.
Stress is unavoidable. We all feel stress at different times and in different ways in daily life. Much of this stress is caused, or is perceived to be caused, by external factors, thus making us feel helpless. This is why it is critical to learn and develop new ways to minimize the negative impacts of how we experience stress and its psychological and physiological impact in our lives. Developing these tools and techniques is a part of achieving psychological resilience.
To succeed in meeting goals, you need to identify your “Why”. What is the real reason behind your goals? Your goals should be personal to you and your unique needs; not just something that sounds good. They need to be rooted in your values and reflect what you truly want for yourself, especially when it comes to taking care of your own mental health.
10 ways to use good mental health goals to build resilience for 2022
1. Ditch those diet trends and eat nutritious balanced meals: Take care of and be kind to your body. Focus on health basics and your bio-individuality.
2. Move more often: Movement is a form of self-care and has significant impact on mental health.
3. Sleep enough and well: Good-quality sleep is restorative, refreshing and essential.
4. Make time for mindfulness and get out in nature: As we remove the chaotic noises of society and replace them with sounds of nature, we become calmer — it’s great for your vitamin D levels too.
5. Meditate and breathe: Whether it’s through yoga or meditative breathing, it is one way of calming body’s stress response.
6. Connect with friends, family and community: Strong social relationships are associated with stronger mental and physical health.
7. Do a digital detox: Mental self-care includes stepping away from your phone, whether it’s just for an hour or an entire day.
8. Set boundaries establish when to say “yes” and when to say “no”: If you’re feeling stressed because of a full plate, it’s okay to turn things down.
9. Journal and write gratitudes: Gratitude is a healthy journaling practice because it helps you focus on the positives, not linger on the negatives.
10. Keep things organized: Piles of stuff around are a reminder that you have things that need work, and that’s just another reminder to add to your list of stressors.
(Click here for more details)
Healthy goals look different for everyone, and the actions you need to take today to achieve your goals might be different than those tomorrow. What matters is that you’re taking care of yourself, advocating for your health and finding what works for you and makes you feel good.
For more information about wellness and the “Eat. Play. Balance.™ ” approach to health, please contact Kathy Hoss or visit http://kathyhoss.com
About the author: Kathy Hoss Consulting is a health and wellness coaching business. Kathy is a consultant, influencer, speaker, advocate that helps corporations & individuals with nutrition and lifestyle choices to improve their performance (Lives). She is a graduate of Institute for Integrative Nutrition and has a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from UCLA.
Holidays bring joy, cheer, and laughter. Families getting ready to prepare their holiday feasts and to welcome family that has not been seen in some time. With the holidays here and in full swing it can be easy to lose track of what and how much one has eaten. Being mindful during the holidays can help to avoid overindulging on food and give you more time to spend with your family. Here are some helpful tips that can help to avoid overindulging.
Portion sizing is one of the things that can be easily overlooked during the holidays. Food as far as the eye can see and overjoyed taste buds waiting to get a taste of all your favorite fixings. This makes it easy to serve large portions and result in overeating. One way to cut back on over serving is to use a smaller serving utensil. Using a smaller serving utensil can help to avoid serving large portions and another tip is to serve yourself one scoop and enjoy that serving. Allow your body time to register whether it is full or still hungry and if you are still hungry then go back for some more but remember the portioning tip about serving one scoop.
As the holidays arrive, and decorations are hung and the table is set, it’s easy to get caught up in the festive cheer and use large decorative plates. Opposing the previous portioning tip, decorative plates tend to be larger plates. Having a larger plate makes us think we can fit more and the more we put on the plate the higher the chance of overindulging. There’s a term called “clear the plate” which means you eat all the food on the plate. A solution to help would be to use a smaller plate to eat off. Using a smaller plate means less room to over serve and less chances of overindulging.
Did you know that only 1 in 10 American adults eats the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables according to a study published by the Center for Disease Control. One way to help intake more fruits and vegetables during the holidays is to cook dishes that are more plant-based. Involving more dishes like roasted vegetables or a fresh salad with fresh seasonal fruits that take minutes to put together. Adding more plant-based dishes during the holidays will help you to eat more fruits and vegetables. Here are some links for some side dishes you can try during your holiday feast!
By Henry Carrillo, Memorial Care Long Beach Medical Center
Clinical Nutrition Department
Baker, Minimalist. “Crispy Garlic Brussels Sprouts with Sriracha Aioli.” Minimalist Baker, 29 Oct. 2020,
Baker, Minimalist. “Roasted Squash, Pecan, & Pomegranate Salad.” Minimalist Baker, 28 Sept. 2021,
“Only 1 in 10 Adults Get Enough Fruits or Vegetables.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 16 Feb. 2021,
Vaculin, Kendra. “Kale Salad with Pecan Vinaigrette.” Bon Appétit, Bon Appétit, 19 Oct. 2021,
Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible, progressive brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills. It is the most common cause of dementia, which is a general term for memory loss and other cognitive issues that are serious enough to interfere with daily life.
Alzheimer’s disease is not a normal part of aging. The exact cause is not known, but the greatest risk factor is increasing age. Most people with Alzheimer’s disease are 65 years old and older. Alzheimer’s symptoms worsen over time and there is no known cure.
Research is currently being conducted, but evidence shows that people can take actions to reduce the risk of cognitive decline by making lifestyle changes. These changes which may help the body and brain include: participating in regular physical and mental activity, staying socially engaged, and maintaining good heart health. It is never too late to start these changes such as:
Physical Activity – Our bodies were meant to be active. Engaging in activity that increases your heart rate will increase blood flow, bringing oxygen and nutrients to the brain. It will also help reduce dementia risk factors like high blood pressure, diabetes, and elevated cholesterol. Here is a website to help you get started - https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/exercise-physical-activity
Mental Activity – Try some mentally challenging activities that expose your brain to new topics – start a new hobby or learn a new skill, take a class, try a new game with a friend, do a puzzle, or read a more challenging book. You could learn a new language, play a musical instrument. Try a familiar task a different way – like brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand.
Healthy Nutrition – Focus more on plant-based food and less on processed foods. Limit animal-based food that have high saturated fats and also food with added sugar. Eat more fruits and vegetables – keep your plate colorful. Include whole grains, healthy fats (like olive oil and avocado) and eat fish at least once a week. More information can be found at - https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/healthy-eating
Social Activity - Staying socially active can be as simple as engaging with friends and family on a regular basis. Participate in clubs, volunteer, join a walking group or a book club. Even with being more socially distanced lately, you can do outdoor activities, talk on the phone with a friend, use the computer to take an online class.
Begin today by committing to one thing you can do this week to help keep your body and brain healthy. For more information about Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, please contact the following -
OPICA Adult Day Program & Counseling Center
Alzheimer’s Los Angeles
Alzheimer’s Association California Southland Chapter
Nearly Half of Women Have Dense Breasts; 3D Mammography Offers Clear Views
By: Angela Sie, M.D., medical director, breast imaging, MemorialCare Breast Center, Long Beach Medical Center
Nearly half of all women age 40 and older who get mammograms are found to have dense breasts according to the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health.
Breast density is not related to breast size, firmness or how the breast may feel. Rather, breast density is a term that describes the relative amount of glandular, connective and fat tissue seen on a mammogram. Breast density is often hereditary, but other factors can influence it such as age, using postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy and having a low body mass index.
Dense breast tissue makes it harder for radiologists to see cancer on a screening mammogram, so they can be less accurate. Women who have dense breast tissue also have a higher risk of breast cancer compared to women with less dense breast tissue.
Not All Breast Screenings Are Equal
Screening mammography remains the only screening technology proven to improve breast cancer survival. However, not all mammograms are equal. The accuracy of a mammogram, especially for those with dense breasts, is based on a combination of the quality of the images and the experience and skill of the radiologist interpreting the study.
At the MemorialCare Breast Centers in Long Beach and Los Alamitos, we offer tomosynthesis (3D) mammography. This uses digital x-ray technology to capture multiple images of the entire breast from different angles to produce high-resolution, 3D images, enabling our radiologists to “see through” the dense breast tissue and find cancer that may be hiding within it. Tomosynthesis provides more accurate results with fewer false positives, thus lowering the need for a second mammogram, while increasing cancer detection rates.
And every mammogram is read by our team of all female, sub-specialized, dedicated breast radiologists who focus only on mammography and breast care. Studies have shown that sub-specialized breast radiologists detect more cancers, more early-stage-cancers and have lower screening recall rates than general radiologists. This focus and experience results in a higher quality, more accurate mammogram.
Women with dense breasts may need additional imaging studies, such as a breast MRI or high-resolution breast ultrasound, to further investigate findings or for high risk screening. To help guide our patients through this process, we have a dedicated breast nurse navigator.
Early Detection is Key to Surviving and Thriving
About one in eight women will develop breast cancer during their lifetime. Early detection remains the key to surviving and thriving. Screening mammography is the best tool we have right now for the early detection of breast cancer.
If a cancer is found, newly diagnosed cases are reviewed at a weekly pre-treatment, multi-disciplinary conference where the entire team of breast care experts, including radiologists, surgeons, medical and radiation oncologists, plastic surgeons, genetics counselors and patient navigators discuss and come to a consensus on the best course of care.
Most women should begin regular screening mammograms at age 40. However, women with a family history of breast cancer or other risk factors may require an earlier start to screening and should speak with their physician.
We’re here to support you through each step of the mammography process. To schedule your mammogram at one of our convenient Breast Center locations, call 800-MEMORIAL or visit memorialcare.org/BreastCare.
Click here for an easy and delicious immunity boosting recipe
Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the U.S., and in southern California we spend a lot of time outdoors.
Click here to learn more about risk factors, prevention and treatment
Dr. Patrick Meehan of Listen med. shares some advice for what a man needs to do to stay healthy.
link to the Men’s Health Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1NbSel4iug&feature=youtu.b
The Health & Wellness Committee is comprised of Chamber members from various disciplines focusing on the aspects of health and wellness that will help members both personally and professionally.