Women & Roses | Mayo Clinic's 9 Steps for Cancer Prevention & Healthy Aging

Photographer Michael Thompson, a former assistant to Irving Penn,  and makeup artist Brigitte Reiss-Andersen are behind cosmetic company Mac’s new ad for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The campaign is called: ‘Together. Connect. Communicate. Conquer. For a Future Free of Breast Cancer.

In London Elizabeth Hurley (below) stepped out for Estee Lauder (who owns Mac) at Selfridges in London.

9 Steps for Older Women to Avoid Cancer

The Mayo Clinic has issued their guidelines for postmenopausal women to avoid getting cancer. The strongly-suggested ‘rules’ for living are based on data from nearly 30,000 women ages 55 to 69, who were tracked for 13 years. Presently one in three women will develop cancer in her lifetime.

“Our study suggests that older women may be able to have a fairly large impact on their cancer risk by not smoking, controlling body weight, exercising and eating a healthy balanced diet,” says Dr. James Cerhan, of the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine.

The Mayo Clinic’s Big 9

1. Having a body mass index less than 25.

2. Having gained no more than 11 pounds since age 18.

3. Engaging in daily moderate and weekly vigorous activity.

4. Eating five or more servings of fruit and veggies a day.

5. Eating more than 400 grams (14 ounces) of complex carbohydrates a day.

6. Limiting alcohol to one a day.

7. Limiting red meat to less than 3 ounces a day.

8. Limiting fat consumption to no more than 30 percent of total calorie intake.

9. Limiting salt intake to less than 2,400 milligrams a day.

Maintaining a BMI of under 25 is very challenging without a lifestyle eating makeover that is permanent and borderline inflexible, except for special events, occasions and life celebrations. Unless one is intensely active after menopause, a woman is almost guaranteed that she must permanently reduce her calorie intake and avoid eating processed, high-fat foods and sugarery desserts forever.

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