Estrogen Revisit

"You have swept them (men)away like a flood, they fall asleep; In the morning they are like grass which sprouts anew. Toward evening it fades and withers away." (Psalm 90:5-6) 

We now know that breast and ovarian cancers are hormonally driven by estrogen. Estrogen helps to keep blood vessels elastic, increases good cholesterol and strengthens our bones by absorbing calcium from the blood. However, too much of it can speed up the growth and multiplication of bad cells. Our body's natural estrogen is 'strong' estrogen, and can be counterbalanced by 'weak' estrogens from plant foods. 'Good' and 'bad' estrogens are formed when the body prepares to remove it from the system. They are therefore waste products.

 

The breasts are loaded with estrogen receptors and are very sensitive to changes in hormones. When strong estrogens lock on to receptors, they give out very powerful signals for cell growth. The more powerful the signal, the greater is the potential for cancer. In fact, when weak estrogens fill receptors, they prevent strong estrogens from attaching, hence reducing the stimulus for cells to multiply and get out of control. High-fibre foods can help to bind estrogen in the bowel, preventing its absorption back into our bloodstream.

 

Certain chemicals and pesticides are quite similar to our body’s natural (‘strong’) estrogen. They therefore have the same effect of stimulating cell growth and division, increasing the cancer risk. That’s why we have to pay attention to them. There are ‘anti-estrogens’ drugs in the market like tamoxifen that block estrogen’s effect in breast tissue. They are commonly given to breast cancer patients after they have finished the treatment and have to take it for a number of years.

 

While there is no denial about the power of lifestyle, it is not a cancer-free guarantee. Someone once said, “Good lifestyle is like the ship and sails but there are still the winds and waves. The former we can control to increase the probability of a safe crossing; the latter, we cannot , even a well-captained ship may founder.”

'Babbling Brook' or 'Dead Sea'

'Sin is unavoidable when there is much talk, but whoever seals his lips is wise.' (Proverbs 10:19)

G Chapman uses interesting terms, ‘Babbling Brook’ and ‘Dead Sea’ to describe two kinds of personality. ‘Dead Sea’ type is one who receives experiences, thoughts and emotions but feels no compulsion to share them. On the other hand, ‘Babbling Brook’ describes a person who expresses freely without reflection whatever he/she saw, felt or heard. He/she pays no attention as to whether the other party is interested in what he/she said.

The interesting thing is that these two types of personality tend to marry each other because they find the other party attractive. The ‘Dead Sea’ doesn’t need to deal with awkward situation of having to initiate a conversation, so he/she is happy to let the ‘Babbling Brook’ takes over. The ‘Babbling Brook’ knows that the ‘Dead Sea’ makes the best listener, so he/she is happy to have him/her around.

That is not real communication in a sense. The ‘Dead Sea’ needs to learn to share more than what he/she usually does and the ‘Babbling Brook’ must learn to ask more questions, slow the flow of words, be a better listener.

Personality may influence us, but do not let it control us.

Prayers

A young unmarried woman has been constantly prayed in the weekly church prayer meeting for a husband. ‘Lord, give me a husband.’ She would pray and then sit down. Her pastor tried to help her towards praying for others as well by saying this to her: ‘It’s all right to pray for a husband, but you need to broaden your prayer life. Pray for other people as well as yourself.’ In the next prayer meeting, the woman got up and prayed:’ Lord, please give my mother a son-in-law.’

A prayer item appeared in the Sunday bulletin of a liberal church which read: ‘Lord, we have done the best under difficult circumstances. We have been badly influenced by our homes and environment, so deal lightly with our lapses. Grant us the power to live harmless lives full of self-respect. Amen.’

Wise or Clever

‘Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. ‘ (Proverbs 3:13-17)

S. Chesterman in his article ‘Why study’, thinks that when one chooses a course of study, it is better to be guided by passion than other reasons such as what the parents wanted him to be or on financial potential. It is true that good universities may be good at educating clever people but do not necessary make them wise.

The dictionary defines ‘wise’ as having or showing experience, knowledge, and makes good judgment. Hence the main difference between wise and clever lies in the words ‘good judgment’. Wisdom often gains from within oneself over time as a person takes responsible choices in life. I agreed that we have to have passion in everything we do as it is a very strong motivational force that keeps us going in the long run. If we look around us, it is a kind of sad to see quite a handful of people ended up in careers that they ‘hated’. Imagine how many more people would have added to this category if all the bright students got into their dream course of study (business administration) and dream career (banking) shortly before Lehman Brothers debacle!

One needs courage to carry out what he thinks it is wise as it may even look foolish in the eyes of many. I still remember my pre-university school mate who made the ‘unthinkable’ decision at that point of time, to switch from science stream to arts stream. He went on to become a very successful lawyer.

A story is told about a wise elderly woman who has a beautiful bird named Agape. One day, two young men decided to break into her house while she was away and steal her bird. When she returned, they would approach her and say, “Old woman, we have your bird. Is it dead or alive?” If the old woman replied “dead,” they would open their hands and let the bird fly away. If the old woman replied “alive,” they would crush the bird and drop it at the feet of the elderly woman. Just as the two young men planned, they approached the elderly woman and said, “Old woman, we have your bird. Is it dead or alive?” The wise, elderly woman paused a moment and looked at the ground. Then, she answered slowly,” I don’t know….The only thing I know is that it is in your hands. It is in your hands.”

We too hold in our hands the consequences of our own decisions. We have to take responsibility not just for the good choices, but also for the poor choices.