The study found that a husband who is nine or more years older than his wife is twice as likely to get divorced, with the same holding true for husbands who get married before they turn 25. (I wasn’t too shocked reading that last one either.)

And another huge shocker, children were found to have a serious impact on the longevity of a marriage or relationship, as the study showed one fifth of couples with kids before marriage — either from a past relationship or in the same relationship — separated, compared to only nine percent of couples without children born before marriage.

The study also found that we can put part of the blame of some separations on that famous/infamous (depending on your perspective) maternal biological clock and instinct, with women who want to have children more than their partners more likely to divorce.

This next one, highlighted in just about every romantic comedy, also comes as no real surprise. A couple’s parents play a significant role in a relationship. The study showed some 16 percent of men and women whose parents ever separated or divorced also experienced marital separation, compared to 10 percent for those whose parents did not separate. Of course, this number is only growing, with current divorce rates still at an alarming 50+ percent. And I always thought it was just that meddlesome mother-in-law getting in the way….

The farther I get down this list, the more I’m realizing how obvious the findings of this research team are anything but new. I’m having several, “I could have told you that” moments. Here are some more:

Another inhibitor of long lasting relationships/marriages, as the study found, has to do with how many relationships a partner has had. Those on a second or third…or sixth marriage (plenty of celebrity comparisons to draw here) are 90 percent more likely to separate than spouses who are both in a first marriage.

Let’s not forget about the importance of cheese, dough, bread, the green…MONEY. (You knew I’d eventually make it here.) The study showed up to 16 percent of respondents who indicated they were poor or where the husband — not the wife — was unemployed said they had separated. This is compared to only nine percent of couples with sustainable finances.

As mentioned in my lovely (self-deduced adjective addition here) lede, smoking plays yet another key factor in making a relationship work. Couples with one partner a smoker and the other a non-smoker are more likely to meet a brick wall with their relationship.

So you’ve read some of the factors that play into helping a relationship fail, here are some that were found that didn’t significantly affect the chance of separation:

“…the number and age of children born to a married couple, the wife’s employment status and the number of years the couple had been employed.”

I find it extremely interesting that a few spots in this study demonstrated the importance of the male partner as, essentially, the bread winner of a household. It didn’t seem to matter if the wife was employed or poor, just the husband. Granted, I have no doctorate in psychology, but this seems to illustrate to me the importance of the stay-at-home mom and her worth and significance to the lasting bond not only between her and the children, but between her and the husband.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and maybe set the women’s movement back a few years at the same time by saying that I think things were better when a man went to work 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. five days a week and mom stayed home to take care of the house and the children. I think divorce rates would back me up on this one.

It just seems to me that the fires of romance and passion were burning just a little bit brighter back in the day.

May is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but as a woman with breast cancer in her family, I’m constantly aware of the risks that I face in my future.

Over the last two years, I’ve been learning all I can about breast cancer, how to prevent it and what causes it. Don’t think that just because you don’t have a history of breast cancer in your family that you’re not at risk. You are. Every woman is at risk. The lifetime risk of any woman getting breast cancer is 12 percent. Of course there are factors that increase your risk. Even without considering these factors, one out of every eight women will develop breast cancer at some point in her life.

The factors that increase your risks are age, ethnicity, hormone levels and genetics. According to “The Breast Cancer Prevention Cookbook” by Hope Ricciotti, M.D., and Vincent Connelly, women younger than 30 have a slim chance of getting breast cancer. At age 40 the odds increase to one in 217, and over age 50, the odds are one in 50.

As for ethnicity risk factors, Native Americans and Asians have lower rates. According to the National Cancer Institute, African American women have a higher incidence rate than whites and also have a higher mortality rate.

Hormone levels have to do with how long a woman is exposed to estrogen throughout her lifetime. Women who start their period earlier and go through menopause later are at a higher risk for developing breast cancer. This is because the tissue in the breast is very sensitive to estrogen. The longer the tissue is exposed to it, the more likely the tissue is to become dense.

The last factor is genetics. According to Connelly and Dr. Ricciotti, about 10 percent of women with breast cancer have strong genetic ties. Most of these cases come from the mutation genes BRCA1 or BRCA2.

Believe me, I’m not saying all of this to scare anyone. We’re actually to be lucky to have had such great medical advances and breakthroughs in technology to keep breast cancer in our control. The best thing to do is to get regular mammograms, regardless of how unpleasant they are. Also, if you’re younger and are worried about your risks of breast cancer, there is a test that you can have to check for the BRCA genes. Just ask your doctor about it.

If you’re not interested in doing either these, something you can do is keep yourself as physically healthy as possible. This includes maintaining a healthy body weight and eating right.

There are some beneficial foods and nutrients to work into your diet to prevent breast cancer. It also should be mentioned that these nutrients are better used through your diet and not by taking a supplement. These foods and nutrients include:
- Olive oil
- Omega-3 fatty acids: You can work omega-3 fatty acids into your diet by increasing the amount of fish that you eat. If you’re not a fishy person, another great way to do this is with flaxseed. You can get flaxseed at your local health food store and you can use it for cooking and baking, (and it actually tastes good). One warning with this is to limit your intake of fish with elevated mercury levels. These include swordfish, fresh tuna and king mackerel. As an added bonus, omega-3 fatty acids also decrease the risk of heart disease.
- Antioxidants: These are good for preventing all kinds of cancers. You probably wouldn’t have to do much or anything at all to work these into your diet. They’re naturally found in many fruits and vegetables (which everyone should be eating daily, right?). There are three sources of antioxidants that are beneficial to decreasing your risks of breast cancer: beta-carotene, vitamin E and vitamin C.
– Beta-carotene can be found in broccoli, cantaloupe, carrots, grapefruit, spaghetti squash, spinach, sweet potatoes, tomatoes and watermelon.
– Vitamin E can be found in nuts, peanut butter, vegetable oils, whole grain breads and cereals and wheat germ.
– Vitamin C can be found in cantaloupe, grapefruits, kiwi, oranges, strawberries and tangerines.

Sounds easy enough, right? It’s really not too hard. If you’re worried about how to incorporate these foods into your daily meals, I suggest picking up “The Breast Cancer Prevention Cookbook,” mentioned previously. I really learned a lot from it. And, of course, there’s always the good ole World Wide Web.

So, Happy Breast Cancer Awareness Month! Know that there are preventative measures you can take. Tell a friend, share a recipe, learn something new, enjoy your life. Most of all, take care of yourself!

1. Sloppy solution for pesky pimples and that raking rheumatoid arthritis

Similar to the famous “Fountain of Youth” in sunny Florida – just take away most of the crystal clear water, promise of immortality and add a bit of mud – is the “Lagoon of Miracles” in Chilca, Peru. Natives swear to its ability to cure anything and everything from acne to rheumatism. In order to get the beneficial effects of the lagoon’s seemingly magical waters, one must immerse him or herself in thick, greenish-black mud. Yummy.

2. Dry sand and dry heat to fight sexual dry spells and joint pain

If you’re ever in Egypt and happen to experience that little nuisance known as impotency – maybe it was the jet lag, the fact that your mother-in-law accompanied on your honeymoon or some capricious camel on the ride from the rental car shop – try burying yourself in sand up to your neck. No, I’m not kidding. The people in the Siwa Oasis region of Egypt believe that being buried in the sand during the hottest time of the year (oops, forgot to mention that tidbit earlier) is a therapeutic treatment for sexual impotence and even joint pain. I guess that’s one way to get you hot.

3. Fish to help you breathe better

Affecting 8 to 10 percent of the U.S. population, according to the Allergy and Asthma Association of Southern California, asthma is obviously a big deal, and not surprisingly so are many other respiratory problems. In Hyderabad, India, the locals have solved this problem in one interesting way, and that’s forcing live fish down people’s throats. Wow. Sending a squirming fish into a person’s throat to cure asthma. Never would have guessed it. Seems so easy now….

4. Chinese cure for coughing

Some people in China have been known to eat live tree frogs to cure abdominal pain and chronic coughing. Makes you wonder why we only eat the legs over here in the States. Silly us.

5. Dolphins to make your child smarter

Making a second appearance on this list are the Peruvians. This time, instead of mud, it’s dolphins. Many people here believe that the high-frequency sounds a dolphin emits can be used to make unborn babies smarter by helping develop neuron abilities. So if you’re pregnant and in Lima, go check out a dolphin show and see if you can get backstage to have the dolphin stick its nose to your pregnant belly. You may just bear a baby Einstein.

6. Our winner – the healing powers of cow urine

Villagers in Cambodia frequently collect cow urine because of its “healing powers.” This belief in the supernatural healing powers of such animals as cows, snakes and turtles is very common for the country, and has been practiced for centuries. Pass the urine, please.

Most of these miraculous medical alternatives are relatively cheap. Why, again, are we considering a universal healthcare plan when solutions for many of our everyday healthcare needs are as close as the farm, your nearest Sea World adventure park and the desert of Death Valley?