Secret Asian Man, Secret Asian Man…

Asian men experience a survival ‘edge’ following prostate cancer; what’s their secret?

A study comparing post-prostate cancer survival rates among Asians, South Asians, and white men found that Asians experience the best prognosis of all the groups. Led by Dr. Anthony S. Robbins, a team of researchers from Sacramento’s California Cancer Registry examined data from a group of prostate cancer survivors over a ten year period. The study, published in the online journal Cancer, was one of few which compared the death risk for Asians versus whites.
Robbins, in an interview with Reuters, stated that “The take-home message is that for five out of six Asian groups, ‘being Asian’ was a favorable prognostic factor for prostate cancer survival.” The study examined various Asian and South Asian ethnic groups including Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, South Asian, and Vietnamese men. The South Asians category included men from southern India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and Sikkim.

Results beg the popular question, which Robbins posed aloud in the Reuters interview: “Obviously, the main question we are still trying to explain is why these five Asian groups had better survival. What is behind the ‘Asian edge’ in prostate cancer? Diet? Lower comorbidity? Less overweight/obesity?”

Florida-based clinical nutritionist Thomas Von Ohlen, MS, NC says that the study, which examined men living in California, is another example of the way “The American diet is killing people left and right. This study takes the genetic link out and puts the focus on dietary and environmental factors.” Citing previous research which revealed that when Asians move to the U.S., they begin to suffer from cancer and other maladies at a similar rate as their American counterparts, Von Ohlen explains that “genetics play a small role, if any” when examining lifestyle versus genes in the battle against the disease.

Von Ohlen also cites other lifestyle factors which could account for the cultural discrepancy in post-cancer recovery. “The Asian way of dealing with stress is better,” he tells demo dirt. “They communicate within the family unit. They eat dinner together, and talk about the stresses of their day, while we tend to be rushed. Therefore, they experience less stress.” They also tend to eat more slowly, consuming less, he adds, which helps keep them leaner, which also helps keep cancer risk down.

Asian communities within the U.S. also tend to be close-knit, encouraging more physical activity, says Von Ohlen. Using Asian communities in San Francisco as an example, “people tend to walk to their neighbors’ houses to socialize, and walk to the store,” adding that “in big cities, the market has an abundance of whole soy foods available to them, like tofu and edamame.” Numerous studies have highlighted the role that physical activity plays in staving off obesity, a cancer risk factor.

This traditional Asian way of eating, which incorporates what Von Ohlen calls “true soy” foods such as tofu, miso, and edamame (as opposed to processed soy products), combined with an abundance of vegetables, seafood and whole green tea create a cancer fighting diet. This lies in sharp contrast to the typical Western diet, which Von Ohlen cites as a major contributor to the alarming American cancer rates. The high sugar consumption in the U.S. is responsible for promoting “every type of cancer, including prostate, which is fed by sugar. Sugar also feeds diabetes and obesity.” In addition, the American over consumption of meat, especially processed meat, is also a major culprit in the growing epidemic, especially colon cancer, which is now the number four deadliest cancer in the U.S., says Von Ohlen.

The prostate study outcome closely mirrors research findings released in July 2007 announcing that Chinese women living in Shanghai who have adapted the dairy-laden, meat-based, high-sugar Western-influenced diet have since been suffering skyrocketing breast cancer rates.

Necessity is the Mother of Addiction

Scientists reveal Internet addiction disorder; affects teens, Boomers most.

Technological progress has bred a new addiction among us. Israeli researchers from Tel Aviv University’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine estimate that ten percent (1 out of 10) individuals suffer from an addiction to the Internet, with mostly teens and people in their 50’s afflicted most (Science Daily).

Psychiatrist Dr. Pinhas Dannon recommends that Internet addiction disorder (IAD) be categorized with other extreme addictive disorders such as gambling, sex addiction, and kleptomania. If left untreated, IAD may lead to anxiety and deep depression.

Currently, mental health professionals group IAD with the more familiar Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), a mild to severe mental health condition generally characterized by ritualistic hand-washing and, as related to the Internet, compulsive Web surfing.

“But we are saying that we need to look at Internet addiction differently,” reported Dannon on behalf of his colleagues from Tel Aviv University and the Be'er Ya'acov Mental Health Center. “Internet addiction is not manifesting itself as an ‘urge.’ It’s more than that. It’s a deep ‘craving.’ And if we don’t make the change in the way we classify Internet addiction, we won’t be able to treat it in the proper way.”

Two groups tend to be affected most by IAD, according to Dannon. Teens are most afflicted, followed by Baby Boomers in their mid-50’s. Baby Boomers suffering from the “empty nest syndrome” are more likely to attempt to ease their boredom or anxiety through the Internet. Symptoms of IAD include sleep deprivation, anxiety when not online, loss of work, isolation from loved ones, and periods of deep depression.

Suggested treatments include the same methods used to treat similar disorders, such as gambling addiction. Talk therapy and prescription medications may be effective, says Dannon, but it is vital to educate mental health professionals in the school and other doctors about IAD.
Addiction specialist Dannon explains that sufferers of IAD are a product of the modern age. “They are just like anyone else who is addicted to coffee, exercise, or talking on their cellular phone. As the times change, so do our addictions.”

Hey, Bro’…Check Out My New House on MySpace!

Generation Y is next in line as the real estate market’s target client.

Water cooler crowds have been abuzz with talk surrounding the real estate market, what with its mushrooming foreclosures and plummeting prices. Such serious discussion has traditionally involved the over-thirty crowd, rather than belly-button pierced, lower-back tattooed, blithely gadget-obsessed twenty-somethings.

But that’s changing. According to a 2006 Century 21 generational survey examining the real estate interests and habits of Baby Boomers (those born between 1946 to 1964), Generation X (1965 to 1978), and Generation Y (1979 to 1994), this youngest adult cohort is buying homes at the average age of 26. This makes first-time home buyers of Gen Y three years younger than Gen Xers and Baby Boomers were when they first bought their homes, with each cohort having done so at the average age of 29.

Members of Gen Y and Gen X also reported a different motive for owning a home than did their Baby Boomer counterparts. While Baby Boomers reported first buying a home due to life stage milestones like marriage or childraising, study participants from Gen Y and Gen X claimed their top motivation was to purchase a home that promised a high appreciation value and would prove to be a "safe investment."

Today, members of Generation Y, also known as Echo Boomers and millennials, are viewed as next in line as the “dominant segment of home buyers," according to the article “Inside the Mind of Generation Y” (Realtor Magazine Online, October 1, 2007). This tech-savvy, investment-minded cohort may become a major player due to its sheer size and resulting spending power, following in the centipede-like footsteps of their ubiquitous Baby Boomer parents.

While indeed a mark of the future, the crop of current real estate clientele “runs the gamut,” according to Edgewater, NJ-based realtor Lisa Shapir. “I have all ages looking for a variety of properties—first-time buyers looking to move out of their parents’ house, people looking to buy homes for their elderly parents who need homes with less maintenance and easier floor plans to maneuver, investors looking to take advantage of the buyer’s market…and commercial buyers and investors,” she tells demo dirt.

Client needs tend to vary according to cohort. Shapir explains that empty-nester Baby Boomers are looking to downsize, while thirty-something Gen Xers, many of which are having babies, are seeking single family homes to replace their townhouses. Meanwhile, many Gen Yers seek out condos and “are initially looking for co-ops because of the lower purchase price, without understanding the financial requirements which they often cannot meet,” she adds.

Communication methods often vary according to the client’s cohort. “Although some Baby Boomers do use email, I find that it is rare that they communicate with me this way. The overwhelming majority communicate with me via telephone and often don’t use cell phones,” Shapir explains. Boomers prefer to be contacted at work or at home, and request information via fax, rather than email, since they are not frequent Internet users, she adds.

This is in marked contrast to the communication style of Generation X and Y. “The younger generations…are the opposite and tend to initiate contact and communicate via email, and less by phone. Most are available on their cell phones and email,” she says. And, while Gen Yers are famous for their text messaging prowess, they may not feel comfortable employing it when dealing with as serious an issue as the housing market. “While texting is extremely popular, I don’t find that many text me when it comes to real estate,” Shapir states.

Does generational cohort greatly influence the client-realtor relationship? As long as the realtor is sensitive to the client’s needs, it has relatively little bearing. While clients frequently react positively to an agent who is close in age, Shapir maintains that “the agent’s personality and ease of forming relationships is also an important factor.”

Although Shapir’s client base varies, she concurs that the future of real estate may well belong to the millennials. “I do agree that Gen Y is the next client base. As the [Realtor Magazine Online] article indicates, since the younger generation is extremely tech savvy, agents and companies need to have a large presence on the Internet, and be mobile. PDAs, laptops, GPS’s and cell phones are critical tools to staying ahead of the competition, and satisfying the ‘instant gratification’ generations,” Shapir explains.

There are specific ways to handle the Gen Y client, she says. “I am always quick to respond to a client’s email…and utilize all the technology I can (including e-fax so I can get faxes wherever I am). I find that the Gen Yers think they have all the answers and begin property searches initially appearing extremely confident.”

That confidence, combined with Gen Y's notorious Internet dependence may play cruel tricks on them when scouting the housing market. Between the deceptively glamorous online apartment photos and their own nascent savings, they may require extra help, or more time before making that commitment. Shapir continues, “Once they see something they like, or realize their money can’t buy them as much as they thought based on their computer searches (since everything always looks different in person), they turn to their families for guidance. Then they will often put off their purchase for a while, unless their families are willing to help them financially.”

Shapir foresees unique challenges ahead for potential buyers. “It will be interesting to see what happens since the mortgage crisis has affected purchasers. Many of the younger generations were getting into homes because of the lenient mortgage down payments and financial requirements. Because of the recent changes in the industry, however, buyers will need more money to put down, better credit, and possibly require co-signers.”

Editor's Note: Lisa Shapir submitted her interview responses to demo dirt via email. Shapir is a NJ-based realtor licensed in New York and New Jersey, as well as a NJ Broker-Salesperson. She may be reached at lisa@shapir.com or at 201-978-2870.