Often, small businesses fail because while they have an afinity for the product or service they are trying to sell, they often fail to differentiate their business in a way that has meaning and resonation with consumers. In dealing with many small businesses trying to make a go of it on local Main Streets - in the shadow of BIG BOX stores on a nearby highway - small business owners need to understand the importance of creating the consumer "experience," and doing so in a way that makes their business stand out. Here's an SBA article that provides some insight.

 

10 Tips to Help You Build and Grow a Stand-Out Small Business Brand

By Caron_Beesley, Contributor 

 

 

The United States loves small businesses – it’s official! That’s according to a survey by the Pew Foundation (reported here on SmallBizTrends) which found that 71 percent of Americans view small business more favorably than any other institutions, including religious organizations.

Why is this? Well, small businesses are seen as a positive influence “on the way things are going in this country.” But it’s more than that.

Small businesses are in a unique position to create valuable customer experiences. Their products and services are often niche; the target customer is very defined; and business operations are agile and unconstrained by corporate rules and processes. Small businesses are also trusted for their integrity, community engagement and customer service. When was the last time you called a small business and got put through to an automated call center? These seemingly small things come together to create a hugely competitive value proposition – and are the lynchpin of your brand.

But what can you do to leverage these experiences and grow the appeal of your brand – without breaking the bank? Here are 10 tips that can help:

1. What is Your Brand?

First, it’s important to understand that your brand is much more than your logo, merchandising or products. As I mentioned above, it is about the sum total of the experiences customers have with your business. This includes the visual elements of your business, but it also includes what you do, how you do it, what your customer interactions are like, the type of information you share in your marketing and on social media. All these elements help establish the trust and credibility of your business.

2. Stand Out

Standing out means being different. If your brand is going to be strong, you need to be able to pinpoint what it is that makes what you do unique. What differentiates you from others in your industry? Read 5 Tips for Using Competitive Differentiators to Build Your Business Brand. Don’t forget to weave your differentiators into your company’s messaging and marketing. Here are some tips for doing that: 7 Tips for Getting your Marketing Message Right.

3. Have Great Products and Services

Word of mouth is often a small businesses greatest lead generator, so having great products and services that people talk about is a critical part of your brand and why you are in business.  Even the most outgoing and charming small business owner is not going to succeed in bringing customers back, unless the product or service they provide delivers and exceeds expectations. Don’t lose sight of your product – keep refining it, testing new offerings, and making sure you always put product first, not the money it brings in.

4. Make Sure Your Customers Know the Face Behind the Product

One of the biggest reasons that small businesses fail is because of the persistent absence of the business owner. You only need to look at a few episodes of business makeover TV shows like Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares and Tabatha Takes Over to witness what can go wrong if a business is left to run itself. Without an actively engaged owner, employees lose motivation and structure, which can quickly lead to sloppy service, a poor product and customer churn. Yes, your business needs to be able to function without your constant presence, but it’s important to strike a balance – find ways to make sure your customers know you and connect with the face behind the business. Businesses really thrive when the energy of the owner is there.

5. Get Your Name and Logo Right

This is essential to brand recognition and it’s important to get it right the first time (changing your name and logo can be costly down the road). Your logo and name should be easily recognizable and reflect the nature and tone of your business as well as appeal to your target market. I’m a dog owner, and two of my absolute favorite small businesses cater to pet owners – Woofies (my local provider of dog walking services) and Doggone Natural (a healthy pet food store). The names and logos of both these businesses reflect the personality of their brands, what they stand for, the products they offer, their market (people and their pets) and the overall tone of their businesses. When I see their logos, it makes me feel good; I feel an affinity with them – and that’s what you need to shoot for.

6. Have a Distinct Voice

A great way to ensure your distinct brand message is delivered consistently across your business is to focus on how you and your employees interact and communicate with customers – in-person, on the phone and on social media. Not sure what your “voice” should be? Look to other brands. What do they do that you’d like to emulate? How do they greet and interact with you? What is it that they do that makes you feel good about doing business with them?

 

7. Build Community Around What you Do

A successful brand is one that is trusted and respected by customers – building a strong community online and off can help you achieve this.
You don’t have to spend a lot of money to do this. In fact, many successful brands concentrate almost exclusively in online and offline community building as opposed to traditional advertising. Facebook and Twitter are great outlets for this, as is your blog. Offline participation in community activities such as local events, fundraisers, charities, as well as hosting your own events such as workshops or loyal customer events, can all help you build community and extend the trust you’ve earned to your brand.

8. Be an Advocate for Your Business – Not Just a Salesman

You don't have to be the greatest salesman to succeed in business. Selling takes many forms – and being a brand advocate gels them all together. For example, many small business owners strive to be the number one salesman, the number one cheerleader, and the number one fan of their own business (you’ve got to be excited about it if you want others to be excited too). If you are passionate about your business, be an advocate for it. Use many of the tips in this blog to make sure people understand what you do, the story behind your products, what your products have done for people, your methods and mission, and all that good stuff. Invite people in!

9. Be Reliable

Letting your customers down by failing to live up to your own promises and brand standards can be particularly harmful for small businesses that depend heavily on referrals. The foundation of brand loyalty lies in great service – a happy customer is a loyal customer. So make sure you aren’t making promises that you can’t keep – whether you run a pizza business and pledge to deliver within 30 minutes, or are a painting contractor who promises to start a job on a Monday at 9:00 AM sharp. Stand by your promises.

10. Have a Value Proposition

Value, not to be mistaken with price, can help define your brand and differentiate you from the competition. This goes back to my second point about standing out. What niche do you serve? What do you do well in that niche that makes you different from everyone else? What are the emotional benefits of what you do? The answers to these questions will help define what your value is to your customers – it could be your great customer service, product quality, innovation, or any combination of these.

There's no reason not to feel young despite your age or how you may think you look. Feeling young is a result of good physical, mental and emotional health. It starts with taking care of yourself. Here's an article on some daily, common sense rituals that may help.

Simple Daily Rituals to Help You Feel 10 years Younger

by Mamiverse Team  / Mamiverse 

 

Raise your hand if you want to feel 10 years younger. Be honest. No one wants to get older. Well, maybe you did when you were 15 and you desperately wanted to drive, be independent, have boobs and buy alcohol. But these days, no one wants to feel old—and frankly, all of us would love to feel 10 years younger. And while we can’t turn back the hands of time, we can certainly help you embrace the parts of your life that make you feel happy, youthful and alive. And don’t worry–we understand that you don’t want to revisit middle school (neither do we).

While a lot of the symptoms of aging are caused by the physical changes in your body, there’s a big mental piece to the aging equation as well. As the NY Times reports, according to Jacqui Smith, a psychologist at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research, “this concept of how you feel about your age is so important and defines, in a way, how we act. If you self-define yourself as someone who is old, then you probably act that way.” So is it that simple? If you decide to act young, will you feel young? We’re not suggesting you deny the fact that you are aging, but maybe if you choose to enjoy certain activities that make you feel joy and freedom, like you did as a child, you will instantly feel a burst of youth. What do you have to lose? Here are 7 ways to feel younger right now.

Go to bed earlier

When you were actually young you could function on very little sleep—you probably even pulled a few all-nighters in college. But these days if you don’t get enough sleep the consequences will not only show on your face, but also in how you feel the next day. You’ll be low energy, sluggish and cranky. Turn in a little early and give yourself some extra sleep to allow your body to relax and save energy for the next day. You’ll wake up feeling more alive than ever.

Drink more water

Staying hydrated is key to feeling energized and youthful. Proper hydration fuels your body for the day, and helps you operate at maximum capacity so you can chase after your kids/grandkids/friends/dog and feel great. Beyond that, drinking water can also make you look younger. This is because when you are “dehydrated the body will pull water from your skin and tissue, making your skin less elastic and your eyes more sunken.”

Exercise (including strength training)

Staying active not only makes you look great, but it gives you a boost of energy so you can continue moving so you can stay healthy and in shape for years to come. Whether you try out an intense cardio class at your gym or you just take a brisk walk with a friend, getting your blood flowing and using your muscles will help you protect your body against injury, maintain healthy bones, boost your mood and clear your mind so you can stay sharp physically and mentally.

Go back to school

Just because you are getting older doesn’t mean you need to stop learning. Take an online course or a continued education course at a local university. You can study art history, learn about wine, take a creative writing course or even attend culinary school. Think about something you’ve always wanted to learn, and then do it. Keeping your mind busy and expanding your knowledge is one of the best ways to feel young, curious and energized mentally.

Relax and unwind

Stress and anxiety, both physical and emotional, can accelerate the aging process, which is why taking some time to unwind and let your mind and body recover is so crucial to looking and feeling young. Research has shown that meditation can reverse the effects of aging on the brain. In fact, compared to those who did not meditate, a 2010 study found that “meditators have significantly greater blood flow in their brains—a sign of robust brain activity.” Even if mediation is not your thing, you can choose to get a massage, take a bath, take a nap or do yoga—just find some method to give yourself a break. The long-term benefits will be well worth your 10-20 minutes a day.

Be silly with your kids

Don’t underestimate the power of a good belly laugh—it’s the most fun way to instantly feel 10 years younger. As we get older we tend to forget how fun it can be to just be silly. Jumping on a trampoline or rolling down a hill with your kids can make you feel like a kid yourself. Having a food fight or watching a funny movie can make you laugh so hard you cry. People say, “laughter is the best medicine” for a reason—it can make you feel happy, can relieve stress and can make you feel alive.

Travel and have an adventure

One of the best parts of being young is feeling like the world is full of possibilities and adventures. Just because you are older doesn’t mean the exploration needs to end. Your interests may have changed, but we’re willing to bed your budget has as well. Take a trip with a friend, your family or by yourself. Visit somewhere new and somewhere you’ve always wanted to explore and learn about.

With so much negativity being spewed all too often in social media, it's tough to remain focused with a good attitude in order to accomplish business and personal goals. Negativity breeds poor health and not particularly good outcomes to anything you do. So here's an article about how to be optimistic about everything.

From GREATist - 

 

By Laura Schwecherl

 

How to Be Optimistic About Everything

 

When challenges come our way, it may be easy to succumb to negative thoughts. But look on the bright side—optimistic thinking isn't just in our heads. Thinking positively can also boost our physical and mental health.

The Power of Positive: The Need-to-Know

Optimistic thinkers tend to anticipate the best possible outcome in any situation. (For instance: "I may have totaled my car, but thank goodness for insurance!") And research suggests seeing the glass half-full is good for our health, career, and love life. Studies have found self-reported optimism predicts lower rates of mortality and cancer, and better cardiovascular health and immune function.  

Other research has found the benefits of positive thinking are especially pronounced in low-income countries. One study even suggests optimism helps women battle breast cancer. And elderly people who hold positive stereotypes about old age generally recover better from disability than those who think negatively.

Some psychologists think optimists tend to be healthier because they cope better when they can't meet their goals. It's also possible that people who think positively attribute less significance to stressful events.

But the benefits of optimism go beyond a clean bill of health. Forget the raving resume—there may be a connection between positive thinking and landing a stellar job. Optimists also have a better chance of securing a stable, loving relationship. Still, thinking positively may be easier said than done.

 

 

Every Little Thing Is Gonna Be All Right: Your Action Plan

While some psychologists think we can learn to be optimists, other experts believe optimism is a personality trait we're born with. And other factors, like socioeconomic status and cultural background, may have a role in our ability to think positively. Several studies have found a relationship between pessimism and lower economic status—though it's unclear whether low socioeconomic status causes people to be more pessimistic or it's other way around. Cultural differences may also come into play. Studies suggest Western cultures tend to anticipate more positive events than Eastern cultures do. Some psychologists suggest that's because Westerners focus more on self-enhancement and see themselves more positively than Easterners.

But before becoming Mr. or Ms. "Everything-Is-Awesome," know that being too optimistic can have a downside. Expecting the best in every situation may lead to failed expectations. Some experts argue defensive pessimism—"hope for the best, prepare for the worst"—helps people respond to certain threats and may even reduce anxiety.

Here are some quick tips on how to start seeing the glass half-full:

• Find the good. Even in less-than-great situations, there's a way to find something positive. It may be hard to see at first, but try looking closer! (For instance: "I may be completely lost, but the view from here sure is pretty.")

• Write it down. At the end of the day, write down a few good things that happened, like finishing a big report at work or getting an email from an old friend. The habit makes it easier to appreciate the positive parts of life.

• Speak with success. Sometimes it's not the specific situation that determines a good or bad mood, but how we talk about it. (For example: "The exam may have been super hard, but telling friends we tried our best may cheer us up.")

• Forget the green-eyed monster. It's easy to compare ourselves to others and become envious of what you don't have. Instead, try to appreciate the good qualities and remember what you're grateful for.

• Take control: Science has shown people feel more optimistic about situations they can control. So take a seat behind the driver's wheel and remember choices like working out more and eating healthfully are (almost always) yours!

• Smile! Grin at this: In one study, participants who held a pen in their mouth (causing them to use their smiling muscles) perceived cartoons to be funnier than those without the pen. So not only are smiles contagious, they may actually make situations seem better.

• Stay balanced. Life isn't all good, all the time, so don't worry if those positive thoughts don’t flow freely. Staying realistic is also important to help manage anxiety and boost productivity.

It's hard not to pick up a newspaper and read about yet another tragedy. Sometimes, it can strike right next door or even in your own home or workplace. Sometimes things simply get overwhelming, but there remains still a reason to believe that you're doing better than you think you are. Here's 20 reasons...

20 Signs You’re Doing Better Than You Think You Are

Brianna Wiest / Thought Catelogue 

 
#1. You paid the bills this month, and maybe even had extra to spend on non-necessities. It doesn’t matter how much you belabored the checks as they went out, the point is that they did, and you figured it out regardless.

#2. You question yourself. You doubt your life. You feel miserable some days. This means you’re still open to growth. This means you can be objective and self-aware. The best people go home at the end of the day and think: “or… maybe there’s another way.”

#3. You have a job. For however many hours, at whatever rate, you are earning money that helps you eat something, sleep on something, wear something every day. It’s not failure if it doesn’t look the way you thought it would – you’re valuing your independence and taking responsibility for yourself.

#4. You have time to do something you enjoy. Even if “what you enjoy” is sitting on the couch and ordering dinner and watching Netflix.

#5. You are not worried about where your next meal is coming from. There’s food in the fridge or pantry, and you have enough to actually pick and choose what you want to eat.

#6. You can eat because you enjoy it. It’s not a matter of sheer survival.

#7. You have one or two truly close friends. People worry about the quantity but eventually tend to realize the number of people you can claim to be in your tribe has no bearing on how much you feel intimacy, acceptance, community, or joy. At the end of the day, all we really want are a few close people who know us (and love us) no matter what.

#8. You could afford a subway ride, cup of coffee, or the gas in your car this morning. The smallest conveniences (and oftentimes, necessities) are not variables for you.

#9. You’re not the same person you were a year ago. You’re learning, and evolving, and can identify the ways in which you’ve changed for better and worse.

#10. You have the time and means to do things beyond the bare minimum. You’ve maybe been to a concert in the last few years, you buy books for yourself, you could take a day trip to a neighboring city if you wanted – you don’t have to work all hours of the day to survive.

#11. You have a selection of clothing at your disposal. You aren’t worried about having a hat or gloves in a blizzard, you have cool clothes for the summer and something to wear to a wedding. You not only can shield and decorate your body, but can do so appropriately for a variety of circumstances.

#12. You can sense what isn’t right in your life. The first and most crucial step is simply being aware. Being able to communicate to yourself: “something is not right, even though I am not yet sure what would feel better.”

#13. If you could talk to your younger self, you would be able so say: “We did it, we made it out, we survived that terrible thing.” So often people carry their past traumas into their present lives, and if you want any proof that we carry who we were in who we are, all you need to do is see how you respond to your inner child hearing, you’re going to be okay, from the person they became.

#14. You have a space of your own. It doesn’t even have to be a home or apartment (but that’s great if it is). All you need is a room, a corner, a desk, where you can create or rest at your discretion; where you govern who gets to be part of your weird little world, and to what capacity. It’s one of the few controls we can actually exert.

#15. You’ve lost relationships. More important than the fact that you’ve simply had them in the first place is that you or your former partner chose not to settle. You opened yourself to the possibility of something else being out there.

#16. You’re interested in something. Whether it’s now how to live a happier life, maintain better relationships, reading or movies or sex or society or the axis on which the world spins, something intrigues you to explore it.

#17. You know how to take care of yourself. You know how many hours of sleep you need to feel okay the next day, who to turn to when you’re heartbroken, what you have fun doing, what to do when you don’t feel well, etc.

#18. You’re working toward a goal. Even if you’re exhausted and it feels miles away, you have a dream for yourself, however vague and malleable.

#19. But you’re not uncompromisingly set on anything for your future. Some of the happiest and best adjusted people are the ones who can make any situation an ideal, who are too immersed in the moment to intricately plan and decidedly commit to any one specific outcome.

#20. You’ve been through some crap. You can look at challenges you currently face and compare them to ones you thought you’d never get over. You can reassure yourself through your own experience. Life did not get easier, you got smarter.

Save your children! Screen addiction is becoming epidemic, according to a new report, and causing both physical and mental problems. But, but...what will we do to keep the tykes busy?

Personal Health

Screen Addiction Is Taking a Toll on Children

 

By

Jane E. Brody

 

 

Excessive use of computer games among young people in China appears to be taking an alarming turn and may have particular relevance for American parents whose children spend many hours a day focused on electronic screens. The documentary “Web Junkie,” to be shown next Monday on PBS, highlights the tragic effects on teenagers who become hooked on video games, playing for dozens of hours at a time often without breaks to eat, sleep or even use the bathroom. Many come to view the real world as fake.

Chinese doctors consider this phenomenon a clinical disorder and have established rehabilitation centers where afflicted youngsters are confined for months of sometimes draconian therapy, completely isolated from all media, the effectiveness of which remains to be demonstrated.

While Internet addiction is not yet considered a clinical diagnosis here, there’s no question that American youths are plugged in and tuned out of “live” action for many more hours of the day than experts consider healthy for normal development. And it starts early, often with preverbal toddlers handed their parents’ cellphones and tablets to entertain themselves when they should be observing the world around them and interacting with their caregivers.

In its 2013 policy statement on “Children, Adolescents, and the Media,” the American Academy of Pediatrics cited these shocking statistics from a Kaiser Family Foundation study in 2010: “The average 8- to 10-year-old spends nearly eight hours a day with a variety of different media, and older children and teenagers spend more than 11 hours per day.” Television, long a popular “babysitter,” remains the dominant medium, but computers, tablets and cellphones are gradually taking over.

“Many parents seem to have few rules about use of media by their children and adolescents,” the academy stated, and two-thirds of those questioned in the Kaiser study said their parents had no rules about how much time the youngsters spent with media.

Parents, grateful for ways to calm disruptive children and keep them from interrupting their own screen activities, seem to be unaware of the potential harm from so much time spent in the virtual world.

“We’re throwing screens at children all day long, giving them distractions rather than teaching them how to self-soothe, to calm themselves down,” said Catherine Steiner-Adair, a Harvard-affiliated clinical psychologist and author of the best-selling book “The Big Disconnect: Protecting Childhood and Family Relationships in the Digital Age.”

Before age 2, children should not be exposed to any electronic media, the pediatrics academy maintains, because “a child’s brain develops rapidly during these first years, and young children learn best by interacting with people, not screens.” Older children and teenagers should spend no more than one or two hours a day with entertainment media, preferably with high-quality content, and spend more free time playing outdoors, reading, doing hobbies and “using their imaginations in free play,” the academy recommends.

Heavy use of electronic media can have significant negative effects on children’s behavior, health and school performance. Those who watch a lot of simulated violence, common in many popular video games, can become immune to it, more inclined to act violently themselves and less likely to behave empathetically, said Dimitri A. Christakis of the Seattle Children’s Research Institute.

In preparing an honors thesis at the University of Rhode Island, Kristina E. Hatch asked children about their favorite video games. A fourth-grader cited “Call of Duty: Black Ops,” because “there’s zombies in it, and you get to kill them with guns and there’s violence … I like blood and violence.”

Teenagers who spend a lot of time playing violent video games or watching violent shows on television have been found to be more aggressive and more likely to fight with their peers and argue with their teachers, according to a study in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence.

Schoolwork can suffer when media time infringes on reading and studying. And the sedentary nature of most electronic involvement — along with televised ads for high-calorie fare — can foster the unhealthy weights already epidemic among the nation’s youth.

Two of my grandsons, ages 10 and 13, seem destined to suffer some of the negative effects of video-game overuse. The 10-year-old gets up half an hour earlier on school days to play computer games, and he and his brother stay plugged into their hand-held devices on the ride to and from school. “There’s no conversation anymore,” said their grandfather, who often picks them up. When the family dines out, the boys use their devices before the meal arrives and as soon as they finish eating.

“If kids are allowed to play ‘Candy Crush’ on the way to school, the car ride will be quiet, but that’s not what kids need,” Dr. Steiner-Adair said in an interview. “They need time to daydream, deal with anxieties, process their thoughts and share them with parents, who can provide reassurance.”

Technology is a poor substitute for personal interaction.

Out in public, Dr. Steiner-Adair added, “children have to know that life is fine off the screen. It’s interesting and good to be curious about other people, to learn how to listen. It teaches them social and emotional intelligence, which is critical for success in life.”

Children who are heavy users of electronics may become adept at multitasking, but they can lose the ability to focus on what is most important, a trait critical to the deep thought and problem solving needed for many jobs and other endeavors later in life.

Texting looms as the next national epidemic, with half of teenagers sending 50 or more text messages a day and those aged 13 through 17 averaging 3,364 texts a month, Amanda Lenhart of the Pew Research Center found in a 2012 study. An earlier Pew study found that teenagers send an average of 34 texts a night after they get into bed, adding to the sleep deprivation so common and harmful to them. And as Ms. Hatch pointed out, “as children have more of their communication through electronic media, and less of it face to face, they begin to feel more lonely and depressed.”

There can be physical consequences, too. Children can develop pain in their fingers and wrists, narrowed blood vessels in their eyes (the long-term consequences of which are unknown), and neck and back pain from being slumped over their phones, tablets and computers.

If you live long enough, it seems everything will eventually be bad for you. Now a new study indicates its OJ that increases the risk of cancer. But wait! Don't stop drinking the juice just yet.

MNT - Hourly Medical News Since 2003

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Skin cancer risk linked with grapefruit and orange juice

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Grapefruit and orange juices are breakfast staples for many of us. But consuming these in large amounts may be putting us at higher risk of melanoma - the deadliest form of skin cancer - according to a new study.

 

High consumption of grapefruit juice was associated with the highest risk of melanoma, according to the study findings.

 

 

Published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the study found people who consumed high amounts of whole grapefruit or orange juice were over a third more likely to develop melanoma, compared with those who consumed low amounts.

However, lead study author Dr. Shaowei Wu, of the Department of Dermatology at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University in Providence, RI, and colleagues stress that further research is needed before any changes are made to recommendations for orange and grapefruit consumption.

According to the American Cancer Society, 73,870 people in the US will be diagnosed with melanoma this year and 9,940 people will die from the cancer.

The primary risk factor for melanoma is exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun and indoor tanning devices, such as tanning beds and sun lamps.

Past research has suggested that tanning lotions containing psoralens - a group of naturally occurring substances called furocoumarins that are found in citrus fruits - may increase the risk of melanoma by sensitizing the skin to the effects of UV radiation.

For their study, Dr. Wu and colleagues set out to see whether consumption of citrus fruits may be associated with greater risk of melanoma.

The team analyzed data from 63,810 women who were part of the Nurses' Health Study between 1984 and 2010, as well as 41,622 men who were part of the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study between 1986 and 2010.

All participants completed dietary questionnaires at least every 4 years, from which the researchers were able to gather information on their citrus fruit intake. In the study, a serving of citrus fruit was defined as the equivalent to one orange, half a grapefruit or one 6 oz glass of whole orange or grapefruit juice.

The participants also completed health questionnaires every 2 years, which detailed lifestyle factors - such as smoking status and physical activity levels - and medical history. Subjects with a history of cancer were excluded from analysis.

Consuming citrus fruits more than 1.6 times daily linked to 36% higher melanoma risk

During the 24-26-year follow-up, 1,840 participants were diagnosed with melanoma.

The researchers found that the more servings of oranges, grapefruits or juices from these fruits that the participants consumed overall, the higher their risk of melanoma. Subjects who consumed a serving of these fruits or their juices at least 1.6 times a day, for example, were found to be at 36% higher melanoma risk.
 
On analyzing melanoma risk by consumption of individual citrus products, the researchers found that grapefruit juice and whole oranges were not independently associated with greater risk of the cancer.

Fast facts about melanoma
 

• In the US, rates of melanoma have been increasing for the past 30 years
• The average age at melanoma diagnosis is 62, though it is still common among younger adults
• White Americans are around 20 times more likely to develop melanoma than African-Americans.

 

Eating whole grapefruit, however, was strongly associated with high melanoma risk, and this risk was found to be independent of confounding factors, such as age, smoking status, alcohol and coffee intake, use of vitamin C supplements and physical activity levels.

Individuals more susceptible to sunburn as a child or teenager and those who had higher exposure to direct sunlight were at highest risk of melanoma from whole grapefruit consumption, the researchers found.

Orange juice was also associated with greater melanoma risk, which the researchers say is most likely because consumption of this product was much higher than consumption of other citrus products.

Though Dr. Wu and colleagues did not investigate the mechanisms underlying the association between citrus fruit consumption and melanoma risk, they speculate that it may be because the fruits are rich in psoralens and furocoumarins, which are believed to make the skin more sensitive to the sun.

"These substances are potential carcinogens, as found in both mice and humans. Psoralens and furocoumarins interact with UV light to stimulate melanoma cells to proliferate," explains Dr. Marianne Berwick, of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, in an editorial linked to the study.

However, the team notes no association was found between consumption of other foods rich in furocoumarins - such as celery and carrots - and increased risk of melanoma. But Dr. Wu says this is likely because people often cook these vegetables, and the heat reduces furocoumarin levels.

A 'public overreaction' to these findings should be avoided

According to Dr. Gary Scwartz, expert at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the findings from Dr. Wu and colleagues are "intriguing," though he says it is far too soon to make any changes to recommendations regarding citrus fruit consumption.

Dr. Wu adds:

"While our findings suggest that people who consume large amounts of whole grapefruit or orange juice may be at increased risk for melanoma, we need much more research before any concrete recommendations can be made.
At this time, we don't advise that people cut back on citrus - but those who consume a lot of grapefruit and/or orange juice should be particularly careful to avoid prolonged sun exposure."

Dr. Berwick says this is a "potentially important" study, noting that citrus consumption is widely promoted for its health benefits. For example, past research has suggested grapefruit can aid weight loss and improve heart health.

However, she notes that at present, a "public overreaction" that may cause people to shun citrus fruits should be avoided.

"For people who would be considered at high risk, the best course might be to advise individuals to use multiple sources of fruit and juice in the diet and to use sun protection, particularly if one is sun sensitive," she adds. "There is clearly a need for replication of the study findings in a different population before modifying current dietary advice to the public."

Dr. Wu and colleagues plan to conduct a study that involves measuring furocoumarin levels in blood samples of subjects who consume high levels of citrus fruits, in order to determine whether it is these substances that may drive greater melanoma risk.

Written by Honor Whiteman