During a spa trip for my 40th, it became apparent that when seven moms get together for some R&R, they become alarmists. Yep, we spent much of our "relaxation" time discussing what to avoid and how it could kill you.

I know, you totally want to party with us.

We couldn't even escape our cynical chit chat by catching a flick on pay-per-view. Who was going to risk their lives and touch the germ-laden hotel remote? Someone also mentioned that one should avoid handling menus. Needless to say, this made ordering dinner quite difficult. Thankfully, it didn't hamper the flow of sarcasm and margaritas (my favorite combo).

After my vacay I posted, "A Sarcastic Look at 19 Common Things That'll Kill Ya" and was relieved to learn that I'm not the only lame-o who sits around discussing this crap. So, here's a list of more everyday things I've actually been told to avoid, just don't quote me on the effects.

Reading this list can cause ironic revelations, incontinence, and typhoid:

Not Actual Hormone TherapyNot that long ago every woman "of a certain age" was given a prescription of estrogen as soon as she got a little snippy. The idea being that hormone therapy could solve all of the ills of menopause: the hot flashes, the mood swings, the vaginal dryness that no one wants to talk about. 

While these symptoms were the primary reasons ladies were asking their doctors for some relief, the side benefits of reducing the risk of chronic lady diseases like breast cancer and osteoporosis were also touted around the medical world. 

Turns out, those benefits are hardly worth the risks of taking hormone therapy. And if you're currently on hormone therapy, you should probably stop. 

Whether it's Breast Cancer Awareness Month or not, there's almost no end in sight to all the info about early detection and prevention of the disease. It's absolutely astounding and so heartening to see that we seem to be getting more and more well-versed about how we can guard ourselves against breast cancer. And yet, at the same time, we can't forget that there are many breast health issues women experience all the time that actually have nothing to do with cancer.

Board-certified gynecologist and regular women's health expert for The Dr. Oz Show Dr. Jennifer Ashton touched on some of the most common, non-cancerous concerns your breasts might be trying to clue you in on.

Now that the road just got a little bit clearer for women (at least those with private insurance) to obtain preventative health care without a hefty co-pay, thanks to the Affordable Care Act, everyone's raving about how their birth control pills will be free. And that's awesome for the ladies who don't mind hormonal birth control (and all its side effects and potential side effects), but the enactment of the reform actually offers an awesome opportunity to take a second look at a different form of birth control -- one that's totally hormone-free.

As it turns out, use of intrauterine devices (IUDs) has been on the rise over the past few years, as more American women are choosing IUDs and contraceptive implants over the pill and condoms, according to a new national study. That's the good news.

President Obama is lookin' out for us ladies! Beginning today, August 1, given the government's new health care reforms, private insurance companies must start providing contraception for free! In other words, without any kind of co-pay. And that's not all. The rule applies to a bevy of other preventative women's health services, including well-woman visits, mammograms, gestational diabetes screening, HPV DNA testing for women 30+, STI screening (including HIV), breastfeeding support/supplies/counseling, and domestic violence counseling. Yippee!

But before running over to your local drugstore to demand the pharmacist fork over your monthly pill pack, check out this easy breakdown of how the new law may affect you, depending on your insurance sitch ...

When Sheryl Crow recently announced that she has a benign brain tumor, or meningioma -- diagnosed on an MRI scan, which she was prompted to have after forgetting song lyrics at a concert -- the reaction was a genuine sigh of dismay. What the heck? It feels like it was just yesterday that she had breast cancer, right? Well, it was actually six years ago, but still ... It really begs the question if there's a link.

Apparently, while this kind of tumor occurs in about 1 in 1,000 people, it is more common in women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. But the meningioma isn't due to breast cancer cells spreading to her brain.

For years, we've heard that hormonal drugs (like in birth control pills and menopause treatments, like conjugated estrogens) can be hazardous to women's health and spike breast cancer risk. But now, a study done by researchers at the Breast Cancer Oncology Center at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston shows that post-menopausal women who took estrogen alone -- thought to be safe and possibly even slightly beneficial in terms of cancer risk -- might have a problem if they're on the treatment for years.

The research tracked the health of about 60,000 nurses and found that use of any kind of hormones for 10 years or more slightly raised the chances of developing breast cancer. I hate to say it, but well, hello, YEAH.

If you've ever had trouble deciding between a bottle of red and a bottle of white ("... whatever kind of mood you're in toooonight!"), have I got the tiebreaker for you! You know all the buzz about how wine (specifically red wine) is great for your health, because of the polyphenols that guard against free radicals, yadayada? Well, researchers thought it might be smart to check which type of wine, if either, could help us fight breast cancer.

Their study, published in the Journal of Women's Health, aimed to see if either wine could serve as an aromatase inhibitor, preventing the conversion of androgens (what we think of as "male" hormones) to estrogen, known to contribute to cancer cell growth. You might be surprised by the findings ...