Women who carry the so-called "breast cancer gene" may find themselves going through natural menopause a few years earlier than women who don't, according to a recent study of nearly a thousand women with BRCA gene mutations.

One in 600 women in the United States carries the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation, both of which greatly increase the chance of getting breast and ovarian cancer at some point in their lives. The National Cancer Institute says breast cancer risk jumps from 12 to 60 percent with a BRCA mutation; ovarian cancer risk rises from 1.4 percent to 15 to 40 percent.

There has been a recent boom in the gluten-free market, and much of it has to do with an increase in gluten sensitivity and diagnoses of celiac disease. And it's great that stores are offering more of a selection of foods for people with those conditions.

But recently, doctors have been noticing a rise in the number of people going gluten-free as a lifestyle choice -- namely, to lose weight, much like the reasons some decide to stop eating carbs.

Medically, it’s not really a huge deal because gluten isn't something our bodies need to thrive. I equate it to becoming a vegetarian, because we don't need animal flesh, either -- just the protein it provides. The issue lies within the reasoning behind the gluten-free lifestyle; people are going gluten-free to get thin.

For most of my life, I've been a sugar fiend. Sure, I'd hide behind the excuse of having a "sweet tooth." There have been times in my life when I was oblivious to how much sugar I was consuming from everyday treats (like caramel macchiatos) and other times I only had a once-a-day, calorie-controlled one (like a small portion of low-fat fro yo). But the common thread since I can remember has been a dependence on refined sugar. (Likely linked, in part, to my genetic, hormonal/adrenal issues I've been trying to better understand and address over the past few years.) That is, until recently.

As a part of my pre-wedding fitness efforts and a focused attempt to really address those underlying hormonal issues, I've been eating less and less sugar. Actually, since the New Year, I've cut it out almost completely. And I feel ...

When Sharon Osbourne bravely underwent a preemptive mastectomy and became a breast cancer "previvor" last year, it boosted her odds of living an even longer life and having even more time with her kids and grandchildren (present and future). But as it turns out, it also changed her attitude about cosmetic surgery ...

After years of being open about her penchant for going under the knife, Sharon's being especially outspoken in vowing to swear off her plastic habit. Given what she faced with her breast surgery, it certainly makes sense ...

If you're one of the unfortunate people who caught the stomach bug that's going around (hi), or the flu, or the nasty colds that seem to be sweeping the nation, you've probably already used a sick day this year. And that's a bummer. Because we want to use sick days for when it's nice out and we can go to the beach. Because no one likes being sick. And if you haven't yet called in sick this year, you probably did at some point last year. And if you didn't last year, you probably did the year before. And -- well, let me just cut to the chase here: A woman who just retired from her job as a postal worker didn't use a single sick day -- in 44 years.

This might be the most important thing you read all day. While many of us believe that a mastectomy is a more effective long-term treatment for breast cancer than a lumpectomy, the latest study shows the opposite is actually true: Researchers from Duke Cancer Institute found that women with stage one or two breast cancer who had a lumpectomy followed by radiotherapy instead of a mastectomy were 13% more likely to survive the disease (women over age 50 were 19% more likely to survive). Whoa.

Of course it seems like medical research is always finding new, often contradictory information on the best way to treat and avoid diseases, so I tend to take whatever "the latest study shows" with a grain of salt. But in this case, the "latest study" followed over 100,000 women for a span of 10 years.

When Miley Cyrus first jumped on the gluten-free bandwagon, I have to admit, I was rolling my eyes. As someone related to and friendly with people who grapple with legit celiac disease, it's beyond irritating to watch people do it as a "trendy" diet. Where did she get off swearing off gluten if she didn't have to? I wasn't alone ... and a lot of skeptics were questioning whether or not Miley was just using a gluten-free diet as a lame-o excuse for some kind of eating disorder. But I'm not so sure ...

Just yesterday, she shared some details of what happens when she diverts from her gluten-free lifestyle, tweeting, "I now remember why I never eat pizza. It makes me feel like sh*t. #glutenized." Apparently, some people read that tweet and thought she was lamenting "feeling fat" ... !? Cue the backlash!

I love creative, meaningful tattoos -- and this particular tattoo is, hands down, one of the most creative and meaningful tattoos I've ever seen. Featured on the Facebook page of Freshly Inked magazine, the text beneath the photo reads: "This tattoo was collaboratively designed by Inga Duncan Thornell and Tina Bafaro, her tattooist, to cover the scars from Inga’s bilateral mastectomy."

Not only is that one of the coolest ideas for a tattoo ever (not to mention a beautiful piece of artwork), it's ultimately a less-invasive alternative to traditional reconstructive surgery.