|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Article Navigation
|
How Diet Influences Cancer Riskby: Alex Fir Diet is a double edged sword. Improper diet increases the risk of cancer but a proper, well balanced diet reduces the cancer risk. Diet is one of the most important lifestyle factors and has been estimated to account for up to 80% of cancers of the large bowel, breast, and prostate. Diet affects the risk of many other cancers, including cancers of the lung, prostate, stomach, esophagus and pancreas. Prostate Cancer: High consumption of meat, especially red meat, substantially increases the risk of prostate cancer. Vegetables, especially cooked tomatoes, reduce the risk of prostate cancer. In one clinical trial, the role of Vitamin E as a prostate cancer reducing factor was established. In this study there was a 32% decrease in prostate cancer incidence and 41% decrease in prostate cancer mortality in people receiving Vitamin E supplements when compared to controls. Breast Cancer: In Japan, people consume Tofu, a soya product. It contains isoflavones that moderate the estrogen receptors in the body such as breast tissue. The incidence of breast cancer is low in Japan when compared to Western women; only 1/4th of the mortality rate of Western women. Japanese women's low fat diet, high fish consumption and drinking green tea also decrease their breast cancer risk. One case control study found that regular consumption of soy foods was associated with a marked decrease in breast cancer risk in premenopausal women. No effect in post-menopausal women. A Japanese case-control study also found that tofu intake (3 times/wk compared with less than 3 times/wk) was associated with decreased risk of breast cancer in premenopausal women. Again, soy intake was not protective against post-menopausal breast cancer. In one study conducted in America, the relation between soy intake and breast cancer risk found that tofu consumption was protective in both premenopausal and post menopausal Asian women. Lung Cancer: Lung cancer risk is substantially decreased by a variety of carotenoids. Carotenoids act as antioxidants and thus minimize cell damage. One study in Boston focused on the effect of different types of carotenoids on lung cancer risk. It was observed that lung cancer risk was significantly lower in subjects who consumed a diet high in a variety of carotenoids. This was especially true with non-smokers who had 63% less risk. One study conducted in Hawaii reported further evidence for a protective effect from certain carotenoids against lung cancer and that greater protection was afforded by consuming a variety of vegetables compared to only foods rich in a particular carotenoid. Stomach Cancer: Nitrates in food and other preservatives added to food including meat are converted into 'nitrites' in the human stomach. The nitrites undergo nitrosation to form 'nitrosamines' and 'nitrosamides'. This increases the risk of stomach cancer in people eating vegetables from nitrate rich soil. In one study, Vitamin C appeared to protect against the risk of stomach cancer by inhibiting formation of nitrates in stomach. Cancer of the stomach is 5 times more common in Japanese people compared to Western populations. When Japanese people migrated to the United States, they progressively acquired the low incidence of the US due to changes in their diets. In one study conducted in Hawaii that involved both Japanese and Caucasians, the stomach cancer risk was associated with consumption of rice, pickled vegetables, and dried/salted fish, and a negative association with vitamin C intake. One ecological study in Belgium showed a relation between the nitrate and salt consumption and stomach cancer. The analysis of this model showed that the significance of nitrate as a risk factor for stomach cancer mortality increased markedly with higher sodium levels. Dietary habits and stomach cancer risk was studied in Shanghai, China. According to this study, risks of stomach cancer were inversely associated with high consumption of several food groups, including fresh vegetables and fruits, poultry, eggs, plant oil, and some nutrients such as protein, fat, fiber, tea and antioxidant vitamins. By contrast, risks increased with increasing consumption of dietary carbohydrates, frequent consumption of preserved, salty or fried foods and hot soup/porridge, with irregular meals, speed eating and binge eating. This provides evidence that diet plays a major role in stomach cancer risk. No single food can completely prevent cancer but a balanced combination of different groups can help. Appropriate diet can prevent 3-4 million cancers each year. Latest Cancer News:Hormone drugs for prostate cancer may hurt heart (Reuters via Yahoo! News) Prostate cancer treatments that cut off the supply of male hormone raise cholesterol, worsen blood sugar and make men fatter and thus likely raise the risk of heart attack, too, doctors said on Monday. Auriemma to donate ties on eBay for cancer fund (AP via Yahoo! Sports) Geno Auriemma plans to auction off the neck ties he wears during the rest of UConn's games this season. The school says money raised by the auctions will benefit the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund. The North Carolina State University women's basketball coach died a year ago after a long fight with breast cancer. Approval Expanded for Breast Cancer Drug Tykerb (HealthDay via Yahoo! News) MONDAY, Feb. 1 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has expanded approval for Tyberb (lapatinib) to include postmenopausal women with hormone- and HER2-positive advanced breast cancer who require hormone therapy. Cancer, Autism Push By Obama to Spur New Medicines (Update2) (Bloomberg) Feb. 1 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama proposed increasing the National Institutes of Health budget by $1 billion, or 3.2 percent, in fiscal 2011, earmarking $6 billion for cancer research and $222 million for work in autism. Heart Risk From Prostate Cancer Hormone Therapy (WebMD) Androgen-blocking hormone therapy for prostate cancer may raise the risk of heart disease, warns an expert panel representing heart, cancer, and urology organizations. Cancer, Autism Push in Obama Budget Plan to Spur 30 New Drugs (Bloomberg) Feb. 1 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama increased the National Institutes of Health budget proposal by $1 billion, or 3.2 percent, in fiscal 2011, earmarking $6 billion for cancer research and $222 million for work in autism. Targeting Cancer Stem Cells May Eradicate Tumors (MedicineNet.com) Title: Targeting Cancer Stem Cells May Eradicate Tumors Category: Health News Created: 1/29/2010 4:10:00 PM Last Editorial Review: 2/1/2010 Three-Fourths of Cancer Patients Have Severe Flares of Pain (MedicineNet.com) Title: Three-Fourths of Cancer Patients Have Severe Flares of Pain Category: Health News Created: 1/29/2010 12:10:00 PM Last Editorial Review: 2/1/2010 Scammer Allegedly Lies About Cancer (ABC News) Prosecutor says Md. woman lied about terminal cancer to steal money. Cancer - Health - Conditions and Diseases - Organizations - United States Childhood cancer project under way (Chicago Sun-Times) What's touted as the biggest effort ever to find all of the genetic mutations that cause childhood cancer is now under way. The privately funded project will complement the Cancer Genome Atlas,an eight-year National Institutes of Health initiative focusing largelyon adult malignancies, says NIH director Dr. Francis Collins. Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month - Brazil Times (blog)
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Copyright © 2006 CancerAdvice.org