Tuesday, December 18, 2007

High Meat Consumption Linked to Heightened Cancer Risk

High Meat Consumption Linked to Heightened Cancer Risk on Yahoo! Health
2007.12.11
"... "This is the largest study to look at the effect of red and processed meat on multiple cancer sites, including rarer cancers, such as laryngeal and liver cancer."...For the study, red meats included beef, pork and lamb. Processed meats included bacon, red-meat sausage, poultry sausage, luncheon meats, cold cuts, ham, regular hot dogs and low-fat hot dogs...elevated risks for colorectal and lung cancer with high consumption of both meat types along with borderline higher risks for advanced prostate cancer. High red meat intake was also associated with increased risk of esophageal and liver and a borderline increased risk for laryngeal cancer. And high processed meat consumption also was associated with borderline increased risk for bladder cancer and myeloma, a kind of bone cancer. In addition, both red meat and processed meat consumption were associated with increased pancreatic cancer risk in men, but not women...Meats are a source of saturated fat and iron, both of which have been linked to cancer, and also the source of several compounds that are known to affect cell development, they added...Cooking at high temperatures might also contribute to cancer risk, Cross added."Heterocyclic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are formed when meats are cooked well-done by high temperature cooking methods, such as barbecuing,"..."

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Lung cancer 'link to lack of sun'

Lung Cancer linked to lack of sun - BBC News
2007.12.18
"...Researchers found lung cancer rates were highest in countries furthest from the equator, where exposure to sunlight is lowest...It is thought vitamin D - generated by exposure to sunlight - can halt tumour growth by promoting the factors responsible for cell death in the body...vitamin D stimulated the release of chemicals which, in combination with calcium, formed a glue-like substance which bind these cells tightly together, and put a brake on their division...There was also evidence that vitamin D may also slow the progress of cancer once it develops..."

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Monday, December 17, 2007

Walking packs huge health punch

Walking packs a huge health punch - Yahoo! Health
2007.12.17
"...Befo
re exercising regularly, 41 percent of the study subjects met the criteria for metabolic syndrome. At the end of the 8-month exercise program, only 27 percent did...People in the study who exercised the least - walking 30 minutes 6 days a week or the equivalent of about 11 miles per week -- gained significant benefit, while those who exercised the most, jogging about 17 miles per week, gained slightly more benefit in terms of lowered metabolic syndrome scores...People who did a short period of very vigorous exercise didn't improve their metabolic syndrome scores as much as those who performed less intense exercise for a longer period, the researchers found...This suggests, they say, that there's more value in doing moderate intensity exercise every day rather than more intense activity just a few days a week..."


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Friday, December 14, 2007

Aging Gracefully Requires Taking Out The Trash

Aging Gracefully Requires Taking Out The Trash - ScienceDaily
2007.12.14
"Suppressing a cellular cleanup-mechanism known as autophagy can accelerate the accumulation of protein aggregates that leads to neural degeneration...Boosting autophagy in the nervous system of fruit flies prevented the age-dependent accumulation of cellular damage in neurons and promoted longevity..."suggests there is an age-dependent suppression of autophagy that may be a contributing factor for human neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's disease"...The age-related accumulation of proteins and lipids damaged by chemically aggressive forms of oxygen is considered by most in the geriatrics field to be a normal part of the aging process. As a result in most age-associated diseases, such as Alzheimer's, damaged proteins accumulate in excessive amounts, which leads to progressive cell death in the brain...When the researchers kept the neuronal levels of Atg8a high, the genetically engineered flies were spared the ravages of time. Promoting the pathway not only prevented the accumulation of protein aggregates but also significantly extended the average lifespan. "Our experiments show for the first time genetically that autophagy can sequester and eliminate misfolded and damaged proteins, which accumulate in neurons as normal part of the aging process," says Simonsen...Insulin signaling and caloric restriction are two major determinants of longevity and they also impact the activity level of autophagy. Therefore, regulating autophagy, the pathway that directly does the cleanup work, may be the key factor in controlling the aging process..."By maintaining the expression of a rate-limiting autophagy gene in the aging nervous system there is a dramatic extension of lifespan and resistance to age-associated oxidative stress," says Finley."

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Friday, December 7, 2007

Extract of Rhodiola Found To Increase Lifespan of flies

Extract of Rhodiola Found To Increase Lifespan - Science Daily
Via QualityCounts
2007.12.05
"...Flies that ate a diet rich with Rhodiola rosea, an herbal supplement long used for its purported stress-relief effects, lived on an average of 10 percent longer than fly groups that didn’t eat the herb...“Although this study does not present clinical evidence that Rhodiola can extend human life, the finding that it does extend the lifespan of a model organism, combined with its known health benefits in humans, make this herb a promising candidate for further anti-aging research,” said Mahtab Jafari...the UC Irvine researchers fed adult fruit fly populations diets supplemented at different dose levels with four herbs known for their anti-aging properties. The herbs were mixed into a yeast paste, which adult flies ate for the duration of their lives. Three of the herbs – known by their Chinese names as Lu Duo Wei, Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang and San Zhi Pian – had no effect on fruit fly longevity, while Rhodiola was found to significantly reduce mortality. On average, Rhodiola increased survival 3.5 days in males and 3.2 days in females...Jafari said she is evaluating the molecular mechanism of Rhodiola by measuring its impact on energy metabolism, oxidative stress and anti-oxidant defenses in fruit flies. She is also beginning studies in mice and in mouse and human cell cultures. These latter studies should help understand the benefits of Rhodiola seen in human trials..."


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Common Household Chemical BBP Could Raise Breast Cancer Risk

Common Household Chemical Could Raise Breast Cancer Risk - Yahoo Health
2007.12.06
"A chemical found in many plastic products used in households caused accelerated breast development and genetic changes in newborn female lab rats, a condition that might predispose the animals to breast cancer later in life...Butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP) is commonly used to soften polymers and plastics. It's found in everything from plastic pipes, vinyl floor tiles and carpet backing to lipstick. BBP has also been found to be an endocrine disruptor, which mimics the effect of hormones. Endocrine disruptors are known to damage wildlife and have also been implicated in reduced sperm counts and neurological problems in humans..."Our study is the first one demonstrating that exposure to this compound (BBP) soon after birth results in alterations in the expression of genes present in the mammary gland," said lead researcher Dr. Jose Russo... in March, a study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives suggested that exposure to phthalates could be fueling the obesity epidemic by contributing to abdominal obesity and insulin resistance in men."

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Exercise pill hope for depression

Exercise pill hope for depression - BBC News
2007.12.05
"While the link between exercise and improved mood is well known, the reasons behind it are not fully understood. The latest research focuses on an area of the brain called the hippocampus, which is already established as a target for antidepressant drugs. The team developed a test to see which genes in this region were made more active during exercise, and highlighted one called VGF. This gene is linked to a "growth factor" chemical involved in the development of nerve cells. This fitted with their theory that, for depression to lift, changes in the actual structure and links between brain cells are needed, not just changes in the chemicals surrounding the cells. The next step was to make a version of that chemical, and to test it on mice, where it showed an effect on their behaviour that roughly equated to antidepressant effects in humans. The researchers believe that a drug based on VGF could offer "possibly even superior efficacy" to current antidepressants. Marcus Roberts, Head of Policy at Mind, said that, currently, the use of exercise as a treatment for mental health problems should be recommended by doctors."Mind has long recommended physical exercise as a way of improving mental wellbeing, and many people who experience mental distress have told us that exercise has hugely benefited their mental health. "Our own research has shown that outdoor exercise can decrease feelings of depression and increase self-esteem by inspiring a sense of achievement - the evidence is growing that this should be treated as a clinically valid treatment." "

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Honey beats medicine at curing coughs

Honey beats medicine at curing coughs - NutraIngredients.com
2007.12.05
"New research from the US suggests that naturally occurring honey may ease coughs and respiratory illnesses in children more effectively than over the counter medicines...scientists from the Penn State College of Medicine researchers asked parents to give either honey, honey flavoured dextromethorphan (DM), or no treatment to 105 children, between the ages of 2 and 18 children, all suffering from nocturnal coughs...Based on parental "symptom points", children treated with honey improved by an average of 10.71 points compared with 8.39 points for DM-treated children and 6.41 points for those who were not treated..."

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B vitamins vital before conception

B vitamins vital before conception - NutraIngredients.com
2007.12.06
"The importance of B vitamins, particularly folate, in foetal development is well established. The new study expands our understanding of the potential of pre-conception diets to influence the health of offspring...."The data provide the first evidence that clinically relevant reductions in specific dietary inputs to the methionine/folate cycles during the periconceptional period can lead to widespread epigenetic alterations to DNA methylation in offspring, and modify adult health-related phenotypes," wrote lead author Kevin Sinclair...The authors explain that DNA methylation is key to the maintenance of gene silencing. The process relies on a dietary supply of methyl groups, as provided by B vitamins."

The study was on sheep, but plenty of studies show a similar effect in a variety of mammals including humans.

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Folate may reduce depression symptoms for men, says study

Folate may reduce depression symptoms for men, says study - NutraIngredients.com
2007.12.07
"Increased intake of folate may reduce the incidence of depression amongst by 50 per cent, suggests a new study of over 500 Japanese subjects.The benefits were not extended to women...The research adds to a growing body of research linking folate and folic acid intake to improved mood, and follows a review by scientists at the University of York and Hull York Medical School of 11 studies and involving 15,315 participants that reported low folate levels were linked to increased depression ...male subjects with the highest average intake (235 micrograms per 100 kcal) were 50 per cent less likely to have depressive symptoms than men with the lowest average intake (119 micrograms per 100 kcal)...No statistically significant links were reported between depressive symptoms and intakes of riboflavin, pyridoxine, cobalamin, and all or individual omega-3 fatty acids, for either sex..."

Although keep in mind that folic acid has been linked to an increase in cancer. Key quote - "Exposure to high intakes of folic acid in early life and young adulthood may provide life-long protection from the tendency for cancer formation in different organs, such as the large intestines, whereas such exposures later in life, when cell damage has occurred, can spur on the advance of the tumor."

So what's the answer? Eat the natural form - folate, in your diet, and skip the supplement Folic acid. "Folic acid is a synthetic form of folate, a B vitamin found in a wide variety of foods including liver and green leafy vegetables. Folates are metabolised in the gut, whereas in a paper to be published in the British Journal of Nutrition in October IFR scientists suggest that folic acid is metabolised in the liver. The liver is an easily saturated system, and fortification could lead to significant unmetabolised folic acid entering the blood stream, with the potential to cause a number of health problems."

NIH info sheet on Folate

"Selected Food Sources of Folate and Folic Acid [5]
FoodMicrograms (μg)% DV^
*Breakfast cereals fortified with 100% of the DV, ¾ cup 400100
Beef liver, cooked, braised, 3 ounces18545
Cowpeas (blackeyes), immature, cooked, boiled, ½ cup10525
*Breakfast cereals, fortified with 25% of the DV, ¾ cup10025
Spinach, frozen, cooked, boiled, ½ cup10025
Great Northern beans, boiled, ½ cup9020
Asparagus, boiled, 4 spears8520
*Rice, white, long-grain, parboiled, enriched, cooked, ½ cup 6515
Vegetarian baked beans, canned, 1 cup6015
Spinach, raw, 1 cup6015
Green peas, frozen, boiled, ½ cup 5015
Broccoli, chopped, frozen, cooked, ½ cup 5015
*Egg noodles, cooked, enriched, ½ cup 5015
Broccoli, raw, 2 spears (each 5 inches long)4510
Avocado, raw, all varieties, sliced, ½ cup sliced4510
Peanuts, all types, dry roasted, 1 ounce4010
Lettuce, Romaine, shredded, ½ cup 4010
Wheat germ, crude, 2 Tablespoons4010
Tomato Juice, canned, 6 ounces3510
Orange juice, chilled, includes concentrate, ¾ cup3510
Turnip greens, frozen, cooked, boiled, ½ cup308
Orange, all commercial varieties, fresh, 1 small308
*Bread, white, 1 slice 256
*Bread, whole wheat, 1 slice 256
Egg, whole, raw, fresh, 1 large256
Cantaloupe, raw, ¼ medium256
Papaya, raw, ½ cup cubes 256
Banana, raw, 1 medium206
"

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Green tea may protect against colon cancer

Green tea may protect against colon cancer - Yahoo! News
2007.12.07
"...a standardized green tea polyphenol preparation (Polyphenon E) limits the growth of colorectal tumors in rats treated with a substance that causes the cancer..."Our findings show that rats fed a diet containing Polyphenon E are less than half as likely to develop colon cancer," Dr. Hang Xiao...The amount of Polyphenon the animals took in was roughly equal to about four to six cups of green tea per day...Polyphenon E decreased the total number of tumors per rat and decreased tumor size, compared with control rats that were not given Polyphenon E..."In the control group," he said, "67 percent of rats developed malignant tumors while in the treated group only 27 percent of rats had malignant tumors. Most important, tea polyphenols decreased the number of malignant tumors per rat by 80 percent compared to the control group."..."

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Studies show how fruits and veggies reduce cancer

Studies show how fruits and veggies reduce cancer - Yahoo! News
2007.12.07
"Just three servings a month of raw broccoli or cabbage can reduce the risk of bladder cancer by as much as 40 percent...These foods are rich in compounds called isothiocyanates, which are known to lower cancer risk..."Cooking can reduce 60 to 90 percent of ITCs, (isothiocyanates)," Dr. Li Tang...A second team of researchers from Roswell Park tested broccoli sprouts in rats.They used rats engineered to develop bladder cancer and fed some of them a freeze-dried extract of broccoli sprouts. The more they ate, the less likely they were to develop bladder cancer, said Dr. Yuesheng Zhang"...In a third study, a team at The Ohio State University fed black raspberries to patients with Barrett's esophagus, a condition that can lead to esophageal cancer...Ohio State's Laura Kresty and colleagues fed 1.1 ounces (32 grams) of freeze-dried black raspberries to women with Barrett's esophagus and 1.6 ounces (45 grams) to men every day for six months...They measured urine levels of levels of two compounds -- 8-isoprostane and GSTpi -- that indicate whether cancer-causing processes are going on in the body...Kresty said 58 percent of patients had marked declines of 8-isoprostane levels, suggesting less damage, and 37 percent had higher levels of GSTpi, which can help interfere with cancer causing damage and which is usually low in patients with Barrett's."


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Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Fitness level is predictor of longevity

Fitness Level, Not Body Fat, May Be Stronger Predictor Of Longevity For Older Adults ScienceDaily
2007.12.05
"Adults over age 60 who had higher levels of cardiorespiratory fitness lived longer than unfit adults, independent of their levels of body fat... Fit participants had lower death rates than unfit participants within each stratum of adiposity, except for two of the obesity groups. In most instances, death rates for those with higher fitness were less than half of rates for those who were unfit..."Our data provide further evidence regarding the complex long-term relationship among fitness, body size, and survival. It may be possible to reduce all-cause death rates among older adults, including those who are obese, by promoting regular physical activity, such as brisk walking for 30 minutes or more on most days of the week (about 8 kcal/kg per week), which will keep most individuals out of the low-fitness category. Enhancing functional capacity also should allow older adults to achieve a healthy lifestyle and to enjoy longer life in better health.""

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