Eat Healthy Foods for a Healthy Body

From the Wholefood Farmacy Newsletter:
"Some vegetables contain chemicals that appear to enhance DNA repair in cells, which could lead to protection against cancer development, say Georgetown University Medical Center researchers. In a new study published in the "British Journal of Cancer" and by the journal "Nature" the researchers show that in laboratory tests, a compound called indole-3-carinol (I3C), found in broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage, and a chemical called genistein, found in soy beans, can increase the levels of two specific proteins that repair damaged DNA.

This study is one of the first to provide a molecular explanation as to how eating vegetables could cut the risk of developing cancer, an association that some population studies have found, says the study's senior author, Eliot M. Rosen, MD, PhD, professor of oncology, cell biology, and radiation medicine at Georgetown 's Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center . "It is now clear that the function of crucial cancer genes can be influenced by compounds in the things we eat," Rosen says.

"Our findings suggest a clear molecular process that would explain the connection between diet and cancer prevention." In this study, Rosen exposed breast and prostate cancer cells to increasing doses of I3C and genistein, and found that these chemicals boosted production of the repair proteins BRCA1 and BRCA2.

Since decreased amounts of the BRCA proteins are seen in cancer cells, higher levels might prevent cancer from developing, Rosen speculates, adding that the ability of I3C and genistein to increase production of BRCA proteins could explain their protective effects. The study was funded by the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and the National Cancer Institute and co-authors include Drs. Saijun Fan, MD, PhD, Qinghui Meng , MS , Karen Auborn, PhD, and Timothy Carter, PhD.

For many decades, science has been focused on understanding the mechanisms of disease so that drugs could be developed. But the closer they look at disease, the more they discover about the powerful and protective nature of whole foods. Have you had your veggies today?"

Research on Cancer Risk vs. Weight Gain

New research from the UK shows that maintaining a healthy weight may decrease a person’s risk of developing up to a dozen different types of cancer by very significant margins. The study’s lead author is Dr. Andrew Renehan, senior lecturer at the School of Cancer Studies at the University of Manchester. The findings were published in the February, 2008, issue of the prestigious UK medical journal, The Lancet.

The researchers analyzed data from 141 previous studies with information on over 280,000 people who were followed for up to 15 years. This approach expanded the research to more types of cancers and more diverse populations than researchers had ever looked at before. Researchers have long suspected a link between weight gain and certain cancers, including colon and breast cancers. But the new study suggests it could also increase the risk for cancer of the esophagus, thyroid, kidney, uterus and gall bladder, among others.

The study results show that in men, an average weight gain of 33 pounds increased the risk of esophageal cancer by 52%, thyroid cancer by 33%, and colon and kidney cancers each by 24%. In women, a weight gain of 29 pounds increased the risk of cancer in the uterus and gall bladder by nearly 60%, esophagus by 51% and kidney by 34%. “This study provides a lot of circumstantial evidence about the dangers of obesity,” said Dr. David Robbins, a gastroenterologist at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York, who was not involved in the study. “It also highlights the cancer crisis we face as obesity rates increase worldwide.”
“One of the hypotheses is that the presence of excess fat cells could affect the levels of hormones in your body,” Renehan said. “At a cellular level, that may favor the development of tumors in humans.”

“The simple message is that, if you manage to keep a healthy body weight, you will have a lower risk of developing cancer,” said Ed Yong, of Cancer Research United Kingdom.
If you would like to lose weight once and for all – the first step is understanding the true cause of an overweight condition - and the many myths about weight loss that are so prevalent today.

To learn more about healthy weight loss, please click below:
http://www.organicnutrition.wholefoodfarmacy.com/2005/healthy_way8.asp

Processed Meat and Red Meat

The first large scale study of red meat and processed meat consumption and its effect on cancer risk was recently completed by the U.S. Cancer Institute. The long term study followed 500,000 people aged 50 to 71 for several years, during which time about 53,000 cases of cancer occurred within the study group.
For purposes of the study, red meat was defined as all types of beef, pork and lamb. Processed meat included bacon, red meat sausage, poultry sausage, luncheon meats, cold cuts, ham and most types of hot dogs including turkey dogs.
The study findings are published in the December 2007 issue of the journal Medicine from the Public Library of Science. The researchers reported that people who eat a lot of red meat and processed meats have a higher risk of several types of cancer, including lung cancer and colorectal cancer.
This study was the first to show a link between meat and lung cancer. It also shows that people who eat a lot of meat have a higher risk of liver and esophageal cancer and that men raise their risk of pancreatic cancer by eating red meat.
According to Dr. Amanda Cross and her colleagues at the U.S. National Cancer Institute, "a decrease in the consumption of red and processed meat could reduce the incidence of cancer at multiple sites.”
Study participants who ate the least red meat showed a 20 to 60 percent decrease in risk of esophageal, colorectal, liver, and lung cancer when compared to those who ate the most red meat. These differences held even when smoking was accounted for.
If you’re looking to decrease the amount of red meat and processed meat in your diet, Wholefood Farmacy foods offer an easy and delicious way to take that first step in a healthier direction.

http://www.top-health-cafe.com/wholefood-farmacy/home.html