Posts Tagged ‘colon’

Colon cancer

Wednesday, April 15th, 2009

COLON CANCER
Colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer mortality in the United States, accounting for 56,000 deaths each year. Consumption of foods high in saturated fat and cholesterol increase the risk for this disease. Alcohol and smoking are associated with causing polyps, benign growths in the large intestine that may become malignant. Low intake of whole grains, high in fiber, and vegetables, especially those high in folate, are also linked to colon cancer. See Broccoli, Cabbage,
Polyps, Water, Whole Grains, Women’s Health.

• Meat Raises Risk of Colon Cancer - Women who eat beef, lamb, or pork as a daily main dish are at two and a half times the risk for developing colon cancer as women who eat meat less than once a month. The conclusion, drawn from a study of 88,751 nurses, over a ten-year period, found that the more fish and poultry in the diet the less chances of getting colon cancer. “The substitution of other protein sources, such as beans or lentils, for red meat might also be associated with a reduced risk of colon cancer in populations that consume more legumes,” researchers concluded. Investigators also found that eating the fiber from fruit appeared to reduce the risk of colon cancer. The fruits mentioned as possibly protective included apples and pears.
“The less red meat the better,” recommended Dr. Walter Willett, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, who directed the study. “At most, it should be eaten only occasionally. And it may be maximally effective not to eat red meat at all.”
Sources: Walter C. Willett et al., “Relation of Meat, Fat, and Fiber Intake to the Risk of Colon Cancer in a Prospective Study among Women,” New England Journal of Medicine 323:1664-72, 1990 and Anastasia Toufexis, “Red Alert on Red Meat,” Time, December 24, 1990.

• Whole Grains Protective Against Colon Cancer - In a population-based case-control study of over 4000 people in California, Utah, and Minnesota, cancer researchers reported that high whole grain intake was associated with up to 60 percent less risk for this disease, while intake of refined grains increased the risk one and a half to two times. Foods high in fiber, vitamin B-6, thiamine, and niacin were also protective.
Source: M. L. Slattery, “Plant Foods and Colon Cancer; An Assessment of Specific Foods and Their Related Nutrients,” Cancer Causes Control 8(4):575-90, 1997.

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Carrots

Wednesday, April 15th, 2009

CARROTS
Like other orange and yellow vegetables high in beta-carotene, carrots have been associated with lower rates of heart disease, cancer, and other disorders. In Oriental medicine, they are especially good for the lungs and large intestine and their sweet taste nourishes the pancreas. See Carotenoids, Vegetables.

• Carrots Associated with Lower Cervical Cancer - An Italian case-control study found that 191 women with invasive cervical cancer consumed less carrots and green vegetables than healthy women. Both foods were highly protective, with almost a fivefold increased risk associated with eating carrots less often than once a week or green vegetables less often than once a day.
Source: C. La Vecchia et al., “Dietary Vitamin A and the Risk of Invasive Cervical Cancer,” International Journal of Cancer 34:319-22, 1984.

• Carrots Reduce Risk of Breast Cancer - Carrots may help protect against breast cancer. Scientists at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences reported that eating carrots more than twice weekly, compared with no intake, was associated with 44 percent less breast cancer in a case-control study of 13,000 women conducted in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Wisconsin.
Meanwhile, in a study of the effect of 26 types or groups of vegetables and fruit on cancer development, Italian researchers reported that most vegetables protected against cancer of the colon and rectum, but only carrots lowered breast cancer risk.
Sources:: M. P. Longnecker, “Intake of Carrots, Spinach, and Supplements Containing Vitamin A in Relation to Risk of Breast Cancer,” Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 6(11):887-92, 1997; S. Franceschi et al., “Role of Different Types of Vegetables and Fruit in the Prevention of Cancer of the Colon, Rectum, and Breast,” Epidemiology 9(3):338-41, 1998.

• Carrots Protect Against Vulvar Cancer - Italian researchers reported that in a study of 125 women with invasive vulvar cancer and 541 controls in the Milan area, women who ate high amounts of carrots had about half the risk of contacting the disease.
Source: F. Parazzini et al., “Selected Food Intake and Risk of Vulvar Cancer,” Cancer 76(11):2291-96, 1995.

• Carrots Protect Against Lung Cancer - In a case-control study involving over 300 women in Spain, scientists found that intake of yellow/orange vegetables, principally carrots, reduced the risk of lung cancer by almost two-thirds.
Source: A. Agudo et al., “Vegetable and Fruit Intake and the Risk of Lung Cancer in Women in Barcelona, Spain,” European Journal of Cancer 33(8):1256-61, 1997.

• Carrots Improve Liver Function - In laboratory studies, scientists in India reported that carrot extracts reduced acute liver damage in mice.
Source: A. Bishayee et al., “Hepatoprotective Activity of Carrot Against Carbon Tetrachloride Intoxification in Mouse Liver,” Journal of Ethnopharmacology 47(2):69-74, 1995.

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Beans

Tuesday, April 14th, 2009

BEANS
Beans are traditionally eaten around the world as a complement to whole cereal grains. In Mesoamerica, people eat black beans or pinto beans with corn. In the Middle East and South Asia, they eat lentils and other pulses. In the Far East, they enjoy soybeans and soy products such as tofu and tempeh. Beans are an excellent source of protein, complex carbohydrates, and vitamins and minerals, especially calcium. They are associated with lower incidence of heart disease, cancer, and other degenerative diseases. See Azuki Beans, Chickpeas, Lentils, Menopause, Miso, Natto, Soy Foods, Tempeh, Tofu.

• Bile Acids and Cancer - Beans lowered bile acid production by 30 percent in men with a tendency toward elevated bile acid. Bile acids are necessary for proper fat digestion but in excess have been associated with causing cancer, especially in the large intestine. Case-control studies showed that pinto and navy beans were effective in lowering bile acid production in men at high risk for this condition.
Source: J. Anderson, “Hypocholesterolemic Effects of Oat-Bran or Bean Intake for Hypercholesterolemic Men,” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 40:1146-55, 1984.

• Lowering Cholesterol - Men with high cholesterol who ate a diet including a half cup daily of dried pinto, navy, kidney, and other beans had an average drop in cholesterol levels of 20 percent after three weeks.
Source: J. W. Anderson and W. L. Chen, “Effects of Legumes and Their Soluble Fibers on Cholesterol-Rich Lipoproteins,” American Chemical Society Abstracts AGFD #39, 1982.

• Beans Inhibit Induced Colon Cancer - In laboratory experiments, researchers at Northern Arizona University reported that rats fed a diet high in pinto beans had over four times less tumors than rats fed a diet high in dairy protein. The bean group also had slower growing tumors. The experiment was designed to simulate the high bean diet of Latin American countries where there is a low incidence of colon cancer. “This study demonstrates that dry beans contain anticarcinogenic compounds,” the scientists concluded.
Source: J. S. Hughes et al., “Dry Beans Inhibit Azoxymethane-Induced Colon Carcinogenesis in F344 Rats,” Journal of Nutrition 127(12):2328-33, 1997.

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