
<b>Mediterranean Diet May Reduce Mortality in Elderly </b>

BMJ. Posted online April 8, 2005
The Mediterranean diet is characterized by a high intake of vegetables, 
legumes, fruits, and cereals; a moderate to high intake of fish; a low 
intake of saturated fats, with a high intake of unsaturated fats such as 
olive oil; a low intake of dairy products (mainly cheese and yogurt) and 
meat; and a modest intake of alcohol, mostly as wine. The modified 
Mediterranean diet relies on plant foods and unsaturated fats. Studies have 
demonstrated a protective effect of this diet on mortality,
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<b>Do preserved foods increase prostate cancer risk</b>
 
Preserved foods have been found in some studies to be associated with increased cancer risks. The possible relationship between preserved foods and prostate cancer was investigated ... in southeast China during 2001-2002 ... The total amount of preserved food consumed was positively associated with cancer risk, the adjusted odds ratio being 7.05 ... for the highest relative to the lowest quartile of intake. In particular, the consumption of pickled vegetables, fermented soy products, salted fish and preserved meats was associated with a significant increase in prostate cancer risk, all with a significant dose-response relationship.
&&url PMID: 15208621 


<b>Dietary antioxidant intake in patients at risk for second primary cancer.</b>

..Twenty-four patients underwent three random, unscheduled, 24-hour dietary recalls over a 15-day period within 6 to 60 months after successful treatment for stage I or II oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma. 

..The study sample had a lower mean daily dietary intake of fruits and vegetables and antioxidant nutrients, including vitamins A, C, E, and total carotenes than age- and sex-matched historic control subjects (all P <.05 except vitamin A). A positive linear correlation was noted between daily servings of F&V and dietary intake of vitamins A, C, E, and total carotenoids (all P <.05 except vitamin A). Compared to current recommendations, the study sample had lower mean daily dietary intake of vitamins A, C, and E (P =.81,.06, and <.01) and servings of fruits and vegetables (P <.01). When vitamin supplements were included in the analysis, mean daily intake exceeded recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for vitamins A, C, and E (all P <.05). 

..This study suggests that patients treated for early-stage oral cavity carcinoma, at risk for second primary cancers, have a statistically significant deficiency in dietary (food) sources of antioxidant nutrients when compared with both historic control subjects and current recommendations. Vitamin supplementation significantly exceeded current RDAs. Because increased fruit and vegetable intake, but not vitamin supplementation exceeding RDA, is associated with reduced cancer risk, physicians may consider recommending at least five daily servings of fruits and vegetables as an alternative to vitamin supplementation.
&&urlPMID: 12972921 


<b>A wholly nutritional 'multifocal angiostatic therapy' for control of disseminated cancer.</b>
 
A great deal of effort is now being devoted to the development of new drugs that hopefully will control the spread of  inoperable cancer by safely inhibiting tumor-evoked angiogenesis. 

However, there is growing evidence that certain practical nutritional measures have the potential to slow tumor angiogenesis, and it is reasonable to anticipate that, by combining several measures that work in distinct but complementary ways to impede the angiogenic process, a clinically useful 'multifocal angiostatic therapy' (MAT) might be devised. 

Several measures which might reasonably be included in such a protocol are discussed below, and include: 

a low-fat, low-glycemic index vegan diet, which may down-regulate the systemic IGF-I activity that supports angiogenesis;
 
supplemental omega-3-rich fish oil, which has been shown to inhibit endothelial expression of Flk-1, a functionally crucial receptor for VEGF, and also can suppress tumor production of pro-angiogenic eicosanoids; 

high-dose selenium, which has recently been shown to inhibit tumor production of VEGF; 

green tea polyphenols, which can suppress endothelial responsiveness to both VEGF and fibroblast growth factor; 

and high-dose glycine, whose recently reported angiostatic activity may reflect inhibition of endothelial cell mitosis, possibly mediated by activation of glycine-gated chloride channels. 

In light of evidence that tumor-evoked angiogenesis has a high requirement for copper, copper depletion may have exceptional potential as an angiostatic measure, and is most efficiently achieved with the copper-chelating drug tetrathiomolybdate. If logistical difficulties make it difficult to acquire this experimental drug, high-dose zinc supplementation can achieve a slower depletion of the body's copper pool, and in any case can be used as maintenance therapy to maintain an adequate level of copper depletion. 

A provisional protocol is offered for a nutritionally based MAT entailing a vegan diet and supplemental intakes of fish oil, selenium, green tea polyphenols, glycine, and zinc. 

Inasmuch as cox-2 is overexpressed in many cancers, and cAMP can boost tumor production of various angiogenic factors as well
as autogenous growth factors, adjunctive use of cox-2-specific NSAIDS may be warranted in some cases.
&&url PMID: 12781633 
       
  
<b>Antigenotoxic potential of certain dietary constituents</b>.

The human diet contains a variety of compounds that exhibit chemopreventive effects towards an array of xenobiotics. In the present study, the antigenotoxic potential of selected dietary constituents including Diallyl sulfide (DAS), Indole-3-carbinol (I3C), Curcumin (CUR), and Black tea polyphenols (BTP) has been evaluated ,,, 

In addition, the ... effect of the above dietary constituents was identified towards Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) and cyclophosphamide- (CP) induced cytogenetic damage in mouse bone marrow cells. The induction of BaP and CP induced chromosomal aberrations... were found to be inhibited in a dose-dependent manner by DAS, I3C, CUR, and BTP. Thus the study reveals the antimutagenic potential of these dietary compounds ...
&&url PMID: 12616623 


<b>Diet and uterine myomas</b>

To analyze the relation between selected dietary indicators and the risk of uterine myomas. 

..Women with uterine myomas reported more frequent consumption of beef, other red meat, and ham and less frequent  consumption of green vegetables, fruit, and fish. T... Myoma is associated with beef and ham consumption, whereas high intake of green vegetables seems to have a protective effect.
&&url PMID: 10472866 


<b>Heterocyclic Amines in Cooked Meats</b>

Research has shown that cooking certain meats at high temperatures creates chemicals that are not present in uncooked meats.  A few of these chemicals may increase cancer risk.  
..
..the study concluded that there were low levels of HCAs found in fast food meat products due to factors such as cooking temperature and time.  The study suggested that greater exposure to HCAs stems from home cooking and cooking in non-fast-food restaurants where food may be cooked to order and where a larger amount of meat is consumed.

However, concerned individuals can reduce their exposure to HCAs by varying methods of cooking meats; microwaving meats more often, especially before frying, broiling, or barbecuing; and refraining from making gravy from meat drippings.
It is worthwhile to read the complete article. &&url  


<b>Diets containing substantial amounts of red meat may increase the risk of various types of cancer.</b> 

The association with red meat intake may be due to a combination of factors, such as content of fat, protein, and iron, and/or meat preparation (e.g. cooking or preserving methods). Experimental studies have shown that meats cooked at high temperatures contain heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are mutagenic and carcinogenic in animals. To estimate intake of these meat-cooking mutagens a detailed meat cooking module within a Food Frequency Questionnaire in conjunction with a mutagen database was developed. Charred is a software application to estimate intake of the mutagenic compounds in cooked meats. 
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<b>Some further discussion:</b>

It is the burned organic material, the food or tobacco or wood, that comes into contact with high temperatures, that is transformed into possible carcinogens.  There are also carcinogens in smoke [also organic material that has come into contact with high temperature.]

It is either Iceland, or Greenland that has a mountain range dividing the country.   Because of this mountain range cutting off access to the fishing, half the country eats fresh fish, but the other half eats smoked fish.  The incidence of stomach [gastric] cancer is much higher in the smoked fish area than the fresh fish area.

Japan has possibly the highest rate of stomach [gastric] cancer in the world.  They thought it might be due to soy sauce, which is fermented strongly there.  However, since helicobacter pylori was discovered, thinking has changed.  Helicobacter pylori is a bacteria that lives in the mucous layer lining stomachs.  It is responsible for most of the stomach ulcers in
the world, some of the bad breath, and its constant irritation of the stomach is carcinogenic.  H. pylori is transmitted by poor food hygiene...like many chopsticks using the same central bowl, and its incidence was very high in Asian countries.   Other poor hygiene practices are responsible for infections in the rest of the world.

<b>ALSO:  Organic doesn't always mean safe or uncontaminated.</b>  It just means some things WEREN"T done or added.

In a study on excessive nitrates present in foods, organic and normal carrots were compared.  The organic carrots had a much higher concentration of nitrates from natural fertilizer, than did the normal carrots from commercial fertilizer.

Remember, not adding stuff doesn't mean that the Love Canal doesn't pollute your veggie patch.    Your organic hens may be laying organic eggs while eating Chernobyl contaminated seeds.

above written by doctordee
