Reduce your risk for breast cancer with exercise

The study reviewed here included 118,899 postmenopausal women (Peters T.M, et al). Physical activity as light and moderate-to-vigorous intensity was assessed during four periods of life as it related to breast cancer risk. The periods were ages between 15-18, 19-29, 35-39 and the most recent past 10 years. The follow up time was 6.6 years and 4287 incident breast cancers were identified during that period.

The outcome showed that moderate-to-vigorous activity during the past 10 years was associated with 16% reduced risk of postmenopausal breast cancer compared with inactivity.

The activity level was more than 7 hours per week.

If you did not exercise when you were young, it is not too late to start even if you are older now. If you were physically active when you were young, it is still not going to give you protection now unless you keep your activity level up.

More than 7 hours per week of moderate-to-vigorous activity may sound like a lot to some, but if you read the blog titled, “3 minutes of exercising gives the same benefit as 1 hour or more” you would find that you don’t necessarily have to spend a lot of time exercising as long as you do it a certain way. You can still access that blog if you have not read it by clicking here.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.




Reference:

Intensity and timing of physical activity in relation to postmenopausal breast cancer risk: the prospective NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study. Tricia M Peters^1,2, Steven C Moore¹, Gretchen L Gierach^3,4, Nicholas J Wareham², Ulf Ekelund², Albert R Hollenbeck⁵, Arthur Schatzkin¹, Michael F Leitzmann⁶.

1Nutritional Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, NIH, DHHS, 6120 Executive Blvd, Bethesda, MD, USA

2MRC Epidemiology Unit, Institute of Metabolic Science, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Hills Rd, Cambridge, UK

3Hormonal and Reproductive Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, NIH, DHHS, 6120 Executive Blvd, Bethesda, MD, USA

4Cancer Prevention Fellowship Program, Office of Preventive Oncology, National Cancer Institute, NIH, DHHS, Bethesda, MD, USA

5AARP, 601 E St NW, Washington, DC, USA

6Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, University Medical Center Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany

BMC Cancer 2009, 9:349doi:10.1186/1471-2407-9-349

Arterial stiffness, folic acid and vitamin B12

In the study referred to below, the researchers divided the participants into quartiles according to total plasma homocysteine levels. Homocysteine is a toxic amino acid linked to a variety of health conditions.

This investigation evaluated the relationship between homocysteine levels and arterial stiffness (Yun J, et al. 2009). It was documented that homocysteine levels showed a positive correlation with age and the inflammatory markers IL-1beta, TNF-alpha, and IL-6. It was also seen a correlation between homocysteine, oxidized LDL (the bad cholesterol) and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity, which is a measure of arterial stiffness.

A negative correlation between these biochemical markers was found with folate and vitamin B12.

It was concluded that high homocysteine levels was associated with more advanced arterial stiffness, smaller LDL particle size (the bad cholesterol), higher levels of oxidized LDL and cytokines (inflammatory chemicals).

Homocysteine can be reduced by taking folic acid, vitamin B12 and also vitamin B6.

To read more about the many benefits of B vitamins, click here.

If you would like to read the original abstract, click on the reference below.





Reference:

Associations of plasma homocysteine level with brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity, LDL atherogenicity, and inflammation profile in healthy men. Yun J, Kim JY, Kim OY, Jang Y, Chae JS, Kwak JH, Lim HH, Park HY, Lee SH, Lee JH. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2009 Oct 22.

Does it matter what you snack on as long as the calories are the same?

You have probably heard or read that when it comes to weight loss or gain, it does not matter where the calories come from. You will lose or gain the same amount of weight as long as you eat the same amount of calories.

I reviewed a study a while back on that topic which documented that it did make a difference where the calories come from.

The research reviewed this week also shows that all calories are not equal (Claesson AL, et al. 2009).

The study participants were healthy men and women, which were divided in two groups. One group was told to snack on candy and the other group to snack on peanuts. The calorie intake from the two types of snacks was the same and the study lasted for 14 days.

The results were quite interesting and showed that the waist circumference and body weight only increased significantly in the candy group. It was also interesting that cardiovascular risk factors such as LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) and ApoB/ApoA-1 (another risk factor) ratio were higher in the candy group.

If you want to keep a slim waist line and lower your cardiovascular risk factors, stay away from the sweets and high glycemic index foods.

After all, it does matter where the calories come from.

If you want to know more about benefits of healthy foods, read one of the books “Effective Nutrition for Effective Healing” or “The Food Connection.” Click here for more information.

To read the original abstract click on the reference below.




Reference:

Two weeks of overfeeding with candy, but not peanuts, increases insulin levels and body weight. Claesson AL, Holm G, Ernersson A, Lindström T, Nystrom FH. Scand J Clin Lab Invest. 2009;69(5):598-605.

Dietary habits, cardiovascular disease and inflammation.

The following is a review of a very interesting study where researchers analyzed dietary patterns and cardiovascular risk.

7,646 healthy people from Italy were included in the research and three dietary patterns were identified (Centritto F., et al. 2009).

One of the patterns was characterized by high intake of olive oil, vegetables, legumes, soups, fruits and fish. This pattern was associated with lower values of glucose, lipids, CRP (an inflammatory marker), blood pressure and individual cardiovascular risk score.

The second pattern which was characterized by high intake of pasta, tomato sauce, red meat, animal fats and alcohol was associated with higher values of glucose, lipids, CRP and cardiovascular risk score.

A third pattern was characterized by high intake of eggs, processed meat, margarines, butter, sugar and sweets and was also associated with high CRP values and a higher cardiovascular risk similar to that of the second dietary group.

The researchers concluded that in a healthy population dietary patterns which included foods considered to be unhealthy were associated with higher level of cardiovascular risk factors, CRP and individual cardiovascular risk and the healthy dietary pattern was associated with lower levels.

This study included a lot of people and what is especially interesting is that alcohol, which was a part of one of the dietary patterns, did not provide protection against cardiovascular risk.

This provides evidence that if you drink a glass of red wine in the evening, it will not provide protection against cardiovascular disease. According to this study, it is the healthy foods which provide the cardiovascular protection.

If you want to know more about benefits and how to eat according to this healthy pattern, read one of the books “Effective Nutrition for Effective Healing” or “The Food Connection.” Click here for more information.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.



Reference:

Dietary patterns, cardiovascular risk factors and C-reactive protein in a healthy Italian population. Centritto F, Iacoviello L, di Giuseppe R, De Curtis A, Costanzo S, Zito F, Grioni S, Sieri S, Donati MB, de Gaetano G, Di Castelnuovo A; on behalf of Moli-sani Investigators. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2009 Mar 18.