Soy food and breast cancer

Soy food contains substances called isoflavones that has both antiestrogenic and anticarcinogenic properties.

The study reviewed here investigated the association between breast cancer risk and the intake of soy food in adolescents and adults (Lee S.A., et al, 2009). Food frequency questionnaires were used and 73.223 women participated. The follow up was an average of 7.4 years.

The researchers found that adult soy food consumption, measured either by soy protein or isoflavone intake, was inversely associated with the risk of premenopausal breast cancer.

Women who consistently had a high soy food consumption during adolescence and adulthood had a significant reduced risk for breast cancer. This was however not found for postmenopausal breast cancer.

Including soy foods like tofu and roasted soy nuts in your diet seems to be a healthy thing to do. If you are using soy milk be sure it is unsweetened.




Reference:
Lee S.A. et al, 2009. Adolescent and adult soy food intake and breast cancer risk: results from the shanghai Women’s Health Study. Am J. Clin Nutr. 2009 Jun;89(6): 1920-6.

Habit that may reduce the risk of prostate cancer

Habits that are healthy for the prostate tend to also provide other health benefits and are beneficial for the whole family if implemented.

One of the studies reviewed here investigated the association of plant foods and the impact these nutrients may have on prostate cancer risk and survival (Lewis JE, et al, 2009).

It was found that a higher intake of vegetables and fruit was beneficial. The group of participants without prostate cancer had significantly higher intakes of vegetables and fruit. Lower intake of fiber, vitamin C, vitamin A, alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, cryptoxanthin, folate, genistein and daidzein were reported by participants in the cancer group.

The other study reviewed here evaluated the impact of omega 3 fatty acids on prostate cancer (Fradet V, et al, 2009).

Omega 3 fatty acids decrease inflammation and the researchers found that increased intake of omega 3 fat was strongly associated with a decreased risk of aggressive prostate cancer.

For information on other benefits of omega 3 fatty acids click here

References:

Fradet V, et al. Dietary Omega-3 Fatty Acids, Cyclooxygenase-2 Genetic Variation, and Aggressive Prostate Cancer Risk. Clin Cancer Res. 2009 Mar 24.

Lewis JE, et al. Intake of plant foods and associated nutrients in prostate cancer risk. Nutr Cancer. 2009;61(2):216-24.

Poor memory? Maybe you need vitamin D

In the last few years a lot of research has documented the benefits of vitamin D. Vitamin D is important for a variety of functions. The study reviewed here investigated the link between vitamin D levels and cognition in 3369 men aged 40 to 79 years (Lee D.M. et al, 2009).

The vitamin D levels were evaluated by measuring 25-hydroxy vitamin D, the most common way to determine vitamin D status. 3133 men age 60 plus or minus 11 years were included in the final results.

It was concluded that lower levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D were associated with poorer performance on the DSST test (Digit Symbol Substitution test). The DSST is a test to objectively evaluate cognitive function.

It is very common even in sunny climates to have low levels of vitamin D because most people use sun screen when they are out doors.

It is not a good idea to get sunburned, but to get some sun without sunscreen can be healthy. It is also a good idea to take vitamin D3.

Click here for additional information on vitamin D.

Reference:

Lee D.M., et al. Association between 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and cognitive performance in middle-aged and older European men. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2009 May 21.

Green tea provides impressive benefits for the prostate

The study reviewed here examined the effects of short term supplementation with the active compounds in green tea on serum bio markers in patients with prostate cancer (McLarty J, et al. 2009).

Participants with positive prostate biopsies scheduled for radical prostatectomy were given 1.3 g of green tea polyphenols containing 800 mg of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) and lesser amounts of epicatechin, epigallocatechin, and epicatechin-3-gallate. The participants were tested for several biomarkers including prostate specific antigen (PSA) before starting the supplementation and on the day of prostatectomy. Liver function tests were also performed to monitor toxicity, and they showed a decrease.

The results showed a significant reduction of three of the biomarkers, one of them was PSA, and it was concluded that the findings support a potential role of the green tea extract polyphenol in the treatment or prevention of prostate cancer.

If you like hot beverages, green tea would be a good choice not only for men, but for women as well. Also, in the summer you can drink it cold if you want to cool down.

Reference:

McLarty J. et al, 2009. Tea Polyphenols Decrease Serum Levels of Prostate Specific Antigen, Hepatocyte Growth Factor, and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor In Vitro. Cancer Prev Res. 2009 Jun 19.

Low glycemic index foods reduce the risk for eye disease.

Macular degeneration is a condition which results in a loss of vision in the center of the visual field. With increasing age it is common to detect a build up of extracellular material in a certain area of the eye, this is termed drusen. Numerous and larger drusen in the macula can be an early sign of age-related macular degeneration.

In the study referred to here , the researchers investigated the significance of the food components vitamin C, E, the mineral zinc, the antioxidants Lutein/Zeaxanthin, and the omega 3 fatty acids EPA, DHA as well as the glycemic index of the food and how these factors affected the risk of drusen and advanced macular degeneration (Chiu CJ, et al, 2009).

4003 Participants were evaluated. It was concluded that consuming a diet that provides low glycemic index foods and higher intake of the above mentioned nutrients were associated with the greatest reduction in risk for drusen and advanced macular degeneration.

Click here for a source where you can find information about these kinds of foods.

Reference:

Chiu CJ, et al. Dietary compound score and risk of age-related macular degeneration in the age-related disease study. Ophthalmology. 2009 May;116(5):939-46.

Vitamin D and breast cancer risk

The evidence for how important vitamin D is keeps increasing.

The study reviewed here examined the association between breast cancer and plasma 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels (Crew KD. et al, 2009). 25-hydroxy vitamin D is the most common blood test used to check the status of vitamin D.

When women with vitamin D deficiency of less than 20 mg/ml of 25-hydroxy vitamin D were compared with women showing a level of more that 40 mg/ml, it was found that levels above 40 mg/ml were associated with decreased breast cancer risk. The reduction in risk was greater among postmenopausal women.

These results add to the growing body of evidence that adequate vitamin D stores may prevent the development of breast cancer.


Reference:

Crew KD., et al. Association between Plasma 25-Hydrocyvitamin D and Breast Cancer Risk. Cancer Prev Res. 2009 Jun; 2(6):598-604.

For more information on the health benefits of vitamin D click here

Relationship between inflammatory marker and omega 3 fat

Highly sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) is a marker for low grade systemic inflammation. Low grade systemic inflammation is the type of inflammation you may not be aware of, but it is a risk factor for chronic disease.

Cardiovascular disease, Cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease are some examples where low grade inflammation plays a role. A simple blood test can measure hs-CRP.

Omega 3 fatty acids are known to have an anti-inflammatory effect and are associated with reduced cardiovascular risk.

The study referred to here, investigated the omega 3 fatty acid concentrations of the participants were related to their hs-CRP levels. (Micalled MA, et al, 2009)

The participants were divided into three groups, one group with hs-CRP less than 1 mg/L, another group with hs-CRP between 1 and 3mg/L, and then one group with hs-CRP above mg/L.

The group that had a hs-CRP level of more than 3 mg/L had significantly lower concentrations of total omega 3 fatty acids when compared with the other groups.

This is even more evidence that eating fish such as wild salmon or taking a good quality omega 3 fish oil supplement can provide significant health benefits.

References:

Micallef MA., et al. An inverse relationship between plasma n-3 fatty acids and C-reactive protein in healthy individuals. Eur J CLin Nutr. 2009 Apr 8.

For more information on the health benefits of omega 3 fish oil click here.