"No woman should ever be quite accurate about her age. It looks so calculating."
|
| |
Do you eat a wide variety of foods for a healthy diet?
One of the most frequently cited reasons that diets and attempts at healthy eating fail is boredom. Many people simply do not know how to keep a healthy diet interesting day after day, and it can be quite a challenge. Given the huge variety of fruits, ...
Do you know these tricks to avoiding fat for healthier eating?
While some fat in the diet is necessary, and it would be a mistake to try to eliminate all fat from the diet, most people simply eat too much fat. Cutting back on fat is an important part of creating a healthier diet and lifestyle. There are a number of ...
Healthy Eating Tip - Dining Out and Healthy Eating
Many of us feel that when we are trying to lose weight or just trying to keep up a healthy eating style, that we need to cut dining out of our lives. Not true! We can enjoy dining out just as much as we did before as long as we know how to do it. When ...
|
|
|
|
| |
The study, the largest of its kind to examine dietary intake of phytoestrogens and lung cancer risk in the United States, involved over 3,500 people.
Lung Cancer Takes a Major Toll
The findings come at an opportune time, as lung cancer causes more deaths than the next three most common cancers (colon, breast and prostate) combined, says the American Lung Association.
It's estimated that, worldwide, 1 million people die from lung cancer every year, while an estimated 163,510 people will die from lung cancer in the United States in 2005.
Another 172,570 new cases of lung cancer will be diagnosed in the United States this year, adding to the estimated 350,679 Americans already living with the disease.
While smoking is the major cause of lung cancer--accounting for about 87 percent of lung cancer cases--other factors like radon, asbestos and air pollution also contribute.
How Phytoestrogens May Help
Foods rich in phytoestrogens produce a weak estrogen-like activity in the body. The researchers believe the phytoestrogens may protect against lung cancer by latching on to estrogen receptors in both normal and malignant tissue. This binding may play a role in the "regulation or deregulation of cancer growth."
"What we have found is intriguing and supports a small but growing body of evidence that suggests estrogenic-like compounds in food may help protect against development of lung and other cancers," says Matthew Schabath, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Epidemiology and the study's lead author.
The study, which ran from 1995 to 2003, involved 1,674 patients treated for lung cancer and 1,735 healthy volunteers. The participants were asked detailed questions about their diet for the year prior to their cancer diagnosis or enrollment in the study.
Overall, those who ate the most foods with dietary phytoestrogens had a 46 percent lower risk of developing lung cancer than those who ate the least. Other interesting findings include:
Men who ate the most foods with soy isoflavins, a category of phytoestrogens, lowered their risk of lung cancer by 72 percent.
Women who ate the most fruits and vegetables, another category of phytoestrogens, lowered their risk by 41 percent.
Lung cancer risk for both smokers and non-smokers was decreased when large quantities of phytoestrogens were consumed. Among former smokers, the effect was less significant.
Which Foods Contain Phytoestrogens?
If you'd like to include more phytoestrogen-rich foods in your diet, there are three main subcategories to choose from. They are:
Isoflavones: Soybeans (ideally unprocessed), chickpeas and red clover
Lignans: rye grains, linseeds, carrots, spinach, broccoli and other vegetables
Coumesterol: bean, peas, clover, spinach and sprouts
The researchers also included a fourth group in the mix called phytosterols. These are plant-derived compounds that are thought to have estrogenic properties. Phytosterols are found in vegetable oils, grains and certain fruits and vegetables.
Even if you are eating lots of phytoestrogens, the researchers caution that it doesn't mean you can smoke without risk. The best way to lower your lung cancer risk?
"The best cancer prevention advice continues to be to stop smoking, and it is clear that all of us can benefit from healthy eating and exercising," says the study's principal investigator, Margaret Spitz, M.D., chair of the Department of Epidemiology.
"Still, our results generally show that higher intake of these [phytoestrogen-rich] foods resulted in lower lung cancer risk, and that is certainly a tantalizing preliminary finding," she added.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Mass. wants calorie counts at fast-food outlets - Philadelphia Inquirer
BOSTON - Massachusetts health officials plan to follow the lead of New York City and California in requiring fast-food chains to post calorie counts for their products on boards behind the order counter. That is one of several proposals in a healthy ...
Home cooking keeps our eating healthy and cheap - Vancouver Sun
Depending on your outlook, the global economic downturn could be horrible news for Canada's collective waistline, or it could be the best motivation to eat healthier since the creation of Canada's Food Guide (which, frankly, has always been a bit of ...
Nell knows good food - Edinburgh News
WOLFING down a potato scone and mushroom buttie, slathered in tomato sauce, is perhaps not the best preparation to meet Nell Nelson. It should probably have been a breakfast of wholegrain cereals, or porridge sprinkled with fresh fruit. "Oh well ...
Getting healthy is presentation's goal - Houma Courier
If you have ever made the New Year’s resolution — “I am going to go on a diet now that the holidays are over,” but didn’t fulfill your mission, this presentation might be just for you. “Getting Back on the Healthy Track” will be ...
Fort Campbell to expand medical facilities - Leaf Chronicle
Over the next two years, Fort Campbell's medical facilities will grow and expand dramatically, with the addition of more clinics and renovations and all-new buildings. "The flood gates have opened and there's a lot of projects going on," said Dave ...
Join the club that does you good: It's fun and free for everyone! - Halifax Today
YOU can make 2009 the year you get fit. And the Courier is here to help. Today we launch Join Our Club – a campaign to get Calderdale people more active and healthier over the coming year. We'll offer advice and information. We'll tell you how ...
Healthy resolutions - Brattleboro Reformer
BRATTLEBORO -- As 2008 is put to bed and 2009 ushered in, many people are thinking about their New Year's resolutions. While many of these often-unkept promises revolve around enjoying life more, spending more time with family or quitting smoking ...
|
