What would you say if I told you that a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich with a kosher pickle increases cancer risk dramatically? Would you believe me? Actually, BLT with a kosher pickle is a mnemonic I learned in my medical training to help remember the types of cancers which have a predisposition to metastasize (spread) to bone: Breast Lung Thyroid Kidney Prostate However, I believe we can learn a lot from this sandwich about cancer risk and progression in … Read More
Vitamins & Bioactives: How Much Is Too Much
Research has shown the potential health benefits of bioactive nutrients — those compounds found in foods like fruits, vegetables, tea, and cocoa. And consumers are showing an increased interest in learning more. But can there be too much of a good thing? John Erdman, a professor emeritus in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Illinois, and his lab have studied bioactives and their health benefits for years. Now, Erdman and a team of other … Read More
Chocolate Improves Cognitive Performance
In their recent review published in Frontiers in Nutrition, Italian researchers examined the available literature for the effects of acute and chronic administration of cocoa flavanols on different cognitive domains. In other words: what happens to your brain up to a few hours after you eat cocoa flavanols, and what happens when you sustain such a cocoa flavanol enriched diet for a prolonged period of time? Although randomized controlled trials investigating the acute effect of cocoa flavanols are sparse, most … Read More
Soy Consumption And Breast Cancer
Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers have used animal models to reveal new information about the impact — positive and negative — that soy consumption could have on a common breast cancer treatment. The scientists have uncovered the biological pathways in rats by which longtime soy consumption improves effectiveness of tamoxifen and reduces breast cancer recurrence. But they also show why eating or drinking soy-based foods for the first time while being treated with tamoxifen can, conversely, reduce effectiveness of … Read More
A High-Fat Diet Linked To Colon Cancer
Poor diet is associated with 80% of colorectal cancer cases, but the exact pathways by which diet leads to cancer are not known. In a newly published study, Cleveland Clinic researchers have identified a specific molecular pathway that plays a key role in the link between a high-fat diet and tumor growth in the colon. In the July 6 issue of Stem Cell Reports, the team showed in pre-clinical models that cancer stem cell growth in the colon was enhanced … Read More
The Link Between A High-Fat Diet And Breast Cancer
Feeding pregnant female mice a diet high in fat derived from common corn oil resulted in genetic changes that substantially increased breast cancer susceptibility in three generations of female offspring, reports a team of researchers led by scientists at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. Their study, published online today in Breast Cancer Research, suggests a research direction for examining the diet of pregnant women, says the study’s senior author, Leena Hilakivi-Clarke, PhD, professor of oncology at Georgetown Lombardi. “It is … Read More
How Could Onions Affect Colon Cancer?
In the first study to examine how effective Ontario-grown onions are at killing cancer cells, U of G researchers have found that not all onions are created equal. Engineering professor Suresh Neethirajan and PhD student Abdulmonem Murayyan tested five onion types grown in Ontario and discovered the Ruby Ring onion variety came out on top. Onions as a superfood are still not well known. But they contain one of the highest concentrations of quercetin, a type of flavonoid, and Ontario … Read More
What Do Apple Peels, Red Grapes and Tumeric Have To Do With Prostate Cancer?
New research from The University of Texas at Austin identifies several natural compounds found in food, including turmeric, apple peels and red grapes, as key ingredients that could thwart the growth of prostate cancer, the most common cancer afflicting U.S. men. Published online this week in Precision Oncology, the new paper uses a novel analytical approach to screen numerous plant-based chemicals instead of testing a single agent as many studies do, discovering specific combinations that shrink prostate cancer tumors. “After … Read More
Study Suggests Unhealthy Food Choices Increase Breast Cancer Risk
French authorities are considering the implementation of a simplified nutrition labelling system on food products to help consumers make healthier food choices. One of the most documented candidates (Five-Color Nutrition Label/Nutri-score) is based on the British Food Standards Agency Nutrient Profiling System (FSA-NPS), a score calculated for each food/beverage using the 100 g amount of energy, sugar, saturated fatty acid, sodium, fibers, proteins, and fruits and vegetables. To assess its potential public health relevance, studies were conducted on the association … Read More
6 Foods You Need To Eat If You Have Liver Cancer
Spermidine — a compound found in foods like aged cheese, mushrooms, soy products, legumes, corn and whole grains — seems to prevent (at least in animal models) liver fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, which is the most common type of liver cancer. There is also some evidence that it may prolong lifespan, according to a study published recently in the journal Cancer Research. Researchers gave animal models an oral supplement of spermidine and found that they lived longer and were less … Read More