Preventing Cancer with a Plant-Based Diet
I thought this was an attention getter! Take a look....
taken from PCRM.org
Billboard Near Kauffman Stadium Warns All-Star Fans of Hot Dog-Cancer Link (2012)
Doctors Ask for Warning Label on Wieners Sold at Kauffman Stadium; 1,200 Missouri Residents Die of Colorectal Cancer Each Year
WASHINGTON—A provocative billboard will warn baseball fans flocking to the All-Star Game at Kauffman Stadium on July 10 that eating hot dogs can greatly increase their risk of colorectal cancer. The billboard, sponsored by the nonprofit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, reads "Warning: Hot Dogs Can Strike You Out—For Good,” and directs readers to www.PCRM.org.
The billboard features an image of hot dogs jammed into a cigarette pack labeled "Unlucky Strikes," and is located at the exit ramp to Kauffman Stadium on I-435 one mile south of I-70. PCRM has also written a letter to Jim Rowland, executive director of the Jackson County Sport Complex Authority, which owns and operates Kauffman Stadium, asking him to require warning labels on all hot dogs served at Kauffman Stadium. The label would read: “Warning: Hot Dogs and Other Processed Meats Increase the Risk of Colon and Rectal Cancer.”
"Hot dogs can cause cancer, and like cigarettes they should come with a warning label,” says PCRM chief medical officer Ulka Agarwal, M.D. “Just one hot dog a day increases a person’s colorectal cancer risk by 21 percent. Add to that other processed meats people could be eating daily, like bacon, pepperoni, and sausage, and the health risk multiplies.”
Hot dogs are popular eats at ballparks, and this season fans are expected to chow down on 20.5 million hot dogs as they watch the games, according to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council. At Kauffman Stadium 8,000 hot dogs were sold on the day of this year’s opening game alone. Offerings at the stadium for the All-Star game will include such unhealthy eats as Royal Blue Dog, a hot dog topped with blue cheese and bacon, which is also a processed meat, and the All-Star BBQ Dog, a hot dog topped with pulled pork and coleslaw.
Missouri has one of the highest colorectal cancer rates in the country. Every year, nearly 3,200 Missouri residents are diagnosed with colorectal cancer and 1,200 die of it.
Consuming processed meats increases the risk of colorectal cancer, according to a large number of studies, including the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study. A study from the Harvard School of Public Health says that a daily serving of processed meats, like one hot dog, sausage, or a few bacon strips, increases the risk of premature death by 20 percent.
For a copy of the billboard image or the letter to Mr. Rowland, or to speak with Ulka Agarwal, M.D., contact Dania DePas at 202-527-7382 or DDePas@PCRM.org.
Founded in 1985, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is a nonprofit health organization that promotes preventive medicine, conducts clinical research,and encourages higher standards for ethics and effectiveness in research.
I signed up to receive updates from Alicia Silverstone's blog called "The Kind Life" and I have been getting some great recipes and information. Here is the link to her blog if you'd like to do the same. The Kind Life blog
I am sharing one of her recent posts because I believe it is a crucial message, one that many just do not want to believe is true; what a shame!! Most people will just not believe that meat and dairy are linked to cancer. They just cannot give up their addiction to these two health offenders and that makes me very sad. Well, here it is given to you by a doctor. But don't take just his word for it, read the numerous medical studies yourself!! Read, educate yourself and spread the word!
I'll be sharing my raw, vegan recipe soon for my hand rolled sushi!
Preventing Cancer with a Plant-Based Diet by Dr. Neal Barnard
Listen up, everyone! This information from Dr. Barnard is sooooo important. Please read it and share it with everyone you know. - AS
There is an urgent need for a new direction in battling cancer. More than 1.6 million people are diagnosed with cancer in the United States each year. At least one-third of annual cancer deaths in the United States are due to dietary factors. Let’s look at the steps we can take to build our general defenses.
While animal products contain potentially carcinogenic compounds that may contribute to increased cancer risk, research shows that, by contrast, fruits and vegetables contain a variety of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytochemicals that protect the body.
Several studies published this spring clearly demonstrate the link meat and dairy products have to cancer. According to new data from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study, participants who ate the most red meat and processed meat increased their risk of dying by 14 and 44 percent, respectively, compared with those who ate the least. Other recent research found that men drinking more than a glass of whole milk per day had double the risk for fatal prostate cancer, compared with men drinking less. And the National Cancer Institute found that women who consumed one or more servings of high-fat dairy products per day, compared with none to less than half a serving, were at a 49 percent increased risk for dying from breast cancer.
Fortunately, the foods we eat can also help protect our bodies. The American Association for Cancer Research found that beyond the reduced risk for overall cancer, vegetarian and vegan diets significantly reduced the risk of gastrointestinal cancers (stomach, colon, pancreas, etc.) and female-specific cancers (breast, uterine, ovarian, etc.), respectively.
The more naturally colorful your meal is, the more likely it is to have an abundance of cancer-fighting nutrients. Pigments that give fruits and vegetables their bright colors represent a variety of protective compounds.
• RED foods such as tomatoes and tomato products, watermelon, and guava contain lycopene, an antioxidant that cuts prostate cancer risk.
• ORANGE foods such as carrots, yams, sweet potatoes, mangos, and pumpkins contain beta-carotene that supports the immune system.
• YELLOW-ORANGE foods such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits, papayas, and peaches contain vitamin C and flavonoids that inhibit tumor cell growth and detoxify harmful substances.
• GREEN foods such as spinach, kale, collards, and other greens contain folate (the same word derivation as foliage) that builds healthy cells and genetic material.
• GREEN-WHITE foods such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and cauliflower contain indoles and lutein that eliminate excess estrogen and carcinogens.
• WHITE-GREEN foods such as garlic, onions, chives, and asparagus contain allyl sulfides that destroy cancer cells, reduce cell division, and support the immune system.
• BLUE foods such as blueberries, purple grapes, and plums contain anthocyanins that destroy free radicals.
• RED-PURPLE foods such as grapes, berries, and plums contain resveratrol that may decrease estrogen production.
• BROWN foods such as whole grains and legumes contain fiber that aids in carcinogen removal.
To learn more about the power of a plant-based diet to prevent cancer or to download the Nutrition Rainbow poster, visit CancerProject.org.
Please, share this with everyone you know!
About Dr. Neal Barnard: Clinical researcher and author Neal Barnard, M.D., is one of America's leading advocates for health, nutrition, and higher standards in research. As the principal investigator of several human clinical research trials, whose results are published in peer-reviewed medical and scientific journals, Dr. Barnard has examined key issues in health and nutrition. Neal Barnard is the founder and president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). For more about Dr. Neal Barnard, visit his website nealbarnard.org
Photo source: Creative Commons: Veganbaking via isciencetimes.com
========================================================================
Breast cancer can take decades to develop, so “early” detection via mammogram may be too late. The breast cancer you may feel one day as a lump in the shower, may have started 20 years ago. We now suspect that all the epithelial cancers: breast, colon, lung, pancreas, prostate, ovarian—the ones that cause the vast majority of cancer deaths—take up to 20 years or more to manifest. By the time it’s picked up it may have already been growing, maturing, scheming for years, acquiring hundreds of new survival-of-the-fittest mutations to grow even quicker and better undermine our immune system. Early detection may in effect be really, really late detection.
People are considered “healthy” until they show symptoms, so if we’ve been harboring a malignancy for 20 years we may feel all right, but we haven’t been. Thus, many people who do the right thing and improve their diet in hopes of preventing cancer may, at that very moment, be treating it as well. In this way, cancer prevention and treatment may sometimes be the same thing.
What new developments are there are in the battle against breast cancer? Well, most breast tumors are estrogen receptor positive, meaning they respond to estrogen; estrogen makes them grow. The problem for tumors in postmenopausal women is that there isn’t much estrogen around—unless of course you take it in a drug like Premarin (so-named because it’s made from pregnant mare urine). Premarin appears to increase the risk of breast cancer (as well as strokes, heart attacks, and blood clots). Unfortunately, the plant-based bioidentical hormone replacement therapies don’t appear any safer (see my 4-min. video Plant-Based Bioidentical Hormones).
Thankfully millions of women stopped taking Premarin in 2002, and we saw a nice dip in breast cancer rates. Unfortunately, those rates have since stagnated. Hundreds of thousands of American women continue to get the dreaded diagnosis every year. So what next?
Well, with no estrogen around, many breast tumors devise a nefarious plan—they’ll just make their own! Seventy percent of breast cancer cells synthesize estrogen themselves using an enzyme called aromatase. In response, drug companies have produced a number of aromatase inhibitor drugs that are used as chemotherapy agents. Of course by the time you’re on chemo it can be too late, so researchers started screening hundreds of natural dietary components in hopes of finding something that targets this enzyme.
To do this you need a lot of human tissue. Where are you going to get it from? To study skin, for example, researchers use discarded human foreskins from circumcision. They’re just being thrown away–might as well use them! Where are you going to get discarded female tissue? Placentas. They got a bunch of women to donate their placentas after giving birth to further this critical line of research.
After years of searching, they found seven vegetables with significant anti-aromatase activity. You can see the graph in my video Vegetables Versus Breast Cancer. Bell peppers, broccoli, carrots, celery, green onions, and spinach dropped aromatase activity by about 20%, but mushrooms forced down the estrogen-producing enzyme more than 60%.
Which mushroom worked best? Woodear, crimini, oyster, Italian brown, enoki, button, stuffing, shiitake, chanterelle, or Portobello mushrooms? Don’t even try to guess—you won’t get it! Check out my 2-min video Breast Cancer Prevention: Which Mushroom Is Best? for the answer.
More on the magic of mushrooms in Making Our Arteries Less Sticky and Constructing a Cognitive Portfolio. Probably a good idea to cook them, though: Toxins in Raw Mushrooms.
I also have videos on breast cancer risk in relation to apples, broccoli, exercise, flax seeds, green tea, greens, meat, melatonin, saturated fat, soy, and trans fat.
-Michael Greger, M.D.
+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for the past 4 years that I have been able to eat a plant based diet.
Preventing Cancer with a Plant-Based Diet
By Neal Barnard, M.D.
By Neal Barnard, M.D.
While animal products contain potentially carcinogenic compounds that may contribute to increased cancer risk, research shows that, by contrast, fruits and vegetables contain a variety of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytochemicals that protect the body.
Several studies published this spring clearly demonstrate the link meat and dairy products have to cancer. According to new data from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study, participants who ate the most red meat and processed meat increased their risk of dying by 14 and 44 percent, respectively, compared with those who ate the least. Other recent research found that men drinking more than a glass of whole milk per day had double the risk for fatal prostate cancer, compared with men drinking less. And the National Cancer Institute found that women who consumed one or more servings of high-fat dairy products per day, compared with none to less than half a serving, were at a 49 percent increased risk for dying from breast cancer.
Fortunately, the foods we eat can also help protect our bodies. The American Association for Cancer Research found that beyond the reduced risk for overall cancer, vegetarian and vegan diets significantly reduced the risk of gastrointestinal cancers (stomach, colon, pancreas, etc.) and female-specific cancers (breast, uterine, ovarian, etc.), respectively.
The more naturally colorful your meal is, the more likely it is to have an abundance of cancer-fighting nutrients. Pigments that give fruits and vegetables their bright colors represent a variety of protective compounds.
• RED foods such as tomatoes and tomato products, watermelon, and guava contain lycopene, an antioxidant that cuts prostate cancer risk.
• ORANGE foods such as carrots, yams, sweet potatoes, mangos, and pumpkins contain beta-carotene that supports the immune system.
• YELLOW-ORANGE foods such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits, papayas, and peaches contain vitamin C and flavonoids that inhibit tumor cell growth and detoxify harmful substances.
• GREEN foods such as spinach, kale, collards, and other greens contain folate (the same word derivation as foliage) that builds healthy cells and genetic material.
• GREEN-WHITE foods such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and cauliflower contain indoles and lutein that eliminate excess estrogen and carcinogens.
• WHITE-GREEN foods such as garlic, onions, chives, and asparagus contain allyl sulfides that destroy cancer cells, reduce cell division, and support the immune system.
• BLUE foods such as blueberries, purple grapes, and plums contain anthocyanins that destroy free radicals.
• RED-PURPLE foods such as grapes, berries, and plums contain resveratrol that may decrease estrogen production.
• BROWN foods such as whole grains and legumes contain fiber that aids in carcinogen removal.
To learn more about the power of a plant-based diet to prevent cancer or to download the Nutrition Rainbow poster, visit CancerProject.org.
Please, share this with everyone you know!
Photo source: Creative Commons: Veganbaking via isciencetimes.com
========================================================================
Mushrooms For Breast Cancer Prevention
Breast cancer can take decades to develop, so “early” detection via mammogram may be too late. The breast cancer you may feel one day as a lump in the shower, may have started 20 years ago. We now suspect that all the epithelial cancers: breast, colon, lung, pancreas, prostate, ovarian—the ones that cause the vast majority of cancer deaths—take up to 20 years or more to manifest. By the time it’s picked up it may have already been growing, maturing, scheming for years, acquiring hundreds of new survival-of-the-fittest mutations to grow even quicker and better undermine our immune system. Early detection may in effect be really, really late detection.
People are considered “healthy” until they show symptoms, so if we’ve been harboring a malignancy for 20 years we may feel all right, but we haven’t been. Thus, many people who do the right thing and improve their diet in hopes of preventing cancer may, at that very moment, be treating it as well. In this way, cancer prevention and treatment may sometimes be the same thing.
What new developments are there are in the battle against breast cancer? Well, most breast tumors are estrogen receptor positive, meaning they respond to estrogen; estrogen makes them grow. The problem for tumors in postmenopausal women is that there isn’t much estrogen around—unless of course you take it in a drug like Premarin (so-named because it’s made from pregnant mare urine). Premarin appears to increase the risk of breast cancer (as well as strokes, heart attacks, and blood clots). Unfortunately, the plant-based bioidentical hormone replacement therapies don’t appear any safer (see my 4-min. video Plant-Based Bioidentical Hormones).
Thankfully millions of women stopped taking Premarin in 2002, and we saw a nice dip in breast cancer rates. Unfortunately, those rates have since stagnated. Hundreds of thousands of American women continue to get the dreaded diagnosis every year. So what next?
Well, with no estrogen around, many breast tumors devise a nefarious plan—they’ll just make their own! Seventy percent of breast cancer cells synthesize estrogen themselves using an enzyme called aromatase. In response, drug companies have produced a number of aromatase inhibitor drugs that are used as chemotherapy agents. Of course by the time you’re on chemo it can be too late, so researchers started screening hundreds of natural dietary components in hopes of finding something that targets this enzyme.
To do this you need a lot of human tissue. Where are you going to get it from? To study skin, for example, researchers use discarded human foreskins from circumcision. They’re just being thrown away–might as well use them! Where are you going to get discarded female tissue? Placentas. They got a bunch of women to donate their placentas after giving birth to further this critical line of research.
After years of searching, they found seven vegetables with significant anti-aromatase activity. You can see the graph in my video Vegetables Versus Breast Cancer. Bell peppers, broccoli, carrots, celery, green onions, and spinach dropped aromatase activity by about 20%, but mushrooms forced down the estrogen-producing enzyme more than 60%.
Which mushroom worked best? Woodear, crimini, oyster, Italian brown, enoki, button, stuffing, shiitake, chanterelle, or Portobello mushrooms? Don’t even try to guess—you won’t get it! Check out my 2-min video Breast Cancer Prevention: Which Mushroom Is Best? for the answer.
More on the magic of mushrooms in Making Our Arteries Less Sticky and Constructing a Cognitive Portfolio. Probably a good idea to cook them, though: Toxins in Raw Mushrooms.
I also have videos on breast cancer risk in relation to apples, broccoli, exercise, flax seeds, green tea, greens, meat, melatonin, saturated fat, soy, and trans fat.
-Michael Greger, M.D.
+JMJ+ Today I am grateful for the past 4 years that I have been able to eat a plant based diet.
Comments