Disease Proof : Disease Proof : Health & Nutrition News & Commentary : Dr. Joel Fuhrman

In 2007, 7.6 million people died from cancer worldwide, but a new study by World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research reveals better diets, more exercise and controlling weight is enough to stifle global cancer rates. Calling cancer “mostly preventable” researchers found 43% of colon and 42% of breast cancer in the U.K., 45% of bowel and 38% of breast cancer in the U.S., and other cancers, like prostate and pancreas, could be avoided with healthier lifestyles and diets consisting of more fruits and vegetables and less meat and dairy; Reuters reports

No real shocker here. Foods high in saturated fat, i.e. meat and dairy, are constantly being linked to cancer, like adenocarcinomas and carcinoid tumors in the small intestine, disease progression after prostate cancer surgery, and dioxin, a toxic compound found butter and cheese, is a prominent risk-factor for cancer. So don’t be like this dope and ignore everything and only eat bacon for a month!

Now, flip the script for a second, fruits and vegetables have the opposite effect on cancer. Recently, research determined sulforaphane, a chemical found in green veggies like broccoli, induces enzymes that protect against cancer and eating 28 servings of vegetables a week can cut the risk of prostate cancer by 33%. And fruits, like pomegranates, are packed with cancer-fighting antioxidants.

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• At 66 years old rock and roll immortal, Sir Paul McCartney, isn’t slowing down. In fact, the newly named Fireman does Yoga six times a day. He does eye Yoga, something he picked up during a recent trip to India. It involves various eye movements to keep the eye muscles strong; from Healthy Hollywood.

• New findings in the Archives of Internal Medicine suggest postmenopausal women who exercise more have improved mental and physical wellbeing. Participants in all 3 exercise groups (the fourth was a control group) reported better quality of life and weight-loss of up to 4.10 pounds; via HealthDay News.

• The United Kingdom Conservative Party has placed a bid to change the law for stricter country-of-origin labeling of meat. Current regulations allow imported meat to be processed in Britain, i.e. made into prepared meals, sausage, pies and other foods, but labeled as British meat; FoodNavigator reports.

• Apparently an owner of the peanut company linked to the deadly peanut butter-salmonella outbreak that caused 600 illnesses and 8 deaths, urged his workers to ship tainted products after receiving test results identifying salmonella contamination. The owner was worried about lost sales; ENN explains.

• Another study in the Archives of Internal Medicine claims bad sleeping habits might cause psychiatric illnesses, like depression, or lead to unusual behavior that may cause doctors to mistakenly diagnosis someone with mental problems and prescribe unnecessary psychoactive drugs; NewScientists reports.

• A U.S. court has ruled against three families who claimed vaccines for measles, mumps and rubella vaccine caused their children's autism, concluding that the families were misled, saying evidence does support that thimerosal, a mercury-containing preservative, damages immune systems; from Reuters.

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Wow, a new study in the Journal of HortScience claims nutrient composition of fruits and vegetables in the United States has been dropping over the last 50 to 100 years, in some cases median declines of 5% to 40% for minerals, with similar results in protein and vitamins. The studied crops, broccoli and wheat, may be victim of the newly recognized genetic dilution effect, referring to the use of genetic methods to increase crop yield, but consequently dilute nutrient concentrations in crops; from U.S. Food Policy.

More reason to buy organic! Organic fruits and veggies usually have more nutrients than conventional produce. According to Dr. Fuhrman, the theory is when plants are forced to deal with the stress, like insects, they produce more compounds beneficial to humans, like flavonoids. Plus organic tastes better and is better for the environment.

In related news, crops grown in dirt fertilized with livestock manure may actually absorb the antibiotics injected into cattle, helping spawn antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Eek!

Via kottke.

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Salmonella in peanut butter is gross! But there’s something much creeper lurking in our food. The FDA calls them “natural contaminants” and they’re found in everything from curry, tomato paste, mushrooms and beer, stuff like bug eggs, mites, parasites, sand, grit and even rodent hair. A can of mushrooms may contain more than 20 maggots per 100 grams, curry is allowed 100 or more bug pieces per 25 grams and an 18-ounce jar of peanut butter can have roughly 125 milligrams of grit or 5 rodent hairs; The New York Times reports.

Good excuse to buy fresh fruits and vegetables. Just be sure to wash them. Pesticide residue can ruin your day, i.e. boosting cancer-risk. Raw milk is another gross food too. To date, 26 states prohibit the sale of raw milk for human consumption. Cows’ stomachs host a variety of nasty buggers, like salmonella, E. coli and listeria. All can kill you.

Yucky, I just puked in my mouth a little. The bug remnants thing reminds me of the FDA’s crackdown on using crushed beetles to make foods red and purple.

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Last week, research claimed taking a job as a painter or roofer might put workers at increased risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), due to prolonged contact with chemical and biologic agents. And now, new research in the American Journal of Epidemiology reveals female employees exposed to organic solvents are more likely to develop NHL. Scientists determined chlorinated solvents increased risk by 40%, formaldehyde 30% and carbon tetrachloride more than doubled risk; Reuters reports.

Toxins are everywhere, even in the air we breathe! Scary when you consider air pollution has been linked to ventricular arrhythmia, a potentially fatal irregular heart beat. Also, 2-mercaptobenzothiazole, a chemical used to make rubber products, can heighten colon and bone marrow cancer risk.

And in related news, perfluorinated compounds, used to make shampoo, denture cleaners and dental floss, may cause infertility in women. But be sure to floss twice a day. Eek!

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New findings in the journal of Human Reproduction suggest perfluorinated compounds, fluorine-containing chemicals used to make products non-stick and found in shampoo, dental floss and denture cleaners, may cause infertility in women. Researchers studied 1,240 pregnant women, whose levels of the perfluorinated chemicals had been measured, concluding that higher levels of chemicals were associated with longer pregnancies and 26% to 33% reduced chance of getting pregnant; Reuters reports.

Moms aren’t the only ones at risk! Plastic toys and medical devices may be exposing babies to phthalates, a chemical used to make plastics flexible, and even eating certain fish, like tuna and shark, is a danger, risking mercury exposure, leading to birth defects.

And in 2007, it was discovered a chemical found in rocket fuel and explosives, called perchlorate, was turning up in women’s breast milk. Egad!

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A 12-ounce soda can have as much as nine teaspoons of sugar. High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), an artificial sweetener made from corn, usually gets the blame, but one expert contends even if the food industry replaced all the HFCS with traditional sugar, we’d still have exactly the same health problems we have now, referring to our epidemic of obesity, heart disease and diabetes; The New York Times investigates.

And a few months ago there was a big push to prove high-fructose corn syrup is equal to sugar, which might be true, but still isn’t a reason to let HFCS off the hook. High-fructose corn syrup drives childhood obesity and leads to soda addiction in adolescents.

Then last week, a new study discovered mercury in high-fructose corn syrup, citric acid and sodium benzoate, all ingredients of soda. So yeah, don’t drink soda!

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Taking a job as a roofer, printer, farmer and even a medical professional or any other job with exposure to certain chemical and biologic agents may increase the risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), claims a new study in Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Researchers compared jobs between 1189 men and women with NHL and 982 men and women of similar age who did not, spanning 86 occupations in 97 industries, determining jobs such as launders, hand-packagers and leather workers, come with a higher risk of NHL than work as a teacher, editor, reporter and other jobs; Reuters reports.

Even working at a popcorn factory is risky! Exposure to diacetyl, a chemical used in artificial butter flavoring, can cause irreversible bronchiolitis obliterans in the lungs, nicknamed “Popcorn Lung.” It cannot be cured. The only long term treatment is a lung transplant.

And previously, weed-killers have been linked to brain cancer in farm workers. The moral of the story, don't work! Join the circus.

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• In the Netherlands, a third person has died from Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, the human form of mad cow disease. Humans can contract mad cow, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, by eating meat from infected cows. Since 2005, two people have died from mad cow in the Netherlands; via Reuters.

• Investigators reveal the chopped peanuts, imported to the Blakely, Georgia plant, responsible for the salmonella-peanut butter outbreak contained a putrid substance later identified as metal fragments. And officials claim the FDA failed to adequately analyze the adulterated peanuts; from the Associated Press.

• Bad news for mushrooms too! A Pennsylvania farm has recalled enoki mushrooms because they may be contaminated with Listeria. The mushrooms were shipped to retailers in the U.S. and Canada. Listeria is not normally fatal, but can be in people with weakened immune systems; FoxNews reports.

• A British mother was given a suspended sentence after her 3-year old was filmed smoking. In the video the kids puts a cigarette into his mouth, lights it with a lighter and draws smoke into his lungs and does it with some accomplishment. He puffs away while his mother babbles on her phone; CNN investigates.

• Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, is imploring America’s food processors to willingly cut sodium in foods by 25% over the next 10 years or NYC will impose laws on salt similar to those on smoking and calorie-content; via The New York Times.

• Speaking of New York City, a bakery in Greenwich Village started selling racist cookies in honor of our new president called “drunken negro head” cookies, igniting a firestorm of angry customers. The dope who knows the place said he is not racist, it’s all for fun and the cookies are art; from the Gothamist.

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A new study in Environmental Health discovered mercury in citric acid, sodium benzoate and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). An analysis of HFCS from three different manufacturers revealed mercury levels ranging from under the detection limit of 0.005 to 0.570 micrograms of mercury per gram of high fructose corn syrup. The researchers claim average daily consumption of HFCS in America is 50 grams per person, spelling possible danger for children and sensitive populations; Reuters investigates.

But back in October, the lunatics at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ruled that high fructose corn syrup is natural, prompting an ad campaign by corn refiners insisting that HFCS is the same as sugar. Yeah, because that’s something to brag about!

Sorry sugar pushers. Previous reports have linked high fructose corn syrup with diabetes and obesity and soft drinks with cardiovascular disease.

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