Big study links red meat diet to cancer

by Sarah Boseley, health editor, The Guardian
Wednesday June 15, 2005

'International scientists yesterday delivered a long-awaited verdict on red meat, concluding in a definitive study of the eating habits of half a million people that beef, lamb, pork, veal and their processed varieties such as ham and bacon, increase the risk of bowel cancer.

Those who eat two portions a day - equivalent to a bacon sandwich and a fillet steak - increase their risk of bowel cancer by 35% over those who eat just one portion a week, the study found. The World Health Organisation's international agency for research on cancer (IARC) called for everybody to eat more fish and less meat.'

They are quick to add however:

'Although man has been eating red meat for thousands of years, it is the way in which we now eat it that could be the problem. "Meat used to be the relish and still is in Mediterranean countries. It is a treat. The bulk of the meal comes from the other things like carbohydrates and vegetables," said Professor Bingham.

When eaten in stews and casseroles, the portion sizes tend not to be so large, and the meat is mixed with vegetables which provide helpful fibre. But plain British fare, such as steak and chips, bacon and eggs and roast meats without much in the way of vegetables, could be more problematic.'

Yet another blow to all the carnivores among us, myself included!- YY

Diet Soda Paradox

'People who drink diet soft drinks don't lose weight. In fact, they gain weight, a new study shows.

The findings come from eight years of data collected by Sharon P. Fowler, MPH, and colleagues at the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio. Fowler reported the data at this week's annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association in San Diego.'

THE RESULT: "There was a 41 percent increase in risk of being overweight for every can or bottle of diet soft drink a person consumes each day," Fowler says.

THE HYPOTHESIS: '"If you offer your body something that tastes like a lot of calories, but it isn't there, your body is alerted to the possibility that there is something there and it will search for the calories promised but not delivered," Fowler says.

Perhaps, Bonci says, our bodies are smarter than we think.

"People think they can just fool the body. But maybe the body isn't fooled," she says. "If you are not giving your body those calories you promised it, maybe your body will retaliate by wanting more calories. Some soft drink studies do suggest that diet drinks stimulate appetite."'

There are ways to help prevent Alzheimer’s

By Ivanhoe Newswire, NEWS14 CAROLINA

'More than four million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease, a number that's more than doubled since 1980 and continues to climb as the U.S. population ages.

By 2050, more than 13 million could be living with it. But what you do today could keep you from becoming a statistic.

"I’m just a true believer you make time for nutrition and exercise now, or you make time for disease later," nutrition expert Tavis Piattolly said.

Piattolly said one step to preserve brain power is exercise.

"The brain basically works just like, you know, the rest of the body or the heart,” Piattolly said. “You know, we exercise the brain. We can preserve how well it functions."'

Is Glycemic Index The Next Wave in Nutrition?

from MEDICAL NEWS TODAY

'Sales figures show US consumers are learning that avoidance of an entire food group is not healthy. Products and messages that consumers may now be primed to accept in order to improve their nutrition is at the heart of scientific presentations scheduled next month at the Institute of Food Technologists' Annual Meeting + FOOD EXPO®.

Under scrutiny here Monday, July 18, will be the glycemic concept as a possible next wave in nutrition. A panel of experts will explore food companies' capabilities of modifying carbohydrate ingredients, the physiology and science behind eating and its effect on glycemic levels, and the changing landscape that manufacturers and consumers now navigate.

While the low-carb message is still heard, it is being restructured in applicable and useful directions. This sets the stage for a new understanding of carbs. For example, certain types extend satiety, lower insulin response and reduce cholesterol.'

The nutrition world seems to be in a great huff over the low-carb/high-carb debate. The recent few articles reviewed seems to reinforce some conventional wisdom: 1) Carbs are necessary for you, 2)It's the high glycemic index (a measure of how fast sugar is released from a carb) of carb that makes it harmful, 3) A largely low-glycemic index carb intake strikes the best balance of nutritional need, and physiological benefits. - YY

Diet Fallacy - Carbs are your enemy

'We are currently scapegoating carbs as the culprit for the ongoing obesity epidemic - and for the diseases we associate with obesity.

Fashionable diet gurus have us believing that carbs are not essential nutrients and therefore should be severely restricted or even spared.

Low-carb diet advocates argue that the hormone insulin promotes fat gain and should therefore be tightly controlled by chronically restricting carbs. Given the current popularity of low carb diets, it seems as if carbs are indeed the enemy. But are they?

Nothing could be further from the truth...'

Bottom line: 'Dietary carbs biological functions go far beyond just sheer energy production. Chronic carb restrictions may lead in the long run to total metabolic decline with severe consequences for survival (i.e. capacity to regenerate tissues and procreate.) Ignorance, not Carbs, is our true enemy.'

Nutrition is More Than Calories

from REDNOVA

'Most people looking at nutrition labels focus on how much fat or how many calories a food contains.

They should be looking further, according to two registered dietitians who will be featured today on the Deseret Morning News/ Intermountain Health Care Hotline. Deon Gines and Tracy Herrmann, both of LDS Hospital, will answer questions from 10 a.m. to noon about food, nutrition labels and more.

"A lot of people look at calories," said Gines. "That's healthy to a lot of people."

When people are done counting calories or fat grams, Gines said they should look closely at the row marked "serving size." The nutrition facts label shows how many servings are included in the package as well as how large each serving is.

Many people think a can of tuna has a low calorie count -- 50 to 70 calories -- but that is only for one serving, and there is more than one serving in each can, Gines said. Grape-Nuts cereal, she said, has a serving size of one-fourth cup. By that scale, people usually eat several servings at one time.'

Pizza and Diabetes

from Nutrition news, The Observer, Sunday June 12, 2005

'Diabetics are often recommended to eat a diet rich in starchy carbohydrates such as bread, potatoes, rice, pasta and breakfast cereals. However, the fact is that many of these foods liberate their sugar rapidly into the bloodstream, and are therefore far from ideal for diabetics. In a recent study published in the journal Diabetes Technology and Therapeutics, individuals with type 1 diabetes (the form of diabetes that generally develops early in life and necessitates the use of insulin) were fed with pizza and then administered one of three insulin treatments of different duration of action. The most effective blood-sugar control was found when individuals were given the longest-acting insulin therapy (designed to last eight hours).'

'This study suggests that pizza can exert its blood-sugar disrupting effects for a very long time indeed, and provides yet more evidence for the notion that starch-based foods can cause considerable blood-sugar instability. Better foods for diabetics include those that are less disruptive to blood-sugar levels such as meat, fish, eggs, nuts, seeds, green vegetables, beans and lentils.'

Fitness 'takes 6 minutes a week'

from CNN Health, LONDON, England -- 'Six minutes of pure, hard exercise a week could be just as effective as an hour of daily moderate activity, according to a new study.

"Short bouts of very intense exercise improved muscle health and performance comparable to several weeks of traditional endurance training," said Martin Gibala, an associate professor at Canada's McMaster University.

The research, published in the June edition of the Journal of Applied Physiology, says that repeatedly doing very intense exercise such as sprinting resulted in unique changes in skeletal muscle and endurance capacity, similar to training that requires hours of exercise each week.'

Boy, do I love these kinds of studies! For the time-squeezed and exhausted city rat, this may be the best news revealed ever... The 1/2 hr gym quickie routine may not be so bad after all!

Low-glycemic may be better than low-fat diet

Article by Alison McCook, NEW YORK (Reuters Health)

'Foods with a low-glycemic index, which are digested relatively slowly and cause smaller increases in blood sugar, may protect the heart and blood vessels better than low-fat fare, according to the findings of a small study. Researchers in Boston found that when obese people consumed as many carbohydrates with a low-glycemic index as they wanted, they lost just as much weight in 12 months as people who stuck with a conventional, calorie-restricted low-fat diet.

"Reducing (glycemic index) may be more effective than cutting back on fat over the long-term, both for weight loss and also for reducing risk of heart disease," study author Dr. David S. Ludwig told Reuters Health.'

Well, well, look at the circle we've made with diets. Low carb, low prot, low fat, now it's low glycemic. This study does, however, support the view that a low-fat diet (<30% of caloric intake) is just as unnatural as the high-glycemic/refined-sugar diet of the late 20th century. We all know that some amount of fat does wonders to taste and mood - it's just how we are wired and listening to our bodies isn't necessarily harmful. So this is one study that relieves some of the paranoid eating habits that have been drummed into us the past 10 yrs. - YY