Using records from the Swedish Mammography Cohort, researchers examined data on a group of more than 61,000 women ranging in age from 38 to 76 years old. None of the women were diagnosed with cancer at the outset of the study. On average, the dietary and medical records of the women were followed for about 15 years.

The researchers found that when the women with the highest folate intake were compared to the women with the lowest intake, those in the higher group had a slightly reduced risk of developing ovarian cancer. More striking, however, was the fact that women who had folate-rich diets and who also drank at least two or more alcoholic beverages each week were 74 percent less likely to develop ovarian cancer.

Obviously, two drinks a week is a fairly moderate intake of alcohol. But this is one of those cases where more is not better, because excessive alcohol consumption can create a folate deficiency. Other factors that can lead to low folate levels include: smoking, oral contraceptives, high intake of aspirin, general malnourishment, and certain drugs such as the chemotherapy drug methotrexate.
Source: H.S.I. "Dietary Folate Intake and Incidence of Ovarian Cancer: The Swedish Mammography Cohort" Journal of the National Cancer. Institute,Vol. 96, No. 5, 3/3/2004
" Dietary Folate May Lower Ovarian Cancer Risk"
Reuters Health, 3/3/2004.

Multivitamin & Cancer Protection:

In 1992, ACS researchers enrolled more than 145,000 men and women to participate in a five-year multivitamin study. All of these subjects had also participated in the Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort (begun a decade earlier) in which their multivitamin usage was recorded.

As reported in the current issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology, 797 cases of colorectal cancer were reported among the study group between 1992 and 1997. After adjusting for risk factors, researchers found that multivitamin use that began just prior to the 1992 enrolment was not associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer. But the participants who had reported regular multivitamin use (4 or more times per week) in the early 80s, fared much better: their group had a 30 percent reduced risk of the cancer.

The researchers say that further studies are necessary to establish clear evidence that multivitamin use is associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer. Also unknown is just how the nutrients in multivitamins combine to offer protection. Hopefully new research is already underway.
Source: H.S.I. "Multivitamin Use and Colorectal Cancer Incidence in a US Cohort: Does Timing Matter?" American Journal of Epidemiology 2003; 158:621-628.
" Timing Key to Multivitamin Benefits" NutraIngredients.com, August 2003.
Antibiotics & Breast Cancer Risk:
Four years ago, a small study in Finland found an association between antibiotic use and breast cancer. Intending to further explore this possible link, researchers from the University of Washington (Seattle) examined data collected on more than 10,000 women enrolled in a large health plan in Washington State.

Two groups were studied. One group consisted of 2,266 cases of women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. Almost 8,000 subjects made up the second group of randomly selected women with no breast cancer. Researchers used the health plan database to determine the number of antibiotic prescriptions for each woman, as well as the total number of days that each of them used antibiotics over an average period of 17 years.
The results were unambiguous. The risk of breast cancer was doubled among women who received 25 or more prescriptions for antibiotics of any variety, when compared to women who took no antibiotics at all. The group of women who received between one and 25 prescriptions increased their risk by one and a half. Also a high rate of cumulative days of antibiotic use was associated with a sharply increased risk of death due to breast cancer. Sources: H.S.I.
" Antibiotic Use in Relation to the Risk of Breast Cancer" Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 291, Pgs. 827-835, 2004”
" Study Links Breast Cancer to Antibiotics Use" Rob Stein, Washington Post, 2/16/04.”
" Long-Term Use of Antibiotics Possibly Linked with Increased Risk of Breast Cancer" EurekAlert, 2/16/2004.

Calcium & Prostate Cancer:

A 2002 study from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle demonstrated how men in the early stages of prostate cancer who reduce their calcium intake may significantly lower the chances of the cancer progressing to an advanced stage.

This is an important point because a man who takes a vitamin supplement that contains calcium may already be getting plenty of calcium from dietary sources such as dairy products, dark leafy green vegetables, and fortified cereal and bread products. The study wasn't able to recommend an ideal calcium intake level, but strongly encouraged calcium moderation for those with prostate cancer.

The study also revealed:
*An association between a high calorie diet and significantly increased risk of advanced prostate cancer *An association between saturated and monounsaturated fat intake and increased risk of advanced prostate cancer
* No association between polyunsaturated fat and omega-3 fatty acid intake and increased risk of prostate cancer.

Also, a Stanford University study concluded that men with low blood levels of selenium are four to five times more likely to develop prostate cancer than men with normal levels of the mineral. Brazil nuts have a high selenium content, with tuna, flounder, sole, oysters and turkey providing good levels as well.
Editor’s Note:
See Dr Con Travershal’s article in this issue.
Sources: H.S.I.
" Dietary Change May Prevent the Most Serious Form of Prostate Cancer" Press Release, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 8/6/02, fhcrc.org

Protein Diet Protects Bones:

A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that showed how postmenopausal women with the highest protein intake may actually have a significantly higher BMD compared to women with low amounts of protein in their diets.

Now a new study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism confirms those results. US Department of Agriculture researchers recruited 32 men and women over the age of 50 whose diets contained the recommended daily calcium intake of 800 mg. For nine weeks, subjects followed either a high-protein or low-protein diet, and were advised to decrease carbohydrate intake to balance calorie levels with the increase in protein.

At the end of the study period, researchers found that urinary calcium excretion was statistically the same in both groups. But when a bone growth factor was measured, those in the high-protein group had higher levels of the factor.

Contrary to the conventional wisdom that a high-protein diet may contribute to osteoporosis, the UDSA team concluded that such a diet "may have a favourable impact on the skeleton in healthy older men and women."

Mainstream nutritionists who refuse to let go of the low-fat diet mindset often talk about the health hazards of low-carb/high-protein diets. Little by little we see that argument eroding, and this study just adds to that erosion.
Source: H.S.I.
" Effect of Dietary Protein Supplements on Calcium Excretion in Healthy Older Men and Women" Journal of Clinical
Endocrinology Metabolism, Vol. 89, No. 3, March 2004.
" Higher Protein Levels Could Strengthen Bones"
NutraIngredients. 4/5/04

Passive Smoking Kills:

Studies have revealed this general timeline on the effect of second hand smoke on the heart:
5 minutes: The aorta begins to stiffen * 30 minutes: The blood begins to become "sticky" with activated blood platelets; damage to the artery linings begins; blood vessel dilation is reduced. *2 hours: Heart rhythm may .become disturbedBy some estimates, an eight-hour shift spent working in a smoky casino or bar has the same effect on the cardiovascular system as smoking an entire pack of cigarettes. So in effect, a non-smoker who spends day after day in such an environment is essentially a smoker. It's called "passive" smoking, but it's smoking nonetheless, and carries an equal risk of cancer, asthma, and heart attack that endangers everyday smokers.
Sources: H.S.I.
" The Secondhand Smoking Gun" Rosemary Ellis, The New York Times, 10/15/03, NYTimes.
" Six-Month Public Smoking Ban Slashes Heart Attack Rate in Community" EurekAlert

 

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