deez nuts
01-21-2005, 06:37 AM
Research shows risk for colorectal disease; 2nd study says fruits, veggies may not help prevent breast cancer
BY DELTHIA RICKS
STAFF WRITER
January 12, 2005
Two new medical investigations today raise compelling questions about diet and cancer risk, confirming that red meat can lead to colorectal cancer, but casting uncertainty on whether fruits and vegetables guard against breast cancer.
The colorectal study bolstered a string of earlier investigations that equated red and processed meats with an increased risk of colorectal cancer. But the breast cancer research produced results that were contrary to recommendations some doctors have made in hopes of helping women prevent the disease. Despite that finding, researchers say a diet rich in fruits and vegetables benefits the heart and colon.
Numerous smaller projects had found statistical links between cancer and red and processed meats but lacked the scientific weight of this one.
"This study is unique in that it involved nearly 150,000 people," Dr. Marjorie McCullough, a nutritional epidemiologist and an author of the study said yesterday. The research is in today's Journal of the American Medical Association. "It was prospective and that means each individual's diet was assessed before anyone ever developed cancer.
"In most other studies you ask people what they ate after they've gotten the disease, and that can introduce something we refer to as recall bias," which means, patients may not remember how much or what kind of meat they ate years ago. The new research followed patients, whose average age was 63 at the beginning of the study, for more than a decade. Scientists now have convincing evidence that diets rich in red meats cause one of the most common forms of cancer.
"This is something we thought for a long time, but it's always great seeing a study that confirms it," said Dr. John Procaccino, chief of colorectal cancer surgery at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset. "I don't think anyone is advocating that you stop eating red meat. It's just that eating too much is not a good idea."
Led by a team from the American Cancer Society, the study found that consumers of red and/or processed meats were 30 percent to 40 percent more likely to develop colorectal cancer than those who routinely ate other forms of protein.
"There are other risk factors we also learned about, such as physical inactivity and obesity, which proved to be risks as well," said Dr. Alfred Ashford, chief medical spokesman for the cancer society and a professor of clinical medicine at Columbia University in Manhattan.
Consumption was considered high for men with daily intake of at least 3 ounces, the size of a hamburger, and about a 2-ounce daily intake for women. Low intake by contrast was about 2 ounces or less no more than twice a week for men and less than an ounce twice weekly for women. For processed meats, elevated risk was noted among men who ate the equivalent of an ounce of sliced bologna five to six days a week and women who consumed the same amount two to three days weekly.
The breast cancer study, meanwhile, by scientists in the Netherlands, found no protective effect from fruits and vegetables among 285,526 women who were questioned about what they ate as adults over a five-year period.
But "just because dietary fruits and vegetables may not reduce the risk of breast cancer, they are still an important part of nutrition," said Dr. Lora Weiselberg, chief of the breast cancer service at North Shore University Hospital.
http://www.newsday.com/news/health/ny-hscanc124112218jan12,0,5671624.story
BY DELTHIA RICKS
STAFF WRITER
January 12, 2005
Two new medical investigations today raise compelling questions about diet and cancer risk, confirming that red meat can lead to colorectal cancer, but casting uncertainty on whether fruits and vegetables guard against breast cancer.
The colorectal study bolstered a string of earlier investigations that equated red and processed meats with an increased risk of colorectal cancer. But the breast cancer research produced results that were contrary to recommendations some doctors have made in hopes of helping women prevent the disease. Despite that finding, researchers say a diet rich in fruits and vegetables benefits the heart and colon.
Numerous smaller projects had found statistical links between cancer and red and processed meats but lacked the scientific weight of this one.
"This study is unique in that it involved nearly 150,000 people," Dr. Marjorie McCullough, a nutritional epidemiologist and an author of the study said yesterday. The research is in today's Journal of the American Medical Association. "It was prospective and that means each individual's diet was assessed before anyone ever developed cancer.
"In most other studies you ask people what they ate after they've gotten the disease, and that can introduce something we refer to as recall bias," which means, patients may not remember how much or what kind of meat they ate years ago. The new research followed patients, whose average age was 63 at the beginning of the study, for more than a decade. Scientists now have convincing evidence that diets rich in red meats cause one of the most common forms of cancer.
"This is something we thought for a long time, but it's always great seeing a study that confirms it," said Dr. John Procaccino, chief of colorectal cancer surgery at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset. "I don't think anyone is advocating that you stop eating red meat. It's just that eating too much is not a good idea."
Led by a team from the American Cancer Society, the study found that consumers of red and/or processed meats were 30 percent to 40 percent more likely to develop colorectal cancer than those who routinely ate other forms of protein.
"There are other risk factors we also learned about, such as physical inactivity and obesity, which proved to be risks as well," said Dr. Alfred Ashford, chief medical spokesman for the cancer society and a professor of clinical medicine at Columbia University in Manhattan.
Consumption was considered high for men with daily intake of at least 3 ounces, the size of a hamburger, and about a 2-ounce daily intake for women. Low intake by contrast was about 2 ounces or less no more than twice a week for men and less than an ounce twice weekly for women. For processed meats, elevated risk was noted among men who ate the equivalent of an ounce of sliced bologna five to six days a week and women who consumed the same amount two to three days weekly.
The breast cancer study, meanwhile, by scientists in the Netherlands, found no protective effect from fruits and vegetables among 285,526 women who were questioned about what they ate as adults over a five-year period.
But "just because dietary fruits and vegetables may not reduce the risk of breast cancer, they are still an important part of nutrition," said Dr. Lora Weiselberg, chief of the breast cancer service at North Shore University Hospital.
http://www.newsday.com/news/health/ny-hscanc124112218jan12,0,5671624.story