Healthy Living Guide... Health Food Recipes... » cancer http://www.health-guide-recipes.com/blog Tue, 10 Aug 2010 01:31:25 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.5 The Facts on Food and Cancer – Part 2 http://www.health-guide-recipes.com/blog/2010/01/07/the-facts-on-food-and-cancer-part-2-2/ http://www.health-guide-recipes.com/blog/2010/01/07/the-facts-on-food-and-cancer-part-2-2/#comments Thu, 07 Jan 2010 07:49:55 +0000 Sandra http://www.health-guide-recipes.com/blog/?p=83 Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> Official cancer prevention campaigns have tended to shy away from advice about nutrition, preferring to focus on personal control of what enters the lungs and is absorbed through the skin. But the self-help anti-cancer strategy is entering a new age. A steady stream of studies, providing compelling evidence linking diet with various types of cancer, has convinced Australia’s state cancer councils that it is time to act. They have issued general advice on nutrition, summed up in the term the ‘Prudent Diet’. This advice is consistent with the dietary recommendations of the National Heart Foundation and with the national dietary guidelines of Federal Health authorities in Australia, Britain, Canada and the United States.

The Prudent Diet, is no ‘fad’ diet based on intuition about possible nutritional influences on cancer risk. Nor will it leave a feeling of perpetual hunger, the outcome of so many dietary regimes. By reducing the emphasis on fats and accentuating complex carbohydrates and fibre-rich fare, we can enjoy delicious foods that have fallen into disrepute in recent years (such as steamed potatoes, bananas and crusty grain breads) while simultaneously minimising cancer-related health risks.

Researchers have suspected for some time that diet influences the incidence of some common cancers. But it is only in recent years, with data from long-term studies of disease trends among population groups, that firm conclusions have supplanted suspicions. The researchers who conduct such studies are known as epidemiologists and, although still hazy about some aspects of the diet-cancer connection, their advice is firming up year by year. Their findings indicate that some components of the foods we eat actually promote cancer risk (a fat-rich diet heightens the risk of breast and bowel cancer, for example), while other constituents help protect against cancer (the fibre, vitamins and minerals in fruits, vegetables and grains, for instance, reduce the risk of cancers at most sites).

Despite the strong circumstantial, population-related evidence of the role of diet in various cancers, supported by laboratory findings, scientists still have some way to go before they can define precisely the relationships between specific aspects of diet and specific disease outcomes.

Nevertheless health authorities recognise there is now sufficient evidence to warrant changes in food selection, preparation and handling so that the cancer risk of all Australians will be reduced.

Raw Food Plan

Health Guide Recipes

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]]> http://www.health-guide-recipes.com/blog/2010/01/07/the-facts-on-food-and-cancer-part-2-2/feed/ 0 The Facts on Food and Cancer – Part 2 http://www.health-guide-recipes.com/blog/2010/01/07/the-facts-on-food-and-cancer-part-2/ http://www.health-guide-recipes.com/blog/2010/01/07/the-facts-on-food-and-cancer-part-2/#comments Thu, 07 Jan 2010 07:45:16 +0000 Sandra http://www.health-guide-recipes.com/blog/?p=78 Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> Official cancer prevention campaigns have tended to shy away from advice about nutrition, preferring to focus on personal control of what enters the lungs and is absorbed through the skin. But the self-help anti-cancer strategy is entering a new age. A steady stream of studies, providing compelling evidence linking diet with various types of cancer, has convinced Australia’s state cancer councils that it is time to act. They have issued general advice on nutrition, summed up in the term the ‘Prudent Diet’. This advice is consistent with the dietary recommendations of the National Heart Foundation and with the national dietary guidelines of Federal Health authorities in Australia, Britain, Canada and the United States.

The Prudent Diet, is no ‘fad’ diet based on intuition about possible nutritional influences on cancer risk. Nor will it leave a feeling of perpetual hunger, the outcome of so many dietary regimes. By reducing the emphasis on fats and accentuating complex carbohydrates and fibre-rich fare, we can enjoy delicious foods that have fallen into disrepute in recent years (such as steamed potatoes, bananas and crusty grain breads) while simultaneously minimising cancer-related health risks.

Researchers have suspected for some time that diet influences the incidence of some common cancers. But it is only in recent years, with data from long-term studies of disease trends among population groups, that firm conclusions have supplanted suspicions. The researchers who conduct such studies are known as epidemiologists and, although still hazy about some aspects of the diet-cancer connection, their advice is firming up year by year. Their findings indicate that some components of the foods we eat actually promote cancer risk (a fat-rich diet heightens the risk of breast and bowel cancer, for example), while other constituents help protect against cancer (the fibre, vitamins and minerals in fruits, vegetables and grains, for instance, reduce the risk of cancers at most sites).

Despite the strong circumstantial, population-related evidence of the role of diet in various cancers, supported by laboratory findings, scientists still have some way to go before they can define precisely the relationships between specific aspects of diet and specific disease outcomes.

Nevertheless health authorities recognise there is now sufficient evidence to warrant changes in food selection, preparation and handling so that the cancer risk of all Australians will be reduced.

Raw Food Plan

Health Guide Recipes

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]]> http://www.health-guide-recipes.com/blog/2010/01/07/the-facts-on-food-and-cancer-part-2/feed/ 0 The Facts on Food and Cancer – Part 1 http://www.health-guide-recipes.com/blog/2010/01/06/the-facts-on-food-and-cancer-part-1/ http://www.health-guide-recipes.com/blog/2010/01/06/the-facts-on-food-and-cancer-part-1/#comments Wed, 06 Jan 2010 05:50:56 +0000 Sandra http://www.health-guide-recipes.com/blog/?p=76 Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> Take a stroll through any large supermarket . . . shelves groaning, freezer cabinets piled high, aisles stretching into the distance. While the goods on display look appetising enough, it is the labels that attract attention – NO ADDED SUGAR; HIGH IN FIBRE; SALT REDUCED; LOW IN CALORIES; NO ARTIFICIAL COLOURS, FLAVOURINGS, PRESERVERS OR ‘IMPROVERS’.

The labels are signposts of our times, reflecting the growing consensus among medical researchers that small changes to diet can have a big impact on health. Encouragingly, the same alterations that seem to benefit our hearts, waistlines and general fitness also seem to reduce our cancer risk. Indeed the three leading causes of death in Australia, heart disease, cancer and stroke, as well as prevalent debilitating conditions including adult-onset diabetes, diverticular disease, weight disorders and liver cirrhosis, can often be prevented . . . with dietary change a key strategy.
The influence of diet on cancer is considerable. Scientists estimate that diet is a major contributory factor in about 35 per cent of all cancer deaths. Thus, of the 22 000 people who die of cancer in Australia each year, no fewer than 7700 deaths are reckoned to be diet-related. The most prevalent cancer killers among Australian men are those affecting the lung, bowel (colon and rectum) and prostate. In women, the ‘big four’ are breast, bowel, lung, and reproductive organs (particularly the uterus and ovaries).
World authorities on cancer trends and causes consider that diet could play a major part in as many as 70 per cent of breast cancers, 70 per cent of cancers of the endometrium (lining of the uterus), 61 per cent of cancers affecting the bowel, and 96 per cent of those affecting the prostate. And, in the case of lung cancer – one of the biggest cancer killers of men and, increasingly, of women -dietary imbalance appears to enhance the damaging effects of tobacco. Thus smokers who neglect fresh fruits and vegetables have a lung cancer risk that is somewhat higher than that of their counterparts who regularly eat these foods.

Cancer authorities worldwide consider dietary modification to be one of the most constructive ways by which individuals can reduce their cancer risk. Based on current evidence, the measures most likely to achieve this end include eating a diet that has plenty of variety and is low in fat, minimising the intake of smoked and salt-cured foods, ensuring that meals include fruits, vegetables and whole grains every day and drinking less alcohol. For the one in three Australians who develop some form of serious cancer during their lifetime, doctors recommend a similar dietary strategy in the lead-up to treatment. Improving nutritional status prior to anticancer therapy does not guarantee success but it is certainly a practical step that patients themselves can take towards helping their bodies cope with the impact of treatments such as surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

Low Sugar and Sugarless Recipes

Low Fat and Non Fat Recipes

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]]> http://www.health-guide-recipes.com/blog/2010/01/06/the-facts-on-food-and-cancer-part-1/feed/ 0 Why choose high-fibre foods? http://www.health-guide-recipes.com/blog/2009/12/30/why-choose-high-fibre-foods/ http://www.health-guide-recipes.com/blog/2009/12/30/why-choose-high-fibre-foods/#comments Wed, 30 Dec 2009 07:48:01 +0000 Sandra http://www.health-guide-recipes.com/blog/?p=73 Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> In recent years, the message from medical research has become increasingly clear; a diet rich in high-fibre foods (such as fruits, vegetables and wholegrain cereals) protects against several common disease conditions. It also assists in controlling weight as high-fibre foods are ‘calorie bargains’, that is wholesome, low-calorie substitutes for fatty foods.
Several epidemiological studies have suggested a protective effect of fibre-rich foods in populations with low rates of bowel cancer. Scientists are particularly encouraged by the findings of Japanese research based on a very large population sample showing a direct relationship between daily consumption of green and yellow vegetables and low rates of cancer at most sites.
Many Australians eat far less fibre than the 25 g to 30 g daily recommended by nutritionists. Even rich sources of fibre contain only about 6 g per serve. Thus eating the proverbial ‘apple a day’ is far from adequate; four or five servings or portions of high-fibre foods are advisable. Excellent sources of fibre include beans, dates, nuts, prunes, berry fruits, apples, oranges, pears, bananas, apricots, figs, bran cereals, corn ears, peas, spinach, potatoes, lentils, brussel sprouts, parsnips and wholegrain breads. Although it is uncertain whether fibre itself confers nutritional benefits, it clearly assists body functions related to cancer risk. In particular, fibre speeds the passage of food through the digestive system, influencing rates of nutrient absorption and of waste excretion. Such influences appear to benefit the bowel environment, apparently reducing the risk of cancer.
The vitamin A and C groups and minerals found in small quantities in many fibre-rich foods also seem to play an important role in cancer protection. Fruits and vegetables rich in these vitamins (as well as fibre) include broccoli, cantaloupe, carrots, cabbage, cauliflower, kohlrabi, turnips, spinach, squash, sweet potatoes, peaches, plums, tomatoes and watermelon.

Nutritionists consider the best way to obtain such micronutrients is within whole foods rather than separately in high dose tablets or liquid preparations. They argue that mega-doses of vitamins and minerals can create dietary imbalance and may even prove toxic when taken in excess.
To gain maximum nutritional value from fruits and vegetables, eat them fresh where possible; cook vegetables complete with skins; steam or bake fruits and vegetables, rather than boiling them; and reduce cooking time to the minimum.

Healthy Salad Recipes

Health Guide Recipes

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