Meat and Dairy Increasing Cancer

Meat Consumption Increases Breast Cancer Risk
The more meat a woman eats, the greater her risk of breast cancer, according to a new study of postmenopausal Danish women. The study looked at 378 women who developed breast cancer and matched them to control subjects who did not develop breast cancer. A higher intake of meat—including poultry and fish, as well as red meat and processed meat—was associated with a significantly higher breast cancer incidence rate. Every 25 gram increase in consumption of total meat, red meat, and processed meat led to a 9, 15, and 23 percent increase in risk of breast cancer, respectively. However, the degree of risk may depend on genetics. Certain genes activate the carcinogens (heterocyclic amines) found in cooked meat. The study showed that women with genes that rapidly activate these carcinogens are at particular risk of breast cancer if they eat meat.

Egeberg R, Olsen A, Autrup H, et al. Meat consumption, N-acetyl transferase 1 and 2 polymorphism and risk of breast cancer in Danish postmenopausal women. Eur J Canc Prev. 2008;17:39-47.

More Studies Link Milk to Prostate Cancer
Men who consume low-fat and nonfat milk face an increased risk of prostate cancer, according to two new studies in the American Journal of Epidemiology. One study included 82,483 men in the Multiethnic Cohort Study, 4,404 of whom developed prostate cancer over an average follow-up of eight years. Researchers found no association between prostate cancer risk and calcium and vitamin D intake, whether in the form of food or supplements. However, the study did find a positive association between consuming 1 cup or more per day of low-fat or nonfat milk and developing prostate cancer.

The other study included 293,888 participants in the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-AARP Diet and Health Study. Consuming two or more daily servings of skim milk was associated with an increased risk of advanced prostate cancer.
Several previous studies—including two large Harvard studies—have shown that milk-drinking men have a significantly higher risk of prostate cancer. Researchers offer two possible reasons for the association: Milk drinking increases blood levels of insulin-like growth factor, which is associated with cancer risk. It also decreases activation of vitamin D precursors. Vitamin D helps protect the prostate against cancer.

Park S, Murphy SP, Wilkens LR, et al. Calcium, vitamin D, and dairy product intake and prostate cancer risk: the Multiethnic Cohort Study. Am J Epidemiol. 2007;166:1259-1269.
Park Y, Mitrou PN, Kipnis V, et al. Calcium, dairy foods, and risk of incident and fatal prostate cancer: the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study. Am J Epidemiol. 2007;166:1270-1279.

Does Childhood Dairy Intake Increase Later Cancer Risk?
Children who consume a high-dairy diet—equivalent to nearly 2 cups of milk per day—have almost three times the risk of developing colorectal cancer in adulthood compared with children who consume less than half a cup of milk per day, according to a new study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. These findings held true after researchers adjusted for differences in meat, fruit, and vegetable intake, as well as socioeconomic status.

Van der Pols JC, Bain C, Gunnell D, Smith GD, Frobisher C, Martin RM. Childhood dairy intake and adult cancer risk: 65-y follow-up of the Boyd Orr cohort. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007;86:1722-1729.

Tumors Use Sugars to Avoid Programmed Cell Death

ScienceDaily (Apr. 17, 2008) — Researchers at the Duke School of Medicine apparently have solved the riddle of why cancer cells like sugar so much, and it may be a mechanism that could lead to better cancer treatments.

Jonathan Coloff, a graduate student in Assistant Professor Jeffrey Rathmell's laboratory in the Duke Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, has found that the tumor cells use glucose sugar as a way to avoid programmed cell death. They make use of a protein called Akt, which promotes glucose metabolism, which in turn regulates a family of proteins critical for cell survival, the researchers shared during an April 15 presentation at the American Association of Cancer Research Annual Meeting in San Diego.

In normal cells, growth factors regulate metabolism and cell survival. Removing these factors leads to loss of glucose uptake and metabolism and cell death. Cancer cells, however, maintain glucose metabolism and resist cell death, even when deprived of growth factors.
To study how Akt might affect these processes, Coloff and colleagues introduced a cancer-causing form of Akt called myrAkt, into cells that depend on growth factor to survive. The mutant form of Akt allowed cells to maintain glucose usage and survive even when no growth factors were present, allowing them to bypass a normal safeguard used by cells to prevent cancer development.

The death of normal cells after growth factors are removed is partly accomplished by two proteins called Mcl-1 and Puma. But the cancer-causing version of Akt prevents these two proteins from accomplishing their tasks, allowing the cell to survive when it shouldn't.
Once glucose was withdrawn from the environment, however, Akt was no longer able to maintain regulation of the key targeted proteins Mcl-1 and Puma, and the cells died.

"Akt's dependence on glucose to provide an anti-cell-death signal could be a sign of metabolic addiction to glucose in cancer cells, and could give us a new avenue for a metabolic treatment of cancer," said Dr. Rathmell.

Adapted from materials provided by Duke University Medical Center.

Water - One of the key factors in maintaining health

By Meghan Zbyczik

You hear it everywhere - make sure you drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water per day. AT LEAST. Throughout the day, we will lose water through our breath, sweat, urine, and bowel movement. On average, this is about 2-3 liters of water (or approx. 68-102 ounces). A good rule of thumb is to drink at least half your body weight in ounces of water a day. So if you weigh 200 pounds, drink at least 100 ounces of water. Of course, if you are an active person, chances are you're losing more water the the average person. Up your water consumption by about 16 ounces for every hour of exercise or physical activity.

Water is our body's main chemical component, making up about 60 percent of our body weight. Every system in our body depends on water - it flushes toxins out of vital organs, carries nutrients to cells, and provides a moist environment for our body. Not to mention it helps to lubricate the digestive tract and get everything, ahem, flowing. Our bodies are mostly water, so this ongoing intake of water is essential to our every function. Drink the proper amounts, and everything is much more likely to work at optimal levels.

Water is the most common nutritional deficiency in the American population. If the water content drops in our body by as little as 2% it will cause fatigue. Drops of 10% will cause significant health problems with our:
Digestive, Cardiovascular, Immune and Musculoskeletal Systems. Losses greater than 10% can result in death.

What happens when I don't drink enough water? When our intake of water isn't equal to the amount we are losing, we can experience dehydration. Signs of dehydration include:

Early Signs
Fatigue
Anxiety
Irritability
Depression
Cravings
Cramps
Headaches

Mature Signs
Heartburn
Joint Pain
Back Pain
Migraines
Fibromyalgia
Constipation
Colitis

And don't wait until you are thirsty to drink water - by this time our body is already slightly dehydrated. Prevention is the best medicine!

Avoid diuretic beverages they dehydrate
-Coffee
-Soda
-Alcoholic Beverages
-Packaged Fruit Juices
-Caffeinated Teas

If you drink an 8 oz. diuretic beverage, add 12-16 ounces of water to you daily intake.

Make sure to get adequate electrolytes.
-Electrolyte Solutions
-Unrefined Sea Salt

Also, make sure you're drinking good water. Bottled spring water and filtered water are both good options. Don't drink tap water! This should be avoided because it contains chlorine and may contain fluoride; toxic substances that, with ongoing consumption, can have dire consequences for the body. Also, stay away from distilled water because it has the wrong ionization, pH, polarization and oxidation potentials, and can drain your body of necessary minerals.

Finally, drink water at room temperature if possible. Ice-cold water can harm the delicate lining of your stomach. And don't drink that water bottle that's been sitting in your car for a week - the heat from the sun makes the plastic bottle leak toxins into your water. Try a reusable water bottle to help reduce your eco-footprint, as well.