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Dietary Choices Help
Deter Cancer
By Charlyn Fargo,
Copley News Service
 At
least 50 percent of cancers are considered preventable by dietary choice.
Tomatoes and broccoli help fight stomach, bladder, colon and prostate cancer.
Soy protein also helps in cancer prevention, as well as preventing heart disease
and osteoporosis.
"In terms of
cancer prevention, a healthy diet and exercise are as important as not
smoking," said Dennis Savaiano, chairman of the Food and Nutrition Science
Alliance, and professor of foods and nutrition at Purdue University.
"Most Americans
are already aware of the detrimental effects of smoking, but poor diet is cause
for alarm."
 Broccoli
and other cruciferous vegetables may be the best-known vegetables for their
cancer-preventing agents, but those high in beta carotene also offer benefits. A
study from Sweden of women over 50 suggests that a single serving of a food high
in beta carotene every day may help deter breast cancer. Women who consumed at
least 3.7 milligrams of beta carotene a day from food (about half a carrot's
worth), had up to 68 percent less risk than women who ate the least amount of
beta carotene.
Good sources of beta
carotene include bright-orange or green vegetables such as a baked sweet potato,
slice of pumpkin pie, baby carrots, canned apricot halves, steamed spinach or a
salad with a cup of raw spinach, cantaloupe and steamed broccoli.
Other tips to reduce
cancer risk include:
Beta-carotene and
cancer
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.
Numerous epidemiological studies have concluded that high intakes of fruits and
vegetables are associated with lower risks of cancer. It was originally thought
that beta- carotene was the protective component, but six large-scale clinical
trials have failed to confirm any cancer-protective effects. Two of the trials
involving heavy smokers showed a significant 18 per cent increase in lung cancer
among the smokers who took beta-carotene. One very large trial involving 22,071
American physicians showed no benefits and no harm from 12 years of
supplementation with 50 mg of synthetic beta-carotene every second day.
Researchers at the Harvard Medical School have just released the results of a
major study aimed at evaluating the effects of beta-carotene supplementation
among women. The study involved almost 40,000 healthy female health
professionals (aged 45 years or older). The women were randomized into two
groups with one group receiving 50 mg of synthetic beta-carotene on alternate
days and the other group receiving a placebo. The 2.1-year supplementation phase
of the study was followed by a two-year observation period. At the end of the
four years 747 cases of cancer and 218 cases of cardiovascular incidents (heart
attack, stroke, and death) had occurred among the women. There were no
significant differences in the incidence of cancer, cardiovascular events or
death from all causes in the two groups. This also held true when just the
smokers among the women were considered.
The researchers conclude that beta-carotene supplementation is neither harmful
nor beneficial to people at average risk for cancer except in the case of
prostate cancer. The Physicians' Health Study found that men who supplemented
with 50 mg of beta-carotene every second day for 12 years had a significantly
lower incidence of prostate cancer.
Lee, I. Min, et al. Beta-carotene supplementation and incidence of cancer and
cardiovascular disease: the Women's Health Study. Journal of the National Cancer
Institute, Vol. 91, December 15, 1999, pp. 2102-06
Beta Carotene and
Prostate Cancer
 A
research team at Nagoya City University Medical School and Kyoto University in
Japan reported in Cancer Research that low levels of beta carotene are directly
related to the risk of developing prostate cancer. The study involved 100
patients with prostate cancer. The ages were from 50 to 79 years (Cancer
Research 48: 1331-1336). A study reported in the American Journal of Nutrition
found that high blood levels of beta carotene had a strong protective effect
against lung cancer, melanoma, and bladder cancer. This study was done at John
Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health in Baltimore (American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition 53:265S-269S).
Beta Carotene: Found
in Green, yellow orange & red fruits and vegetables such
as carrots, pumpkins, spinach, squash, watermelon, asparagus, broccoli, and
cantaloupe. Beta Carotene's possible benefits include reduced risk of cataracts,
coronary artery disease, and breast cancer; enhances immunity for the elderly.
It is also a precursor to vitamin A (retinol). If the body is in need Beta
Carotene converts to vitamin A. If the body has enough vitamin A Beta Carotene
acts as
an antioxidant protecting cells from free radicals.
Note--Large amounts of Beta Carotene supplements have been found to increase
lung cancer in men who smoked and drank.
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