RE: Study bolsters cancer-red meat link

[Guest guest]

Sorry, Flo, but this sounds bogus to me in a number of ways,

which I don’t have time to go into now. But I’ve learned not to

trust studies done by anyone connected with the American Cancer Society or the

AMA. Read Nourishing Traditions

by Sally Fallon and Mary Enig, and you’ll understand a lot more about

these “studies.”

 

Carole

 

 

 

 

 

Flo [fgarig]

Thursday, January 13, 2005

7:05 AM

Undisclosed-Recipient:;

Herbal Remedies - Study

bolsters cancer-red meat link

 

 

 

CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- Two

studies shed new light on the link between diet and cancer, bolstering evidence

that red meat may raise colorectal cancer risks but casting doubt on whether

fruits and vegetables can help prevent breast cancer.

The new research doesn't settle the questions,

partly because both studies asked about eating habits only in adulthood. Some

researchers think that may have less impact on cancer risk than lifelong eating

habits.

Breast cancer risk, especially, may be more

dependent on a woman's diet during adolescence, when breast cells are rapidly

dividing and are more vulnerable.

Still, both studies are consistent with

evolving thinking about specific foods and their influence on cancer risks. The

studies are published in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical

Association.

In numerous previous studies examining diet

and cancer, the relationship between meat consumption and colorectal cancer is

the among the strongest, with most finding that eating lots of red meat and

processed meats increases the risk.

The new study, led by American Cancer Society

researchers and involving 148,610 men and women aged 63 on average, is among

the biggest. Participants recorded their meat intake in 1982 and again in

1992-93. Those with a high meat intake were about 30 to 40 percent more likely

to develop lower colon or rectal cancer than those with a low intake.

High meat intake for men was at least 3 ounces

daily -- about the size of a large fast-food hamburger -- and 2 ounces daily

for women. Low intake was about 2 ounces or less of red meat no more than twice

weekly for men and less than an ounce that often for women.

Slightly higher risks were found for a high

consumption of processed meats including bacon and bologna.

Study co-author Dr. Michael Thun, the cancer society's epidemiology

chief, said the results should be put into perspective: Smoking, obesity and

inactivity are still thought to be more strongly linked with colon cancer than

eating lots of red meat.

Still, Thun said, the results support cancer

society dietary guidelines recommending against heavy meat consumption and

favoring a variety of healthful foods.

The breast cancer study, involving 285,526

European women, found no protective effect from fruits and vegetables in women

questioned about diet and followed for an average of about five years.

Studies on whether diets rich in fruits and

vegetables might protect against various cancers including breast, colon and

stomach cancer have had mixed results, though no effect was seen in some of the

more recent research on breast cancer.

The results don't rule out that a diet rich in

fruits and vegetables might reduce breast cancer risks for certain subgroups of

women, including those with a family history of breast cancer, said lead author

Dr. Petra Peeters of University Medical Center Utrecht in The Netherlands.

But even if they don't help prevent breast

cancer, fruits and vegetables, as well as limiting red meat intake, are good

for the heart, said Dr.

Walter Willett,

a Harvard University nutrition expert and author

of a book promoting those habits.

" Fortunately, substituting

pistachio-encrusted salmon and gingered brown basmati pilaf for roast beef with

mashed potatoes and gravy is not a culinary sacrifice, " Willett said in a

JAMA editorial accompanying the studies.

 

 

 

 

 

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Dr.IanShillington