Tag Archives: cancer

13 Reasons Tea Is (Healthy and) Awesome: Greatist.com | Healthland | TIME.com

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http://greatist.com/health/why-coffee-and-tea-are-amazing-for-you/

Put down those saucer cups and get chugging — tea is officially awesome for your health. But before loading up on Red Zinger, make sure that your “tea” is actually tea. Real tea is derived from a particular plant (Camellia sinensis) and includes only four varieties: green, black, white, and oolong. Anything else (like herbal “tea”) is an infusion of a different plant and isn’t technically tea.

But what real tea lacks in variety, it makes up for with some serious health benefits. Researchers attribute tea’s health properties to polyphenols (a type of antioxidant) and phytochemicals. Though most studies have focused on the better-known green and black teas, white and oolong also bring benefits to the table. Read on to find out why coffee’s little cousin rocks your health.

Tea can boost exercise endurance. Scientists have found that the catechins (antioxidants) in green tea extract increase the body’s ability to burn fat as fuel, which accounts for improved muscle endurance.

Drinking tea could help reduce the risk of heart attack. Tea might also help protect against cardiovascular and degenerative diseases.

The antioxidants in tea might help protect against a boatload of cancers, including breast, colon, colorectal, skin, lung, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, pancreas, liver, ovarian, prostate and oral cancers. But don’t rely solely on tea to keep a healthy body — tea is not a miracle cure, after all. While more studies than not suggest that tea has cancer-fighting benefits, the current research is mixed.

Tea helps fight free radicals. Tea is high in oxygen radical absorbance capacity (“ORAC” to its friends), which is a fancy way of saying that it helps destroy free radicals (which can damage DNA) in the body. … Continue reading →

7 Crazy Things Pesticides Are Doing to Your Body | Rodale News

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This seemed kinda scary to read. I hope we learn more on this in grad school…

BY LEAH ZERBE Share on facebook_like Share on google_plusone

Pesticides aren’t just on the food, the chemicals are inside food, too.

Pesticides are designed to kill, although the mode of action they use to put the stranglehold on pests varies. Whether it’s nerve gas–like neurological disruption, the unbalancing of key hormones, or the stunting of a plant’s ability to absorb life-sustaining trace minerals from the soil, none of the chemical interventions seems all that appetizing, especially considering that chemical residues routinely wind up on and even inside of the food we eat everyday. Pesticides are also blamed for diminishing mineral levels in foods.

Agrochemical supporters tend to fall back on a “the dose makes the poison” theory, meaning tiny exposures aren’t really that harmful. Increasingly, though, independent scientists are debunking that belief, even proving that incredibly tiny doses could set a person up for health problems that might not crop up until decades down the line. Luckily, eating organic, less processed foods can cut back on your pesticide exposure.

Here are 7 health problems associated with pesticide-based agrochemicals.

Diabetes

Scientists have been noticing a link between pesticides and diabetes for years. The latest evidence comes out of the Endocrine Society’s 94th Annual Meeting, where Robert Sargis, MD, PhD, released the results of a study that suggest tolyfluanid, a fungicide used on farm crops, creates insulin resistance in fat cells. A 2011 study published in Diabetes Care found that overweight people with higher levels of organochlorine pesticides in their bodies also faced a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Prevent it: To save money on organic fare raised without pesticides, cook with organic dried beans. In the home, avoid using chemical air fresheners and artificially scented products—these things are also blamed for inducing type 2 diabetes.

Read more: 11 Surprising Diabetes Triggers

Cancer

More than 260 studies link pesticides to various cancers, including lymphoma, leukemia, soft tissue sarcoma, and brain, breast, prostate, bone, bladder, thyroid, colon, liver, and lung cancers, among others.

Prevent it: The President’s Cancer Panel suggests eating organic and avoiding plastic to lower your risk of environmentally triggered cancers.

Autism & Other Developmental Diseases

How do you get autism? The world’s leading autism researchers believe the condition develops from a mix of genes and the pollutants encountered in the mother’s womb and early in life. Many insecticides effectively kill bugs by throwing off normal neurological functioning. That same thing appears to be happening in some children. A 2010 Harvard study found that children with organophosphate pesticide breakdown materials in their urine were far more likely to live with ADHD than kids without the trace pesticide residues.

Prevent it: Switching to an organic diet rapidly eliminates pesticide residues in the body.

Obesity

Some agrochemical pesticides act as hormone disruptors, meaning they act like a fake version of a naturally occurring hormone in your body, they block important hormone communication pathways in the body, or they interfere with your body’s ability to regulate the healthy release of hormones. More than 50 pesticides are classified as hormone disruptors, and some of them promote metabolic syndrome and obesity as they accumulate in your cells, according to 2012 study appearing in Environmental Health Perspectives.

Parkinson’s Disease

More than 60 studies show a connection between pesticides and the neurological disease Parkinson’s, a condition characterized by uncontrolled trembling. The association is strongest for weed- and bug-killing chemical exposures over a long period of time, meaning it’s important to keep these toxic compounds out of your household routine.

Prevent it: Don’t turn to chemical interventions to kill bugs in your home or garden. Instead, use natural pest control measures.

Infertility

Pesticides spell trouble in the baby-making department, thanks to their bad habit of not staying put. For instance, atrazine, a common chemical weed killer used heavily in the Midwest, on Southern sugar cane farms, and on golf courses, has been detected in tap water. Doctors and scientists point to published evidence tying atrazine to increased miscarriage and infertility rates. Other pesticides cause a plunge in male testosterone levels. A 2006 study found chlorpyrifos, a chemical used in nonorganic apple and sweet pepper farming, and carbaryl, a go-to pesticide in strawberry fields and peach orchards, caused abnormally low testosterone levels.

Prevent it: Avoid the worst summer fruit, the kinds most likely to be laced with toxic pesticides. Instead, choose organic grapes, strawberries, and imported plums.

Birth Defects

Babies conceived during the spring and summer months—a time of year when pesticide use is in full swing—face the highest risk of birth defects. During these months, higher pesticide levels turn up in surface waters, increasing a mother’s risk of exposure. Spina bifida, cleft lip, clubfoot, and Down syndrome rates are higher when moms become pregnant during high season for pesticides.

Prevent it: To protect yourself, use a water filter that is certified by NSF International to meet American National Standards Institute Standard 53 for VOC (volatile organic compound) reduction. This will significantly reduce levels of atrazine and other pesticides in your tap water.

via 7 Crazy Things Pesticides Are Doing to Your Body | Rodale News.

Free radicals and antioxidants – those terms everyone throws around…

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So what are they?

Your body uses oxygen for numerous metabolic reactions, as well as part of your immune system. (Our bodies use them to attack bacteria and viruses. ) Sometimes when oxygen interacts with different compounds it can become a free radical.

A free radical is a molecule that has one or more unpaired electrons. So what? A molecule wants to have all of it’s orbitals filled – usually each atom in a molecule likes to have 8 electrons or it shares electrons with another atom in the molecule so it’s balanced. So if a molecule has only 7 electrons, it’s going to pull from somewhere else – from another molecule or atom that has a less strong hold on its electrons. Now the first one is stabilized, but the second one is out an electron or two and becomes a free radical. 

An antioxidant is a molecule that give up an electron but then reconfigures to a way that it’s still balanced and doesn’t become a free radical itself.

Free radicals attack fats in our cell membranes and damage our cell functioning. They can also alter DNA, RNA and proteins and increase inflammation. All of this has a big domino effect on the body.

Your body naturally defends against oxidants/free radicals by making enzymes out of the minerals selenium, copper, manganese and zinc. It also uses vitamins like E, beta-cartone and vitamin C. All of these are found in diets high in fruits and veggies.

Experimentation time! Beets…

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20120801-111050.jpgSo in honor of finally making it to my local green market, I decided to pick up a vegetable I’d never prepared before – but love – beets.

Apparently they’re one of those “power” foods. Here’s why:

  • high in vitamin C, potassium, niacin, pantothenic acid, and B-6.
  • Raw beets are high in folates
  • low in calories
  • contain phytonutrients which provide antioxidants and help inflammation
  • recent studies have shown regularly consuming them can shrink tumors
  • some great other facts found here
  • Also their greens have great nutrition too! (next step for me will be figuring out what to do with those…)

So since I’m new to cooking beets I decided to go easy!

  • I cut off the tops of the beets, coated with olive oil and tossed into the oven at 425 for 40 minutes or until tender. (I had no idea what that meant, so I poked mine with a knife and it went in easily.)
  • Let cool, rub off skin (I used latex gloves. Don’t need red hands at my shoot tomorrow…)
  • and chop into cubes. Voila!  From there I’ve seen recipes saying to splash with lemon juice or toss in some goat cheese or feta. Have fun with it. (yeah I really just said to have fun with beets…)
  • Ps – it’s jack russell approved. 

The New Scary Threat in Canned Soup: BPA

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The New Scary Threat in Canned Soup | Rodale News.

I just wrote – and accidentally clicked out of at the end – a let’s asume awesome post about fad diets. But as wordpress did not save it, please enjoy this article about the scary stuff in canned products instead. After reading this, I will be learning how to make my own soup!

Chinese researchers have just given you one more reason to ditchcanned soup for good: A controversial chemical used in canned-good linings, as well as in certain types of plastics and the coatings for cash-register receipts, has been associated with higher rates of brain cancer.

The study, published in the International Journal of Clinical Oncology, compared levels of bisphenol A (BPA) to rates of meningioma, a type of cancer that grows in the membrane that surrounds your brain and spinal cord, in about 500 adults who were being treated at a clinic in China. About half of those people had been diagnosed with meningioma, while the other half had not.

The researchers found that the adults with higher levels of BPA in their urine were more likely to have that particular form of brain cancer than those whose levels were lower. The people with the highest concentrations of BPA were 1.4 to 1.6 times more likely to have the cancer than people with the lowest levels. That was even after the researchers controlled for things like weight, family history, and whether the person had been on hormone replacement therapy.

The Truth About Canned Soup

BPA is a hormone disruptor, meaning that it interferes with the way your body produces and regulates estrogen, testosterone, and other hormones, such as insulin, which is why past studies have linked it to breast and prostate cancers and to metabolic diseases like diabetes. Meningioma is a hormonal cancer influenced by high levels of female hormones, which is one reason the cancer is more often seen in women.

Although this study doesn’t show that BPA causes meningioma, it does add to a growing body of research linking the chemical to serious health issues. In addition to those listed above, BPA has been linked to heart disease and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Brain Cancer or Breast Cancer? 
Canned-food manufacturers are beginning to recognize that the public doesn’t want this toxic chemical in its canned goods and are starting to find alternatives, even though the Food and Drug Administration has repeatedly refused to ban BPA from food packaging. But the alternatives? Just more cancer-causers, says Margie Kelly of Healthy Child Healthy World, a nonprofit devoted to protecting children from toxic chemicals. “It’s just not acceptable to move from BPA to another toxic chemical that just doesn’t have the same bad PR,” she says.

According to the North American Metal Packaging Alliance, a trade group of can manufacturers, the most common replacement for BPA right now is polyvinyl chloride (PVC), otherwise known as vinyl, the same material used to make your bathroom shower curtain. PVC contains hormone-disrupting chemicals of its own, and it’s been linked to breast and liver cancers; the Environmental Protection Agency classifies it as a known human carcinogen.

The 3 Biggest Sources of Chemicals in Your Home

Another alternative being studied is bisphenol S, or BPS, which is similar in structure to BPA and just as likely to interfere with your hormones.

And both chemicals are being used in cans advertised as “BPA free.” “‘BPA free’ doesn’t necessarily mean safe, any more than ‘natural’ means anything,” says Kelly.

Crickets Chirping at Food Company HQ
Kelly’s group led a campaign to get Campbell Soup to remove BPA from its cans, and after they collected 20,000 signatures on a petition, the company ultimately announced that it would. Similarly, Kroger, the country’s largest grocery store chain, announced that it would require canned-food manufacturers selling products in its stores to phase out BPA, and other large agribusinesses, including ConAgra, General Mills, and Heinz, have all announced that they’re either phasing out BPA or researching alternatives for use in their cans. But no one is saying what they’ll use instead, whether it will be cancer-causing vinyl, hormone-disrupting BPS, or yet another unknown, untested chemical.

“No one fought, signed petitions, did research on the Internet only to have cans be lined with something that’s equally dangerous,” Kelly says.

Her group has now partnered with the nonprofit Breast Cancer Fund in a new campaign called “Cans Not Cancer” that’s pressuring canned-food companies to be more transparent about the alternatives in use. Currently, the nonprofits are pressuring Campbell Soup to disclose what’s being used in its cans. You can sign the petition here.

If You Can’t Beat ‘Em, Avoid ‘Em
According to the Breast Cancer Fund, food packaging remains our largest exposure source to BPA, and they’ve published tips on the best ways to avoid the toxic chemical (and any of its toxic replacements). Here are the group’s suggestions:

• Canned beans: Eden Foods is the only company using a nontoxic BPA alternative in its cans, made from vegetable oil. If you can’t find that brand, check the freezer section for frozen cooked beans, or buy dried.

• Fruits: Replace your canned fruit with fresh or dried, and you’ll not only avoid BPA, but also the added sugar and calories in canned fruit.

• Ravioli, pasta with meatballs, and other canned meals: These all-in-one meals have some of the highest levels of BPA of any canned foods, the Fund says. Cooking from scratch is the easiest way to avoid these, but if you’re in a pinch, buy a frozen meal instead. Just keep an eye out for the sky-high sodium levels in some frozen dinners, and remove them from their plastic packaging first. It can contain BPA, as well.

The Most Underutilized Tool in Your Kitchen

• Restaurant meals: Don’t be afraid to ask your server if the restaurant uses canned ingredients in the meal you order. Generally speaking, many restaurants do use canned foods, so it might be tough to completely avoid BPA in your restaurant meal.

• Soups: Look for soups in Tetra Pak containers—those cartons of soup generally reserved for broths and gourmet foods. The containers are made from layers of cardboard, aluminum, and PET plastic, which is BPA free. These aren’t always recyclable, so encourage your municipal recycling program to include them if it doesn’t already.

• Vegetables: Vegetables have some of the highest levels of BPA of any canned foods, according to product tests. Opt for frozen or fresh, particularly when your local farmer’s markets are brimming over. Canned tomatoes can now be found in Tetra Paks, as well, but often those options aren’t organic. Buy huge amounts of organic tomatoes at your farmer’s market and learn how to can them yourself in glass jars.