Disease — The Perspective

Cooked Tomatoes Can Be Key To Cancer Cure

February 3, 2012 By adminclyd

A nutrient in cooked tomatoes can slow the growth and even kill prostate cancer cells, a study done by an Indian-origin researcher-led team has claimed.

Mridula Chopra and colleagues at the University of Portsmouth, through laboratory studies tested the effect of the nutrient lycopene on the simple mechanism through which cancer cells hijack a body’s healthy blood supply to grow and spread. The research found that lycopene , which is what gives tomatoes their red colour, intercepts cancer’s ability to make the connections it needs to attach to a healthy blood supply.

The researchers, from the university’s School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, are now calling for tests to check if the same reaction occurs in the human body, the Daily Telegraph reported. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Health & Fitness Tagged With: Disease, Foods, Research & Study

Drinking Tea Cuts Blood Pressure

January 31, 2012 By adminclyd

Drinking up to eight cups of tea a day lowers blood pressure and could prevent heart disease, Australian scientists have found.

Researchers at the University of Western Australia gave black leaf tea, such as Earl Grey or English Breakfast to volunteers with normal to high blood pressure.

They were given drinks containing 429 milligrams of the plant chemical polyphenols—or the equivalent of eight and a half cups of tea a day.

A second group were given a tea-flavoured placebo.

After six months, the blood pressure of the tea-drinking group had fallen by between two and three mmHg, the measurement of pressure used in medicine. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Health & Fitness Tagged With: Disease, Foods, Lifestyle, Research & Study

Reduce Your Cholesterol

January 16, 2012 By adminclyd

WHAT you eat and how you consume the food contributes to your body’s cholesterol level – it can increase or decrease the levels.

Cholesterol is a fat (lipid) which is produced by the liver and is crucial for normal body functioning. Diet plays an important role in lowering or increasing the cholesterol. The saturated fats from the processed foods you usually consumed were converted into cholesterol which causes problems on exceeded limit.

LDL (low density lipoprotein) cholesterol is called “bad” cholesterol, because elevated levels of LDL cholesterol are associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease. HDL (high density lipoprotein) cholesterol is called the “good cholesterol” because HDL cholesterol particles prevent atherosclerosis by extracting cholesterol from artery walls and disposing of them through liver metabolism. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Health Care Tagged With: Disease, Foods, Research & Study

Drop Holiday Weight Based On Blood Type

December 12, 2011 By adminclyd

It is routine for many to splurge and put on a few pounds during the holidays and then when the new year rolls around, to try and buckle down and lose the weight.

The Eat Right for Your Type Diet promises users they will feel better faster and get sick less if they eat right and exercise for their blood type. “This is an individualized approach and that is one thing I really, really like,” said dietitian Pamela Ligowski.

If you have type O blood, the diet states your body thrives on animal proteins and intense exercise. O-types should eat a diet high in proteins and low in carbohydrates. Eat meat, poultry and fish and avoid wheat, bread and most other grains. “This is kind of like an Atkins style diet. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Health Care Tagged With: Disease, Foods, Lifestyle, Research & Study

Two Drugs Appear to Delay Progression of Breast Cancer

December 11, 2011 By adminclyd

Two drugs can delay by several months the time before advanced breast cancer worsens, potentially providing new options for women with that disease, researchers reported Wednesday.

Both drugs, pertuzumab from Genentech and everolimus from Novartis, also showed signs in clinical trials that they could prolong lives, though researchers said it was too early to say that definitively.

Results of the studies, which were sponsored by the companies, are being presented this week at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium and were published online Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Health Care Tagged With: Disease, Lifestyle, Research & Study

Starch Intake May Influence Risk For Breast Cancer Recurrence

December 10, 2011 By adminclyd

Researchers have linked increased starch intake to a greater risk for breast cancer recurrence, according to results presented at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 6-10, 2011.

“The results show that it’s not just overall carbohydrates, but particularly starch,” said Jennifer A. Emond, M.S., a public health doctoral student at the University of California, San Diego. “Women who increased their starch intake over one year were at a much likelier risk for recurring.”

Researchers conducted a subset analysis of 2,651 women who participated in the Women’s Healthy Eating and Living (WHEL) Dietary Intervention Trial, a plant-based intervention trial that enrolled about 3,088 survivors of breast cancer. WHEL researchers studied breast cancer recurrence and followed the participants for an average of seven years. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Health Care Tagged With: Disease, Foods, Research & Study

Eating White Bread And Pasta Could Increase Risk Of Breast Cancer Returning In Patients

December 9, 2011 By adminclyd

Eating plenty of cereal, bread and potatoes may boost the risk of breast cancer recurring in survivors, say scientists.

A study found that former sufferers who followed a starch-rich diet were more likely to develop tumours compared to those who reduced their intake.

Researchers are unable to explain the trend but it is believed that increased insulin levels, sparked by refined carbohydrates, could stimulate the growth of cancerous cells.

A team from University of California, San Diego, studied the diets of 2,651 breast cancer survivors over 12 months.

They found that carbohydrates in general – especially starches – were linked to the risk of new tumours developing.

The rate of recurrence was 14.2 per cent among women who increased their starch intake while it was 9.7 per cent for those who decreased their consumption. [Read more...]