Fruits, Vegetables and Cancer

Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables doesn't help women with breast cancer and it doesn't necessarily reduce the risk of the disease returning.  The same can be said for prostate cancer and other forms of the disease.  But a recent study found, in colorectal cancer, that a diet that relied more on these foods plus whole grains fish and chicken did reduce the recurrence.  Here's our take on it.  We will definitely find that a diet like this helps in all cases, but it is difficult to get a clear association or correlation because diet has so many components and effects.  It also depends on the individual's genetics.  Nevertheless, it shows how we are looking more and more at diet and its role with cancer and other conditions.  That's the point we need to take home.  Diet plays a key role and a crucial role in how we evaluate cancer and other health issues. 

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Ragweed and Oral Allergy Syndrome

It is called oral allergy syndrome and there is an obvious culprit that starts to bloom in mid-August. It’s every year, and even though we’re far away from it in December, it happens again and again. It’s called ragweed. There are 36 million people who suffer from ragweed allergy, but a significant percentage of these sufferers also have what used to be called pollen food syndrome. It’s now known as oral allergies syndrome. It’s due to a cross reactivity between ragweed and similar proteins that are found in various fresh fruits and vegetables. The classic symptoms include itchiness, tingling, or swelling of the mouth. It can also affect the tongue and the throat. One of the keys is that it happens immediately after eating fresh fruit, vegetables and other foods. Some of the common foods interacting with ragweed are banana, cucumber, zucchini, and melon.

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Eating a Healthy Diet During Pregnancy

The best diet during pregnancy is one that is actually high in fruits and vegetables. What doctors often suggest you do is you talk to your obstetrician/gynecologist to discuss the best foods during pregnancy, but one of the things that physicians look at, essentially, is trying to get people to have a balanced diet. You don’t want to eat too much or too little, and you want to make sure that you have the proper components of fruits and vegetables. You want to avoid things that are high in fat, in excess. Again, it’s moderation that is the key.

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Pomegranate Is the Fruit du Jour

The pomegranate was one of the earliest cultivated fruits.  Historical evidence says it was used between 4,000 and 3,000 B.C.  In the past five years, the juice it produces has become very popular.  People think it might fight cancer and heart disease.  Go to a cocktail party and you will hear people having pomegranate martinis.  We bring up pomegranate because it's the fruit du jour.  As is the case with many of these remedies, the truth lies in that it doesn't do everything, but it may potentially help.  Of course, back off on the martinis.

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Foods for Reducing Breast Cancer Risk

You are what you eat when it comes to breast cancer risks, and this can be very true. There are certain foods you can eat to help you in the battle with cancer. For instance, fish, which is high in omega-3 fatty acids can help. Now, you should try for two to three servings each week. Another source of protection is fruit. In fact, if fruits are bright and colorful, they’re probably better for you. Now, strawberries and raspberries are helpful and don’t forget your vegetables, especially cruciferous vegetables. Broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage are all cancer fighters. It’s best to eat them slightly steamed and you should shoot for five servings a week. Again, this is very important information because what we’re starting to realize is, not only can healthy food help you with your heart, but it’s been shown to help fight in breast cancer, prostate cancer and a wide variety of problems.

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Satisfying a Sweet Tooth

For those of us with a sweet tooth, there is no doubt each day we turn down a candy bar or a piece of cake, it takes to tremendous will power. But according to researchers, you don’t have to live a life of total denial. Cornell researchers published their work in the journal Appetite and they found the key to living with a sweet tooth is meeting the tooth halfway. If you’re a sweets lover, try to replace a few sugary snacks with more healthful sweet snacks that are packed with nutrients; not just sugar and calories. The choice, the replacement? Fruit. As the authors of the study point out, the same desire for sugar that leads us to eat candy is also the same that helps us want to have fruit. They conducted a study looking at vegetable lovers and fruit lovers. The researchers found fruit lovers ate more sweet snacks then veggie lovers did. In fact, fruit lovers ate sweet snacks more than 15 times a week.

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An Apple A Day

You've heard the phrase, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away."  While there is no doubt that eating apples and other fruits is good for your health, researchers find that eating an apple when pregnant could have an extra special effect.  According to studies, when moms-to-be ate apples during pregnancy, their children had lower rates of asthma.  This is important because more than 20 million Americans have asthma, including 6.2 million children.  Dutch researchers followed over 1,200 children from before birth to age five.  Their mothers completed food questionnaires during their pregnancies.  Later, their children's health was surveyed as well.  Women who consumed the most apples during pregnancy, more than four a week, had children who were 37% less likely to have ever wheezed than children of mothers who had eaten the lowest number of apples during pregnancy.  It's a really interesting study with great news if you like fruits. 

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Study of Diets and Cholesterol

It was a fascinating report in the New England Journal of Medicine looking at three approaches to diet; the low-carb diet, the low-fat diet, and the so-called Mediterranean Diet.  They all achieve weight loss and improve cholesterol, but the low-carb diet improved cholesterol more than the other two.  The study lasted two years and 85% of the people stuck to their diets.  That's pretty amazing.  Three hundred and twenty-two participants who worked in a controlled environment, in an isolated nuclear research facility in Israel, got their main meal of the day.  For breakfast or dinner the participants were on their own, but the dieters were counseled on how to stick to their eating plans and they were asked to fill out questionnaires on what they ate.  In case you are wondering, the low fat diet included no more than 30% of calories from fat, restricted calories and cholesterol and focused on low fat grains, vegetables and fruits as options.  The Mediterranean Diet had similar calorie, fat and cholesterol restrictions and emphasized poultry, fish, olive oil and nuts. 

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Preventing Food Poisoning

Outbreaks of E. coli and others with salmonella certainly have gotten a great deal of attention. According to officials at the FDA, more adults than normally expected are developing serious conditions as a result of these infections. Now, usually the problems are far more aggressive in children. Outbreaks usually affect them because their systems are not quite as ready to fight problems like that. The big thing, of course, if you’re going to worry about food is to protect yourself. You should scrub produce thoroughly, wash the exterior of all fruits and vegetables, and scrape the skin of carrots and cucumbers.

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