Seventh-day Adventists: Lower Risk of Cancer and Death

Seventh-day Adventists, who often follow a plant-based diet, have a lower risk of cancer and death from any cause according to the large Adventist Health Study (AHS-2) . The researchers compared all-cause mortality and cancer incidence rates of 100,000 church members in North America followed over a period of 7 years with the general US population documented in census data.  Early death and cancer incidence rates were lower in the AHS-2 population by 33 and 30%, respectively. The authors attribute lower cancer risk, increased quality of life in later years and lower death risk largely to lifestyle habits, including non-smoking, exercise, reduced consumption of animal products.

(Cancer.Published online Nov. 25, 2019)

Warning: Hormones in Cheese May Cause Breast Cancer

The Physicians Committee has petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to require cheese manufacturers to display on all dairy cheese products this warning label:

“Dairy cheese contains reproductive hormones that may increase breast cancer mortality risk.”

A 2017 study funded by the National Cancer Institute compared the diets of women diagnosed with breast cancer to those without breast cancer and found that those who consumed the most American, cheddar cheese, and cream cheese had a 53% increased risk for breast cancer. The suspicion is growing that components in dairy, such as estrogen from cows that gets concentrated in cheese, as well as insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) and other growth hormones, as well as the high saturated fat content in cheese, may explain the increased risk.   

Meat Increases Risk of Heart Disease

Processed meat, red meat, and poultry increase your risk for cardiovascular disease, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (Internal Medicine). Researchers followed meat, poultry, and fish intake for participants across six cohort studies and tracked coronary heart disease, stroke, and heart failure incidence rates and disease-related mortality. Two or more servings of processed meat, red meat, or poultry per week incrementally increased the risk for cardiovascular disease, compared with no consumption. Consumption of both processed meat and red meat increased the risk of death from heart disease. These results remained significant after adjusting for several covariates across study designs.

Zhong VW, Van Horn L, Greenland P et al. Associations of processed meat, unprocessed red meat, poultry, or fish intake with incident cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality. JAMA Intern Med.   

School lunches drop Hot Dogs

“No room for carcinogens on the lunch line…”

Santa Barbara Unified School District became the first school district to remove cancer-causing processed meat—including hot dots, pepperoni and bacon—from its schools’ lunch menus.

     The Physicians’ Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) head-quartered in Washington, DC consulted with the school district on the new policy which was launched last Fall.

     “We are committed to serving our students nutritious foods that will help them learn and grow,” said Santa Barbara’s food service director Nancy Weiss.  “It is the right thing to do to ensure that our students are getting the highest quality of food. There’s no room for carcinogens on the lunch line.”

     Of the 2 million meals the SBUSD serves each year, some 50% of the meals are vegan meals. The plant-based options often sell out more quickly than the meat-based meals.  More recently, members of the New York City Council introduced legislation that would remove processed meat from the city’s school lunches. 

    — GOOD MEDICINE, Winter 2019

Weight Loss Reduces Breast Cancer Risk

Losing excess weight may cut the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer.                                             

   Researchers tracked some 125,000 women aged 50 and older for 10 years who did not take postmenopausal hormones. Compared to those with stable weight, the risk of breast cancer was 18% lower in those who lost and kept off 4 to 9.9 pounds. It was 25 % lower in those who lost and kept off 10 to 199 pounds. And it was 32% lower in those who lost and kept off at least 20 pounds.

      J Natl. Cancer Inst. 2019.  Doi:10.1093/jnci/djz226. 

Meat Increases Breast Cancer Risk

Red and processed meat increase the risk of breast cancer.                                                                 

     In a systematic review of 18 studies published in the International Journal of Cancer researchers evaluated the relationship between breast cancer rates and intake of red and processed meat.

     Increased red meat consumption increased the risk for breast cancer by 6%. Increased processed meat consumption increased the risk by 9%. The researchers attribute the increased risk to higher amounts of saturated fat, cholesterol, and heme iron found in these foods.

      Int J Cancer. 2018;143:2787-99

Whole Grains Curbs T2 Diabetes

Consumption of whole grains may help prevent T2 diabetes.

     Published in the Journal of Nutrition, the researchers investigated the intake of different cereal grains and the risk for type 2 diabetes as part of the Danish Diet, Cancer, and Health Study. The daily consumption of high-fiber whole grains lowered the risk for type 2 diabetes by up to 11%. The whole grains included oats, rye bread, whole-grain bread.

     The authors recommend greater consumption of whole grain cereals for curbing te prevalence rates of type 2 diabetes.

     J Nutr. 2018;148:1434-44

High carb plant-based diet improves insulin resistance and weight loss   

An unrestricted diet high in unrefined starchy foods (high carb) and plant-based protein clearly outdid a typical American diet in facilitating weight loss and improved insulin resistance.

     In a 16-week randomized clinical trial, researchers from the Physicians Committee placed participants in either a plant-based, high carbohydrate, very low-fat diet group or into a group of participants that maintained their typical diet.

     The experimental group avoided all animal products and oils and limited the fat intake to less than 30 grams/day. There was no limit on calories or unrefined (whole) carbohydrate foods (such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes).  The control group maintained their usual diet, which included animal products, such as meat and dairy, refined carbohydrates and refined (extracted) oils.

     At the end of the 16-week trial, body mass index, body weight, fat mass, visceral fat volume, and insulin resistance decreased significantly in the experimental group. There were no changes in the control group.

     Nutrients. 2018;10. Pii: E1302

Vitamin D Supplements: Not useful for preventing cancer, heart disease, or diabetes

Jan. 2020

    In recent years, some studies have shown that low blood vitamin D levels are associated with increased risks of cancer, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.  These findings have prompted proposals to use vitamin D supplements to decrease the risks of these diseases.

    However, the results of two large well-designed randomized clinical trials published in the  New England Journal of Medicine (Jan. 3, 2019 and Aug. 8, 2019) demonstrated that high dose vitamin D supplementation was not useful for preventing invasive cancer of the breast, prostate and colon/rectum or of major cardiovascular events. Furthermore, there was no protection for death from cancer or death from any cause.

    Official US nutritional guidelines recommend that healthy adults up to age 70 consume 600 international units (IU) of vitamin D daily. After age 70, the recommended daily allowance increases to 800 IU.

Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Trial

    Over 25,000  healthy adults all over age 50 were random assigned to receive either oral vitamin D  at a high dose of 2,000 IUs or a placebo once daily. With a follow-up of 5 years, the researchers could not find any statistically significant differences between the vitamin D and placebo groups in their rates of invasive cancer of any type or of major cardiovascular disease  events.

Diabetes Prevention Trial

    In the second study, 2,243 adults at high risk for diabetes (pre-diabetics) were randomly assigned to receive either oral vitamin D at a high dose of 4,000 IUs or a placebo once daily. With a follow-up of 2.5 years, the researchers could not find any statistically significant difference in the rate of new-onset diabetes between the vitamin D and placebo groups.

Conclusion

    These trials showed that high doses of vitamin D supplements taken in an effort to reduce the risks of cancer, cardiovascular disease or type diabetes are not protective.