wellness weekly

On a Plate: Not the first time you have heard me say that, but research continues to support the benefit of nutrients obtained through foods, not special pills, powders or liquids. A meta analysis (or review of multiple studies on the same subject, over 800 for this case) was conducted by researchers at the Cochrane Collaboration. They found that few rigorous studies show a benefit from supplements for protection against oxidative stress or inflammation. Remember, we have residue that can accumulate in our bodies which causes disease and wear and tear. We have an automatic immune response that can create antioxidants that destroy these molecules( free radicals) which are produced daily, and this response is enhanced by certain foods. Foods that contain antioxidants include fruits and vegetables which contain vitamins A, C, E etc. Some of the studies showed no benefit from supplements and some showed harm. It is important to note that we do need these vitamins. We need them as they occur naturally. In the BBC article on this research, a supplement company representative advised that we not expect supplements to undo a life of unhealthy choices or habits. Amen.

Prevention: Along the same line, what you eat now can greatly impact the amount of inflammation you have as well as your rate of aging and the onset of disease. Disease is not a normal part of aging. Disease can be prevented and physical decline forestalled. A growing pool of evidence supports the notion that a diet low in fat and high in vegetables, fruits, grains and lean protein is life promoting. One such diet, the DASH, which was created to help people lower their blood pressure has been found to lower the incidence of heart disease and stroke in persons who eat it regardless of their blood pressure status. Specifically, persons in a study were tracked and when looking at the low incidence of heart attack and stroke in a portion of the 88,000 women, those who ate this way were the healthiest. The research began in 1980 and in my opinion, has scientific validity. Moreover, it was funded by the NIH. In the article I read, a doctor, Nieca Goldberg was interviewed and she noted that her patients most often prefer taking a pill to changing their eating habits. Dr. Goldberg said that there should be a “greater emphasis” on the way people live their lives. Prevention. I agree. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/hbp/prevent/h_eating/h_eating.htm
The eating plan is free, please do not pay for it elsewhere.

In Class: It gets better. Research, perhaps less scientific than the above, now shows that it isn’t just eating breakfast that improves a child’s performance in school, but what they eat all day every day. Students who were enrolled in a lifestyle and performance study were followed by researchers. When looking at test results of the 4500 plus fifth graders who took a certain literacy assessment, they noticed that 19 % of them failed. They had the children’s food histories on record and matched the students. They found that the ones who had more fruits and vegetables while getting less calories from fat, did better on the tests. This is important research and if duplicated might trigger more money spent on school nutrition programs. If, as some cynics say, the only thing school boards or admin is interested in is getting scores up, well this is a way to do that. Notice though that this wasn’t an experiment. The scientists did not divide the kids into like groups and then have some eat well and some eat poorly to see what would happen. That of course would be unethical because as stated above, we know what happens if we eat too much fat and not enough fruit and veggies.

Breast Cancer: Interesting note about a reduction in the incidence of breast cancer. This would be the number of new cases per year, not the number of women who have the disease at any given time. New cases have declined for white women but not other races. One reason suspected is that a certain type of breast cancer is promoted by hormone replacement therapy. More white women were taking the hormones when the government released its warning back in 2002 about an association between them and cancer. So, more white women stopped taking them. What I didn’t see in the article I read was the number of women per race by percent. I wonder if more of one race is afflicted by this cancer than another. Okay, I looked it up. Whites have had more incidence and now the gap is closing. The white rates are coming down and the black is either stable or slightly up.
We are beginning to target some preventable causes of this cancer and now we have to get the prevention message out as well as the importance of screening.

Wishing you wellness