News About (Breast) Cancer Awareness Month: Part 2

In the September issue of Nutrition Action Magazine is a tidbit gleaned from the Journal of Clinical Ecology stating that those who consume more orange juice and grapefruits have a higher risk of melanoma skin cancer, according to a new study. Oddly, people who ate oranges or drank grapefruit juice had no increased risk.

The magazine recommends eating a variety of fruit because it is still to early to know if you should stop eating whole grapefruits or drinking orange  juice. (Play it safe and choose other fruits like berries, melons, etc. along with your citrus fruits.) The magazine is published by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (www.cspinet.org).

Again, in a back issue of Nutrition Action (Oct. 2011), I found a very interesting article by Robert Lawrence, founding director of the Center for a Livable Future at the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, MD. The title of the article is “Fewer Cows, More Vegetables.” Perhaps the most important item in of the article is the pie chart named  U.S. Greenhouse Gases from Food. The pie chart shows red meat at 29% of greenhouse gases and 17% from dairy products. Combined, they occupy almost half the pie (46%). Chicken/Fish/Eggs is 10%, the same as fruits & vegetables and cereals/carbs. Beverages are 9% and oils/sweets/condiments are 6%. Underneath the chart is the statement: Beef, pork, and dairy contribute far more greenhouse gases than grains, fruits, and vegetables.

What this tells us is that we want to reduce greenhouse gases, we would be prudent to reduce red meat and switch to foods that have a lower impact on the environment. Since chicken, fish and eggs are equal to fruits, veggies, and grains, this does not mean you must become a vegetarian, but rather, be aware of which foods are more environmentally sound.

The Jewish Exponent had an interesting article recently on genetic Testing and Breast Cancer Prevention. There is a new debate going on about the possibility of preventing breast cancer with genetic testing. The article notes that about 12% of women will develop breast cancer in their lifetimes, but if they carry the mutated BR-CAI or BRCA2 gene, their chances for cancer jumps to 50% by the time they are 50 and more by the time they reach 80. So, genetic testing can possibly be a source for prevention. Link: http://www.jewishexponent.com/lifestyle/2015/10/breast-cancer-prevention-has-a-friend-in-genetic-testing.

Cancer is a complicated disease with so many aspects. I am happy that we have Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and I think we need to expand it to include all cancers, so that our awareness is more encompassing.

P.S. My friend Honey reminded me about Thermography, also called thermal imaging, which is a non-invasive way of having your breast (or whole body) examined using a computer picture that shows heat patterns on the breasts with red indicating problem spots. (I have one every year.) I checked back in my archives for when I first posted this information. Currently,  it is not covered by most insurance companies, and the fee is around $200.

Here is the link:  http://www.menupause.info/archives/347

Source: sciencebasedmedicine.org

2 Responses to “News About (Breast) Cancer Awareness Month: Part 2”

  1. Honey Says:

    This sounds like advice we were given not to eat butter, but to eat margarine instead. Or just to eat egg whites, not yolks. I would be suspicious of the veracity of the information. Let’s get serious!

    Why aren’t they speaking about pesticides on foods instead!

  2. ellen sue spicer Says:

    Yes, why aren’t they talking about pesticides? Breast Cancer Action focuses on environmental toxins.

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