Cancer

Dietary Fiber Prevents You from Cancer, Part III

Can Fiber Cause Trouble?

( continuation of the previous article )

Scientists believe that we may be able to adapt to high-fiber diets. But this is not known for sure. It is speculation based on a handful of studies.

The effect of fiber on minerals varies among the different types. Here is what scientists think based on current knowledge:

• Iron nutrition probably won’t be affected by eating more fiber.
• Fiber probably will decrease absorption of zinc and copper.
• If zinc and copper intake is good, the decrease in absorption probably will not create any problems.

Whole grains contain more zinc and copper than refined grains, so this may offset any loss of these minerals resulting from the fiber. But until we know this for a fact, I feel it’s best to take a moderate rather than extreme approach to the fiber content of your diet.

Another Mineral-Robber

Fiber is not the only substances in whole grain foods that can bind to minerals. Whole grains also contain phytic acid, which can also tie up minerals. Nutritionists also refer to phytic acid as phytate.
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Dietary Fiber Prevents You from Cancer, Part II

More Whole Grain Ideas

Of course, there are whole grain foods other than those that we think of as cereals.

Here are some ideas for whole grain foods that go well with lunch and dinner or make good snacks:

*for lunch : whole wheat or rye bread

*for dinner : brown rice, millet, bulghur wheat (as in tabouli)

*for snacks : graham crackers, rye wafers, or whole wheat crackers

All of these foods are moderate sources of insoluble fiber.

A Matter of Milling

You may be surprised to see brown rice and whole wheat bread described as only moderate sources of fiber. These foods contain less fiber than is commonly believed.

Brown rice, for example, has only a moderately higher fiber content than white rice. The difference amounts to about 1.5 grams per half cup of cooked rice.
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Dietary Fiber Prevents You from Cancer

In the history of nutrition, there never has been a story quite like that of dietary fiber.

For decades, nutritionists viewed fiber as all but worthless. It did not even qualify as a nutrient, because its absence didn’t cause the deficiency disease that result when diets are inadequate in protein, vitamins, or minerals.

As far as nutritionists could see, fiber served no useful purpose other than to prevent constipation.

But during the past decades, fiber has come into its own. It is now the focus of intense research. It is now known that fiber plays a role in regulation of blood cholesterol and blood sugar. Fiber may even help with weight control.

And, yes, it is likely that fiber can help to prevent cancer. Diet institutions and foundations in almost every country surround the world, such as the Committee on Diet, Nutrition, and Cancer in In the U.S., has advised us to eat whole grain foods every day. These foods are usually a good source of fiber. How about processed grains? Grains that have been refined – such as white flour – contain only little fiber.

The Fiber Fan Club

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Minerals versus Cancer, Part III

The Best Sources of Iron

If you are concerned about your iron intake, consider some of these sources:

* Lean meats and shellfish

* Whole grain or enriched cereals

* Dried apricots, prunes, or raisins

* Nuts and wheat germ

* Dried beans and peas

* Leafy green vegetables

Liver, especially pork liver, contains large amounts of iron. But it is also rich in cholesterol. Too many of us eat too much of cholesterol-containing foods. Egg yolk has a moderate iron content; it is high in cholesterol, too.

The iron in flesh foods, called heme iron, is best absorbed by the body. Yet studies have found no more iron-deficiency anemia among vegetarians than among meat eaters.

One possible explanation is vitamin C. It enhances absorption of the iron in foods. Vegetarians often consume more vitamin C than meat-eaters. The vitamin C may compensate for the absence of meat in their diets.

A Look at Lead

Lead has long been in the headlines. Lead poisoning has occurred too frequently among children – often from eating chips of old paint that contained lead.
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Minerals Versus Cancer, Part II

Be Careful with Supplements

Encouraged by reports linking the mineral to cancer protection, people are buying – and taking – selenium supplements. In some Asia countries, they call selenium as the king of anti-cancer substances.  But, a few words of caution are in order.

At high doses, selenium can cause health problems. Fatigue and irritability, as well as brittleness or loss of hair, have been seen in patients suffering from toxic amounts of selenium. A research scientist exposed to too much selenium developed bronchitis and skin problems.

How Much is Too Much?

According to the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Research Council, a long term intake of 2400 to 3000 micrograms of selenium per day would be expected to cause a toxic reaction.

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Minerals Versus Cancer

Wouldn’t it be great to have a “quick fix” for every disease – pill that would prevent or cure all health problems? No one would have to give a thought to diet, exercise, or other health habits.

It is an alluring idea. Some have even proposed that the quick fix already does exist – in the form of a mineral called selenium.

But the wishful thinking is a little premature. There is some evidence that the minerals in our food play a role in preventing cancer. More research is needed, though, before we can draw any conclusions.

The Minerals in Food

Food contains a wide range of minerals. We need some of them in large amounts. Other minerals are required in very small amounts.

Nutritionists refer to the minerals needed in large amounts as major minerals. Those that we need in small amounts are known as trace minerals or trace elements.

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Vitamin C Helps You to Fight Cancer, Part III

Handle with Care

If you are nutrition-minded, you probably try not to lose nutrients in cooking.

With vitamin A, you don’t have to worry. It is tough stuff; pretty much indifferent to water, heat, and even long periods of storage. Vitamin A doesn’t dissolve in water, so it doesn’t leach into water used in cooking.

But vitamin C is very sensitive. Heat, light, and oxygen can do it in. In fact, some loss of the vitamin C in food just cannot be prevented.

With a little effort, though, losses of the vitamin can be kept to a minimum. Here are the rules:

1. The sooner fresh foods can be used, the better. Vitamin C breaks down during storage.
2. Try not to chop these foods finely all the time. The fewer pieces a food is cut into, the lower its exposure to oxygen, which destroys vitamin C.
3. The vitamin C in cabbage, cantaloupe, squashes, and strawberries is especially unstable. The sooner they are eaten after cutting, the better.

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Vitamin C Helps You to Fight Cancer, Part II

How Much is Enough?

The RDA for vitamin C is 60 mg a day for adults. By the way, 60 mg of pure vitamin C crystals would measure only a fraction of a teaspoon.

The scientists who set the RDA, however, did not take the evidence on vitamin C and cancer into account.

Here is some more specific advice. Nutritionists have always recommended four or more servings a day of fruits and vegetables. I think at least two, and preferably three, should be foods supplying moderate to high amounts of vitamin C. I try to eat a food rich in vitamin C at every meal.

It is not hard. I can hardly start the day without my orange juice. So that is my first suggestion. Grapefruit juice is also a fine choice.

Here are some other tips that work for me:

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Vitamin C Helps You to Fight Cancer

It is time to rewrite our nutrition textbooks. The textbooks of yesterday tell us that vitamin C prevents scurvy. They talk of the vitamin’s role in healing wounds. They explain that vitamin C aids in the formation of collagen, which holds cells together.

But an update is in order. It is not that vitamin C does not do these things. Rather, it does more – much more.

It may very well help to prevent cancer, says the Committee on Diet, Nutrition, and Cancer (of the U.S.). The panel members were impressed enough with studies of vitamin C and Cancer to advise us to eat foods rich in vitamin C every day.

Scientists have found that cancers of the stomach and esophagus are less common among people who eat diets rich in vitamin C. In fact, year-round access to foods rich in vitamin C may be one explanation for the dramatic fall in stomach cancer rates in the case of the United States.

Stomach cancer was common in the United States at the turn of the 20th century, when some fruits and vegetables were available only seasonally. We now have year round access to these fruits and vegetables, and many are rich in vitamin C. And stomach cancer is no longer common. It does remain a major health problem in some parts of the world.
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The Right Vitamin A to Prevent Cancer, Part II

Color is the Clue

Color is sometimes the key to judging the carotene in fruits and vegetables. Deep green and yellow vegetables. Deep green and yellow vegetables are usually very good sources of vitamin A. But lighter versions of the same foods are not. For example:

• Green asparagus is rich in vitamin A. The bleached white asparagus has about one-tenth as much!
• Romaine lettuce provides  four times as much vitamin A as iceberg lettuce.
• Yellow corn has more vitamin A than white corn.
• Green beans have more vitamin A than wax beans.

Here is my favorite piece of vitamin A trivia: frozen chopped broccoli has one-third more vitamin A than the frozen spears. I am willing to bet that the leaves in the chopped version make the difference. Their deep green color is a sure sign of vitamin A!

Though fruits and vegetables supply almost half of our vitamin A, other foods do have significant amounts. Meat, poultry, and fish provide about one-fourth of the vitamin A in our diet; diary products give another 15 % or so. Eggs and other foods supply a little less than 10 %.

But it is not known whether the vitamin A in most animal foods has any value in cancer prevention. That is why the Committee on Diet, Nutrition, and Cancer restricted its recommendations to fruits and vegetables. But in this regard, however, I suggest you to learn more about the potency of vitamin A in animal sources to fight cancer posted in BlogOfHealth.co.cc.

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