I’ve often wondered why some people retain their mental acuity well into their senior years and others seem to experience a decline in mental function in their forties and fifties. Until recently, scientists believed that the answer lay solely in genetics and that little could be done to control the timing and rate of decline. But according to some new studies, developmental and environmental factors could be even more important.

Scientists have isolated a number of factors that contribute to premature aging and brain deterioration. These include: Mitochondrial damage, impaired circulation, hormonal deficiency, chronic stress, nitric oxide impairment, injury, tumors, and nutrient deficiency.

As your reference, Dr. D’Adamo has identified brain power superfoods that provide the maximum nutritional support to fight many of the conditions associated with aging. Below are the top 12 Brain Power Super Foods for each blood type.

Source:

• Dr. D’Adamo’s  September Newsletter

Related posts:

1. Find The Right Seafood for Your Health

Cocoa Content is the Key

Lead author Dr. Brian Buijsse (German Institute of Human Nutrition, Nuthetal, Germany) told heartwire: “This shows that habitual consumption of chocolate is related to a lower risk of heart disease and stroke that is partly explained by blood-pressure reduction. The risk reduction is stronger for stroke than for MI, which is logical because it appears that chocolate and cocoa have a pronounced effect on BP [blood pressure], and BP is a higher risk factor for stroke than for MI.” Buijsse and colleagues report their findings online March 31, 2010 in the European Heart Journal.

However, Buijsse cautions that only small amounts of chocolate were associated with the benefits and it is too early to give recommendations on chocolate consumption: “Maybe it’s a boring message, but it’s a little too early to come up with recommendations, because chocolate contains so many calories and sugar, and obesity is already an epidemic. We have to be careful.

“However, he added, that if people did want to treat themselves, they would be better off choosing small amounts of chocolate, preferably dark chocolate, over other sweet snacks. “We know it is the cocoa content in chocolate that is important, so the higher the cocoa content, the better.”

Dr. Steffen Desch (University of Leipzig, Heart Center, Germany), who was not involved with this study but who has performed research on the effects of chocolate on blood pressure, told heartwire: “This is an interesting study that adds to the growing body of evidence that flavanol-rich chocolate might be associated with health benefits. Several epidemiological studies (including the Zuphten Elderly Study, by the same first author) and even more physiological trials have been published before.”

“What is missing now is a large-scale randomized trial of flavanol-rich chocolate versus control. The most reasonable end point would probably be the change in blood pressure between groups.” However, Desch added, “the major problems in designing such a study are the lack of funding and finding an appropriate control substance. To the best of my knowledge, there is no commercially available flavanol-free chocolate that offers the distinct bitter taste and dark color inherent to cocoa-rich chocolate.”

Biggest Chocolate Consumers Had Lowest Blood Pressure

Buijsse and colleagues followed 19 357 people, aged between 35 and 65, who were participants in the Potsdam arm of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer (EPIC). They received medical checks, including blood pressure and height and weight measurements at the start of the study (1994–1998), and they also answered questions about their diet, lifestyle, and health, including how frequently they ate 50-g bars of chocolate.

The research was conducted before the health benefits of chocolate and cocoa were recognized, so no differentiation was made between milk, dark, and white chocolate in the study. But in a subset analysis of 1568 participants later asked to recall their chocolate intake over a 24-hour period, 57% ate milk chocolate, 24% dark chocolate, and 2% white chocolate.

Participants were divided into quartiles according to their level of chocolate consumption. Those in the top quartile, eating around 7.5 g of chocolate a day, had blood pressure that was about 1 mm Hg (systolic) and 0.9 mm Hg (diastolic) lower than those in the bottom quartile.

In follow-up questionnaires, sent out every two or three years until December 2006, the participants were asked whether they had had a heart attack or stroke, information that was subsequently verified by medical records from general physicians or hospitals. Death certificates from those who had died were also used to identify MIs and strokes.

“Our hypothesis was that because chocolate appears to have a pronounced effect on blood pressure, chocolate consumption would lower the risk of strokes and heart attacks, with a stronger effect being seen for stroke,” explained Buijsse.

Those Eating Most Chocolate Had Half the Risk of Stroke

During the eight years, there were 166 MIs (24 fatal) and 136 strokes (12 fatal); people in the top quartile had a 27% reduced risk of MI and nearly half the risk (48%) of stroke, compared with those in the lowest quartile. The relative risk of the combined outcome of MI and stroke for top vs bottom quartile was 0.61 (p=0.014).

The researchers found that lower baseline blood pressure explained 12% of the reduced risk of the combined outcome, but even after taking this into account, those in the top quartile still had their risk reduced by a third (32%) compared with those in the bottom quartile over the duration of the study.

To put this in terms of absolute risk, Buijsse said if people in the group eating the least amount of chocolate increased their chocolate intake by 6 g a day, 85 fewer heart attacks and strokes per 10 000 people could be expected to occur over a period of about 10 years.

He says it appears that flavanols in chocolate are responsible for the beneficial effects, causing the release of nitric oxide, which contributes to lower BP and improves platelet function.

Dr Frank Ruschitzka (University Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland) agrees. He said in a European Society of Cardiology statement [2]: “Basic science has demonstrated quite convincingly that dark chocolate particularly, with a cocoa content of at least 70%, reduces oxidative stress and improves vascular and platelet function.”

Only Small Amounts of Chocolate Beneficial; Don’t Eat Too Much

Buissje said this work builds on his earlier small trial–the Zuphten Elderly Study–performed in 500 men in Holland, which showed that chocolate consumption lowered overall cardiovascular mortality. “Due to the small size of this study, we were not able to differentiate between stroke and MI in this, but now we are able to look at stroke and MI separately, so it’s a nice addition,” he notes.

And the findings are in line with an intervention study that showed that eating around 6 g of chocolate a day–one small square of a 100-g bar–might lower cardiovascular disease risk, he says. “So the effects are achieved with very small amounts.”

British Heart Foundation dietician Victoria Taylor made the same point: “It’s important to read the small print with this study. The amount consumed on average by even the highest consumers was about one square of chocolate a day or half a small chocolate Easter egg in a week, so the benefits were associated with a fairly small amount of chocolate.

“Some people will be tempted to eat more than one square; however, chocolate has high amounts of calories and saturated fat . . . two of the key risk factors for heart disease,” she noted in a statement [3].

Ruschitzka similarly urged caution: “Before you rush to add dark chocolate to your diet, be aware that 100 g of dark chocolate contains roughly 500 calories. As such, you may want to subtract an equivalent amount of calories, by cutting back on other foods, to avoid weight gain.”

The researchers report no conflicts of interest.

References

1. Buijsse, B, Weikert C, Drogan D et al. Chocolate consumption in relation to blood pressure and risk of CV disease in German adults. Eur Heart J 2010: DOI:10.1093/eurheartj/ehq068. Available at: http://eurheartj.oxfordjournals.org.
2. European Society of Cardiology. Study shows chocolate reduces blood pressure and risk of heart disease [press release]. Available here.
3. British Heart Foundation. Eggcellent news in time for Easter! [press release]. March 30, 2010. Available here.
4. www.medscape.com

Related posts:

1. Tips for Healthy Cardiovascular

Entire cultures have survived on diets of fish. Civilizations grew along the shores of the sea and the banks of rivers. The oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, and streams often provided and incredible bounty. No wonder people thought there were gods in the water. What other explanation could there have been?

I have my own  experience with certain kind of  seafood. In my childhood until age of 40, I found my self having allergies after eating  seafood  such as shrimp, barracuda, crab, or oysters. And my allergy-specialist doctor concluded that I had to totally avoid  seafood. For fish, he advised me to consume only fresh water fish.

In 2007, I started learning the blood type diet (in my effort to overcome my kidney stones diorder) and eventually I’ve got the comprehensive knowledge, sufficient for me to get the answer for the  biggest question in my life that far:

• Why the doctor advised me to totally avoid all of seafood (to prevent me from  allergies)?

Now, it is obvious that the doctor was not correct at all.

I have B blood type and I started following the recommended food chart for type B health, and it works. Since then, I avoid only  shellfish family, anchovy, yellow tail,  barracuda, and octopus. But still there are so many other delicious deep ocean fish like cod, tuna, spanish mackerel, halibut, salmon, sardines, and also squids are waiting for me.

The blood type diet science is really very powerful and helpful for me and my family’s health. This time, I’d like to share with you the guidance in selecting the right seafood to help you achieve your optimum health.

Choose the Right Seafood for You

Type O

If your blood type is O, you should be very happy. Type O has a lengthy seafood menu from which to choose. Seafood is the second most concentrated animal protein. and is best suited to Type Os of Asian and Eurasian descent, though other Type Os can choose from a wide variety of richly oiled cold-water fish.

Fish oils are of particular importance to type Os because certain blood-clotting factors that evolved as humans adapted to environmental changes were missing from the blood of early Type Os. For this reason, Type Os often have ‘thin’ blood, resistant to clotting. Although fish oils tend to have a blood-thinning effect, this is  not an issue for Type Os.

Fish oils can also be very effective in treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, such as colitis or Chron’s disease, to which Type Os are susceptible.

Seafood is also an excellent source of iodine, which regulates thyroid function. Type Os typically suffer from hypothyroidism, a condition in which an insufficient amount of thyroid  hormone is produced. Seafood should become a regular component of the healthy Type O diet.

I suggest you to examine the food chart for the health of Type O by reading the following article:

• Real Food for Type O Health

Type A

Type As can eat fish up to three or four times a week to complement vegetable protein. Avoid the delicate white fish, such as halibut, hake, sole, and flounder; they contain lectin that can irritate the Type A digestive tract.

Type A women with a family history of breast cancer should consider introducing the edible snail Helix pomatia (escargot) into their diets. It helps fight cancer in the following way: in a precancerous condition, the body’s cells manufacture a protein that allows the cancer to spread. The snail lectin attaches to those cells and essentially takes away their internal passport, blocking their ability to spread.

Fish oils are believed to be a factor in reducing heart disease, which makes them important for Type As.

I suggest you to examine the food chart for the health of Type A by reading the following article:

• Real Food for Type A Health

Type B

Type Bs thrive on fish. Deep ocean fish rich in oils, like cod, are excellent for Type Bs, as are white fish, such as halibut, flounder, and sole. Shellfish should be assiduously avoided by all Type Bs, as shellfish  contain lectins disruptive to the Type B system. This prohibition includes lobsters, shrimp, crabs, and clams.

Many of the original Type Bs were ancient Hebrew tribes whose laws forbade the consumption of shellfish. Perhaps this dietary law was an implicit acknowledgment of  the fact that shellfish was poorly   digested by Type Bs. In this respect, some  scientists have discovered that salmon roe – eggs – may also contain a lectin that agglutinates Type B cells. Until more information is available, I suggest that you, whose blood type is B, limit your intake of salmon.

I suggest you to examine the food chart for the health of Type B by reading the following article:

• Real Food for Type B Health

Type AB

Type ABs also have a vast variety of beneficial fish and seafood, but like Type As, they should avoid the white fish halibut, hake, sole, and flounder, and like Type Bs, all shellfish.

Type AB women who have a family history of  breast cancer should consider including the edible snail Helix pomatia in their diet. Type ABs also share with Type Bs caution about salmon.

I suggest you to examine the food chart for the health of Type AB by reading the following article:

• Real Food for Type AB Health

Reference:

• “Live Right for Your Type“, Peter J. D’Adamo and Catherine Whitney, 2001, Penguin Group, New York, NY.

Related posts:

1. Tips for Healthy Cardiovascular
2. Fat, Fish and Fowl
3. Food Pyramid is No Longer Valid

Some kinds of meat, poultry, and fish are fairly low in fat, but high in cholesterol. Fat and cholesterol are not the same thing. When it comes to heart disease, however, both saturated fat and (serum) cholesterol play a role.

Whether cholesterol in food also plays a role in causing cancer is not known. There is some evidence that a low-cholesterol diet will help to prevent cancer. But the amount of evidence is too small for making judgment.

The best course of action is to keep cholesterol intake, as well as fat intake, at a moderate level. It will help your heart and possibly help prevent other diseases, too.

Three types of food are notably high in (dietary) cholesterol:

1. Eggs (actually, the yolk only)
2. Organ meats
3. Shrimp

Of these foods, organ meats are by far the highest in  the cholesterol. Shrimp is only moderately high by comparison.

Most people don’t eat organ meats often, but if you do, you should know these facts:

• Of organ meats, brains contain the most (dietary) cholesterol
• Kidneys of any animal and chicken liver come in second for cholesterol content
• Beef liver, sweetbreads, and heart have less than these others but still quite a bit.

If you are a shrimp-lover, rest assured that a shrimp cocktail carries only a moderate cholesterol count. It is when shrimp is eaten in larger amounts – by the cup – that the cholesterol adds up.

How Many Eggs?

In most diets, eggs supply far more cholesterol than organ meats or shrimp. A good rule of thumb is to limit egg intake to 4 or 5 a week. This is especially important for people who have high blood cholesterol levels or other risk factors for heart disease: high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, or obesity.

One easy approach is to use the egg allowance for the usual egg dishes such as scrambled eggs and fried eggs. Then find replacements for the eggs used in casseroles, baking, and other multi-ingredient recipes.

One or more of the following often will successfully replace an egg used in cooking:

• one and a half to two egg whites
• one egg white plus one teaspoon of oil
• one-fourth cup of an egg substitute, preferably one containing no added oil

If you are on a sodium-restricted diet, check with your doctor or dietician before using an egg substitute. None are high in sodium (unless treated with the salt shaker). But these substitutes do have more sodium than eggs.

Fat and Calories

We’ve been   learning a lot about weight control since the turn of this century. I am willing to bet, though, that the bottom line on reducing diets will be the same then as it is now. The best way to diet is to eat less fat.

The explanation is nothing that a first-grader couldn’t understand. Fat has more calories than anything else in food. Take a look the comparison as follow:

• Protein has 4 calories per gram
• Carbohydrate has 4 calories/gram
• Alcohol has 7 calories/gram
• F a t  has 9 calories/gram

Little wonder that obesity is common in nations that have high-fat diets. (If you are wondering what a gram of fat looks like, it measures a little less than a quarter of a teaspoon).

The Weight Watchers diet, by the way, contains 30%  of calories from fat, the same figure recommended by the  Committee on Diet, Nutrition, and Cancer.

Eating Less Fat:  Harmful?

Most nutritionists would  laugh if asked this question. For decades, nutritionists have known that the body needs only about 10% of its calories from fat. Let us take a look at the case of American diet, as an example. Their diet averages four times that!

The one warning about cutting back on fat pertains only to infants. Children under one year of age should not be fed a low-fat diet unless ordered by a doctor. The reason is simple: during the first year of life, many infants need the extra calories that fat provides.

This concern about infants aside, scientists stress that there is no known harm to cutting back on fat to the level recommended by the Committee on Diet, Nutrition, and Cancer. Public health experts cannot help but notice that Japanese life expectancy is among the highest in the world. Yet fat intake in Japan is far lower than in other industrialized nations.

Don’t be Fat-phobia

I hope you view these series of article regarding fats, and some diseases deemed to have correlation with fats (serum lipids) , proportionally.

However,  it is fact that fats, saturated fats, dietary cholesterol have their specific roles in maintaining and  enhancing human health. For more comprehensive understanding, I suggest you to read the following  posts:

• We Won’t Get Fooled Again (similar to a 1974 hit song by The Who)
• The Roles of Saturated Fats for Human Health

( The previous story )

Related posts:

1. The Tale of Fats, Cancer, and Heart Disease
2. Fats: What You Should Know about It
3. Cancer Protection with Your Daily Foods
4. Vitamin C and Cancer
5. Minerals versus Cancer, Part III

A hundred years ago, shoppers had few fats to choose from. Usually, only butter and lard were available to consumers.

Today, there are enough fats and oils on the market to confuse anyone. But all of them fall into one of three categories:

1. Table fats (butter and margarines)
2. Cooking and salad oils
3. Shortenings

To  make things simpler, remember just one thing. All of these items are high in fat. In fact, the fat content of shortenings and oils is virtually identical. Butter and margarine have  slightly less fat because these spreads contain a small amount of water that shortenings and oils lack.

The Different Types of Fat

The only important difference between the many fats has to do with what nutritionists call “type of fat.” Some of the fat in food is saturated, while other fats are monounsaturated or polyunsaturated. The saturated type of fat promotes heart disease, but others do not seem to do so. Somehow,  still there are controversies among experts and scientists regarding correlation between saturated fats and heart diseases or/and cancers.

But when it comes to cancer prevention, all fats are equal footing. Scientists believe that eating less of any type of fat will help prevent cancers of the breast, colon, and prostate gland. They have not concluded that any one type of fat has more effect on cancer than another.

This makes the message about fat and cancer much simpler than advice on preventing heart disease. You need only to keep three guidelines in mind concerning the fats and oils in your diet:

1. Add no more than one pat of margarine to each serving of bread, pasta, or vegetables.
2. Limit fats and oils used in cooking to no more than 2 tablespoons per 4 servings (3 tablespoons for 6 servings).
3. Experiment with reduced-fat salad dressings, margarines, and cream cheese; try jams, jellies, and other condiments to replace some of the fat added to food

Saturated or Unsaturated?

For For those who are interested in preventing both heart disease and cancer, I would like to offer some facts about the type of fat in food.

Preventing heart disease means eating less saturated fat, for (dietary) saturated fat is  one of several sources that raise the blood cholesterol level. Of course there are other sources.  High  blood cholesterol is one of the three major factors that determine your risk of heart disease.

Scientists believe that polyunsaturated fats help to lower the blood cholesterol (but some other scientists doubt about this matter; still a controversy). But these fats don’t lower blood cholesterol as efficiently  as saturated fats may raise it. Some people believe that eating less saturated fat is the most important thing to do, but some other people don’t.

All foods contain some of each type of fat, That makes life too complicated, though, because it means that everything is partially saturated, partially monounsaturated, and partially polyunsaturated. Nutritionists have simplified things, calling a fat saturated or unsaturated based on the dominant amount of each fat that the food contains.

The following kinds of fat have enough saturated fat to be simply called saturated:

• Beef, pork, or lamb fats
• Milkfat and butter
• Coconut and palm oils
• Some industrial shortenings

Industrial shortenings are those used by food companies to make processed foods. Supermarkets do not sell these shortenings, but we encounter them in a wide range of ready-made products. Most vegetable oils and some margarines fall into the polyunsaturated category. There are many to choose from. They include:

• Corn oil
• Safflower oil
• Sesame seed oil
• Soybean oil
• Sunflower oil
• Some margarines, most likely those in tubs

Olive oil, peanut oil, many margarines, and some industrial shortenings are monounsaturated. The monounsaturated fats are believed have little or no effect on the blood cholesterol level.

Chicken and fish fats are less saturated than the fat of red meats. For this reason, some nutritionists and heart experts recommend eating more fish and fowl.

( to be continued )

Related posts:

1. The Tale of Fats, Cancer, and Heart Disease, Part II
2. The Roles of Saturated Fats for Human Health
3. Fats: What You Should Know about It
4. Dangerous Trans Fats
5. Cancer Protection with Your Daily Foods

Chicken-lovers should be aware of a few facts:

1. White meat chicken (the breast) is the leanest part.
2. Dark meat chicken has more fat than white meat, but the fat content is still moderate.
3. The skin of all fowl – including duck, goose, and turkey – contains the lion’s share of its fat. Part with the skin if you will, or eat only some of it.
4. New chicken-raising techniques have caused a sharp increase in the fat content of chicken. But most of the extra fat occurs as “pads” under the skin. These can be removed easily.

Fish Gets First Prize

Fish is the real winner when it comes to fat. Most type have very little fat. Some of the lowest-fat fish are:

• Abalone
• Black sea bass
• C o d
• Flounder
• Haddock
• Halibut, Atlantic or Pacific
• Pollock
• Rock fish
• Sole

Even many shellfish contain little fat – despite their reputation for outstanding flavor.This is more evidence that fat and flavor do not always go hand in hand.

Among the low-fat shellfish are such favorites as clams, oysters, crab, lobster, and scallops. Shrimp are also low in fat, but they have a higher count of dietary cholesterol than other shellfish. The role of dietary cholesterol in heart disease is well established. It is still too soon to say whether it plays a role in cancer. However, concerning the cholesterol matter,  I suggest you to examine the health benefit of cholesterol by visiting another post: Protect yourself against cancer with your foods.

A few fish do bear the label of “fatty.” But this means “fatty when compared to other fish,” rather than when compared to other foods. The fattier fish fish include the following:

• Anchovies
• Herring
• Mackerel
• Red or Chinook salmon
• Sable fish
• Sardines
• Whitefish

These fish have about as much fat as the average cut of red meat.

However, not all kind of fish and seafood are good for you, believe me. You should have knowledge to select which seafood are good for your health and which ones are bad; certain fish may cause allergies. Therefore, please read the useful article regarding this matter:

• Find The Right Seafood for Your Health



Is Canned Fish Healthy?

There is one more category of fish: the canned ones that are often the most reasonably priced. When packed in water, the fat content of  chunk light tuna is low. The oil-packed version is rich in fat.

Albacore tuna presents a problem for fat-watchers. The albacore tuna caught by U.S. fishermen usually is not low in fat, but imported albacore is. Therefore, check the label in hope of finding what type of albacore is waiting inside

Pink salmon has a moderate fat content – less than red salmon. Chub salmon also has a moderate fat content. Favor pink and  chub salmon over cans labeled “red, King, sockeye, or chinook salmon.”

Canned mackerel, herring, and sardines have more fat than tuna or pink salmon. And the oil that is often added makes the fat content higher still. If you wish, you may cut down on these fattier varieties. Or try to find brands that don’t contain added oil.

If you are fish lover, find the story concerning the principal health benefits of fish by visiting my post titled:

• Fish: Source of Protein and Omega-3



Related posts:

1. Minerals versus Cancer, Part III
2. Find The Right Seafood for Your Health

It is obvious that dietary fiber has significant role in keeping your optimum health and, furthermore, has ability to prevent you from cancer.  The question is: can we estimate the content of fiber in our foods?

If you want to estimate your dietary fiber intake, consult the following charts in which divide fiber into the two basic types: insoluble and soluble.

Insoluble Fiber Content of Foods

Unless otherwise indicated, all values for vegetables and pasta reflect fiber content of the cooked product. Values determined by High Carbohydrate and Fiber Research Foundation, Lexington, Kentucky.

Soluble Fiber Content of Foods

# Bran: Note that other wheat products such as whole wheat or white bread, pasta, and graham crackers are insignificant sources of soluble fiber. Brown and white rice also contain very little soluble fiber.

Unless otherwise indicated, all values for vegetables and pasta reflect fiber content of the cooked product. Values determined by High Carbohydrate and Fiber Research Foundation, Lexington, Kentucky.

For deeper information related to dietary fiber, visit:

• Dietary Fiber Prevents You from Cancer.

Related posts:

1. More Health Benefits of Dietary Fiber
2. Dietary Fiber Prevents You from Cancer, Part II
3. Dietary Fiber Prevents You from Cancer
4. Dietary Fiber Prevents You from Cancer, Part III

(This part is continuation of the previous article)

The soluble forms of fiber have value in control of blood cholesterol and blood sugar. Fruits, vegetables, beans, and oat bran are good sources of these forms of fiber.

The soluble fibers don’t lower blood cholesterol nearly as much as the cholesterol’s sources raise it. But a diet rich in fruits and vegetables has a mild cholesterol-lowering effect, thanks to the fiber. Lower blood cholesterol, of course, means lower rates of heart disease.

These soluble forms of fiber have also revolutionized the treatment of diabetes. New research has shown that a high-fiber diet helps diabetics control their blood sugar better than the diets used in the past. Their insulin requirements often drop on a high-fiber diet. Changes in insulin doses should be made only on a doctor’s instructions.

Fiber’s ability to keep the blood sugar under control may very well help people who do not have diabetes. A low-fiber meal can cause the blood sugar level to rise quickly, then drop abruptly. Headaches, hunger, and irritability can set in as a result.

But fiber can guard against these symptoms by preventing sharp swings in the blood sugar level.

How to Estimate Fiber Content?

If you want to estimate your fiber intake, consult the chart that follow. This chart gives the total fiber content of foods.

Total Fiber Content of Foods

(Soluble and Insoluble Fiber)

Unless otherwise indicated, all values for vegetables reflect fiber content of the cooked product. Analyzes of fiber content by James W. Anderson, High Carbohydrate and Fiber Research Foundation, Lexington, Kentucky.

Find the next powerful charts in the following article:

• Estimate Your Fiber Intake

Related posts:

1. Estimate Your Fiber Intake
2. Dietary Fiber Prevents You from Cancer
3. Dietary Fiber Prevents You from Cancer, Part II
4. Dietary Fiber Prevents You from Cancer, Part III
5. Health Benefits of Exercise

( 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.

Fortunately, we now know that yeast can destroy phytate. This means that it should not be a problem in whole grain breads made with yeast. Nutritionists believe that phytate is rarely a problem, except among people eating enormous amounts of unleavened bread. Few, if any, of us eat such a diet.

Fighting Fat with Fiber

If you’re weight watcher, you probably remember the ’starch blockers’ that came out in 1982. The too-good-to-be true claims were just that. The pills landed more than two dozen people in the hospital. The FDA had its hands full getting the stuff off the market.

Well, fiber may be the only starch blocker that doesn’t make us sick.

Nutritionists have long known that fiber blocks the absorption of some of the calories in food. It not only blocks the calories from carbohydrates; it takes on protein, fat, and carbohydrate  pretty much equally. Studies show that people absorb 1% to 3% fewer calories when eating a high-fiber diet.

Sound like a fantasy? It is not. Most of us gain weight slowly, at the rate of an extra pound or two per year. For a woman needing 100 calories a day, a 1% fall in calories absorbed would mean a loss of two pounds per year. A 3% reduction in calories absorbed translates into 6 fewer pounds per year.

There’s only one catch. These findings come from short-term studies. No one knows whether the body will adapt to a high-fiber diet so that eventually just as many calories are absorbed.

Fiber researchers have reported getting complaints from their subject about the “large” quantity of food they were asked to eat. Little did the subjects realize that the high-fiber diets contained no more calories than low-fiber diet.

This is a clue that fiber creates a feeling of fullness. Nutritionists have long suspected that it does. In the stomach, fiber swells with water. This may help curb hunger.

Some scientists also believe that high-fiber foods help with weight control because they take longer to chew.

One thing is for sure: a high-fiber diet based on whole grains, fruits, and vegetables is likely to be nutritionally sound. That is more than can be said for so many of the “miracle” weight-loss diets that come along every year.

More Benefits of Fiber

Fiber is now known to benefit the following conditions:

1. Diverticulosis and diverticulitis
2. High blood cholesterol
3. Diabetes
4. It may also help prevent tooth decay!

Let’s take a closer look at these findings.

Diverticulosis is a common condition among older people. It refers to outpouchings of the intestines. Food can get caught in these pockets. Often the result is inflammation and pain.

Doctors used to treat this problem with a low-fiber diet. But much to their surprise, they have learned that a high-fiber diet usually gives much better results. In general, patients are asked to add wheat bran to their diets.

Dental researchers believe that whole grain foods may play a role in preventing tooth decay. Studies show that something in whole grains may protect the teeth from decay-producing acids in the mouth. The bacteria in the mouth produce these acids.

( The Next Fiber’s Benefit and How to Estimate Fiber Content )

Related posts:

1. Dietary Fiber Prevents You from Cancer
2. Dietary Fiber Prevents You from Cancer, Part II
3. More Health Benefits of Dietary Fiber
4. Vitamin C and Cancer
5. Minerals Versus Cancer

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.

Whatever lead also plays any role in the cancer process is an open question. Only a few studies have been done – mostly in animals. These studies suggest that large amounts of lead might increase the risk of kidney cancer. But this form of cancer is not very common. (I never forget my friend, a medical doctor, who died 4 years ago, at the age of 40, due to kidney cancer).

The committee on Diet, Nutrition, and Cancer declined to make any recommendations regarding lead.

Some Advice about Canned Foods

Lead remains a concern to health experts for other reasons. The chances of getting lead poisoning are not great, but the problems has yet to be eliminated in U.S. and other countries. Infants, children, and pregnant women are at greatest risk.

Scientists estimate that food accounts for 55 – 85 percent of our exposure to lead. The lead in canned foods can seep into the food itself. Public pressure and encouragement from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have led canners to reduce the lead content of food by almost 40 percent during the last 30 years.

Acidic foods packed in cans made with lead are the most likely to absorb this mineral. Fruits and fruit juices, including tomato products, fall into this category. If these foods are stored in the can after opening, the lead content can increase fivefold in less than a week.

Lead experts urge us not to store acidic foods in cans after opening. Transfer the food to a glass or plastic container. This precaution will go a long way to preventing unnecessary lead in the diet. Foods taste better, too, when this advice is followed.

Unfortunately, there is no easy way to tell whether a csn has been soldered with lead. Evaporated milk is usually packed in lead-soldered cans. Infant formulas are not. Processed meats are also usually packed in non-leaded cans.

There’s Much More to the Story

Though research has yet to find that lead or other minerals play a major role in cancer prevention, the story of nutrition and cancer is not yet over. We have looked at vitamins, minerals, fiber, and cancer inhibitors. but there’s more to come.

The Next story tells about the dietary change that may offer the biggest dividends of all.

Related posts:

1. Minerals Versus Cancer
2. Minerals Versus Cancer, Part II
3. Vitamin C and Cancer
4. Vitamin C Helps You to Fight Cancer, Part III
5. Fat, Fish and Fowl