Vitamin C and Cancer
Beyond the Cancer Question
I would drink my orange juice and eat my green peppers even if it weren’t for research linking vitamin C to prevention of cancer.
Some of my reasons are the same ones that bolster the advice to eat more fruits and vegetables that supply carotene. Like these plant foods rich in vitamin A, foods rich in vitamin C are also low in saturated fat and sodium.
What’s more, fruits and vegetables that contain vitamin C are cholesterol-free. And they provide small to moderate amounts of dietary fiber. Eaten in large amounts, the fiber in these fruits and vegetables helps to lower blood cholesterol levels.
There is more. Vitamin C is rarely recognized for its role in iron absorption. Yet we have known for many years that vitamin C helps the body to absorb iron.
Categories: Cancer, NUTRITION Tags: Cancer, cancer prevention, carotene, dietary fiber, heart disease, iron, iron absorption, saturated fat, scurvy, sodium, vitamin C
Sunshine for Your Health: Good or Bad?
Sunshine… on my shoulder… makes me happy… Sunshine in my eyes can make me cry…
(a lyric written by John Denver).
Our bodies make vitamin D when the sun shines, and new research suggests the positive effects on health are greater than we ever guessed. But too much sun causes skin cancer. It’s a dilemma provoking fierce discussion among scientists.
For any expectant mother, a brief stroll in the summer sunshine would seem a pleasant diversion from the rigors of pregnancy, a chance to relax in the warmth and to take in a little fresh air. It is a harmless – but unimportant – activity, it would seem.
But there is more to such walks than was previously realized. In a new study, Bristol University researchers revealed they had found out that sunny strolls have striking, long-lasting effects. They discovered that children born to women in late summer or in early autumn are, on average, about 5mm taller, and have thicker bones, than those born in late winter and early spring.
Categories: Public Health Tags: breast cancer, diabetes, melanoma, multiple sclerosis, prostate cancer, scurvy, sunlight, sunshine, tuberculosis, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin D deficiency
