Flaxseed, ginseng show benefit in cancer treatment

Flaxseed slowed the growth of prostate tumors in men, while ginseng helped relieve the fatigue that cancer patients often feel, U.S. researchers reported on Saturday in two of the first scientifically rigorous looks at alternative medicine.

The studies reflect doctors' efforts to explore the risks and benefits of foods and supplements that are routinely taken by their patients with little scientific proof they help.

Americans spend between $36 billion and $47 billion a year on complementary and alternative therapies, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

"Patients are taking these compounds but we need to know if they are doing any good or any harm,"; said Dr. Bruce Cheson of Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, who led a panel on alternative therapies at a meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

In the flaxseed study, researchers at Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina and colleagues evaluated the seed's role as a food supplement in 161 men who were scheduled to undergo surgery for prostate cancer.

Flaxseed is rich in omega-3 fatty acids and lignans, a fiber found on the seed coat.

"We were looking at flaxseed because of its unique nutrient profile,"; said Wendy Demark-Wahnefried, a researcher in Duke's School of Nursing, who led the study.

Half of the men in the study added 30 grams of flaxseed daily to their diets for about 30 days. Half of the flaxseed group also went on a low-fat diet.

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Hormones can raise breast cancer risk

Research on two continents signaled more bad news for menopause hormones, offering the strongest evidence yet that they can raise the risk of breast cancer and are tied to a slightly higher risk of ovarian cancer.

New U.S. government numbers showed that breast cancer rates leveled off in 2004 after plunging in 2003 — the year after millions of women stopped taking hormones because a big study tied them to higher heart, stroke and breast cancer risks. Experts said the leveling off shows that the 2003 drop in the cancer rate was real and not a fluke.

From 2001 to 2004, breast cancer rates fell almost 9 percent a dramatic decline, researchers report in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine. The trend was even stronger for the most common form of the disease tumors whose growth is fueled by hormones. Those rates fell almost 15 percent among women ages 50 to 69, the group most likely to have been on hormone pills.

At the same time, a study of nearly 1 million women in the United Kingdom showed that those who took hormones after menopause were 20 percent more likely to develop ovarian cancer or die from it than women who never took the pills. That study was published online by the London-based journal The Lancet.

For consumers, the new research doesn't change the advice to use the lowest dose for the shortest time possible for hot flashes and other menopause symptoms that can't otherwise be controlled.

For cautious scientists, the new breast cancer numbers were more evidence of the hormone-breast cancer link.

Breastfeeding may protect against breast cancer

Breastfeeding may offer broad protection against breast cancer that extends to women who delay having children, according to a study released on Monday.

Previous studies have shown that giving birth before age 25 and having many children protects against certain types of breast cancers, while delayed childbirth is associated with a higher risk of breast cancer.

The most important finding of the new study is that breastfeeding seems to lower the risk of developing breast cancer that comes from having children later in life, said Dr. Giske Ursin, associate professor of preventive medicine at the University of Southern California medical school and the study's lead author.

Results of the study were announced at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Los Angeles.

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Marijuana Compound May Fight Lung Cancer

While smoking marijuana is never good for the lungs, the active ingredient in pot may help fight lung cancer, new research shows.

Harvard University researchers have found that, in both laboratory and mouse studies, delta-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) cuts tumor growth in half in common lung cancer while impeding the cancer's ability to spread.

The compound "seems to have a suppressive effect on certain lines of cancer cells," explained Dr. Len Horovitz, a pulmonary specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

According to the researchers, THC fights lung cancer by curbing epidermal growth factor (EGF), a molecule that promotes the growth and spread of particularly aggressive non-small cell lung cancers. "It seems to go to (EGF) receptor sites on cells and inhibit growth," said Horovitz, who was not involved in the study.

The findings are preliminary, however, and other outside experts urged caution.

"It's an interesting laboratory study (but) you have to have enough additional animal studies to make sure the effect is reproducible and to make sure that there are no overt toxic effects," said Dr. Norman Edelman, chief medical officer of the American Lung Association. "It's a little more than tantalizing because it's a compound that we know has been in humans and has not caused major problems."

The findings were to be presented this week at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) in Los Angeles.

Lung cancer is the number one cancer killer in the world. Lung tumors that over-produce the EGF receptor tend to be extra-aggressive and don't respond well to chemotherapy.

THC is the main active ingredient of Cannabis sativa --marijuana. It has been shown to inhibit tumor growth in cancer, but specific information on its action against lung cancer has so far been limited.

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Fruits and Vegetables Fight Off Cancer

If you want to reduce your risk of several common types of cancer, help may be no farther away than your kitchen.

A trio of new studies presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research on Sunday found that vegetables and fruits help lower your chances of getting head and neck, breast, ovarian and pancreatic cancers.

One of the studies even found that just one additional serving of vegetables or fruits could help lower the risk of head and neck cancer. Still, the more fruits and vegetables you can consume, the better.

"Those who ate six servings of fruit and vegetables per 1,000 calories had a 29 percent decreased risk relative to those who had 1.5 servings," said Neal Freedman, a Cancer Prevention Fellow in the division of Cancer Prevention at the National Cancer Institute and author of one of the studies.

Freedman looked at how the fruit and vegetable intake compared to the incidence of head and neck cancer is 490,802 adults. During the five-year study period, 787 people were diagnosed with head and neck cancers.

After adjusting the data to account for smoking and alcohol use -- known head and neck cancer risk factors -- the researchers found that those who consumed the most fruits and vegetables had the lowest risk for head and neck cancers. Vegetables appeared to offer more cancer prevention than fruits alone did.

Adding just one serving of fruit or vegetables per each 1,000 calories consumed daily resulted in a 6 percent reduction of risk, Freedman said.

"Quitting smoking and reducing alcohol use protects against head and neck cancer. Our results suggest that increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables may also contribute to reduced head and neck cancer risk, and add support to current dietary recommendations to increase fruit and vegetable consumption," Freedman noted.

"I think Americans fall pretty short of the recommendations [for fruit and vegetable consumption]," said Tara Miller, program manager for the Center for Corporate Wellness at New York University Medical Center in New York City. "So, it's good news that only an extra serving a day could make a difference."

In the second study, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, conducted lab experiments to see if broccoli and soy protein offered any protection against more aggressive breast and ovarian cancers.

When consumed together, digesting broccoli and soy forms a compound called diindolylmethane (DIM). In the lab experiments, the researchers found that DIM could affect the motility of breast and ovarian cancer cells, which could help keep cancers from spreading.

Miller said one concern about soy is that it may be a problem for people with estrogen-fueled cancers, because soy acts like estrogen in the body. She said soy is a nutritious, healthy food, but she recommends eating it in moderation.

Risk of Hormone Treatment for Prostate Cancer

Benefits of antioxidants on your health

There are so many benefits to antioxidants. Not only do most antioxidant rich foods taste great, they are also fantastic for your insides and outside. Just a few of the benefit of antioxidants are their anti-aging properties, their skin clearing abilities and of course, the possibility they can help prevent and repair cancer damaged cells.

Antioxidants keep you looking younger for longer
Nobody wants to look old. I am adamant about staying young looking for as long as I can, and I believe that by soaking up the benefits of antioxidants, I won't be getting any wrinkles when I hit 40, or even 50! It is scientific fact that antioxidants will preserve your youth, and that in itself is reason enough to ensure you are eating the foods required to maintain the antioxidant levels required to keep you looking young.

Antioxidants clear your skin
This is one benefit of antioxidants I can personally vouch for - since I began consuming antioxidant rich foods on a regular basis, my horrible blotchy, acne prone skin has transformed into a glowing, clear complexion. And I put it down to just several foods which I have been consciously eating on a daily basis - berries, broccoli, carrots, tomatoes and wholemeal breads.

Since antioxidants fight free radicals (cell damaging agents), it is only natural that their benefits will show through on your skin. Try it; I will be amazed if after a few months of eating an antioxidant rich det that your skin appearance hasn't improved ten fold!

Antioxidants and cancer
There are continual tests and studies going on in the scientific world to see just what effect, if any, antioxidants have on preventing and fighting cancer.

There is no doubt that antioxidants have some effect on the cells in the body - and it is these cells which can become cancerous. So is there a link between antioxidants and cancer prevention?

Well, if you eat antioxidant rich foods regularly, these antioxidants will reduce the free radicals in your body. Free radicals damage cells and cell walls as well as the genetic material inside your cells! For this reason, nutritionists recommend an antioxidant rich diet - looking after your cells has to go some way in fighting cancer formation.

As you can see, there are so many benefits of antioxidants that every person on earth should be consuming at least ONE food per day that is antioxidant rich. Your body will thank you for it in years to come!