“The House of Representatives dealt a blow to childhood obesity warriors on Thursday by passing a bill that abandons proposals that threatened to end the reign of pizza and French fries on federally funded school lunch menus.

The scuttled changes, which would have stripped pizza’s status as a vegetable and limited how often French fries could be served, stemmed from a 2010 child nutrition law calling on schools to improve the nutritional quality of lunches served to almost 32 million U.S. school children.

The action is a win for the makers of frozen French fries and pizza and comes just weeks after the deep-pocketed food, beverage and restaurant industries successfully weakened government proposals for voluntary food marketing guidelines to children.”

Read the rest of the article here.

Penny Wise and Pound Foolish. Amongst the arguments against this bill, we are particularly amazed that Congress doesn’t see that the upfront savings in feeding children pizza and fries as servings of vegetables only drives up medical costs later.

In addition, our hearts go out to the parents who are working to inspire their children to love (real) vegetables. Their efforts must be supported by showing the American diet is full of fresh, colorful fruits and vegetables, at home and at school.

See the recipe here.

Soup is a wonderful meal because its volume provides a feeling of satiety without over-eating. This recipe, which we found on Treehugger.com, has so many things going for it besides the obvious deliciousness:

• -Lentils are a low-fat source of protein and high in iron.
• -Thyme and Kale have Vitamin C, which is needed for absorption of the plant-form of iron.
• -Kale is also a source of calcium, iron and carotenes.
• -Carrots have the ever-popular beta-carotene.
• -Garlic and Onions, from the allium family, help regulate blood sugar and promote cancer cell death.

Lentil Soup (by Kelly Rossiter)

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 or 3 sprigs of fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried 
1 carrot, sliced
2 potatoes, cubed
3 or 4 mushrooms, sliced
3 cups vegetable stock 
3 or 4 kale leaves, roughly chopped
1 cup cooked lentils
salt and pepper to taste

Read the recipe at Treehugger.com

Photo Credit: Kelly Rossiter/CC BY 2.0

From the LA Times, more evidence that staying physically active reduces your risk of cancer.

By Karen Kaplan, Los Angeles Times/For the Booster Shots blog

If you’re sitting down, you might want to stand up after reading this: Nearly 100,000 cases of cancer could be prevented in the U.S. each year if we all spent less time sitting in our cars, at our desks and on our couches.

Even people who exercise daily can increase their risk of cancer by remaining sedentary for extended periods of time, researchers said Thursday at the annual meeting of theAmerican Institute for Cancer Research focused on food, nutrition and physical activity.

Using data from the National Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics, researchers estimated that up to 49,000 cases of breast cancer and 43,000 cases of colon cancer each year are tied to lack of physical activity.

Read full article here.

by Dr. Elaine Rancatore

You now know what creates a chronic state of inflammation from Cancer and Inflammation: Part 1. Now we’ll explore the power of food in the fight against cancer.

Obesity is associated with a chronic state of low- level inflammation. Adipose (fat) tissue makes several substances called cytokines that are associated with inflammation. Obese individuals, with greater amounts of adipose tissue, have higher levels of these molecules. The National Cancer Institute reports that obesity is related to increased risks for cancer of the breast, uterus, ovaries, colon, esophagus, gallbladder, pancreas, and kidney. Achieving and maintaining and optimal weight is important in both the prevention and recurrence of cancer.

Our Food Choices: The foods that we consume impact our state of inflammation. Overconsumption of refined sugar and flour promotes inflammation by increasing insulin and insulin-like growth-factor (IG-F). An imbalance in the ratio of omega-6-fats to omega-3 fats also contributes to our chronic state of inflammation. Omega 6 fats are pro-inflammatory. Omega-3 fats are anti-inflammatory. In the US, the typical diet has a ratio that favors omega 6 fats 4x what is deemed healthy. Vegetable oils ( corn, sunflower and soybean), and trans fats are sources of omega 6 fats. Products from animals fed corn or soybean are also sources of omega 6 fats. Sources of Omega 3 fats are salmon, sardines, walnuts and flaxseed. Finally, the under consumption of fruits and vegetables leaves us defenseless against inflammation. Plants contain numerous substances called phytochemicals. They have the capacity to do many beneficial things to keep us healthy and to fight disease. Some are anti-inflammatory. Some inhibit grow of new blood cells or interfere with cytokines thereby inhibiting cancer cell growth.

Exercise: Daily physically activity helps to reduce our state of inflammation through its effect on insulin and IG-F, by reducing our adipose tissue, and by regulating cytokines. In addition, regular physical activity helps with stress management.

Stress: Chronic stress leads to a persistent state of inflammation. In an acute emergency, the chemical surge that occurs in your body, allows you to evade an oncoming car while crossing the street. These stress hormones-cortisol and adrenaline are lifesaving in these circumstances. However, when we are chronically stressed the persistent presence of these hormones elevates our blood sugar, heart rate, and blood pressure. They promote weight gain. They also impair our immune system. Of importance, a particular type of white blood cell, our natural killer cells (NK) are impeded by our stress hormones. As the name implies, the activity of NK cells aids in destroying (“killing”) cancer cells.

Sleep: Inadequate sleep increases our level of inflammation and may facilitate weight gain. Research has noted higher levels of inflammatory markers in individuals who had disrupted sleep patterns or insufficient sleep. Low levels of Leptin and high levels of Ghrelin have been observed in people who slept for only 5 hours. Leptin and Ghrelin are two hormones that regulate appetite.

WHAT CAN YOU DO? Be proactive. Reduce your state of inflammation by:

1. Choosing foods that are anti-inflammatory. We like to refer to Dr. Weil’s Anti-Inflammatory Food Pyramid.
2. Avoiding or minimizing consumption of pro-inflammatory foods.
3. Working towards achieving or maintaining a weight and body fat in the healthy range.
4. Focusing on your daily sleep patterns. The importance of quality sleep should not be overlooked. The Harvard Medical School has 6 Reasons Not to Scrimp on Sleep.
5. Engaging in routine stress management practice. Chronic stress is a partner in the inflammatory process. Duke Integrative Medicine has a great program to help people cope more effectively with stressful situations.
6. Staying physically active. Exercise. Move more often. It reduces inflammation. The American Institute for Cancer Research offer great tips for changing your exercise habits.

References:

• The Evolution of Obesity 2009 Michael Power and Jay Schulkin
• Anticancer 2008 David Servan-Schreiber
• American Institute for Cancer Research

October was National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We proudly wear our pink ribbons in support and remembrance of those closest to us who have been affected by this devastating disease.  We are reminded of the importance of monthly self- breast exams and the benefits of mammography.  We participate in various charitable events to raise money for research.

We have made tremendous strides with respect to early detection and treatment of cancer.

But what about prevention?

According to the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR), roughly one–third of all cancer deaths in the United States are related to poor nutrition, physical inactivity and overweight/obesity. These are lifestyle factors that are modifiable, meaning under our control.  Environmental exposures and tobacco use are also contributors.

Our genetics (DNA) also play a role, but these modifiable risk factors greatly influence the expression of our genetics.  That is, in the case of cancer, we may have the gene for a particular type of cancer, we may at some point in our lives have cancer cells in our bodies, but whether they multiple and grow into a tumor and give us the disease is influenced by our lifestyle.

The Cancer and Inflammation connection.

In 1863, a German physician, Rudolf Virchow provided the first indication of a potential link between inflammation and cancer. He observed that some patients developed cancer in areas of the body that had previously been injured.  He also noted the presence of white blood cells in cancer tissue. He hypothesized that cancer was like a wound repair gone awry. Since then, there have been others who have made the connection between inflammation and cancer.   More recently, in addition to cancer, inflammation has been recognized as a contributor to most chronic diseases. Diabetes, Heart disease, Stroke, Crohn’s disease, and yes, CANCER!

What is Inflammation? Why do we have an inflammatory response to injury and illness?

Simply stated, if you were to accidentally step on a piece of glass, cutting your foot, your immune system would respond by sending an array of chemicals and blood cells to the area of injury. This would allow your body to get rid of any invading bacteria, stop the bleeding and begin the process of self -repair.  This is a useful defense in an acute situation.  Under normal circumstances, once the healing has occurred, the inflammatory response ceases. When the inflammatory process is chronic or doesn’t stop, we have the potential for serious problems. It is now understood that cancer cells thrive in a neighborhood of inflammation. In a very complex interaction between cancer cells and our own immune defenses, cancer cells can multiple, grow new blood vessels to feed themselves and spread to other areas of our bodies.

What creates a chronic state of inflammation?

There are many culprits, but most notable are our familiar foes:

1. Obesity

2. Our Food Choices: Imbalance between Pro-inflammatory Foods/ Anti- inflammatory Foods

3. Sedentary Lifestyle

4. Chronic Stress

5. Lack of Restorative Sleep.

Next: We will look further into the chronic inflammatory state and its role in the cancer process. We will also explore the power of food in the fight against cancer. Part 2.