5
AICR Launches Spanish Summary of Policy Report
0 Comments | Posted by Glen in Diet, Research, prevention policy
Yesterday, at an event at the Headquarters of the Pan-American Health Organization (the regional office of the World Health Organization in the Americas), we launched the Spanish summary of our major report, Policy and Action for Cancer Prevention.
Launch of AICR/PAHO Spanish Summary, PAHO HQ
Press Questions at AICR/PAHO Summary Launch
The summary was published jointly by AICR and PAHO, and adapts the report’s global policy recommendation to Latin American countries.
The launch event here in DC was well-attended, and over 30 countries participated via web. A lively discussion followed (the Q and A session went on for over 30 minutes) including the comments of the Deputy Health Minister of Panama, who participated by phone.
AICR Vice President for Programs Deirdre McGinley-Gieser spoke briefly to fit the new summary into the wider context of AICR’s ongoing mission, and to express how excited we are to partner with PAHO, an organization that can help effect the kind of changes that could lower cancer rates in the Americas and save millions of lives.
You can read about the AICR/WCRF Policy Report here.
The Spanish summary is available on PAHO website.
A refrigerator make-over may be just what you need to snap out of your winter diet doldrums. Escape that gray, snowy day and head to the nearest supermarket produce section.
Stock your fridge with antioxidant-rich fruits, vegetables and whole grains and take your crucial first step toward an energy-boosting, cancer-fighting diet.
AICR is ready to help you get started on your refrigerator redo with our Steps to a Healthy Fridge. Try it out and let us know how you’re making changes. Send us your photos – before, after or ‘as is’ and we’ll post some here.
For inspiration – here’s a fun site with photos of refrigerators and their contents from all over the world.
4
Today is World Cancer Day
0 Comments | Posted by Glen in Diet, Physical Activity, Research, prevention policy
February 4th is World Cancer Day - an annual global awareness-raising initiative organized by the International Union Against Cancer (UICC) that shines a spotlight on the small, everyday changes that can lower cancer risk.
AICR welcomes World Cancer Day 2010 as an opportunity to share the vital, life-saving, evidence-based message that we are not powerless before this disease. The evidence is in, and its shows that steps can be taken, by anyone, at any age, to help protect against cancer.
AICR President Marilyn Gentry shares her thoughts on this important day.
Meanwhile, AICR is marking World Cancer Day by launching two translated summaries of our major policy report, Policy and Action for Cancer Prevention. This report translates the scientific evidence into clear recommendations that show how all levels of society – government, individuals, schools, workplaces, the media, and more – can work together to reduce cancer incidence around the globe.
Working with the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), we’ve produced a Spanish summary of the policy report that tailors recommendations to Latin American countries and regions.
We’ve also partnered with the Brazilian National Cancer Institute (INCA) to produce a Portuguese summary that speaks to the policy makers in Brazil and other countries where cancer rates are rising.
We’re launching both translations today, at events in Washington and Rio de Janeiro. We’ll keep you posted.
Chances are, you have come across a soybean today. Soybeans are the world’s second biggest crop (corn is the first) and they are in lots of products, from paper to peanut butter. Globally, soybeans are one of the main sources of protein and oil. This versatile legume may also play a role in reducing cancer risk.
This week scientists published the sequence of the soybean genome, which could potentially help all these areas of research.
You can read the abstract of the paper in the journal Nature here.
The soybean is the first legume sequenced. Scientists now plan to identify which genes are responsible for particular plant characteristics, and then target specific genes to produce desired characteristics, such as more antioxidants.
Here’s a few soybean genome highlights:
- It contains about 46,000 genes (in comparison, humans have about 25,000; the earthworm about 19,000, and corn about 32,000).
- It contains a huge number of multiple copies of the same gene: about 75 percent of its genome.
- The soybean duplicated its DNA at least twice: approximately 59 million years ago and then again 13 million years ago.
Soybeans are packed with protein, vitamins and other cancer-fighting compounds. If knowing its genome wants to make you try this legume in your diet, here’s one recipe idea: Edamame and Orange Salad (soybeans are also called edamame).
You can also read more about soybeans’ possible role in cancer prevention here.
“En papillote” (pap-ee-YOTE) – the cooking trick in today’s Health-e-Recipe – refers to food baked inside a parchment paper wrapping.
It actually doesn’t catch on fire, as one might think, or become soggy. Instead, as the food cooks, the parchment paper puffs up and gently steams the food inside, allowing the fish to stay moist and absorb the lemon juice and piquant olive tapenade.
Why not use foil? Lore has it that acidic liquids, like wine, tomato or citrus, taste funny when cooked in foil. (And using wax paper can really get messy.)
Papillote is designed for cooking and can be used to line baking sheets, as well. Now you know an easy way to impress people with your French cooking savvy (or savoir-faire, as they say in the Old Country). Complete this heart-healthy, cancer preventive dish with brown or wild rice and a salad of dark, leafy greens.
Click here to subscribe to AICR’s weekly Health-e-Recipe.
Sardines are one of the hot food trends for 2010 according to J. Walter Thompson, a global advertising agency. Affordability, healthy fats and a good environmental score make these little fish attractive for 2010.
Sardines are high in omega 3 fatty acids, a polyunsaturated fat that seems to offer protection against both heart disease and cancer. Since most Americans don’t get enough omega 3’s, these relatively inexpensive and easy to find canned wonders could be a nutrition gold mine.
In addition to the healthy fats and protein, sardines are a good source of calcium, iron, zinc and selenium. Calories are just slightly higher than salmon.
Read more about sardines from AICR Nutrition Consultant Karen Collins, MS, RD, CDN.
Do you like sardines? Let us know if you have a favorite sardine recipe.
Milk thistle is an herbal supplement that has a long history of use for liver problems, including disorders that come from anti-cancer drugs. (The active compound appears to be in the seeds, a flavonoid called silymarin.) For children with the most common type of leukemia, acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), chemotherapy treatments are frequently interrupted to prevent serious liver injury.
The flowerhead of milk thistle.
For these children, milk thistle may help, a new study suggests.
The study was published in this month’s journal Cancer; you can read the abstract here.
Funded by AICR, the pilot study started with 50 children with ALL who were in the maintenance phase of their chemotherapy treatment. For 28 days, half of the children consumed a capsule of milk thistle and the other half consumed a placebo capsule. Neither the children nor researchers knew who was taking what. Researchers measured the children’s liver toxins at the start of the study, day 28, and day 56.
When comparing the groups of children, the researchers found that milk thistle did not appear to interfere with chemotherapy. For example, there were no differences in side effects or infections between the two groups. But the children who consumed milk thistle did experience significantly fewer signs of liver damage.
This evidence is only preliminary, note the authors, and more studies are needed.
For cancer patients undergoing treatment, look here for AICR’s nutrition suggestions that may help with your side effects.
The health-boosting Mediterranean Diet is full of fish. Like the Diet’s olive oil and herbs, fish is one of the main health-boosting foods it contains, studies report.
But these days fish is fraught with forewarnings — about pollution from mercury and PCBs, and about some species being overfished.
That’s why today’s Health-e-Recipe from AICR — Morrocan Cod with Chickpeas — suggests using U.S. Pacific cod.
If you can’t find it, substitute another white-fleshed fish to substitute. One reliable source suggests U.S. or South American farmed tilapia, Alaska Pollock or U.S. Pacific flounder.
The unusual chick-pea and tomato combination, generously herbed, adds even more cancer-fighting ingredients. Click here to receive a delicious, tested Health-e-Recipe by email each week.
Do you know your child’s BMI?
This week, the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) released a recommendation for childhood obesity screening. The task force recommends that “clinicians screen children aged 6 years and older for obesity and offer them or refer them to intensive counseling and behavioral interventions to promote improvements in weight status.”
Twelve to 18 percent of children and adolescents aged 2 to 19 are obese and are at high risk for type 2 diabetes, asthma and even nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Obesity also increases risk for certain cancers – so the long term consequences are serious. Identifying these high risk children is only the first step in making a difference. The second part of the recommendation – referring them to appropriate programs – is really the key to this report.
The Task Force reviewed over a dozen studies on behavioral programs targeted to overweight and obese children and adolescents. They found that comprehensive programs using counseling, physical activity programs and behavioral management techniques were successful for modest weight loss that continued for at least 12 months after the program ended.
There are successful models and programs around the country for children and adolescents who struggle with overweight and obesity. But in areas where these programs aren’t available, what will the clinicians do once they’ve identified at risk children?
Hopefully this report will help spur the growth of effective comprehensive programs that involve the entire family so that any lifestyle and behavioral change made by the child will be sustainable.
What do you think of the new recommendations? Do you know of any comprehensive programs for children or adolescents in your community?
Can’t stop eating? Food scientists are on the case.
According to a paper published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, scientists may soon be developing a new generation of foods that release hunger-sating aromas. The goal is that these foods will prevent people from overeating by releasing fullness-inducing scents during chewing.
The future of foods may include releasing anti-hunger aromas during chewing.
Previously, scientists have worked to develop tasty foods that trigger a feeling of fullness, but their effect only went into action after they were swallowed. The paper’s authors found that aromas released during chewing contribute to the feeling of fullness and possibly to the decision to stop eating. Molecules that make up a food’s aroma apparently do so by activating areas of the brain that signal fullness.
This field of research is still preliminary, note the authors, and right now there’s no real food products.
But luckily, there are plenty of eating habits you can try now to help you feel full without feeling hungry. One way is to follow the New American Plate way of eating, filling up your plate with at least two-thirds fruits, vegetables, and grains. The fiber and water in plant foods gives a feeling of fullness without supplying a lot of calories.
Do you have any strategies to stop eating and/or feel full? Share.
