Fight Cancer With Garlic and Onions By Paul Recer

Fight Cancer With Garlic and Onions By Paul Recer
Note: Whats good for the prostate is good for the lymph system, etc. Read on.....

WASHINGTON (AP) - Men in China have the lowest prostate cancer % in the world, & a diet rich in garlic, shallots & onions may be a reason. Researchers at the National Cancer Institute report in a new study that a diet with lots of vegetables from the allium’s food group -- which includes garlic, shallots & onions -- reduces risk of prostate cancer by about half.

And the common Chinese diet includes hearty servings of these vegetables. The study, appearing this week in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, is based on interviews with 238 men with prostate cancer & 471 without. Men in the study, all residents of Shanghai, China, were asked how frequently they ate 122 food items. The results showed that those who ate more than 1/3 oz. a day from the allium food group were about 50% less likely to have prostate cancer than those who ate less of the foods. "We checked on many food items & the allium food group stood out (as protective against prostate cancer)," said Ann W. Hsing, an NCI epidemiologist & the first author of the study. "But the conclusions need to be replicated in another study." She said the study was conducted in Shanghai because China has the lowest rate of prostate cancer in the world. Scallions seemed to be the most protective. According to the study, men who ate about a 1/10 oz. or more a day of scallions reduced their prostate cancer risk by about 70%. For garlic consumption of the same amount, the prostate cancer risk was reduced about 53%. Hsing said the typical Chinese diet is much more heavily seasoned with garlic, scallions & onions than is the traditional American diet. But even so, the amount of allium vegetables consumed is measured only in fractional ounces. For instance, the study suggests that an effective level of prostate cancer protection can be achieved with about one clove of garlic a day.

"The reduced risk of prostate cancer associated with allium vegetables was independent of body size, intake of other foods & total calorie intake," the study authors reported. Hsing said the study reinforces earlier studies that have linked high vegetable consumption to a reduced risk of prostate cancer. For instance, earlier studies have found that that eating tomatoes & tomato products can lower risk of prostate cancer. Italy, where tomato sauce & garlic are favorites, has one of the lowest rates of prostate cancer in Europe, said Hsing. Janet Stanford, a cancer epidemiologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, said the study by Hsing & her co-authors continues to support general finding that "eating vegetables is a good thing." Stanford said her group, in an earlier study, linked broccoli, cauliflower and related vegetables to a reduced prostate cancer risk, while a high-fat diet increased the risk. "This shows that your mother was right," said Stanford. "Eat more vegetables." The Shanghai study was conducted by researchers at the National Cancer Institute, one of the National Institutes of Health, & at the Shanghai Cancer Institute in China.
Copyright (c) Associated Press

Which Vitamin Boosts Brain Power? By Dianne Partie Lange

Vitamin E has been touted for its anti-aging & anti-cancer benefits because, as an antioxidant, it counters the destructive action of Molecules, called free radicals. Now a study has shown vitamin E may also help the memory loss & impaired thinking that occurs in the elderly.

Researchers at the Rush Institute for Healthy Aging in Chicago conducted a three-year study involving nearly 3,000 people older than 65 to investigate the cognitive effects of Vitamin E in food & supplements. By comparing the average scores of four different tests of memory and perception, the researchers were able to track change in cognitive function with age. The participants also completed dietary questionnaires periodically, which enabled the researchers to determine their vitamin E intake.

The study found that the higher the intake of total vitamin E, the less change there was in the people's average test scores each year. And those men & women who consumed the most vitamin E had a 36% lower rate of decline in their average test scores than those who consumed the least Vitamin E. Other antioxidants, such as Vitamins A & C, & Carotene had little effect on the results.

Those who took supplements but got little vitamin E from food appeared to have the same protective benefit from the vitamin as those who consumed high amounts of E in their diets, says Martha Clare Morris, an assistant professor at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center. Several clinical trials are underway to compare protection from cognitive decline in people taking a supplement or a placebo, she says. In this study, the majority who took a supplement reported taking 400 IU a day