Cancer and Processed Food – A New Study Officially Finds a Link

A new study of over 100,000 people’s eating habits in France found that a 10 percent increase in consumption of ultra-processed foods resulted in a 12 percent increase some cancers, confirming yet again that diet is a key component in disease prevention. Ultra-processed foods include soda, mass-produced bread, sweets, processed meats, and prepackaged meals, and this is the first scientific study to strongly link them to cancer. The study also established a massive database of the additives in specific foods, including commercial names and brands. The NutriNet-Santé cohort study concludes, “Further studies are also needed to better understand the relative effect of nutritional composition, food additives, contact materials, and neoformed contaminants in this relation. Rapidly increasing consumption of ultra-processed foods may drive an increasing burden of cancer and other non-communicable diseases.”

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Global Patterns

Let’s look at breast cancer. Common reasons given for the rise in breast cancer diagnoses include age, stress, obesity, lack of exercise, and having children later in life. Lifestyle choices are usually mentioned, but specific aspects of diet and lifestyle aren’t discussed. With this study, researchers noticed an increase of greater than 10 percent in the rates of breast cancer in response to ultra-processed food. This link mirrors trends happening throughout the world. Rapidly industrializing regions all over the world are all seeing a rapid rise in the incidences of breast cancer in conjunction with the increased presence of pre-packaged foods.

China

Since 2000, cases of breast cancer in China have increased by an average of 3.5 percent per year. Due to the country’s intense industrialization, rates of diagnosis are higher in cities than in rural areas. The move to urban areas has also increased the consumption of quick and easy to prepare pre-packaged meals and junk food offerings from Western companies like Kraft, Nestlé, and PepsiCo. Fast food sales are also a cause for concern, rising an average of 13 percent annually.

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Central and South America

The majority of the Western hemisphere is a large region, but the circumstances are remarkably similar. There were over 140,000 new cases of breast cancer reported in 2012, and estimates predict that number will increase 70 percent by the year 2030. The growth in cancer rates comes at a time when these countries are being inundated by gigantic multinational corporations that specialize in ultra-processed food like Nestlé and Coca-Cola. Fast food chains are also expanding aggressively in the region.

Why Is That?

Ultra-processed foods contain large amounts of fat, sugar, and additives, and have been tied to obesity, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. It’s difficult to know whether the fat, sugar or additives are responsible for ultra-processed food’s link to cancer, as many additives, colorings, and sweeteners in those foods are linked to asthma, skin conditions, vomiting, intestinal distress, inflammation, autoimmune disorders, depression, fatigue, diabetes, periodontal disease, and hyperactivity, among other things. Taken individually, the ingredients in these foods constitute serious health concerns.

Who knows what happens when a product contains more than one of these additives together? We don’t. Until now, no one has been doing that science.

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The Cumulative Effect

Although the sales of processed and packaged foods are declining in the United States, these items still account for over half of all calories consumed in the country. They’re beginning to account for a much larger percentage of the world’s diet than ever before.

Even as deaths from breast cancer decrease, the number of diagnoses continues to rise. Improved standards of care account for fewer deaths, but incidences of cancer continue to increase because those standards don’t address the reason this is happening – our diet. This study is the first to make that connection and the first study that saw a definite increase in breast cancer in correlation with increased processed food consumption.

If we want to manage our health care system, we must manage our food system. They are the same thing.

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Drinking One Soda Per Day Can Decrease Fertility By 33%, Study Finds

A study from Boston University’s School of Medicine discovered a link between consuming one or more sugary drinks a day and a decreased chance of getting pregnant. Fertility dropped in both women and men. Of the 4,000 women surveyed, those who consumed at least one sugary, soda-like drink daily experienced a 25 percent decrease in successful pregnancy attempts. The 1,000 men who were surveyed experienced 33 percent lower conception chances. The study also included sugary energy drinks. According to the lead author of the study, Elizabeth Hatch,

We found positive associations between intake of sugar-sweetened beverages and lower fertility, which were consistent after controlling for many other factors, including obesity, caffeine intake, alcohol, smoking and overall diet quality. Couples planning a pregnancy might consider limiting their consumption of these beverages, especially because they are also related to other adverse health effects.”

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A Usual Culprit

This is not the only time sugar has been linked to infertility. It’s notorious for disrupting hormones, making it difficult to maintain a healthy reproductive system. The most common cause of infertility, polycystic ovary syndrome, is aggravated by sugar consumption. Sugar is also linked to early menstruation in women, another hormone disruption.

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A Perfect Storm

Sugary soda and beverages are not the only product of modern life linked to decreasing fertility.  Pesticides, Ibuprofen, and endocrine-disrupting plastics like BPA have been linked to declining fertility rates in both men and women. Several governments from developed countries like Japan and Denmark have launched initiatives designed to increase birth rates, but one has to wonder if ad campaigns are enough to combat the aspects of modern life that will thwart those ambitions.

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Skin Creams Pose Serious Fire Risk

Paraffin residue builds up on clothes and bedding from skin creams. Paraffin residue seeps mattresses as well. Paraffin acts as an accelerant when it comes into contact with fire.

Hundreds of thousands of people use them, we’re not sure how many fire deaths might have occurred but it could be into the hundreds.” – Chris Bell, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service

An investigation by BBC 5 Live found that only seven out of 38 products that have paraffin contained fire warnings on their packaging in the UK. We did not find warnings on packages in the U.S. In England in March 2017 a BBC investigation discovered 37 deaths linked to skin creams with paraffin. Firefighter Chris Bell beleives the actual number of deaths linked to the creams is likely to be much higher.

“I seem to have set myself on fire”

BBC tells the story of Brian Bicat, 82, from Bradford, West Yorkshire, who died last September after setting himself on fire. The belief is that cigarette embers sparked paraffin residue on his clothing from the residual build-up of his skin cream, and set his clothes on fire.

Kirsten said her father’s wife Kathleen returned from a walk to find Brian conscious but seriously injured.

The flat was full of smoke and there was a pile of smouldering clothes on the floor outside the bathroom burning a hole in the carpet. My dad was sat on the bed with no clothes on, and covered in water and hair singed, looking sort of dazed and he said ‘I seem to have set myself on fire’.” – Kristen

Brian Bicat, 82, died last September from the severe burns.

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It’s recommended that you wash clothes regularly and shower daily if using skin creams.

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Household Cleaners May Damage Lungs Like Pack-a-Day Smoking Habit, According to New Study

Scientists at Norway’s University of Bergen found that using toxic cleaning products has as much of an impact on health as smoking a pack of cigarettes a day.

The study tracked 6,000 people, with an average age of 34 at the time of enrollment in the study, who used the cleaning products over a period of two decades, according to the research published in the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.Lung function declined in women who regularly used cleaning products. They, such as those who worked as cleaners, was equivalent over the period to those with a 20-cigarette daily smoking habit.

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While the short-term effects of cleaning chemicals on asthma are becoming increasingly well documented, we lack knowledge of the long-term impact. We feared that such chemicals, by steadily causing a little damage to the airways day after day, year after year, might accelerate the rate of lung function decline that occurs with age.” – Dr. Cecile Svanes, professor at the University of Bergen in Norway, senior author of the study.

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The study measured lung function by testing the amount of air the subjects could forcefully breathe out. They examined the results alongside a questionnaire where participants were asked about they use cleaning products. The study found that women who used the cleaning products regularly have decreased lung capacity and an increased rate of asthma. The products seemed to affect women more than men, though the scientists noted that the number of male participants was limited. The mode of chemical cleaner—be it spray or other liquid—was not statistically relevant, only that a chemical cleaner was used.

When you think of inhaling small particles from cleaning agents that are meant for cleaning the floor and not your lungs, maybe it is not so surprising after all.” – Øistein Svanes, a doctoral student.

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Iceland Law Would Outlaw Male Circumcision

An Icelandic bill recently introduced says the circumcision of young boys violates their rights. The lawmakers draw a parallel with female genital mutilation which is outlawed in most European countries. The bill says that circumcisions are performed without anesthesia, and states that the procedure is carried out “in homes that are not sterile, and not by doctors but by religious leaders. There is a high risk of infections under such conditions that may lead to death.”

This is fundamentally about not causing unnecessary harm to a child,” – Silja Dogg Gunnarsdottir, lawmaker who introduced the bill

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The proposed law calls circumcision a violation of human rights

…since boys are not able to give an informed consent of an irreversible physical intervention.”

Circumcision is not common in Iceland, Iceland is a small Atlantic Ocean island nation of 340,000 people. They are predominantly Lutheran or atheist, with an estimated 100 to 200 Jews and about 1,100 practicing Muslims according to The Tribune.

Related: Religious Reasons Not To Circumcise

The bill has eight co-sponsors. It is considered unlikely to get be voted in. The bill will not reach the majority in the 63-seat Iceland parliament it needs. It does not have the formal backing of any government ministers. But the bill has levied considerable support from 422 Icelandic doctors who want to retire the practice.

Iceland is known for progressive legislation on gender equality. In a world’s first, last month, the government made it illegal for companies to pay women less than men.

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Polyphenols in Wine Defend Against Gum Disease Says New Research

A new study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that certain polyphenols in wine are effective in protecting the teeth and gums against pathogenic bacteria. Polyphenols are a plant’s natural defense mechanism against infection, and researchers from Spain looked at two polyphenols from red wine and others from commercially available grape seed extract, and different red wine extracts.  Of the red wine compounds and extracts studied, two of the pure phenolic compounds found in the wine, caffeic and p-coumaric acids, were found to decrease harmful bacteria’s ability to adhere to the mouth.

What Do Polyphenols Do?

Polyphenols are plentiful phytochemicals with antioxidant properties found in a wide range of foods. More than 8,000 of these micronutrients have been identified, and those are divided into four categories; flavonoids, stilbenes, lignans, and phenolic acids. The two most effective compounds from this study are in the last category, caffeic acid and p-coumaric acid.

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Caffeic acid is the more well-known of the two compounds and is most often ingested through coffee. It’s also in other beverages like wine, beer, and fruits juices and foods including cereal grains, dried fruit, berries, soy and olive oils, herbs and spices, walnuts, and certain vegetables. The compound’s antioxidant properties have been linked to improved athletic performance, decreased risk of diabetes and cancer, and wrinkle prevention, among other things.

The other compound shown to significantly inhibit the effect of harmful bacteria in the mouth, p-coumaric acid, has shown antibacterial activity before. According to a 2012 study, p-coumaric acid “has dual mechanisms of bactericidal activity: disrupting bacterial cell membranes and binding to bacterial genomic DNA to inhibit cellular functions, ultimately leading to cell death.” It can be found in a variety of berries and other foods like wine, vinegar, peanuts, navy beans, tomatoes, carrots, basil, honey, and garlic, among others.

Related: Heal Cavities, Gum Disease, Naturally with Organic Oral Care – Toothpaste Recipes Included

Foods with Polyphenols

This study focused on how compounds in red wine can help your teeth, which is odd when you consider that the most common red wine and teeth association has to do with stains. Despite its known health benefits, red wine is also not an obvious choice for healthy teeth for other reasons. Mouth health is directly related to gut health, and alcohol turns into simple sugars in the digestive system, feeding harmful pathogens like candida. Treat yourself to a glass of wine…once in a while, and take care of your teeth with the multitude of other polyphenol friendly foods.

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Testosterone May Provide Protection Against Autoimmune Disorders Says New Study

A new study published by the National Academy of Sciences has identified testosterone as one of the reasons men have far fewer incidences of autoimmune disorders. Scientists from the department of microbiology and immunology at Northwestern University looked at mast cells, immune cells that produce histamines in response to allergic reactions. In female mice, mast cells produced pro-inflammatory signaling molecules called cytokines. When exposed to testosterone though, the cytokines sent the opposite message, signaling the immune system to relax. Science has given estrogen the edge when it comes to surviving famine and disease, but this study suggests that testosterone might have more to offer than we previously knew.

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Chronic Inflammation and Autoimmune Conditions

Women are three to nine times more likely than men to develop an autoimmune disorder like lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, celiac disease, fibromyalgia, and others. This study supports the possibility that out of balance hormones may be more important than we are currently considering. Without the protection of testosterone, a woman’s immune system produced signals calling for inflammation, the reaction to harmful substances. While inflammation is not inherently a bad thing, a constantly triggered immune system and chronic inflammation can lead to serious autoimmune disorders.

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Consequences

Many women don’t develop an autoimmune disorder, and 20% of the diagnoses of those conditions are for men. It isn’t as simple as testosterone. But we mess with hormones far more than we understand them, and this study it clear that we still don’t fully understand our bodies holistically.

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For example, women develop autoimmune disorders much earlier in life than men. From a hormonal standpoint, this echoes some aspects of conventional hormone management. Women are prescribed regular birth control at an early age, while many men address hormone-centric issues like erectile dysfunction with pharmaceuticals later in life. Do we know what we are doing to ourselves?

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