Forums: Diet And Cancer

Soy does not lower cholesterol, does not prevent heart disease, and does not deserve an FDA-approved soy heart-health claim. This amazing announcement comes from none other than the American Heart Association (AHA) published in the Jan. 17, 2006, issue of its journal Circulation. Athletes at Risk Not long before this announcement, University of Colorado researchers reported in the January issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation that soy worsens cardiomyopathy, a form of heart disease that is very much on the rise, afflicting 1 in 500 Americans. Cardiomyopathy, defined as a weakening of the heart muscle or change in structure...

Bob Krause hates Thanksgiving, and not because of that all forced family time. Krause, 63, calls himself a picky eater -- one who won't eat anything that's served at a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, or any other dinner, for that matter. Krause survives on little more than grilled cheese sandwiches, French fries and waffles. And, like other picky eaters, Krause hopes that a registry of adult picky eaters, recently begun by Duke University and the University of Pittsburgh, will bring attention to a problem he believes should be considered a medical condition. The registry, dubbed the Food F.A.D. Study, or the...

The fascination with low-carb versus low-fat diet continues; the latest news comes from a study in the Annals of Internal Medicine released today that found that people on both diets lost about the same amount of weight over two years. However, the low-carb group had an edge in raising HDL (good) cholesterol and lowering diastolic blood pressure The study looked at 153 people who were randomly assigned to a low-carb diet, and 154 to a low-fat diet. The low-carb group limited carbohydrate intake to 20 grams per day for the first 12 weeks, then gradually increased fruits, vegetables, whole grains...

A new UCLA study suggests that disparities in cardiovascular disease risk in the United States are due less to race or ethnicity than to socioeconomic status. In the study, published in the August issue of the journal Annals of Epidemiology, researchers from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and colleagues found that there are large differences in risk by socioeconomic status within racial and ethnic groups — with the poorest individuals having the highest risk — but that there are few differences in risk between racial and ethnic groups. "Most ethnic differences in cardiovascular risk are really due...

Every five years, the federal Department of Agriculture and Department of Health and Human Services revise their Dietary Guidelines for Americans, a publication that sets the direction for federal nutrition-education programs. In an age when aggressive government agencies in places like New York City seek a greater hand in shaping Americans’ diets, the next set of guidelines, published later this year, could prove more controversial than usual because increasing scientific evidence suggests that some current federal recommendations have simply been wrong. Will a public-health establishment that has been slow to admit its mistakes over the years acknowledge the new research...

Under Senate Judiciary Committee questioning, President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan offered the opinion that Congress may legislate what you can and cannot eat. “The Constitution gives the Government the responsibility to promote the general welfare,” Kagan said. “What a person eats affects his or her welfare. With obesity running rampant in this country, it is clear that many Americans are not good judges of what they put into their mouths. So, does Congress have the authority to tell you to put down that Dorito and pick up that celery stalk? I’d have to say yes.”

Hey Freepers, Would any of you skinny folks like to share you daily meal habits? How many meals do you eat, when, and how big are they? What sort of things do you eat? I ask this because I've recently embarked on a "big breakfast diet" and so far it seems like a great idea. I just want to see if it's sustainable long term, and if people are already doing it, that would indicate that it is. (The basics: Eat a huge protein-packed breakfast that includes one sweet indulgence and some carbs, then a reasonable protein lunch and little...

Michelle Obama unveiled the newly-expanded President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition to D.C. school children last week. For years the Council (formerly known merely as the President’s Council on Fitness and Sports) busied itself with pushing Americans to get outside and run around. But as with so many government initiatives under the Obama administration, its goals have expanded. The council now wants to influence your diet and while not a member, Michelle Obama will be working closely with the group to help guide its initiatives.