New Study: 22% less Heart Disease risk

Plantarian.org - EPIC Study: Heart Disease, 8 Fruit & Veg a Day = 22% reduced risk

Published today in the European Heart Journal

Data analysed from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) Heart study has shown that people who ate at least eight portions of fruit and vegetables a day had a 22% lower risk of dying from IHD than did those who consumed fewer than three portions a day.

This study involved over 300,000 people in eight different European countries, with 1,636 deaths from IHD.

Professor Sir Michael Marmot, director of the University College London (UCL) International Institute for Society and Health, head of the UCL Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, and chairman of the Commission on Social Determinants of Health, writes separately “Such an odds ratio is of huge practical importance. Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death. A reduction of 22% is huge. But... this reduction in mortality comes with consumption of eight portions a day, or 640g. Such a high consumption was found in only 18% of the men and women in these eight cohorts. There would need to be big shift in dietary patterns to achieve this healthy consumption of eight portions a day. It is worth trying to move in that direction. Reductions in cancers of several sites, in blood pressure and stroke, would add to this reduction in fatal CHD. Moving to a diet that emphasises fruit and vegetables is of great importance to public health.”

Alzheimer's Society + Bupa Research Funding

Alzheimer's Society and Bupa unite to improve lives of people with dementia - Alzheimer's Society

At last! Someone looking to address the serious lack of funding into Altzheimers - let's hope as much as possible goes towards research into preventative measures and protecting the brain rather than just all gobbled up by drug companies looking for a silver bullet that doesn't exist.

Neil Hunt, Chief Executive, Alzheimer's Society said,

'One in three people over 65 will die with dementia, the aim of this partnership with Bupa is to jointly seek new, beneficial initiatives for people with dementia and their carers.'

“Dementia research is seriously under-funded. Much more needs to be invested if we are to see the same advancements in dementia care and treatment as we have seen for cancer. By delaying the onset of dementia by just five years we could halve the number of deaths from the condition, saving 30,000 lives a year, but without progress in research the economic cost of the disease is likely to rise to £27 billion by 2018.”

More information on the £1.5m fund:

The closing date for applications is 28 February 2010. Grants would be awarded in line with guidelines issued by the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC).

The topics that may be considered for funding in the areas of cause, cure, care and prevention include:

• Epidemiology of all forms of dementia
• The causes of dementia and mechanism of disease progression
• The causal relationship between genetics and lifestyle factors predisposing people to dementia
• Prevention, diagnosis and treatment of dementia
• Slowing the progress of dementia
• Developing (non-embryonic) stem cell therapies with translational benefits for people with dementia
• Evidence for dietary supplements or complementary therapies as an alternative to drugs
• Improving Quality of life for people with dementia in their own homes or care homes
• How to best train staff in all health sectors, at all levels, in communicating with, understanding the needs of, and caring for people with dementia
• Management of anxiety, agitation and other behavioral symptoms, without the use of antipsychotic drugs
• The impact of acute hospitalization of people with dementia

For details on how to apply go to: www.bupafoundation.co.uk or www.alzheimers.org.uk/research

For more information contact:

Brett Lowther
BUPA Corporate Affairs
Tel: +44 (0)20 7656 2638
Email: lowtherb@bupa.com

Notes:
• One in three people over 65 will die with dementia
• Alzheimer’s Society research shows that 700,000 people in the UK have a form of dementia, more than half have Alzheimer’s disease. In less than 20 years nearly a million people will be living with dementia. This will soar to 1.7 million people by 2051.

Broccoli May Help Battle Breast Cancer

Broccoli May Help Battle Breast Cancer:

"It appears if you repeat a truth often enough it becomes a fact" says expert London Nutritionist Yvonne Bishop-Weston following a new study published on the benefits of broccoli

May 2010 ( Clinical Cancer Research)

A compound derived from broccoli appears to be able to kill breast cancer stem cells, which help tumors grow, according to a new study. But it's too soon to know if the compound would work in people. And the amount tested is larger than the amount people could consume in their diet.

"Tests on human breast cancer cells in the laboratory resulted in decreases in cancer stem cells" reported study co-author Duxin Sun, an associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy and Dr. Max S. Wicha, an oncology professor and director of the university's Comprehensive Cancer Center, and a study co-author.

2002

Way back in 2002 a doctor speaking at the American Institute for Cancer Research on diet and nutrition, Paul Talalay, MD, from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md., said that cauliflower and broccoli contain a compound that increases an enzyme called sulforaphane in the body. This enzyme helps protect cells and prevents their genes from turning into cancer.

2000

"Men who eat plenty of green vegetables, such as cabbage and broccoli, can lower their risk of prostate cancer by 41 percent" said study co-author Jennifer Cohen, PhD, MPH, of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.
Dr. Cohen and her colleagues evaluated the total fruit and vegetable consumption of 1,230 men between the ages of 40 and 64 and found men who ate three or more servings of vegetables a day had a 35 percent lower risk of prostate cancer, compared with men who ate fewer than two servings per day. Of the men studied, half had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and half were randomly selected.