Ten Ways to lower your Breast Cancer risks

Today, according to the pink banner of the online newspaper I am reading, is pink ribbon day. But within the same publication, not wrapped in a pretty pink bow, is part of a real way to prevent many known causes of cancer – an article on food as medicine.

While ribbon days raise awareness about a disease, we are still selectively deaf to some of the messages that the research validates. While much energy is spent looking for genetic causes or pharmaceutical ‘cures’, how we live can determine some degree of risk for developing cancers, especially breast cancer.

Body size, diet and alcohol consumption are among the main lifestyle factors that may influence a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer.

National Breast Cancer Foundation 2006-2007 Annual Report

Tucked away in the report is Professor Graham Giles’ research that includes:

The risk of breast cancer increases by 18% for every 10 kilograms of extra body weight gained, in post-menopausal women.

In all women, drinking 4 or more standard units of alcohol a day increases the breast cancer risk by up to 40%.

Folate, the equivalent to two cups of boiled spinach (400 mcg folate) a day, may negate some of these risks.

But these findings are not new. The connection between breast cancer and excess fat and ANY consumption of alcohol has long been demonstrated.

Furthermore we know that the risk of developing most if, not all, cancers can be increased by our dietary choices. Top of the list is preserved meats (ham, bacon, salami, Devon etc).



Ten Ways to Prevent Breast Cancer

So without tens of millions of research dollars at your direct disposal, how can you save money and decrease your risk of breast cancer? These tips are for lifestyle related causes (not BRCA risks).

1. Eat anti inflammatory foods and herbs: such as ginger, turmeric, deep sea fish, fresh raw seeds and nuts.

2. Opt out of the oestrogen disruptors and xenooestrogens in the food chain. While pesticides and other chemicals used in conventional farming may have a direct effect on your health when you eat the food grown with it, there is flow on effects for everyone when run off from these agricultural chemicals enter our waterways. Buy as much certified organic food as you can afford.

3. Other suspected oestrogen disruptors can be found in plastics. Use less plastic and don’t cook (microwave) food in plastic containers or with plastic wrap. Try to source BPA-free baby bottles made from glass if you need to use them.

4. If you want to drink pure water, stop spending money on expensive bottled water and invest in a reverse osmosis water filter. This is the most effective filtration method and will even reduce ionizing radiation in water, a known cause of breast cancer. Store your water in glass, rather than plastic.

5. Reduce all animal fats in your diet. Eat less meat and dairy foods, and more whole grains, fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans and fish.

6. Throw the scales away but measure your waist once a month. Abdominal fat is a known risk factor breast and other cancers, as well as adult onset diabetes. For women the maximum waist measurement for good health is 80cm.

7. Waist measurement can be reduced by pilates, walking and almost any exercise that is suitable for your particular body type. Clean up your diet with a spring clean, which by the end of the ten days has created a sustainable way to eat healthily.

8. Stop smoking, cigarettes and marijuana are known carcinogens. If you need help, see a psychologist who specializes in hypnotherapy for addictions. Most people can give up smoking in just 1-2 sessions.

9. Really understand what a standard drink is. If you drink wine, did you know that every different bottle of wine you drink may vary in strength? At home, before you open the wine read how many standard drinks it contains, take the amount of mls of wine the bottle contains, divide by the number of standard drinks and measure the amount you come up with. Compare the measured pour to how much you’d usually put in the glass. You’ll be surprised!

While it is questionable that any alcohol (even a glass a week) is considered safe in terms of breast cancer prevention, at least get clear on what a standard drink is. If you really enjoy alcohol – choose quality over quantity, stop habitual drinking (your after work “reward”) and stick to 1-2 standard drinks, 1-2 times a week.

10. Decrease everyone’s exposure to radiation. While you might not mine uranium or deal with nuclear weaponry yourself, women living near uranium mines are at an elevated risk of developing breast cancer. Uranium from mines also has a risk of entering the wider community through contamination of waterways. Say “NO” to uranium mining in Australia, support campaigns for nuclear disarmament and alternative fuels to nuclear power. There also appear to be breast cancer clusters after the Chernobyl nuclear power plant leaked, as far away as California and Japan, correlating with areas of rainfall the day after the disaster occurred.


While the research is almost exclusively on women, it is often forgotten that men get breast cancer too. There are many ways you can celebrate prevention and survival of breast cancer – just choose the easiest thing from my Ten Ways to Breast Prevent Cancer and start with the first step today.

PMS

What is Premenstrual Syndrome?

As the name suggest PMS refers to symptoms that reoccur in the second half of the menstrual cycle (also known as the luteal phase). The most common types of PMS include:

Anxiety, depression, mood swings, aggression, tearfulness
Changes in energy – fatigue or increased energy and insomnia
Feeling more stressed
Cravings – for specific foods such as sugar or carbohydrates, or just greater quantities of food
“Hyperhydration” – i.e.: fluid retention: increased breast size, breast pain, general weight gain, being clumsier (possibly due to very slight fluid retention in the brain)
Flares of chronic conditions such as migraines, acne etc

Symptoms can technically occur any time from ovulation (mid-cycle) to the beginning of menstruation but in more commonly starts from one week to one day before the period. Once bleeding is established the symptoms usually disappear but may come back again the next month.

Any condition which is termed a “syndrome” tends to mean a cluster of symptoms which is not medically fully understood.

What causes PMS?

The common answer is a hormonal imbalance but in blood tests most women with PMS will show sex hormones within normal range A current theory suggest this is due to an increased sensitivity to circulating progesterone and its metabolites rather than abnormal concentrations of hormones. The role of neurotransmitters such as serotonin are also being considered

Conventional treatment tends to use drugs to override an individual’s hormone response through the oral contraceptive pill (also implants and injections), antidepressants and diuretics. Research on the pill as a treatment for the condition tends to suggest that 1/3 of women will have less PMS, another 1/3 will have more and the rest will have no change in their condition.

Naturopathy concentrates on other triggers that may cause the hormonal sensitivity in the first place – such as nutrition, diet and lifestyle.

What is a natural approach to PMS?

Early research has identified low B6 and Magnesium to be significant triggers for PMS (both nutrients important in the health of the nervous system). But I’d caution against taking B vitamins on their own (i.e. not without all the other B’s) as this may cause other deficiencies. Look for a good multivitamin with at least 50 mg each of B6 and magnesium plus calcium and Vitamin E.

The herb Chaste Tree berry (Vitex agnus castus) has been proven to help regulate a variety of sex hormone related conditions. Dose is usually 1-2 gm a day and needs to be taken every day for at least 2-4 consecutive menstrual cycles. Do not take chaste tree if on the pill or other hormonal medication.

St Johns Wort (Hypericum perforatum) may help with mood changes, insomnia, stress and recurrent conditions like migraines due to its positive influence on serotonin. Like Chaste Tree it should be avoided when taking the pill etc (and check these other possible drug interactions) and needs to be taken for at least 3 months. The two herbs can be taken together but it is best to consult a qualified herbalist to make sure you are getting the best quality herbal preparation and in the correct quantities.

For fluid retention drinking 2-4 cups a day of nettle and/or dandelion leaf tea is effective.

Evening Primrose oil is another commonly prescribed remedy but this needs to be taken with other nutrients for it to have the desired effect so always take with a strong multivitamin. Therapeutic dose for EPO is very high; 6 grams a day, so make sure you are taking enough.

So called “natural progesterone” creams have been touted for the treatment of PMS but this is a misnomer. Straight Wild Yam creams (the unadulterated herb in a cream base to rub onto the skin) are ineffective as despite the herbs potential to be a starting point for a particular steroidal action (influencing the hormones) the body is unable to metabolise these starting blocks unaided. Other so-called natural creams begin with the herb in the laboratory and are then altered to create a pharmaceutical drug. While these may have some therapeutic effect these are no more “natural” than a type of hormone replacement therapy. (For more information see this article on bio-identical hormones)

Is there a special diet for PMS?

While supplementing with vitamins is a good place to start treatment, long term dietary change is the key to controlling this condition in the long term.

Wholefoods – raw nuts, seeds, legumes, unrefined grains (eg: oats, brown rice, millet, quinoa etc) plus fish and lots of fruit and vegetables are the key.

Foods to avoid include refined foods (especially sugar), caffeine, alcohol and salt.

It is important to eat like this the whole month not just in the second half of the cycle.

What are some other ways you can create a PMS-free life?

Anything that reduces background stress can reduce PMS, so all the tried and true stress busters such as regular exercise, meditation, yoga, tai chi etc are worth giving a go. Consider simplifying your life.

Nicotine and other recreational drugs tend to worsen PMS, if you need help to give up cigarettes or work with other addictions, I would recommend seeing a registered psychologist who specialises in hypnotherapy.

If you have emotional symptoms and the same issues arise for you every month, take a note of what your recurrent themes are. Take a look at them a week or two later when not feeling premenstrual and see if there are any emotional issues that still resonate with you. For example – if your self-esteem takes a dive, old grief arises, the same relationship issues come up, although these may be magnified out of proportion in the second half of the cycle they could be pointers to work on in therapy.

acne rosacea

Bill Clinton’s ruddy face may not be due to illicit meetings involving cigars and interns alone, he is one of the many men and women to live with a skin condition once known as the “curse of the Celts” aka acne rosacea (AR).

While the papular form of AR is often misdiagnosed as true acne (acne vulgaris) and in fact is sometimes referred to as “adult acne” the presentation is not always as straight forward as that. AR predominantly appears around the cheeks and nose, not always with the classic acne-like pimples but as a generalised redness, exposed capillaries or an inflamed, bulbous nose. Some forms of chronic blepharitis (inflammation and crusting around the margin of the eyelids) are caused by AR.

As AR is a chronic condition, with an unclear cause, people understandably can feel a little disheartened with the diagnosis. They may find the appearance of their skin can fluctuate quite widely from a mild blush to a bright redness. Orthodox medicine tends to consider AR as a triviality, offering treatment for mainly cosmetic reasons. The most popular prescriptions are for broad-spectrum antibiotics (as in true acne) which need to be taken for many months, sometimes years, and do not always “cure”. Evidence based medicine (EBM) for AR thus far has found topical treatments – antibiotic and azelaic creams to be the most effective of the pharmaceutical options. However the later sometimes causes hair growth on the face and neck of women

Naturopathic alternatives

Diet:

Even conventional medicine acknowledges that that certain foods and beverages inflame AR and worsen the appearance. From years of clinical practice I can attest when someone follows the guidelines faithfully, it really does improve the condition.

Dietary change focuses on removing triggers that cause dilatation and inflammation of the blood vessels. The number one cause is alcohol. It appears all alcoholic beverages aggravate the vessels in this way and a single drink can provoke a flair for a number of days.

Also on the hit list are – chilli, coffee and caffeine generally.

Conversely an anti-inflammatory diet, though unproven, is a logical plan to follow. Choose foods that are unprocessed and avoid fried foods and saturated fats (animal products) as much as possible. Fish and raw vegetable oils (eg flaxseed or pumpkins seed oil in salad dressings), along with lots of fresh fruit, vegetables and raw nuts form the basis of the eating plan. Anecdotally, some people with AR have found great relief when following a vegan diet.

Like with all skin problems, drink at least 2 litres of water a day.

Herbs:

Echinacea can provide a viable anti-infective alternative to antibiotics in AR, however it is important you find a good quality product that includes the root of the plant. Echinacea is generally well tolerated and side effects or drug interactions are relatively rare.

There are many “skin teas” on the market following the age-old herbalist tradition of using ‘alterative’ herbs (ones that aid the organs of elimination). Common ingredients include: calendula, red clover, nettles, dandelion root and/or leaf. A good organic source of these herbs, drinking 3 cups a day, is often one of the most effective herbal treatments for this and other skin conditions.

When stress is an obvious trigger consider including chamomile to your blend. When chamomile flowers are steeped (eg in an enclosed teapot covered in boiling water) the anti-inflammatory properties of chamomile are activated, making it even more appropriate for AR.

Topical herbal creams, washes and lotions may help. Calendula is the number one ingredient to look for. The essential oil of chamomile, though pricey, is well indicated in a topical wash.

Nutrients:

Zinc: is a long time favourite nutrient to help skin, hair and nails. Currently no EBM exists for the treatment, due to lack of research in the area. A standard adult dose is 20 mg (elemental zinc) per day.

B Vitamins: can both help and aggravate AR. Stress, a known trigger for the condition, depletes the body of a wide range of B’s, however B3 (nicotinamide) in high doses can cause vasodilation ie: flushing. At times of stress, I’d still advise a moderate B-complex, using 50 mg of B6 as a guide in a balanced B.

Lifestyle:

Stress is a recognised factor in many skin conditions including AR. Physiologically, any situation (emotional or physical) when we feel unsafe will activate the autonomic nervous system’s flight or fight response, which interferes with blood flow to the skin. It may also cause increased inflammatory factors in the circulation. If you feel chronically stressed, unhappy or tense stress management must become a major part of your treatment for AR. Consider – learning relaxation and breathing techniques, cognitive behavioural therapy with a registered psychologist, a daily walk and regular exercise such as tai chi or yoga, meditation, herbs such as chamomile, skullcap or passionflower and taking steps towards a simpler life.

The environment is also a known trigger for AR. Direct sunlight is best avoided; wear a large brimmed hat or cap that adequately deflects sun from the affected part of the face. Changes in heat can also be also aggravate the condition. In winter be aware that moving between over heated buildings to the chilly outdoors and vice versa may make your skin react. Where you have control over your internal environment, turn the heating down or even better get used to wearing more layers before thinking of putting the heater on.

diet and cancer risks

An American study has just released, updating the latest findings regarding what we eat and our cancer risks. According to the media representation, this research means great news if you are short but cause for concern if you are overweight. It is the usual swings and roundabouts. The report itself is not a new or definitive study, rather it is a systematic review of recently published health studies.

Perhaps what fascinates me more about the report, released jointly by the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research, is what sound bites the media runs with. The Age ran with Tall people 'at higher cancer risk’ over the weight issue (News Radio, ABC and the BBC). The Age also promoted the American Institute for Cancer Research study into people’s perception of cancer risks, making big news of there being no proven link between pesticides and cancer:

71 per cent thought that pesticide residue on produce was a cause - something that has never been shown; 56 per cent thought stress causes cancer, again not proven; and 49 per cent believed hormones in beef cause cancer.

However, is this what the report actually says and does the lack of evidence actually prove that these people’s perceptions are truly wrong? What the Diet and Cancer report actually found, concerning pesticide and herbicide risks, were much more complex than The Age implied.

There are theoretical grounds for concern, which are constantly reviewed by international and national regulatory bodies. However, there is no epidemiological evidence that current exposures are causes of cancers in humans, and so the Panel has made no judgements. Nevertheless, a precautionary approach is wise for women of reproductive age, since vulnerability during embryonic phases of development is increased, and early exposure may result in increased risk at later stages in life. (Diet and Cancer Report)

The panel did find studies that showed links between conventional food production and cancers but no specific epidemiological studies have been produced as yet. However they are concerned enough with the preliminary findings to suggest that “women of a reproductive age” (a significant chunk of the population) should take a “precautionary approach” to eating conventionally grown foods. Perhaps a more accurate headline should have screened “Don’t eat conventional food if you plan to get pregnant!" 71% of the 1000 Americans interviewed may not be so wrong after all.

The actual study document is dense and takes a lot of reading. I wonder if any of the journalists reporting on it poured over it? I always find inclusion criteria in such large scale analysis interesting. For example although we may think this all about humans and the food they eat, the panel included animal studies (genetically modified animals and rodent).

Overall the dietary recommendations made as a result of the report mimic much of what the naturopathic community has always said – pull way back on meat and dairy (yes, dairy a got specific mention) and focus more on plant foods such as whole grains, fruit and vegetables. Alcohol, salt, sweet drinks, processed meat and moulds (specifically afllatoxins, which are common to peanuts) got the thumbs down, while moving your body more received a predictable tick.

But the report is actually a lot more specific than this as there is no single "cancer", it exams the published literature on diet and specific cancers. The findings link eating carrots with cervical cancer protection, soy reducing prostate cancer and so on. However it was perplexing to find suggestions about cancer reduction linked to nutrients such as vitamins E, C and Selenium (the presumed link the panel was making regarding certain groups of foods) yet categorically implied people should not take nutritional supplements, which were not within the scope of the review.

Selenium is an interesting case in point. The cancer protective effects of this nutrient, would depend entirely on the soil it was grown in. New Zealand for example, has little or none, while in Australia anywhere near medicinal doses of selenium are considered a poison. So unless each individual study did an actual lab analysis of the foods these people were eating, they are making some leaps of faith in their conclusions.

The weight issue that was such a popular tag line in the press, is also slightly misrepresented. The Panel acknowledged being over weight (a BMI of 25-29) or obese (BMI >30) as a significant health risk. But will the lifestyle factors they surmised as being likely causes of weight gain, such as being sedentary, watching too much TV and consuming ‘energy dense’ (sugary or fatty) foods and drinks actually cause cancer? The conclusion was increased body fat “should be considered to be additional, indirect causes of (some) cancers”. (Chapter 8)

What about tall people, does height really determine cancer risk as the other popular headline suggests? The conclusion was not so obvious: “The Panel emphasizes that greater adult attained height, meaning how tall people are as adults, is unlikely directly to modify the risk of cancer”. Though there are odd implications that being tall may be a factor in some gynaecological and colorectal cancers, it was not suggesting that being short is necessarily a “get out of cancer free” card.

Keeping in mind that the study looks at the swings and roundabouts of individual cancers and that all cancers are not the same, the general conclusions about diet and cancer risk confirm nutritional and naturopathic commonsense:

Breastfeeding has benefits for both mother and child

Eat lots of vegetables, legumes and fruit

Ensure your diet has sufficient amounts of plant fibre, folate, vitamins B6, C, E, beta carotene (the vegetable form of vitamin A) and nutrients selenium, caratenoids, quercetin and lycopenes.

Eat less meat, this includes all meat of which processed meats get a special increased cancer risk mention

Cut out the cheese, though there are cancer factors for and against milk drinking

Don’t drink alcohol

There is a handy graph showing food risks and benefits at this summary.

Remember this study looked primarily at diet, rather than all lifestyle factors such as smoking and other recreational drugs).


So what’s for dinner tonight?

Some thoughts on cholesterol

Here are a few notes from Monday's show. Sorry for the delay, it's been a busy week!

Good overview about cholesterol http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/facts/hypercholesterolemia.htm

Remember not all cholesterol is “bad”, in fact without it we would be dead! It stops our cells from leaking, makes bile to help us digest and is essential in the production of hormones, amongst other things. A lower than normal blood cholesterol level has a negative effect on longevity.

The primary medical treatment is to prescribe cholesterol lowering drugs (the most common are known as ‘statins’). A metaanalysis suggests that the only real overall benefit is for middle-aged men with a history of cardiovascular disease. There is little or no evidence that overall this treatment benefits women.

One controversy concerns the ratio of beneficial cholesterol (HDL) to 'bad' (LDL) or total cholesterol. If your ratios are within normal range, it is debatable how adverse your blood cholesterol levels will be on your cardiovascular health.

Mercola (may need to enter email address to access articles) is a medical professional who leads the charge against drug treatment for high cholesterol. I don’t agree with everything Dr Mercola says, but this is a good summary of literature to illustrate the problems with chiolesterol lowering driugs.

A précis of some relevant studies

European Heart Journal
Published 3 year study 11,500 patients and found that low cholesterol
caused:
-Increase in lung cancer
-Increase in other cancers
-Higher risk of cardiac death
-Erectile dysfunction and infertility
-Loss of memory and mental focus
European Heart Journal 1997, 18, 52-59


Swedish Researcher found:
-Individuals with low cholesterol suffer from frequent and severe infections
-Individuals with high cholesterol had a lower mortality than the average
population
Uffe Ravnskov, MD, PhD, independent researcher Magle Stora Kyrkogata 9,
S-223250 Lund, Sweden


University San Diego School of Medicine
Study showed
-High cholesterol can be protective against environmental toxins rather than
harmful
-Low cholesterol is a risk factor for heart arrhythmias
-High cholesterol readings are associated with protection from neurotoxins
and cancer protection


Journal of American Medical Association
30 years of follow-up from the Framingham Study
-No correlation between high cholesterol and mortality, but correlation
between low cholesterol and mortality
-CVD death rates increased 14% for every 1 mg/dl drop in total cholesterol
per year
Anderson KM. Cholesterol and Mortality, 30 years of Follow-up from the
Framingham study. JAMA 1987 Apr 24;257(16):2176-80


Journal of Cardiac Failure
Paper on Low Cholesterol
-Analysis of 1,134 patients with heart disease
-Low cholesterol was associated with worse outcomes in heart failure
patients and impaired survival rates
-Elevated cholesterol was not associated with hypertension, diabetes or
coronary heart disease.
Horwich TB. Et.al. Low Serum Total Choesterol is Associated with Marked
Increase in Mortality in Advanced Heart Failure. J Card. Fail. 2002
Aug;8(4):216-214


Japanese Study
-Found as cholesterol levels went up death rates from CHD went down
Okayama A., Marmot MG Int. J Epidemiol Dec 1993

Despite successful attempts to lower cholesterol with statin drugs, the
death rate from heart disease has not changed in 75 years and mortality from
heart disease is more than double what is was in 1996.
Uri Goldbourt. Arteriosclerosis Vol 10. No 4. July/August 1990

Oxidative Stress and Inflammation are the root cause of elevated LDL:
-A group consuming American diet had lower antioxidant levels versus the
Mediterranean diet which had increased antioxidant levels.
-Mediterranean's had one-third the rate of heart attacks that Americans did
Leon Study, Circulation, 1999, 99. Pg 779.

-Study with 11,500 patients showed that the risk of death in the low
cholesterol group (160mg/dl and below) was 2.27 times higher than those with
high cholesterol.
-Most common cause of death in low cholesterol patients was cancer.
European Heart Journal (1997) 18,52-59.


Recent rethinks on some foods containing cholesterol
Cholesterol and eggs: There’s been a big rethink about the effect of cholesterol in eggs. They’ve been officially anointed as ok in moderate amounts in a low cholesterol diet. This article covers some of the background.

Cholesterol and seafood: While fish has consistently played a role in a healthy lipid balance, for years many types of seafood including prawns, squid and lobster – have been considered high in cholesterol. The latest rethink is that they are not all that bad. In fact the cholesterol in this type of food may be slightly different (less harmful/possibly beneficial) and there is no negative correlation between a diet high in this type of seafood and coronary heart disesase. The take home message is that omega 3 rich fish is better but other seafood as long as its not fried, is no longer the bad guy.

Tips to lower your cholesterol

A vegan (animal product free) diet is a clinically proven way to lower or normalise your cholesterol levels. However this won’t appeal to all people. I’d suggest a “vegan plus fish” approach, limiting all meat and dairy to 1-2 serves a week is a good compromise.

Fibre – think vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, beans, lentils and wholegrains like brown rice, oats, quinoa, amaranth, millet (grains still containing their bran/outer layer in particular) – in large amounts, daily.

Not surprisingly alcohol and smoking are not recommended.

Take a B vitamin supplement with about 50 mg of B3. Many studies use a very high dose Niacin (B3) supplement often 10 x this dose but note it is in an extended release form that is not easily available over the counter. High doses of niacin cause an uncomfortable type of flushing but more of a concern is the negative effect is has on the levels of other b vitamins. I’d suggest you start with the strong, mega-B and concentrate on your diet for best results.

If you can’t have fish at least 4 times a week add a fish oil or Omega-3 supplement.

Note: If you are taking statin drugs consider taking a Co-Q10 supplement.

Health Trip Top 5 Health Tips

Want to make some healthy changes the easy way? Here are my Top 5 simple tips to make your body a little happier.

1. Downsize your glasses

It seems we have supersized most fluids these days except water, which most of us always need more of. With the exception of H2O, switch your glasses, cups and take away requests to the smallest size.

Alcohol: A standard unit in this country means 100 ml of (12% alcohol) wine, a 30 ml single nip of spirits or 285 ml of full strength beer (often a stubby or can is actually 1.5 standard drinks). Swap the big bucket shape wine glasses for daintier ones or only half fill the large ones (which is how they were designed to be used).

Coffee: Stick to a single shot espresso, or equivalent. Ditch the mugs or large sized coffees dished up at some of the big chains.

Soft drink: Do you really need to have one at all?

2. Replace 1 for 2

If you are trying out a diet without a common food, make sure you bring in at least 2 healthy alternatives for each food you take out.

For example: Wheat-free? Try quinoa and millet.
Dairy-free? Try tempeh and chickpeas.
Meat-free? Try fish and beans.

3. The “once a week” rule

So you have identified a daily habit that is not beneficial for you and you want to change it but feel bereft at the thought of giving it up? The “once a week” rule is to have the best quality, small quantity of the food, drink or substance you are eliminating, just once a week. Enjoy every moment of it when you do it.

4. Nibble on nuts

If you can’t have a small meal every 4 hours, the best way to keep your blood sugar stable and moods in check is to eat a handful of nuts and seeds. Always choose raw nuts, as these have the best oil content. Nuts are low GI and break down slowly – perfect to keep you going til your next meal.

5. Start the day with the juice of half a lemon in warm water

If you do a web search on this one you’ll find a fair amount of mythology. The fact is that the bitter receptors in your tongue are triggered by the bitterness in the lemon and send a signal to your liver to swing into action. What’s more it tastes good and is refreshing. The point of the water being warm, is that it takes less energy to have fluids at blood temperature, rather than cool drinks.

Enjoy.

indigestion/reflux

Indigestion, reflux, heartburn, GERD/GORD – call it what you like but the short of if is that acid from the stomach goes in the wrong direction and irritates the oesophagus (the piece of plumbing between the mouth and stomach). There are many reasons why this may happen, often “too much stomach acid” is blamed but it must also bypass a sphincter in the lower oesophagus as well.

Some of the usual suspects in indigestion are: allergies, drug side effects (especially painkillers like NSAIDs), pregnancy hormones and pressure and stomach ulcers.

Reflux is almost as common in babies and infants as it is in adults but the symptoms of vomiting, crying, coughing, hiccoughing etc may often go undiagnosed. In 20-41% of infants diagnosed with Gastroesophageal reflux there is evidence of a cows milk allergy or intolerance. Food allergies are always suspected in babies with this condition.

In adults symptoms include – pain behind the breast bone, actual stomach acid rising in the oesophagus causing pain and irritation, a tickle at the back of the throat, persistent cough and hoarseness. The last two symptoms, when unaccompanied by an awareness of the others is sometimes termed “silent reflux” and may be misdiagnosed as asthma (though as reflux is a very common symptom, many asthmatics may have reflux as well).

Like babies’ food allergies are always likely in adults with reflux, however after a lifetime of eating an irritant food, the symptoms may appear stronger and more recalcitrant. Once you have reflux it is likely a whole host of foods will aggravate your condition – the most common are coffee (even decaf), chilli, alcohol and what I call “flour plus fat” (eg: pies, pastry, pasta, cakes, biscuits). But there are often other foods that may be your individual trigger – so a food diary is a good tool in tracking down the culprits.

Smoking is a big no-no. It severely aggravates this condition and could be a potential catalyst in upping the odds in developing cancer of the oesophagus.

And in case you skipped over it 2 paragraphs before – alcohol makes reflux really worse. If you want some relief from your symptoms, a little “detox” time makes good sense.


Reflux tips

If indigestion disturbs your sleep try raising the head of your bed to make it harder for the acid to flow back

Don’t eat for at least 2 hours before exercising

Watch your posture

Eat at a table, don’t multitask

Keep a food diary to track – food, drinks, stress, activities and symptoms

Follow the food guidelines above and consider having a break from dairy foods as well

Try good quality herbal teas: meadowsweet, liquorice, chamomile – 2-4 cups a day

Try 1-2 teaspoons of slippery elm powder mixed with water or mashed banana – before breakfast and before bed, or as required

Try a little diluted fresh cabbage and/or potato juice (strange but true)

Chew on a cell salt or tissue salt made from potassium and iron phosphate to relieve symptoms


Caveat: Long term, uncontrolled reflux can lead to permanent changes to the cells in the oesophagus, a condition known as Barrett Oesophagus. This carries a small risk factor of developing into oesophageal cancer. If you have severe reflux and wish not to take pharmaceutical drugs, you are advised to follow strict diet and lifestyle guidelines and have the appropriate diagnostic tests as recommended by your gastroenterologist.

The Soy Controversy

For the last decade the humble soya (soy) bean has alternately been portrayed as a hero and a villain. In Asia the prevalence of soy products in the traditional diet has been earmarked as the saviour of menopause and a strengthener of bones. In recent times there appears to be a dedicated campaign to show this food is a trigger of oestrogen dependent cancers, feminisation of boys and many other undesirable conditions.

It’s time to untangle the evidence for and against soy, and make some sense of why the sides are so divergent.

The Asian diet

Soy in the form of tofu, tempeh, miso, ‘milk’ or the cooked fresh or dried beans is a cornerstone of most Asian diets. Generally it is eaten regularly in small amounts. For example in Japan, a small bowl of miso, green soy pods (edamame), a splash of salty soya sauce or a handful of tofu cubes might be eaten most days. A traditional diet featuring soy in this way, also low or non-existent in dairy foods, has been associated with strong bones and not attracted any of the negative health connotations that have appeared in the West.

So if a small amount of soy is good for us, what about a large amount?

In the West serving sizes are markedly larger. Instead of tofu cubes, a large ‘steak’ may replace meat in a meal. Soy milk, instead of just the straight bean extracted in water, is turned into a sweeter, oily drink and drunk by the litre. In the name of being healthy, we have ‘supersized’ a super food.

What is more soy has entered the food chain increasingly as a food for livestock and as a ‘filler’ or bulking agent in some processed foods, meaning we are getting concentrated soy hits when we least expect it.

More than 60% of all processed food in Britain today contains soya in some form, according to food industry estimates. It is in breakfast cereals, cereal bars and biscuits, cheeses, cakes, dairy desserts, gravies, noodles, pastries, soups, sausage casings, sauces and sandwich spreads. Soya, crushed, separated and refined into its different parts, can appear on food labels as soya flour, hydrolysed vegetable protein, soy protein isolate, protein concentrate, textured vegetable protein, vegetable oil (simple, fully, or partially hydrogenated), plant sterols, or the emulsifier lecithin. Its many guises hint at its value to manufacturers.

Soya increases the protein content of processed meat products. It replaces them altogether in vegetarian foods. It stops industrial breads shrinking. It makes cakes hold on to their water. It helps manufacturers mix water into oil.

from The Guardian

Furthermore, as soy’s fame has spread – especially in it’s role as a phytooestrogen as a beneficial treatment for the symptoms of menopause, soy in a high dose, concentrated supplement form has been added to some people’s health regimes.

As awareness of issues with dairy products have spread, with more people discovering they are intolerant or allergic to this highly used food, soy often in large amounts of milk or pseudo-dairy such yoghurt, cheese or icecream has gained popularity. The humble bean has gone a long way.

But is soy really good for us?

In the last few years there has been some minor studies associating various soy derivatives with brain shrinkage (the Hawaiian geriatric study looking at tofu eaters, now considered to be unconvincing even by the anti-soy camp), feminisation of young boys (soy formula), thyroid conditions, infertility and even cancer.

At the same time studies continue to show positive health benefits of eating soy based foods such as helping prevent breast, prostate and possibly bowel cancer.

How can this be so?

Popular theories to explain these divergent viewpoints include: type and quantity of soy food in the diet, biased studies, broad hypotheses (if soy has an oestrogen like action, it must be ‘bad’ for oestrogen dependent cancers) and even rumours of misinformation from other industries who may be loosing some of their market share to soy foods.

Lets take a look at a few of the fears

Soy causes thyroid cancer: True and False: It has been known for a long time that a high soy diet may aggravate an existing underactive thyroid, though it has not been linked to cancer. This is termed a “goitregenic” food. Note that the cruciferous vegetables (of which brocolli and cabbage belong) are also goitregenic, yet are long associated with containing cancer preventing properties (indols).

Soy feminises little boys: Possibly. Does this cause any lasting negative effects? Undecided. Should you feed babies large amounts of soy? No. But this is largely because soy milk is not a breast milk substitute. Potentially all breast milk substitutes can be problematic. Furthermore approximately 1:4 dairy allergic children are also allergic to soy foods. I have witnessed an addiction like quality in some of these children, demanding over a litre of soy milk a day! I’d suggest that would be closer to an adult dose for a week. Soy milk is a relatively safe, calcium containing option to moisten cereal or use in cooking. The only ideal ‘milk’ in any large quantities for babies and toddlers is breast milk. For those who cannot be breast fed or are needing supplementation due to being picky eaters consider a low allergy formula. Cows milk is equally unsuitable and may be a source of exogenous hormones, allergies and a trigger of asthma, eczema, colic, hives and other common conditions.

Soy causes infertility in men: Unproven. This is based on a study when genistein (an isolated constituent of soy) was added to a live semen sample in a test tube. In 24 hours 1/3 of the sperm had died after being ‘sped up’ or hyperactive. The scientists concluded this may mean that sperm would not be able to swim properly and fertilize an ovum. At this point it seems to be a very wide hypothesis and not born out in any human studies.

Soy foods block the absorption of nutrients: True and False. Uncooked soy beans, edamame, contain a lot of phytates that are like ‘claws’ in plant foods that can affect nutrient absorption. Cooking fixes this problem. It is a similar issue in many grains and beans – foods which are rarely ever eaten uncooked.

The latest soy controversy is about soy supplements (ie: large, therapeutic doses of concentrated soy) and breast cancer. The study does not suggest soy containing foods are problematic (in fact some of us would suggest the opposite), yet the reporting of this story often featured soy foods. The concern is that pharmacological doses of soy may interfere with the bioavailability of the most commonly used drug used in the treatment of breast cancer. This is currently only an hypothesis, not proven in human studies.

The take home message.

There is no convincing evidence that eating moderate amounts of traditional soy foods in your diet will have negative health consequences, in fact they could offer many benefits (particularly around menopause in women). Phytooestrogens appear in many healthy vegetable based foods (beans, nuts, seeds etc) and it is interesting that soy has been singled out as being the bad guy in this argument. Almost all the negative studies involving soy fall into the category of not being on human, using isolates rather than the whole food sources, being hypothetical (if it has a weak oestrogen-like effect it will do all the negative things that oestrogen can sometimes do) or are statistically insignificant. The glaring exception is for people who have a goitre and the food guidelines include reduction of other healthy foods, not just soy.

Beyond genetic modification of soy (organic sources seem the safest option for now), the biggest health question mark hangs over soy isolates, soy extracts used in pharmacological doses and large amounts of hidden soy in a processed food diet.