This just in... and what perfect timing!
We have an invitation from Dr. Neal Barnard of (Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine) to join him in a 21-day, New Year challenge to kickstart our health on a “plant-based diet” beginning January 1, 2010. This is a great opportunity for anyone to experience the benefits of a “plant-based diet” for 21 days and for anyone suspecting a sensitivity to dairy products. Please check this out yourself and share this opportunity with your friends.
Kickstart is a free, noncommercial program, open to all organizations and individuals. Set up by PCRM, the Kickstart program gives participants menus, recipes, nutrition Webcasts, and daily encouraging messages from health authorities and Hollywood celebrities. Kickstart will offer:
* Encouragement and lifesaving information from Dean Ornish, MD, Alicia Silverstone, four-time NBA champion John Salley, Oprah’s chefTal Ronnen, T. Colin Campbell, Rip Esselstyn, and many more.
* Daily e-tips that put Kickstart participants on the path to weight loss, better health, and greater well-being
* A 21-day meal plan with easy and delicious recipes sent every day that will help participants break cravings for unhealthy foods
* Weekly motivational nutrition webcasts
* Social support from other Kickstart participants through a community forum where nutrition professionals answer health and diet questions
* An interactive vegan restaurant guide
* Working with Twitter, you can “Tweet What You Eat!”
Register for the Kickstart here.
Just a reminder for those of you planning to come to my next nutrition seminar at the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op (Jan. 20th, 6:30pm, free), please pre-register online here.
The seminar will cover lowering blood pressure (and preventing high blood pressure) and weight loss. If you are planning to buy a book there ($15 and you may use a $5 off store coupon if you purchase a total of $20 at the co-op that night or the next day), please let me know in advance, so I can make sure the co-op has enough books in stock! They have run out before, and we want to make sure that doesn't happen again.
Merry Christmas and Happy Hannukah everyone!
I think everyone following this blog knows I've moved to a new area (Oakland, CA - the good part of Oakland, don't worry). I have to admit, it's taken longer than expected for me to start using my bicycle as transportation again. I could tell you that the hills here are steep, or that there's way more traffic, but those are just excuses in my book.
So today, my daughter and I cycled down to the library and Trader Joe's - yeah!
The best part of cycling (or walking) for me is the feeling of the fresh air and the sun on my face. It's worth the extra hilly, traffic-y commute. But then I just read a new study telling me that the same sunlight I so enjoy in the winter also is making me smarter, or "boosting my cognitive function". I don't know about you, but I'll take whatever I can get.
The Journal of Environmental Health published a study (July 2009) that examined almost 17,000 people, reviewing their sunlight exposure, depression status and cognitive function. They found people with the least sunlight exposure were the most likely to have impaired cognitive function (or "thinking ability"). This was especially pronounced among those who suffered from depression, although it was true across the study population.
I know there are fewer daylight hours these days, but all the more reason to get outside and soak up some sunlight. Remember, UV rays still penetrate the atmosphere when it is cloudy, so don't wait for a perfectly sunny day. Also, you'll recall that the layer of cholesterol beneath our skin produces vitamin D when we are in the sunlight (even cloudy days). And most of us could benefit from more vitamin D, if not a better functioning brain!
Are the short daylight hours getting to you yet? I'm sure feeling them. But something to look forward to for those of you who live in the Sacramento region: I'll be speaking at the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op on Jan. 20th. As always, my lecture is free (but please preregister on the SNFC website beforehand). And as always, you can purchase a copy of my book and use the $5 off coupon in the store! I'll be speaking on lowering blood pressure and weight loss, starting at 6:30pm.
If you still haven't bought a copy of my book, you can always purchase a signed copy at www.fiber-girl.com, or at Amazon.com (unsigned).
For those of you who like to plan ahead, I'll also be speaking at the SNFC learning center to members of the Sacramento Vegetarian Society (SVS) on March 21st at 5:30. Even though this is for members of the SVS, it's open to everyone, veggie or not, just preregister by contacting sacveggie@hotmail.com. This event includes dinner! I'll be selling and signing books here as well.
Now, on to the latest research... I usually don't copy info straight from the PCRM (Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine) website, but as I read the original study online, I found this to be the best synopsis:
Soy Boosts Survival in Breast Cancer Patients
Soy consumption improves breast cancer survival, according to a report in the Dec. 9, 2009 Journal of the American Medical Association. Researchers found that women diagnosed with breast cancer who consume soy products, such as tempeh, tofu, or edamame, have a 32 percent lower risk of cancer recurrence and a 29 percent decreased risk of death, compared with women who consume little or no soy. The report included 5,042 women in the Shanghai Breast Cancer Survival Study, the largest population-based study of breast cancer survival, and followed them for a four-year period.
The beneficial association of soy foods was evident among women with either estrogen receptor–positive or –negative breast cancer and was present in both users and nonusers of the drug tamoxifen.
In the past, soy has been a controversial topic for cancer patients. However, an editorial accompanying this new study suggests that inconsistencies in prior research may be attributable to the comparatively low soy consumption in the United States, making beneficial effects harder to identify. In China, soy intake is higher and diets tend to include traditional food sources of soy, rather than soy supplements.
In the conclusion of the study, the authors state: Among women with breast cancer, soy food consumption was significantly associated with decreased risk of death and recurrence.
Shu XO, Zheng Y, Cai H, et al. Soy food intake and breast cancer survival. JAMA. 2009;302:2437-2443.
Ballard-Barbash R, Neuhouser ML. Challenges in design and interpretation of observational research on health behaviors and cancer survival. JAMA. 2009;302:2483-2484.
I would like to add a couple of comments on this study.
First, I absolutely agree with the authors that the benefits of soy are from foods, not supplements.
Second, I believe the best soy-based foods are the least processed ones: tempeh, tofu, edamame, etc.
Third, Trader Joe's is now carrying organic tempeh (which means the soybeans are not genetically modified) at a GREAT price! Fried tempeh is great on sandwiches, with hummus, and avocado. I put soy, or tamari sauce on mine when I fry it. Yummy, and so filling!
First dear blog readers, I want to thank you for writing reviews of my book, Free to Eat, on Amazon! A number of you wrote about how you enjoyed hearing me speak in person, and that was encouraging for me to read.
Now that we live in Oakland, I need to find new venues to speak at. If you happen to know of places in the Bay Area where nutrition speakers are needed, feel free to send me your recommendations!
Now, for the "meat" of this blog, if you will...
In case you haven't heard my many blog-rants about the hazards of taking dietary supplements (vitamins), here's one more for you. This one is in the "shocking" category, since it's about vitamin C, which has long been touted as a beneficial and even necessary supplement which is completely innocuous.
Well, here you go, straight from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (November 18, 2009).
Over 24,000 women aged 49-83 years old were tracked for over eight years to see if vitamin C supplements and or multivitamins containing vitamin C helped prevent age-related cataract formation.
In the study, women who took vitamin C supplements were at greater risk for developing cataracts than those who did not take them. For women aged 65 years or more, vitamin C supplement use was correlated with a 38% greater likelihood of cataract formation.
For women taking hormone replacement therapy, vitamin C supplements put them at a 56% greater risk of cataracts vs. women taking neither. Women using corticosteriod drugs who also took vitamin C supplements had 97% higher risk of developing cataracts vs. women taking neither.
In the author's own words: "Our results indicate that the use of vitamin C supplements may be associated with higher risk of age-related cataract among women".
So please, even if you are not a post-menopausal women taking vitamin C supplements, spread the news to your friends and loved ones - and help prevent unnecessary detrimental aging.
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