BeanDiet

Hey everyone, if you haven't been to my the Fiber-Girl website lately, you might be interested to know my Free to Eat book is on sale (cutting the competition with Amazon!). If someone borrowed your book and didn't give it back, or you just haven't bought it yet, check it out: www.fiber-girl.com.

Now for some interesting news in the world of nutrition!

I just read this study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, and had to share it with you. (To read the abstract directly, click here.) I found this study to be shocking, and would like it to make headlines since it's a very serious issue.

Researchers tracked over 35,000 cancer-free, Swedish women for over 9 years to observe if multivitamin use was correlated with breast cancer. During that time, almost 1,000 women were diagnosed with breast cancer, and these women were 19% more likely to have been taking a multivitamin supplement over the years. In other words, multivitamin use was shown not to prevent breast cancer, but to increase its likelihood.

The association did not differ significantly by hormone receptor status of the breast tumor.

In the words of the study's authors: "These results suggest that multivitamin use is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. This observed association is of concern and merits further investigation." I would say so!

Why would taking a multivitamin over the years make cancer more likely? Because antioxidant nutrients, which include many vitamins and minerals found in multivitamins, when taken in supplemental - or pill - form, act as pro-oxidants. Pro-oxidants are compounds that increase free radical formation, and free radicals cause cancer.

Antioxidant nutrients and compounds found in food do not act as pro-oxidants, which is why eating healthy food helps to prevent cancer.

Good news for men at risk for colon cancer! A study published this month (April, 2010) in The Journal of Nutrition found that diets rich in magnesium-containing foods lowers the risk for colon and colorectal cancer in men. To read the abstract, click here.

The study followed over 40,000 men and women for an average of eight years while examining the magnesium consumed from food (in contrast to supplemental magnesium from pills). Men with who consumed the most dietary magnesium had a 35% less likelihood of developing colorectal cancer, and were over 50% less likely to develop colon cancer. (No association was seen between magnesium consumption and cancer in women.)

A list of some of the foods richest in magnesium would be appropriate here. Notice, these foods are also high in fiber and many other nutrients. Oh, and they're yummy too.

artichokes
barley
buckwheat flour (good for pancakes!)
oat bran
whole wheat flour
almonds
brazil nuts
cashews
pine nuts
black beans
navy beans
white beans
pumpkin seeds
soy beans
spinach
tomato paste

I say this to students in my nutrition classes all the time: when it comes to health, it is ALL about circulation. If we have poor circulation, oxygen isn't able to flow freely to the tissues of our body, and that means those tissues ultimately die faster. This is true for brain and heart cells. It's true for ALL cells, as recently published in the journal Circulation.

This study followed over 1500 men for several years, finding men with Erectile Dysfunction (ED) were almost twice as likely to die (death from any cause) than men who did not have ED. Men with ED were also significantly more likely to experience heart attacks and stroke than men without ED. To read the abstract of the study, click here.

Why is this? Erectile Dysfunction is caused by poor - you guessed it - circulation. So is heart disease and stroke, although ED may appear a few years earlier. What improves circulation? A diet low in homocysteine (which attacks arterial tissue, causing plaque to form) and cholesterol. Both these substances are found in animal-origin foods: including fish, poultry, milk, eggs and dairy products. Antioxidants, fiber, and folate are nutrients that fight plaque and therefore improve circulation. We find these in fruit, vegetables, whole grains and legumes (beans, lentils, peas, nuts and seeds).

Even though plaque appears to be permanent, it's not. Plaque comes and goes regularly in our arteries. The problem is, most Americans eat a diet that never lets it simply "go". A plant-based, high fiber will do just that. It's really that easy to change ED and improve circulation!