Animal fats pancreas cancer link

reposted from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8119093.stm

Eating a diet high in red meat and dairy products is linked to an increased risk of pancreatic cancer, a US study has suggested.

Researchers followed 500,000 people who had completed a food diary for an average of six years.

The Journal of the National Cancer Institute paper found those who had the most animal fats in their diet had a higher risk of developing the cancer.

UK experts said cutting down on the fats was a way of reducing risk.

There has previously been confusion over whether there was a link between animal fats and pancreatic cancer, with different studies reaching opposite conclusions.

About 7,000 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the UK each year, with smoking being the biggest risk factor.

The prognosis is poor - the time between diagnosis and death is usually about six months.

'Welcome addition'

This latest research was carried out by the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, which felt earlier studies had been too small to give reliable results.

The participants were being followed to see if they developed a range of diseases.

This large study adds to the evidence that pancreatic cancer is more common in people who eat too much fat, particularly saturated fat  Josephine Querido, Cancer Research UK

Of the half a million studied, 1,337 developed pancreatic cancer.

Men who consumed the highest amount of total fats had a 53% higher relative rate of pancreatic cancer compared with men who ate the least.

In women, there was a 23% higher rate of the disease in those eating the most fat compared with those who ate the least.

Overall, people who consumed high amounts of saturated fats had 36% higher relative rates of pancreatic cancer compared with those who consumed low amounts.

Writing in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, the researchers led by Dr Rachel Stolzenberg-Solomon, said: "We observed positive associations between pancreatic cancer and intakes of total, saturated, and monounsaturated fat overall, particularly from red meat and dairy food sources.

"We did not observe any consistent association with polyunsaturated or fat from plant food sources.

"Altogether, these results suggest a role for animal fat in pancreatic carcinogenesis."

In an editorial in the journal, Dr Brian Wolpin, of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, and Dr Meir Stampfer, of the Harvard School of Public Health, said the study was a "welcome addition to the understanding of a disease that is in great need of new insights".

Josephine Querido, senior science information officer for Cancer Research UK, said: "This large study adds to the evidence that pancreatic cancer is more common in people who eat too much fat, particularly saturated fat.

"Understanding ways of reducing the risk of pancreatic cancer is very important because it can be very difficult to treat.

"Apart from stopping smoking, the best way to reduce your risk of cancer is to eat plenty of fruit vegetables and fibre, and to cut down on fatty foods, red and processed meat and limit your intake of alcohol."

Grey hair may be protecting us from cancer

reposted from: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20227135.000-grey-hair-may-be-protecting-us-from-cancer.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=online-news

GREY hair may be unwelcome, but the processes that produce it are now better understood and could be protecting us from cancer.

Cells called melanocytes produce the pigments that colour hair and their numbers are kept topped up by stem cells. Hair goes grey when the number of stem cells in hair follicles declines. Now Emi Nishimura of Tokyo Medical and Dental University in Japan and colleagues have found what causes this decline in mice.

When the researchers exposed mice to radiation and chemicals that harmDNA, damaged stem cells transformed permanently into melanocytes. This ultimately led to fewer melanocytes, as it meant there were fewer stem cells capable of topping up the melanocyte pool. The mice also went grey (Cell, vol 137, p 1088). Nishimura's team proposes that the same process leads to the reduction in stem cells in the follicles of older people, especially as DNA damage accumulates as we age.

David Fisher, a cancer researcher at Harvard Medical School, suggests such processes may help protect us from cancer, by discouraging the proliferation of stem cells with damaged DNA, which could pass on mutations. "One likely beneficial effect is the removal of potentially dangerous cells that may contain pre-cancerous capabilities," he says.

'Sip red wine' for health - Resveratrol

reposted from: http://www.nhs.uk/news/2009/06June/Pages/Sipredwineforhealth.aspx

'Sip red wine' for health

NHS ChoicesJun 15, 2009 16:21:00 GMT Share

Scientists have said that people should sip wine to get the benefit of its “cancer-busting antioxidant”, the Daily Express reported. It said that the mouth absorbs 100 times more resveratrol than the stomach (resveratrol is a compound that attacks cancer cells and can protect the heart and brain from damage).

This news story is based on a review of recent research on the effects of resveratrol on health, disease and longevity. The newspaper reports the authors as saying that the mouth absorbs 100 times more resveratrol than the stomach. However, although this compound has shown benefits in animal experiments, the equivalent human doses “are well above those achievable... through a normal diet”. Research on fish, for example, achieved a 50% extension in the fish's lifespan, but a person would need to consume around 60 litres of red wine a day. Resveratrol has health improvement potential, but clearly more research in humans is needed.

Where did the story come from?

The research was carried out by Dr Lindsay Brown and colleagues from the University of Queensland in Brisbane, the University of Connecticut School of Medicine in the US, the University of Debrecen in Hungary and the University Hospital of Heidelberg at Manheim in Germany. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Dietmar Hopp Foundation. It was published in the medical journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

What kind of scientific study was this?

This is a narrative review of recently published research on the potentially beneficial ingredients in red wine. The authors discuss how these ingredients, particularly polyphenols (chemical substances which include resveratrol), could work in the human body and their potential therapeutic uses.

Resveratrol is a type of compound known as a small polyphenol. It has been studied extensively in animals and insects and shown to extend the life of some yeasts, roundworms, fruit flies and obese mice that were given a high-calorie diet. It is thought to have similar effects to a low-calorie diet and that it may slow the ageing process.

The authors discuss recent evidence of the effects of resveratrol and put forward some theories about how it might have these effects. In particular, they discuss the apparent contradiction that while low doses improve the survival of some cells, providing a cardioprotective or neuroprotective effect, it kills cancer cells when given in high doses.

They discuss research into the potential benefits of resveratrol on cancer, inflammation, gastrointestinal diseases, neuroprotection, diabetes, heart health, blood pressure, blood vessels and cellular health, structure and function.

The researchers also discuss what is known about how the ingredients in red wine may benefit the body. They talk about the “bioavailability” of resveratrol and other polyphenols. Bioavailability is a property of a drug that describes how much of it enters the circulation and becomes “available” for the body to use.

What were the results of the study?

There are a number of different aspects to the researchers’ discussion into resveratrol. Some of the news reports of this research summarise them all, concluding that resveratrol has therapeutic potential. The Daily Express focused on the bioavailability of the compound.

What interpretations did the researchers draw from these results?

The researchers say that further research is needed to understand the role of resveratrol and other polyphenols, and how low-to-moderate amounts of red wine provide health benefits compared to white wine, beer or spirits.

They say that the known harms associated with alcohol consumption have prevented a fully controlled clinical trial of the effects of moderate consumption of red wine on cardiovascular disease risk.

What does the NHS Knowledge Service make of this study?

This narrative review discussed research on how resveratrol and other components of red wine may benefit health and how this might occur. Some news reports have focused on one aspect of the review: the bioavailability of resveratrol.

The researchers note that, so far, the positive observations in research have been made with doses of resveratrol “that are well above those achievable in humans through a normal diet”. They say that red wine is almost the only source of resveratrol in the human diet. To achieve an equivalent dose to the one that extended the lifespan of fish by 50%, a person would need to consume around 60 litres of red wine a day, which is certainly not feasible (or recommended!).

There is a growing body of evidence, largely from animal studies, that resveratrol can have a positive effect on health. The researchers emphasise that red wine contains only a small amount of resveratrol and a human would need to drink an unrealistically large quantity to have the same levels as those demonstrated in animal studies. Excessive alcohol consumption is associated with serious health risks and recommendations to drink in moderation should be taken seriously. If sipping wine prevents excessive alcohol intake then it should be encouraged, but human studies are needed to investigate the real health effects of red wine before it is recommended for health reasons.

Links To The Headlines

Red wine is good for you, if you let it linger. Daily Express, June 14 2009

Red wine ingredient is a 'wonderdrug'. Daily Telegraph, June 11 2009

Links To Science

Brown L, Kroon PA, Das DK et al. The Biological Responses to Resveratrol and Other Polyphenols from Alcoholic Beverages. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 10 Jun 2009 (published online)

Yeast genes inspire anti-ageing drugs

• 
  07 June 2009

GENES that protect yeast DNA from oxidising free radicals could one day lead to drugs that prevent cancer and ageing in people.

Produced by the body, free radicals damage DNA, so some people take supplements to mop them up. But this could be a bad idea as small doses of free radicals trigger changes in most cells that stop more from entering.

Now Trey Ideker at the University of California, San Diego, and colleagues have found genes that control this response in yeast. If similar genes are found in people, drugs that mimic their protective effects could be a better strategy against cancer and ageing than simply mopping up all free radicals (PLoS Genetics, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1000488).reposted from:

reposted from: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20227121.800-obesity-and-hunger-the-problem-with-food.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=health

Obesity and hunger: The problem with food

• 16 June 2009 by Debora MacKenzie
• • Book information
  • Enough: Why the world's poorest starve in an age of plenty by Roger Thurow and Scott Kilman
  • Published by: Public Affairs
  • Price: $27.95
  • Book information
  • Famine: A short history by Cormac Ó Gráda
  • Published by: Princeton University Press
  • Price: $27.95/£16.95
  • Book information
  • Let Them Eat Junk: How capitalism creates hunger and obesity by Robert Albritton
  • Published by: Pluto Press
  • Price: $28.95
  • Book information
  • Waste: Uncovering the global food scandal by Tristram Stuart
  • Published by: Penguin
  • Price: £9.99
  EVERY minute, 17 people die of hunger, 10 of them children. For years that number had been going down. Then, two years ago, it started rising again. We live in a world of record harvests, a world in which obesity is the main food-related health problem for many. Yet hunger is again on the march.
  Compared to swine flu or the credit crunch, famine seems an old-fashioned, even Biblical worry - or worse, something from the 1980s. Surely those whopredicted worldwide famine in the recent past were wrong. So won't today's warnings of catastrophic food shortages prove equally unfounded?
  Unfortunately not. We produce our record harvests by harnessing fossil-fuel energy for farming. Thermodynamics rules: you can't get something for nothing. Oil prices have begun to climb, and will keep climbing as oil sources diminish. Meanwhile, demand for food grows. So food prices are on the rise, boosted further by climate change, demand for biofuel, and limits on soil and water. Higher food prices mean that the impoverished eat less nutritiously - or simply less.
  Last year, high prices sparked food riots around the world, and global attention briefly turned to the crisis. It has since looked elsewhere, but the crisis continues, and now it has spawned a crop of books analysing what causes hunger and what we might do to stave it off.
  Food is our biggest and most complex industry, and faced with such an elephant, different authors understandably focus on different bits. For a general wrap-up of how we got into this mess and what we need to do about it, you can't do better than Enough by Roger Thurow and Scott Kilman. This very readable book argues that the agricultural science and technology of the green revolution, which ended famine in much of the world last century, was on the whole a good thing, and that we need more of it.
  Not everyone agrees. Historically two camps have battled it out in the famine wars. One side argues that we already grow enough food for everyone, and that we merely fail to distribute it fairly; the other says we need to grow more. The title of Enough suggests that the authors belong firmly in the first camp, but the book is crammed with moving descriptions of why the second is often right. For instance, the authors talk with African farmers who want to grow more food, not be given it.
  Some argue that we already grow enough food for everyone, but fail to distribute it fairly
  In reality, both sides are right. But some of those in the second camp have sown bitterness by painting famine as a "natural and inevitable brake on human population". This warped view is admirably corrected by Cormac Ó Gráda inFamine, a scholarly but approachable history of famine through the ages.
  Ó Gráda finds that famine may never have been the main regulator of human populations, and is now largely relegated to history. Thanks to our huge harvests, we have never had it so good. Sure, there are occasional harrowing pictures of famine in Africa, but at the sight of them the world rushes to feed its victims. It hasn't always, as Irish history shows.
  Ó Gráda believes that only war and blockade will cause a renewed upsurge in famine in the future, but he fails to connect all the dots. For instance, he sees last year's price crisis as a temporary blip, while many agricultural economists do not. Ultimately, this book tracks where famine has been, and less where it is going.
  So what of the issue of distribution? In Waste, Tristram Stuart shows how we could have much more food overnight simply by not tossing away so much of it. This simple concept ingeniously unites many food scandals that often do not get the attention they deserve: the mould that destroys a third or more of Third World harvests; the fish caught by accident that must be thrown back, dead, under rules intended to conserve stocks; the millions of tonnes of edible food wasted by modern food processing and "sell-by" dates; even western squeamishness about eating "every part of the pig but the squeal".
  We waste a stupendous amount of food for a planet with so many starving people. Usefully, Stuart offers examples of what we could be doing better, from processing technologies to offal sausages.
  Finally, in Let Them Eat Junk, Robert Albritton speaks a language that has gone unheard for too long. Karl Marx felt that capitalism's focus on short-term profit was a recipe for disaster when it came to agriculture. Now Albritton shows that, in many ways, the old man was right.
  Albritton's hard science is iffy - for instance, he says one study shows that organic farms produce three times as much as standard ones, which it didn't. Still, the book is well worth a read for its Marxist analysis of the capitalist problem Marx may have understood best. These days, we need all the insights we can get.
  Debora MacKenzie is a New Scientist correspondent based in Brussels

Lycopene in Ateronon prevents oxidation of LDL cholesterol

Press Release - Ateronon 1 June 2009 - A breakthrough for heart health – tomato pill prevents the

oxidation of LDL cholesterol (pdf)

Testimonials - Ateronon (pdf)

Video (see column right) - 5 minutes or see Ateronon YouTube channel.

BBC - Preliminary trials involving around 150 people with heart disease indicate that Ateronon can reduce the oxidation of harmful fats in the blood to almost zero within eight weeks, a meeting of the British Cardiovascular Society will be told at Ateronon's launch on Monday.

But Professor Peter Weissberg of the British Heart Foundation said:

Fruit & veg still is key, says BHF

We're urging caution over claims by scientists that a natural supplement made from tomatoes, taken daily, can stave off heart disease and strokes.

The scientists say that a 'tomato pill' containing an active ingredient from the Mediterranean diet - lycopene - can block "bad" LDL cholesterol that can clog the arteries.

Ateronon, made by a biotechnology company attached to Cambridge University, is being launched as a dietary supplement and is to be be sold on the high street.

But in response to the launch, at the 2009 British Cardiac Society conference, Professor Peter Weissberg, Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation said:

"As always, we caution people to wait for any new drug or modified ‘natural’ product to be clinically proven to offer benefits before taking it. It will take some time, and several clinical trials, to provide such evidence for Ateronon.

"In the meantime, our advice to heart disease patients or those at high risk is to rely on proven medications prescribed by their doctor, and aim to get the benefits of a Mediterranean diet by eating plenty of fresh fruit and veg.

"We need to be clear in this instance, that the British Heart Foundation supported some of the basic science at Cambridge University underpinning the development of this product over a decade ago and, as such, could benefit from its commercialisation."

Sky News: 'But critics say the drug has still to undergo full clinical trials. Sky News health correspondent Thomas Moore said: "The manufacturers of ATERONON™ may well have condensed all the goodness in a tomato into an easy-to-take pill.

"But until they have done proper clinical trials there is no proof that it will make you live longer and healthier. "The pill costs more than £1 a day - and you can buy a lot of tomatoes for that. They probably taste better too."

Healthcare Professionals - Overview

ATERONON™ is a new ‘one-a-day’ natural supplement of 7mg patented, highly bioavailable lycopene (wikipedia).

ATERONON™, through clinical studies, has been shown to significantly reduce the oxidation of LDL cholesterol, recognised as one of the principal causes of astherosclerotic plaque formation, and may provide important information towards the reduced risk of heart attack and stroke.

As a natural formulation, it is possible to take ATERONON™ alongside prescribed medication and other supplements.*

ATERONON™ is designed to be taken on an on-going basis in order to help maintain bioavailable levels of lycopene in the body that will continue to inhibit the oxidation of LDL cholesterol, which helps reduce the risk of plaque build-up in the arteries.

It is a natural product and is not known to have any side effects. It is not suitable for those with allergies to tomato, whey protein or soy.

Summary:

• More than half of all heart attacks and three quarters of all strokes occur in people who do not have an elevated cholesterol level
• Statins reduce the overall level of LDL but they do not prevent oxidative damage and atheromatous plaque formation
• The Mediterranean diet is associated with increased protection against heart attack and stroke
• ATERONON™ is based on one of the main active components of the Mediterranean diet, lycopene, which has been shown to reduce the oxidation of LDL dramatically
• ATERONON™ delivers lycopene in a form that can reach optimum sustainable levels in the body with a once-daily capsule
• ATERONON™ is a food grade product that has not been associated with any adverse effects in either healthy individuals or patients with cardiovascular disease alike
• ATERONON™ is not suitable for individuals with food allergies to, or intolerance of, tomatoes, milk and soya derivatives
• The ability of ATERONON™ to help inhibit LDL oxidation, recognised as a key step in the process of atherosclerosis offers new information in the work to reduce the risks of heart attack and stroke and, possibly, other atherosclerotic plaque-based conditions such as dementia and age-related macular degeneration.

Background:

ATERONON™ has been developed by Cambridge Theranostics, working with innovations originally identified by food company Nestle. Cambridge Theranostics is a bio-technology spin-out company from Cambridge University, originally funded by the British Heart Foundation.

ATERONON™ is produced to GMP standards in Milan, Italy.

reposted from: http://www.ateronon.com/About-Ateronon/Clinically-Proven.aspx

via Daily Express: http://www.ateronon.com/Press-Area/Daily-Express-TOMATO-PILL-TO-BEAT-HEART-DISEASE.aspx

Healthcare Professionals - Ingredients

ATERONON™ is a ‘one-a-day’ natural food supplement in capsule form.

Active ingredients:

Tomato Extract (Lycopene)

Other ingredients:

Whey Protein (from milk)

Soy

Microcrystalline Cellulose

Gelatin

Calcium Phosphate

Silicon Dioxide

Polysorbate

Glyceryl Behenate

Colours (Red Iron Oxide, TItanium Dioxide)

All ingredients have been certified as food.

As a natural formulation, ATERONON™ can be taken alongside prescribed medication and other supplements.

ATERONON™ is free from artificial colours and preservatives.

ATERONON™ contains milk and soy derivatives.

Healthcare Professionals - Detailed Review

More than half of all heart attacks and strokes occur in people who do not have an elevated cholesterol level

Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death in the developed world. Stroke is another significant cause of morbidity and mortality. Atherosclerotic plaque formation within arterial walls is one of the root causes of both of these conditions. Lipoproteins are essential elements in transporting cholesterol and other lipids around the bloodstream to cells, where they are used in a number of metabolic processes. Low density lipoprotein (LDL) is a main transporter of cholesterol, required by all cells and metabolised in the liver. When damaged by oxidation, LDL is no longer recognised by the normal LDL-receptor on liver and other cells. This damaged LDL, LDLox, is instead removed from the circulation by macrophages that can recycle the damaged components. However, in excess, LDLox accumulates in macrophages, which become foam cells trapped in the wall of arteries (Heller et al., 1998; Parthasarathy et al., 1992; Witztum, 1993). Eventually, these can build atheromatous plaques which cause heart attacks, stroke and other diseases such as peripheral vascular disease (Witztum, 1993).

Statins reduce the overall level of LDL but they do not prevent oxidative damage and atheromatous plaque formation

The NHS currently spends in excess of £500 million a year on statins. These drugs do result in a 30% overall fall in the risk of death from ischaemic events by reducing the level of LDL in individuals at risk of cardiovascular disease and consequently reducing the risk of atherosclerotic plaque formation.

However, statins do not prevent the oxidation of LDL and half of all heart attacks and strokes occur in people who do not have an elevated cholesterol level.

The Mediterranean diet is associated with increased protection against heart attack and stroke

Higher intake of fruit and vegetables has long been recognised as being associated with lower risk of ischaemic stroke (Gillman et al 1995, Joshipura et al 1999, Hak et al 2004) and a number of epidemiological studies have shown that the Mediterranean diet in particular is associated with increased protection against both heart attack and stroke (Knoops et al 2004, Willett 2006, Bamia et al 2007, Fung et al, 2009).

ATERONON™ is based on one of the main active components of the Mediterranean diet, lycopene, which has been shown to reduce the oxidation of LDL dramatically

Lycopene, the naturally occurring red pigment found in the skin of ripe tomatoes, has been shown to be the principal antioxidant component of the Mediterranean diet (Kohlmeier et al, 1997, Rissanen et al 2002, Sesso 2004).

Ateronon™, a recently developed product of a highly bio-available form of lycopene, can reduce lipoprotein oxidation by up to 90% in older individuals with active atherogenesis within two months of commencing its administration.

ATERONON™ capsules given daily to older individuals with heart disease (mean age 61, range 40-70) doubled plasma lycopene levels in two weeks from 0.26 to 0.52µmol/L. To reduce the risk of atherosclerosis it is necessary to achieve plasma concentrations of the antioxidant lycopene of at least 0.2µmol/L, with an increasing trend in improvement from 0.2 to 0.6µmol/L.

ATERONON™ delivers lycopene in a form that can reach optimum sustainable levels in the body with a once-daily capsule

Few people outside the Mediterranean area can eat the amount of tomatoes required on a daily basis to maintain sufficient plasma levels of lycopene commensurate with effective lipoprotein anti-oxidant activity. A single capsule of ATERONON™ has been shown to deliver lycopene in a consistent, highly bio-available, bio-effective form that reaches plasma levels sufficient to dramatically reduce lipoprotein oxidation in individuals with active atherogenesis.

ATERONON™ is a food grade product that has not been associated with any adverse effects in either healthy individuals or patients with cardiovascular disease alike.

ATERONON™ is a 100% food grade product. A number of clinical studies have been carried out involving both healthy individuals and those with established coronary heart disease. No adverse effects were reported by any of the participants in these studies.

ATERONON™ is not suitable for individuals with food allergies to, or intolerance of, tomatoes, milk and soya derivatives.

Because ATERONON™ contains tomato, milk and soy derivatives, it should not be taken by individuals with food allergies to, or intolerances of, these items.

The ability of ATERONON™ to help inhibit LDL oxidation, recognised as a key step in the process of atherosclerosis offers new information in the work to reduce the risks of heart attack and stroke and, possibly, other atherosclerotic plaque-based conditions such as dementia and age-related macular degeneration.

By reducing the oxidation of LDL cholesterol, ATERONON™ works at one of the root causes of atherogenesis and, as such, offers new information towards the reduced risk of conditions caused by atherosclerosis including heart attack and stroke. It may also offer new information towards the reduced risk of small vessel disease conditions including dementia and age-related macular degeneration.

ATERONON™ - Cambridge University heritage

ATERONON™ was developed by Cambridge Theranostics, working with initial research and innovations from food company Nestle. Cambridge Theranostics is a spin-out bio-technology company from Cambridge University (part funded by The British Heart Foundation) formed with the objective of researching natural substances with the ability to reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, and promote methods of achieving healthier longevity.

Through clinical practice, laboratory research and epidemiological observations the Cambridge Theranostics team has isolated natural bio-active ingredients and formulated organic lycopene into a new patented complex with demonstrable preventive and therapeutic properties.

ATERONON™ - continuing research

Current clinical trials using ATERONON™ at Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA, determining the rate of reduction of atherosclerotic plaque, and the degree of reduction of hypertension (high blood pressure), will report in 2011.

A trial of ATERONON™ among haemorrhagic stroke patients is underway at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, UK, and will report in 2010.

ATERONON™ EU health claim

An application for use of the following health claim for ATERONON™ is currently being processed by the European Union’s European Food Safety Authority.

"Lycopene, when delivered to the body, prevents oxidative damage of plasma lipoproteins, which reduces the build up of arterial plaques and reduces the risk of heart disease, stroke and other clinical complications of atherosclerosis.”