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- Overall Cancer Down: Colorectal Cancer in the Younger Up
- Oat Cereal May Lower Cholesterol and Waist Size
- Soy Foods May Help Breast Cancer Survivors
- Fast Fact
Science in the Spotlight:
Fighting Both Cancer and Heart Disease: A Similar Approach
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in America, the first being cardiovascular disease. Both diseases are largely preventable.
A strong body of research now shows that the same healthy lifestyle habits that fight cancer also prevent cardiovascular disease: eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly and stay a healthy weight.
“According to a recent AICR survey, nearly 50 percent of Americans remain unaware that research now shows there are simple, basic lifestyle steps people can take to lower their cancer risk,” said AICR Director of Research Susan Higginbotham, PhD, RD. “Yet these same steps will help them reduce their risk for the number one chronic disease in this country: cardiovascular disease.”
Heart Disease |
Cancer |
| Eat a healthy diet. Eating foods low in saturated fat and cholesterol and high in fiber can help prevent high blood cholesterol. The CDC recommends eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. | Eat a healthy diet. Numerous plant-based foods (vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes such as beans) are linked with decreased cancer risk. Lab studies have shown that the phytochemicals, vitamins, and minerals in these foods fight cancer in several ways. |
| Maintain a healthy weight. Being overweight or obese can increase your risk for heart disease. | Maintain a healthy weight. Approximately 100,000 U.S. cancers every year are due to excess body fat, according to AICR estimates. |
| Exercise regularly. Physical activity can help you maintain a healthy weight and lower cholesterol and blood pressure. | Exercise regularly. Along with maintaining a healthy weight, studies show activity by itself plays a role in cancer prevention. |
| Don't smoke. Cigarette smoking greatly increases your risk for heart disease. | Don't smoke.* According to NCI, cigarette smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death in the United States, causing an estimated 1 out of every 5 deaths each year. |
| Limit alcohol use. Avoid drinking too much alcohol, which causes high blood pressure. | Limit alcohol use. For cancer prevention, AICR recommends not to drink alcohol. (See below.) |
*Smoking was not part of AICR’s systematic review in the expert report.
Mounting Evidence
One of the most recent pieces of evidence on lifestyle and risk of chronic diseases comes from a German study published last year in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Using data gathered from approximately 25,000 Germans ages 35 to 65, the authors focused on four healthy lifestyle factors: never smoking, having a BMI lower than 30, exercising at least 3.5 hours per week, and following a healthy diet, such as consuming relatively high amounts of fruits and vegetables and low amounts of meat.
After an average of 7.8 years, the study found that following all four lifestyle behaviors was linked to an 81 percent reduced risk of heart attack, 50 percent reduced risk of stroke and 36 percent reduced risk of cancer, compared to those who followed none of the healthy habits.
Living Healthy
AICR’s 2009 report, Policy and Action for Cancer Prevention, estimates that in the United States, about one third of the most common cancers could be prevented through diet, physical activity and weight management. That figure does not include smoking, which alone accounts for about a third of cancers.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists living a healthy lifestyle as the key strategy to prevent heart disease. (Regular health screenings are also among the prevention strategies for heart disease.)
The Drinking Difference
One of the only risk factors that differ between cancer and cardiovascular disease is the evidence on alcohol. AICR’s expert report, along with a continuous flow of studies, found convincing evidence that drinking any amount of alcohol is linked with increased risk of cancers of the breast, mouth, pharynx, larynx, and esophagus, as well as colorectal cancer in men.
The report found that alcoholic drinks also probably increase the risk of colorectal cancer in women as well as liver cancer.
For heart disease, the risk in people who drink moderate amounts of alcohol (an average of one drink for women or two drinks for men per day) is lower than in nondrinkers. However, the American Heart Association (AHA) does not recommend for nondrinkers to start drinking alcohol. And drinking too much alcohol can lead to high blood pressure, heart failure, an increased calorie intake and many health disorders.
“We know that alcohol increases the risk of certain cancers, the more you drink, the higher the risk,” said Higginbotham. “But the AICR recommendations were developed to be integrated with existing advice, to promote health, and to prevent all chronic disease, not just cancer.”
Fast Fact
Health Claims on Packages: We Buy Them
Food labels touting omega-3, antioxidants and other health claims continue to appeal to consumers with double-digit growth in some cases, according to a new market report by Nielsen.
According to a summary of the report, foods featuring omega-3 on its label increased in sales by 42% compared to a year ago. The next highest growths were ‘antioxidant’ (29%), ‘gluten free’ (16 percent) and ‘fiber’ (13%) claims. Having the term ‘natural’ on the label garnered a 4% growth from 2008. Among the claims that measured declining sales include ‘lowers cholesterol’ and ‘low-carb.’
Research Roundup
Overall Cancer Down: Colorectal Cancer in the Younger Up
The U.S. cancer death rate and number of new cases has dropped significantly in recent years but diagnosis of a cancer linked with many modifiable risk factors – colorectal cancer – has increased in people under aged 50, according to an annual report published in the February issue of the journal Cancer. New diagnoses for all types of cancer decreased, on average, almost 1 percent per year from 1999 to 2006. Cancer deaths decreased 1.6 percent per year from 2001 to 2006. View Chart
The report includes a special analysis of colorectal cancer. According to the report, colorectal cancer death rates have been falling since 1984 in men and since 1975 in women, with a more marked decline in recent years.
Researchers estimated how controlling colorectal cancer risk factors, such as smoking and lack of physical activity, along with increasing screening rates, and improving treatment may affect colorectal cancer rates in the future. Based on their estimates, if current trends persist, Americans could see a 36 percent decline in colorectal cancer death rates by 2020. With greater improvements in risk factor control, screening and treatment, that reduction could be as much as 50 percent.
Oat Cereal May Lower Cholesterol and Waist Size
Previous research suggests that regular consumption of soluble fiber may decrease LDL (“bad”) cholesterol. A new study now suggests that consuming a whole-grain oat cereal as part of a weight-loss program lowers total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and waist circumference. The study, published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, was funded by the General Mills’ Bell Institute of Health and Nutrition.
In the study, approximately 200 overweight and obese adults (LDL cholesterol 130 to 200 mg/dL) were randomly split into two groups. One group consumed two portions daily of an oat cereal; the control group consumed the same amount of a low-fiber breakfast food, of equal calories (e.g., white toast, corn cereal, plain bagel). All participants were consuming approximately 500 fewer calories per day.
Starting at week four of the three-month study, participants eating the oat cereal measured lower LDL cholesterol and lower waist circumference than the control group.
Soy Foods May Help Breast Cancer Survivors
Chinese women with breast cancer who regularly consumed soy foods may have a reduced risk of recurrence and death, according to a large populating study published in the December issue of JAMA. Soy foods are rich in isoflavones, a group of compounds that exhibit estrogen-like activity. Some population studies link soy consumption with decreased risk of breast cancer however, the potential interaction between isoflavones and tamoxifen has led to concern about soy food consumption among breast cancer patients.
The JAMA study analyzed data from slightly more than 5,000 female breast cancer survivors in China, ages 20 to 75 years. Information was collected at approximately 6 months after cancer diagnosis and reassessed at three follow-up interviews. After a median follow-up of 3.9 years the researchers found that women who consumed the highest amounts of soy -- measured by either soy protein or soy isoflavone intake – had a 29 percent lower risk of death during the study period, and a 32 percent lower risk of recurrence compared to patients with the lowest intake of soy protein.
The findings held for women who used tamoxifen and those who did not. Continued follow-up is needed, conclude the authors, and more research. Also, research suggests that eating soy early in life, such as Chinese adolescents do, may be what produces a protective effect in breast health decades later.
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