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December 2003 Vol. 8 No. 12

 “Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great. Mark Twain

This newsletter is dedicated to all our troops serving
around the world

Table of Contents:Operation Military Pride
Four Ways Junk Food Marketing Targets Your Kids
Most Common Cause of Heart Attacks
Exercise Found More Beneficial Than Diet to Lower Heart Disease Risk
Miso Soup Protects Women from Breast Cancer
HRT: Promoting Cancer, Hindering Diagnosis
Second Fatality in Atkins-Type Dieter Suspected
The Ten Commandments of Stress Reduction
High-Fiber Diet Cuts Colon Cancer Risk in Half
Hormone Therapy Linked to Dementia
Ask the American Cancer Society to Stop Promoting Cancer-Causing Foods
Editors Book Reviews

Operation Military Pride 

Operation Military Pride is a volunteer organization with a wide range of activities-all of which are to boost the morale of our troops deployed overseas. We not only send cards, letters and care packages ourselves, but also distribute troop names and addresses to patriots wanting to send cards, letters or care packages directly to troops. We are one of the very few groups that allow direct contact with a service member, eliminating the “middle man” and expenses.

We also offer public events, such as placing a banner on which everyone can write well wishes to the troops and then we mail the banner to a deployed unit. We sometimes have the ability to offer great “giveaways” in exchange for donations. 100% of donations go directly to purchasing and mailing care package items. All of our time and other resources are donated.

http://www.operationmilitarypride.org/index.html
http://www.afpafitness.com/USMilitaryLinks.htm

Four Ways Junk Food Marketing Targets Your Kids
http://www.mercola.com/2003/nov/26/junk_food_marketing.htm
Most Common Cause of Heart Attacks 

“Mental stress” that you may not even know is there is a stronger indicator of heart attack or other severe heart event than other known risk factors including smoking, having high cholesterol or diabetes or being a man. According to researchers, people whose blood pressure rose during periods of “mental stress” were six times more likely to have a coronary heart disease event within six years than those who remained calm under the stress.

The study participants typically did not realize when the stress was taking a toll. There was no correlation between actual mental stress and the participants’ perceptions of it. Researchers concluded that “conscious stress and biological stress may be two different things,” and hope to someday develop a blood test that could warn those at risk. Yahoo News November 11, 2003

Exercise Found More Beneficial Than Diet to Lower Heart Disease Risk 

 Scientists say that increasing exercise, not reducing calories, may be the best way to ward off heart disease. In their study they found that losing excess weight, or not becoming overweight at all, appeared to be the key to reducing heart disease risk and living a longer, healthy life. Participants who exercised more and ate more tended to be leaner and had less than half the risk of death from heart disease than those who exercised less, ate less and were overweight.

They found that eating less didn’t necessarily translate into being thinner, and those who ate more were not necessarily obese, but participants who were overweight at the beginning of the study had an increased risk of death from heart disease regardless of how little they ate. Science Blog November 4, 2003
http://www.scienceblog.com/community/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2039

Miso Soup Protects Women from Breast Cancer 

In a prospective cohort cancer study, researchers in Japan tracked more than 20,000 women aged 40 to 59 for more than 10 years, studying their intake of soy foods. As reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, they found that women who consumed miso (fermented soybean paste) soup most frequently (three or more bowls daily) had half the breast cancer risk of those who ate the least (less than one bowl daily). Laboratory studies have previously demonstrated that isoflavones, abundant in soybeans, inhibit hormone-related cancers. Yamamoto S, Sobue T, Kobayashi M, Sasaki S, Tsugane S. Soy, isoflavone, and breast cancer risk in Japan. JNCI 2003; 95:906-13.

HRT: Promoting Cancer, Hindering Diagnosis 

The Women’s Health Initiative trial of combined estrogen and progestin ended early when overall risks, including invasive breast cancer, proved too dangerous. Taking a closer look at the data, researchers found that women who took combination hormone pills not only faced a 24 percent increase in breast cancer risk, but developed larger, more aggressive tumors, which spread more quickly and escaped detection more frequently. They also had significantly more abnormal mammograms. The analysis, detailed in the Journal of the American Medical Association, involved 16,608 postmenopausal women with no prior hysterectomy, aged 50 to 79, who were prescribed either hormones or placebo for an average of five years. Chlebowski RT, Hendrix SL, Langer RD, et al. Influence of estrogen plus progestin on breast cancer and mammography in healthy postmenopausal women. JAMA 2003; 289:3243-54.

Second Fatality in Atkins-Type Dieter Suspected; Other Dieters Report New Cases of Serious Illness to Family Members, Patients, and Nutrition Experts Present Details at Nov. 20 News Conference Doctors Urge CDC Inquiry; Video of Conference Available 

WASHINGTON-New information questioning the safety of the Atkins Diet and other high-protein, low-carbohydrate diets, including data on a previously unreported fatality and numerous serious illnesses, was the focus of a news conference on November 20 at the National Press Club. A panel of nutrition experts, including Paul Robinson, M.D., the author of the first scientifically documented case history of a death linked to a high-protein diet, presented their concerns about the health risks of these diets. Joining the doctors were several people who report being harmed by these diets, as well as family members of the deceased. The physicians called on the Centers for Disease Control to begin an immediate investigation into these incidents and the prevalence of adverse effects and deaths associated with the diets. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) organized the conference. Video of the conference is available.

For example, 42 percent of registrants describe a loss of energy; 22 percent report reduced kidney function, stones, or severe infection; and 20 percent report heart problems or elevated cholesterol. Related Material: Preliminary Report by Neal Barnard, M.D.

http://www.pcrm.org/news/health031120_report.html

Analysis of Health Problems Associated with High-Protein, High-Fat, Carbohydrate-Restricted Diets Reported via an Online RegistryPhysicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

http://www.pcrm.org/news/health031120_report.html

The Ten Commandments of Stress Reduction 

They might not have come from a higher authority, but these commandments will reduce stress.

1. Thou shalt organize thyself
2. Thou shalt give thyself positive feedback
3. Thou shalt reward thyself with enjoyable leisure
4. Thou shalt exercise
5. Thou shalt relax
6. Thou shalt take rest breaks
7. Thou shalt listen to what your body is telling you
8. Thou shalt eat a balanced diet
9. Thou shalt smile a lot
10. Thou shalt ask for help when you need it

From www.workforce.com

High-Fiber Diet Cuts Colon Cancer Risk in Half 

Results from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer (EPIC), as reported in The Lancet, found that individuals who consumed the most dietary fiber had a 40 percent reduction in colon cancer risk than those who consumed the least.

This was the largest scientific study of diet and cancer to date, tracking 519,978 subjects in 10 European countries for an average of 4.5 years. A particular strength of the study was its ability to compare widely varying diets. A 1997 report from the World Cancer Research Fund emphasized the importance of consuming a diet high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and beans for preventing several cancers including colon cancer. This latest study offers considerable evidence supporting the use of a plant-based diet for colon cancer prevention. Bingham SA, Day NE, Luben R, et al. Dietary fibre in food and protection against colorectal cancer in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC): an observational study. Lancet 2003; 361:1496-501.

Hormone Therapy Linked to Dementia 

The major U.S. government study on long-term estrogen-progestin use, which was partially terminated last year because of increased risks of breast cancer, heart attack, and stroke, has also found an increased risk for dementia. When taken for more than four years, the hormone appears to have a detrimental effect, impairing cognitive function in women age 65 or older. It did not prevent mild cognitive impairment as once thought.

This offshoot examination, the Women’s Healthy Initiative Memory Study, was conducted by Wake Forest University and involved 4,532 women, half of whom used Prempro estrogen-progestin pills and half of whom received a placebo. Since the original study began uncovering serious healthy risks, sales of Premarin and Prempro have dropped significantly. Rapp SR, Espeland MA, Shumaker SA, et al. Effect of estrogen plus progestin on global cognitive function in postmenopausal women: the women’s health initiative memory study: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA 2003;289:2663-72.

Ask the American Cancer Society to Stop Promoting Cancer-Causing Foods 

Despite overwhelming evidence that meat consumption dramatically increases cancer risk, the American Cancer Society (ACS) raises countless dollars each year by sponsoring beef promotions called “Cattle Barons’ Balls” in more than 50 cities nationwide. [1] One such event took place October 11 in Atlanta, the headquarters of the American Cancer Society.
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is calling on the ACS to immediately cancel the Atlanta event and all the other Cattle Barons’ Balls.[2]

Read coverage of this controversy in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.[3.]

Help us bring the ACS to its senses by writing CEO John R. Seffrin, Ph.D. Please write a short letter today demanding that the ACS not sell out to the beef industry-in Atlanta or anywhere else.

For more information about the campaign, please contact PCRM nutrition director Amy Joy Lanou, Ph.D., at 202-686-2210, ext. 354, or alanou@pcrm.org. For more information about how diet can help reduce cancer risk, visit www.CancerProject.org.

Mail or fax your letter to:

John R. Seffrin, Ph.D.
Chief Executive Officer
American Cancer Society
1599 Clifton Road, NE
Atlanta, GA 30329-4251
Fax: 404-327-6589

1.http://www.pcrm.org/health/cancerproject/food_choices.html
2.http://www.pcrm.org/news/health030909.html
3.http://www.ajc.com/living/content/living/0903/17ball.html?urac=n&urvf=106380

Editors Book Reviews 

Neal D. Barnard, M.D. Breaking the Food Seduction (2003: St. Martin’s Press, New York, NY)
Based on the author’s research and that of other leading investigators at major universities, Breaking the Food Seduction reveals the diet and lifestyle changes that can break stubborn craving cycles.

Senator Zell Miller, A National Party No More. (Stroud Hall, 2003)
An excellent account of a life of patriotism and public service, without malice or mean partisanship

Sean Hannity, Let Freedom Ring (2002]
An excellent book encouraging Americans to wake up to what is going on around them.