(NOTE: This blog is the continuation from this week’s homepage
article regarding the topic of breast health. Please view at
dr-lobisco.com…)
It is now estimated that 75-80% of cancer is related to lifestyle
effects on our DNA, not the other way around. This empowering viewpoint has
lead researchers to look beyond the “multi-million dollar pathways” using only
drugs and incorporate individual differences in genetics and environmental influences
on our genes expression of traits. This is the world of nutrigenomics and
epigenetics.
In other words, because our environment and genes are
influenced by how we eat, think, move, and live, we can modulate our cellular
response to be healthy, happy cells or damaged and pathological cells.
Cruciferous vegetables intake is inversely associated
with risk of breast cancer: A meta-analysis.
Headlines say it all. Broccoli up. Eating broccoli boosts
cells’ ability to fight off cancer promoting regions. Broccoli also has the
power to modulate liver biotransformation, which decreases environmental
toxicant load from damaging our cells.
Findings from this meta-analysis
suggest that cruciferous vegetables consumption may reduce the risk of breast
cancer.
(Search this sight for more information on the food-cancer
connection. I did a whole blog in the past on how broccoli and other bitter
tasting green veggies have powerful cancer-fighting power!)
How to Stick with
Exercise to Decrease Reoccurrence
The answer, think highly of yourself and love yourself into
wellness!
According to scientists from Oregon
State University, more than 40 percent of older breast cancer survivors don’t
get enough exercise after leaving their treatment program. Since regular
exercise can reduce the risk of the disease’s recurrence, experts say it is
crucial for women to get moving after treatment….
In a new study, researchers
conducted a clinical trial to understand the benefits of a 12-month supervised
group exercise program in 69 older breast cancer survivors, all 65 and older.
Women were surveyed on the basis of self-efficacy, which the researchers
described as the “confidence” to be able to overcome exercise
barriers, such as being too tired. Women with high self-efficacy were 10
percent more likely to stay active six months after the exercise program than
those with lower scores.
Exercise Less to
Lose More
Good news for those who think they have to work out hours to
receive benefits for prevention of disease and overall health. A new study in
the American Journal of Physiology studied 64 overweight males and found those
who participated in 30 minutes of exercise had greater benefits than those who
worked out longer (1 hour).
Possible explanations are that the less strenuous activity
gave participants extra energy to be more physically active through the day.
The amount of weight loss induced
by exercise is often disappointing. A diet-induced negative energy balance
triggers compensatory mechanisms, e.g., lower metabolic rate and increased
appetite. However, knowledge about potential compensatory mechanisms triggered
by increased aerobic exercise is limited. A randomized controlled trial was
performed in healthy, sedentary, moderately overweight young men to examine the
effects of increasing doses of aerobic exercise on body composition,
accumulated energy balance, and the degree of compensation. Eighteen
participants were randomized to a continuous sedentary control group, 21 to a
moderate-exercise (MOD; 300 kcal/day), and 22 to a high-exercise (HIGH; 600
kcal/day) group for 13 wk, corresponding to ∼30 and 60 min of daily aerobic
exercise, respectively. Body weight (MOD: −3.6 kg, P < 0.001; HIGH:
−2.7 kg, P = 0.01) and fat mass (MOD: −4.0 kg, P < 0.001 and
HIGH: −3.8 kg, P < 0.001) decreased similarly in both exercise
groups. Although the exercise-induced energy expenditure in HIGH was twice that
of MOD, the resulting accumulated energy balance, calculated from changes in
body composition, was not different (MOD: −39.6 Mcal, HIGH: −34.3 Mcal, not
significant). Energy balance was 83% more negative than expected in MOD, while
it was 20% less negative than expected in HIGH. No statistically significant
changes were found in energy intake or nonexercise physical activity that could
explain the different compensatory responses associated with 30 vs. 60 min of
daily aerobic exercise. In conclusion, a similar body fat loss was obtained
regardless of exercise dose. A moderate dose of exercise induced a markedly
greater than expected negative energy balance, while a higher dose induced a
small but quantifiable degree of compensation.
It’s important to remember that what we do every day has
synergistic effects that add up over our lifetime. We have the power to choose
to program our cells for health or disease.
Sources:
Liu X, Lv K. Cruciferous vegetables intake is inversely
associated with risk of breast cancer: A meta-analysis. Breast. 2012 Aug 6.
[Epub ahead of print]. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22877795
Daily News. Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Study looks at
how confidence and exercise plays a role. 10-9-12. http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/exercise-key-breast-cancer-survivors-article-1.1178421#ixzz2981ZCqJd
Mads Rosenkilde, et al. Body fat loss and compensatory
mechanisms in response to different doses of aerobic exercise–a randomized
controlled trial in overweight sedentary males. AJP – Regu Physiol September 15,
2012 vol. 303 no. 6 R571-R579. Published online before print August 1, 2012,
doi: 10.1152/ajpregu.00141.2012
