This month’s top holistic health reads are posted on my homepage blog. It contains lots of exciting news in the areas of health, nutrition, and drug updates. Here are three more headlines. They focus on modulating cancer risk that I thought they deserved their own spotlight-specifically for my sartoga.com friends.
The Power of the Mediterranean Diet on Cancer Risk
An article, published in the journal BMC Surgery reviewed the aspects of different food components within a typical Mediterranean diet that have beneficial effects in modulating various cancers. The article highlighted the cancer-trumping effects of olive oil, fruits, vegetables, seafood, whole (unprocessed) grains, and wine.
Batra, S. Components in the Mediterranean Diet May Prevent Some Cancers. Olive Oil Times. January 29, 2014. http://www.oliveoiltimes.com/olive-oil-health-news/components-mediterranean-diet-may prevent-cancers/38288
Grosso, G, et al. Mediterranean diet and cancer: epidemiological evidence and mechanism of selected aspects. BMC Surgery. 2013; 13(2):S14.
Yoga Reduces Inflammation in Breast Cancer Survivors
In a clinical trial of breast cancer survivors comparing the effects of doing yoga vs. controls (the “waiting group”), the researchers found that the women practicing yoga reported about 60 percent less fatigue and their measures of inflammation were 13 percent to 20 percent lower. The study can be found in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Goodman, B. Yoga May Reduce Fatigue, Inflammation in Breast Cancer Survivors: Researchers think improved sleep may be the key to benefits. Health Day. January 27, 2014.
Oil Highlight:
Balsam Fir Oil’s Anti-Cancer Properties on Various Cell Tumor Lines
The antitumor activity of Abies balsamea (balsam fir oil) was evaluated against the solid tumor cell lines of MCF-7 (breast), PC-3 (prostate), A-549 (lung), DLD-1 (colon), M4BEU (melanoma) and CT-26 (another colon cancer cell line). It was found to be active against all of the solid tumor cell lines tested. Specifically, balsam fir oil and alpha-humulene induced a dose- and time-dependent decrease in cellular GSH (glutathione) content and an increase in ROS (reactive oxygen species) production, which may be the mechanism behind the oils anti-tumor effect.
Legault J, Dahl W, Debiton E, Pichette A, Madelmont JC.Antitumor activity of balsam fir oil: production of reactive oxygen species induced by alpha-humulene as possible mechanism of action (abstract). Planta Med. 2003 May;69(5):402-7. PMID:12802719
For more top news to stay empowered in your wellness journey, make sure you check out my homepage.
