Healthy Eating

Oct 21, 2006

Red Meat and The Pancreas

RED MEAT AND THE PANCREAS
People who eat more beef or pork, especially in processed meats like hot dogs, sausage, and bacon, have a higher risk of pancreatic cancer, says the largest study that has tracked healthy people for years before they were diagnosed with the deadly illness.
The Multiethnic Cohort Study followed more than 190,000 residents of California and Hawaii for seven years. Those who reported eating the most beef or pork (but not fish, poultry, dairy foods, or eggs) had a 50 percent higher risk of pancreatic cancer than those who reported eating the least.
Those who said they ate the most processed meats (roughly one ounce a day for a 2,000-calorie diet) had about a 70 percent higher risk than those who said they ate the least (no more than around an ounce a week).
The researchers calculated that the pancreatic cancer rate was about 40 out of 100,000 for those who ate the most processed meat in this study, but only half as high for those who ate the least.
They suggest that the carcinogens caused by cooking red meat at high temperatures or the nitrites in processed meats may explain the link.
What to do: Until more studies are done, it’s not certain that processed or red meat causes pancreatic cancer. But it’s worth cutting back anyway to reduce the risk of heart disease and colon cancer.
FISH FOR THOUGHT: Eating fish may keep your brain sharp as you age. In a study of more than 3,500 men and women aged 65 and older, scores on tests of memory and other cognitive skills dropped with age over six years. However, the rate of decline was 10 percent slower in people who ate fish once a week than in those who ate fish less often. The rate of decline was 13 percent slower for those who ate fish at least twice a week. A 10 - 13 percent difference is equivalent to being 3 - 4 years younger.
The researchers failed to find a clear link between Omega-3 fatty acids (the major fats in fish oil) and the speed of cognitive decline, possibly because they couldn’t measure omega-3 fat intake precisely.
What to do: It’s too early to say whether fish is brain food (that’s what my mother said 60 years ago), but it’s still worth eating fish at least once or twice a week to lower your risk of heart disease. Know your source. Do not eat fish caught in the Great Lakes more than once a week. Also, try eating smaller fish as there are more contaminants in larger fish. Sardines, salmon (wild caught Sockeye red salmon), herring and mackerel are my recommendations. Canned red Sockeye Pacific salmon and canned herring and sardines and grilled Pacific wild salmon or baked on a wet cedar-board at 400 degrees are some of my favorites. I like to mix canned red Pacific Sockeye salmon with carrots, celery, red onions, garlic, apple cider vinegar and extra virgin olive oil with some oregano and a touch of sea-salt and pepper and dark greens to make a delightful healthy salad. Eating can taste good and provide you with the defense mechanisms you need to fight off the free-radicals that bring on the aging process.
Getting older isn’t all genetics. Genetics account for 80 percent of who you are up to the age of 10 and after 50 it’s 80 percent lifestyle that will determine how long you live. Just don’t run in front of a speeding truck, eat fried food, drink alcohol, eat ice cream and processed sugar, high fructose corn syrup, pizza, beer and candy, cake and cookies and expect to live to 100. The best thing you can do is to stop smoking and concentrate on fresh fruits and vegetables and good homemade soup. Your kitchen is the best place to obtain nutrition for a healthy life.
Unfortunately, we live in a era where alcohol, sugary foods, beer and pizza are celebrated "happy foods".
Mother Theresa said, "People are often unreasonable, and self-centered, forgive them anyway."
"What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight, Build anyway."
"If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous, Be happy anyway."
"Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough; Give the world the best you have anyway."
You see in the final analysis, all of this is between you and GOD. It was never between you and them anyway!"
My take is a little bit different. I plant the seeds of truth and hope for the best. I don’t expect everyone to believe me or do the things I suggest because expectations are what causes such trouble in the world. I plant the seed, give it light and feed and nurture it - the rest is up to GOD!