Quoted from New Straits Times, Tuesday, February 3 2009, compiled by Kasmiah Mustapha.
Children who regularly eat cured meats such as bacon and hot dogs may have a higher risk of leukaemia. Vegetables and soy products help protect against cancer, a new study suggests.
The findings, reported in the online journal BMC Cancer, point to an association between these foods and the leukaemia risk - but do not prove cause-and effect.
Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston found that among 515 Taiwanese children and teenagers with and without leukaemia, those who ate cured meats and fish more than once a week had a 74 percent higher risk of the disease than those who rarely ate these foods.
On the other hand, children who often ate vegetables and soy products, like tofu, had their risk halved.
Long-term human studies, as well as animal studies, are still needed to see what role, if any, dietary factors have in the development of leukaemia, said the researchers.
However, based on this and previous studies, they recommend that children should not eat high amounts of cured meats and fish.
During the curing process, foods are preserved and flavoured by the addition of salt, sugar and chemicals called nitrites; the foods are often smoked as well.
Nitrites are precursors to compounds known as nitrosamines, which are potentially cancer-promoting.
In contrast, vegetables and soy contain antioxidants that may help neutralise these compounds.
SMOKING MAY CAUSE OBESITY
If you think smoking will make you thin, think again. A new study casts doubts on the common assumption that smokers have their unhealthy habit to thank for keeping them thin.
Instead, it is found that teens who smoked heavily were more likely to grow up fat.
Researchers from the University of Helsinki in Finland said although there's no evidence that cigarettes directly cause obesity, it's one more factor people should take into account when they consider taking up smoking.
They looked at the findings from questionnaires given to 4,296 Finnish twins born between 1975 and 1979. They were studies at four points between the ages of 16 and 27.
The researchers found that those who smoked at least 10 cigarettes a day at ages 16 to 18 were more likely to be fat around the waist.
The higher rate remained even when researchers adjusted their figures to account for the possible effects of other factors. Women, meanwhile, were more likely to be obese.
Researchers said it could have something to do with changes in the body's metabolism - its ability to process food and keep fat from building up.
The findings were published in the American Journal of Public Health.
BPA MAY LINGER LONGER IN THE BODY
A controversial chemical used in many plastic products may remain in the body longer than previously thought, and people may be ingesting it from sources other than food.
Researchers from the University of Rochester looked at the levels of the chemical in the urine of 1,469 people.
They tracked how urine levels of BPA (Bisphenol A) declined based on the length of time a person had fasted. But they found that people who fasted for 8.5 hours, for example, had about the same BPA levels as those who fasted for 24 hours.
While BPA was thought to be quickly and completely eliminated from the body through urine, the study found that those who had fasted for a whole day still had significant levels of the chemical.
The researchers suggested BPA may hang around in the body longer than previously thought or that it may get into the body through sources other than food, perhaps including tap water or house dust.
BPA may get into fat tissue, from where it might be released more slowly.
The study was published in the Environmental Health Perspective journal.
BPA is used in many food and beverage containers, in the coating of food cans and in some medical devices. It mimics the hormone estrogen in the body. People consume it when it leaches from plastic containers into baby formula, water or food. - Agencies.
Children who regularly eat cured meats such as bacon and hot dogs may have a higher risk of leukaemia. Vegetables and soy products help protect against cancer, a new study suggests.
The findings, reported in the online journal BMC Cancer, point to an association between these foods and the leukaemia risk - but do not prove cause-and effect.
Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston found that among 515 Taiwanese children and teenagers with and without leukaemia, those who ate cured meats and fish more than once a week had a 74 percent higher risk of the disease than those who rarely ate these foods.
On the other hand, children who often ate vegetables and soy products, like tofu, had their risk halved.
Long-term human studies, as well as animal studies, are still needed to see what role, if any, dietary factors have in the development of leukaemia, said the researchers.
However, based on this and previous studies, they recommend that children should not eat high amounts of cured meats and fish.
During the curing process, foods are preserved and flavoured by the addition of salt, sugar and chemicals called nitrites; the foods are often smoked as well.
Nitrites are precursors to compounds known as nitrosamines, which are potentially cancer-promoting.
In contrast, vegetables and soy contain antioxidants that may help neutralise these compounds.
SMOKING MAY CAUSE OBESITY
If you think smoking will make you thin, think again. A new study casts doubts on the common assumption that smokers have their unhealthy habit to thank for keeping them thin.
Instead, it is found that teens who smoked heavily were more likely to grow up fat.
Researchers from the University of Helsinki in Finland said although there's no evidence that cigarettes directly cause obesity, it's one more factor people should take into account when they consider taking up smoking.
They looked at the findings from questionnaires given to 4,296 Finnish twins born between 1975 and 1979. They were studies at four points between the ages of 16 and 27.
The researchers found that those who smoked at least 10 cigarettes a day at ages 16 to 18 were more likely to be fat around the waist.
The higher rate remained even when researchers adjusted their figures to account for the possible effects of other factors. Women, meanwhile, were more likely to be obese.
Researchers said it could have something to do with changes in the body's metabolism - its ability to process food and keep fat from building up.
The findings were published in the American Journal of Public Health.
BPA MAY LINGER LONGER IN THE BODY
A controversial chemical used in many plastic products may remain in the body longer than previously thought, and people may be ingesting it from sources other than food.
Researchers from the University of Rochester looked at the levels of the chemical in the urine of 1,469 people.
They tracked how urine levels of BPA (Bisphenol A) declined based on the length of time a person had fasted. But they found that people who fasted for 8.5 hours, for example, had about the same BPA levels as those who fasted for 24 hours.
While BPA was thought to be quickly and completely eliminated from the body through urine, the study found that those who had fasted for a whole day still had significant levels of the chemical.
The researchers suggested BPA may hang around in the body longer than previously thought or that it may get into the body through sources other than food, perhaps including tap water or house dust.
BPA may get into fat tissue, from where it might be released more slowly.
The study was published in the Environmental Health Perspective journal.
BPA is used in many food and beverage containers, in the coating of food cans and in some medical devices. It mimics the hormone estrogen in the body. People consume it when it leaches from plastic containers into baby formula, water or food. - Agencies.
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