Eating red & processed meats = 20% greater risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer.

New studies show a link between red meat and cancer, cardiovascular disease. 

Eating red meat is associated with a sharply increased risk of death from cancer and heart disease, according to a new study, and the more of it you eat, the greater the risk.

The analysis, published online Monday in Archives of Internal Medicine, used data from two studies that involved 121,342 men and women who filled out questionnaires about health and diet from 1980 through 2006. There were 23,926 deaths in the group, including 5,910 from cardiovascular disease and 9,464 from cancer.

People who ate more red meat were less physically active and more likely to smoke and had a higher body mass index, researchers found. Still, after controlling for those and other variables, they found that each daily increase of three ounces of red meat was associated with a 12 percent greater risk of dying over all, including a 16 percent greater risk of cardiovascular death and a 10 percent greater risk of cancer death.

The increased risks linked to processed meat, like bacon, were even greater: 20 percent over all, 21 percent for cardiovascular disease and 16 percent for cancer.

If people in the study had eaten half as much meat, the researchers estimated, deaths in the group would have declined 9.3 percent in men and 7.6 percent in women.

Previous studies have linked red meat consumption and mortality, but the new results suggest a surprisingly strong link.

“When you have these numbers in front of you, it’s pretty staggering,” said the study’s lead author, Dr. Frank B. Hu, a professor of medicine at Harvard

Read the original article here: 
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/13/health/research/red-meat-linked-to-cancer-and-heart-disease.html?_r=1&ref=science

Broccoli as an anti-oxidant & protector of DNA damage. Greens are good for you on a whole other level.

Data detailed in 'DNA damage and repair activity after broccoli intake in young healthy smokers' have been presented. According to a study from Milano, Italy, "Cruciferous vegetables contain compounds with antioxidant properties (e.g. carotenoids, vitamin C and folates) and can alter the activity of xenobiotic metabolism (i.e. isothiocyanates). These constituents may be particularly important for subjects who are exposed to free radicals and genotoxic compounds, including smokers."

"The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of broccoli intake on biomarkers of DNA damage and repair. Twenty-seven young healthy smokers consumed a portion of steamed broccoli (250 g/day) or a control diet for 10 days each within a crossover design with a washout period. Blood was collected before and after each period. The level of oxidatively damaged DNA lesions (formamidopyrimidine DNA glycosylase-sensitive sites), resistance to ex vivo H(2)O(2) treatment and repair of oxidised DNA lesions were measured in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). We also measured mRNA expression levels of repair and defence enzymes: 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase (OGG1), nucleoside diphosphate linked moiety X-type motif 1 (NUDT1) and heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1). After broccoli consumption, the level of oxidised DNA lesions decreased by 41% (95% confidence interval: 10%, 72%) and the resistance to H(2)O(2)-induced DNA strand breaks increased by 23% (95% CI: 13%, 34%). Following broccoli intake, a higher protection was observed in subjects with glutathione S-transferase (GST) M1-null genotype. The expression level and activity of repair enzymes was unaltered," wrote P. Riso and colleagues (see also DNA Research).

The researchers concluded: "Broccoli intake was associated with increased protection against H(2)O(2)-induced DNA strand breaks and lower levels of oxidised DNA bases in PBMCs from smokers. This protective effect could be related to an overall improved antioxidant status."

Riso and colleagues published the results of their research in Mutagenesis (DNA damage and repair activity after broccoli intake in young healthy smokers. Mutagenesis, 2010;25(6):595-602).

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