Vegetable oil and nuts 'fight prostate cancer': Swapping cakes for foods can stop disease spreading

At least the authors disclaim causal inferences.  The people on more "correct" diets were probably middle class and it was that which gave a better prostate outcome  -- as middles are healthier generally

Swapping to vegetable oils and nuts may increase a man’s chances of surviving prostate cancer.

A study found that those diagnosed with the disease early had a lower risk of the cancer spreading if they replaced animal fats found in processed foods – such as cake and pastries – with healthy vegetable fats.

One serving of oil-based salad dressing a day, equivalent to one tablespoon, was linked with a 29 per cent lower risk of potentially lethal prostate cancer and a 13 per cent lower chance of dying from any cause.

The US authors stressed the research involving 4,577 prostate cancer patients had revealed an association and could not necessarily prove a diet rich in oils and nuts was the cause.

In an online paper published by the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, they wrote: ‘Overall, our findings support counselling men with prostate cancer to follow a heart-healthy diet in which carbohydrate calories are replaced with unsaturated oils and nuts to reduce the risk of all-cause mortality.’

Of the men with prostate cancer enrolled into the study, around a fifth died from the disease over a period of about eight years. Another 31 per cent died from heart disease and almost 21 per cent from other cancers.

At the time they were recruited, all the men had non-metastatic prostate cancer, meaning the disease had not yet spread.

Information about the patients’ dietary habits was collected from questionnaires.

Swapping animal fats and carbohydrates for healthy vegetable fats, including olive and canola oil as well as oils from nuts, seeds and avocados, was found to have a significant impact on disease progression and death.

Men who replaced 10 per cent of their daily carbohydrate consumption with vegetable fats had a 29 per cent lower risk of developing deadly prostate cancer and a 26 per cent reduced risk of dying from any cause.

The study also showed that eating an ounce of nuts a day led to an 18 per cent lower risk of lethal prostate cancer and an 11 per cent lower risk of death.

Dr Erin Richman, from the University of California at San Francisco, said: ‘Consumption of healthy oils and nuts increases plasma (blood) antioxidants and reduces insulin and inflammation, which may deter prostate cancer progression.’

SOURCE





Babies of obese mothers are at a higher risk of premature birth, serious illness and death

The usual naivety.  Fatties were probably mostly working class and that give the adverse outcomes

Babies born to overweight women are more likely to be born prematurely, increasing the likelihood of serious illness and even death.

A study of 1.5 million births in Sweden between 1992 and 2010 found the danger of early delivery rose proportionally with the mother’s weight.

Women with the highest BMI (body mass index) also had the highest statistical risk of giving birth prematurely, and especially extremely early.

Compared to women of normal size, an extremely premature birth was 25 per cent more likely for overweight women and 60 per cent more likely for obese mothers.

For severely obese (BMI 35-39.9) or extremely obese (BMI 40 or more) women, the corresponding risk was doubled and tripled respectively.  Risks of very and moderately preterm deliveries also increased with BMI.

The findings published in the Journal of the American Medical Association are alarming with the obesity levels in Britain fast approaching those in the U.S.

Three in five adults are overweight or obese possibly explaining the 40,000 babies a year born prematurely, the highest in Europe.

Professor Sven Cnattingius, of the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, said: ‘For the individual woman who is overweight or obese, the risk of an extremely preterm delivery is still small.

‘However, these findings are important from a population perspective. Preterm infants and, above all, extremely preterm infants account for a substantial fraction of infant mortality and morbidity in high income countries.’

In the study, his researchers calculated the women’s BMI (weight in kilograms divided by height in square metres) from information given at their first visit to prenatal care.

A BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 was assessed as normal, 25 to 29.9 as overweight, and 30 or more as obese.

Dr Cnattingius said a third of all pregnant women in Sweden are either overweight or obese, and this impacts the number of premature babies.

He said: ‘Overweight and obesity also increase the risk of maternal pregnancy complications including preeclampsia, gestational diabetes and Caesarean delivery.’

In Sweden there are about 100,000 births a year of which around 250 are extremely early, in that they are delivered more than 12 weeks before the expected date.

Another 500 are very premature (8 to 12 weeks too early), and 4,500 moderately so (4 to 8 weeks).

The study also found the risk was substantially explained by obesity-related diseases such as the severe pregnancy complication preeclampsia that endangers the health of both mother and child.

SOURCE