From: HSI - Jenny Thompson <..>
Date: 12/14/2004 7:10:45 PM

Rocket Food

Health Sciences Institute e-Alert

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Dear Reader,

Are you getting enough pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers and
bovine growth hormones in your diet? You certainly are if
you drink pasteurized and homogenized commercial milk
every day.

Unfortunately, postmenopausal women may be getting all
that, plus a whole lot more: A higher risk of developing a
serious form of ovarian cancer.

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One dangerous moustache
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Lactose is a milk sugar that contains galactose; a sugar
component that has been associated with ovarian cancer in
previous studies.

Researchers at the National Institute of Environmental
Medicine in Stockholm, Sweden, examined this association
with a study of dairy product and lactose intake. The
Stockholm team used data collected from the Swedish
Mammography Cohort to review dietary and medical records
of more than 61,000 women, aged 38 to 76 years who were
cancer-free at the outset of the study. Over a follow up period
of about 13 years, more than 260 subjects were
diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer, and 125 of those
cases were considered "serious."

Frankly, it's hard to imagine a case of epithelial ovarian
cancer that isn't serious, especially given the fact that it's
usually not caught in the early stages. To make matters
worse, this type of cancer originates in the surface cells of the
ovaries and frequently spreads to other organs in the
abdomen.

After analyzing their data, the Stockholm researchers came to
these conclusions:
* Lactose intake was associated with serious ovarian cancer
 risk.
* Women who consumed approximately four daily servings
 of dairy products had twice the risk of developing serious
 ovarian cancer compared to women who consumed less than
 two daily servings of dairy.
* The dairy product most strongly associated with serious
 ovarian cancer was milk.

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On the preventive side...
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In an upcoming e-Alert I'll take a closer look at the common
health and nutrition problems associated with commercial
milk. For today I'll stay on the topic of ovarian cancer with a
quick look at an important study on the prevention of this
cancer. And coincidentally the study comes from the same
Stockholm researchers that conducted the milk/ovarian
cancer study.

In previous e-Alerts I've told you about the many benefits of
a diet rich in the B vitamin folate. In addition to lowering
homocysteine levels and reducing the risk of stroke, folate
may also help prevent breast and colorectal cancer. Earlier
this year, the Stockholm team published a study in the
Journal of the National Cancer Institute that examined the
association between folate intake and ovarian cancer.

For this study they also used data from the Swedish
Mammography Cohort. The researchers found that when the
women with the highest folate intake were compared to the
women with the lowest intake, those in the higher group had
a slightly reduced risk of developing ovarian cancer. More
striking, however, was the fact that women who had folate-
rich diets and who also drank at least two or more alcoholic
beverages each week were 74 percent less likely to develop
ovarian cancer.

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Don't deplete
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Obviously, two drinks a week is a fairly moderate intake of
alcohol. But this is one of those cases where more is not
better, because excessive alcohol consumption can create a
folate deficiency. Other factors that can lead to low folate
levels include: smoking, oral contraceptives, high intake of
aspirin, general malnourishment, and certain drugs such as
the chemotherapy drug methotrexate.

The researchers noted that their findings were based on
dietary questionnaires, so further studies would be required to
determine if supplements of folate might be just as effective
as dietary sources of the vitamin. But fortunately, dietary
sources of folate are easy to come by. Citrus fruits, tomatoes,
leafy green vegetables, avocados, bananas, asparagus, whole
grains, and pinto, navy and kidney beans are all good sources
of folate.

Supplements of folate are available as natural (folate) or
synthetic (folic acid). The daily recommended intake of
folate is usually 400 micrograms, but in the Stockholm study
those in the higher-intake group were getting a minimum of
about 200 mcg per day.

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...and another thing

Speaking of milk, I came across this alarming news headline
last week: "Rocket Fuel Chemical Found in Organic Milk."

But it turns out that I shouldn't have been alarmed, because
an Associated Press (AP) report offered this quote from an
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) official: "Alarm is
not warranted. That is clear."

Unfortunately the official left it at that, leaving me
wondering, well, if my alarm is "clearly" not warranted, what
reaction IS warranted? Maybe queasiness? Mild dread? Or
how about some good old fashioned outrage?

The rocket fuel chemical is called perchlorate, and not only
did it turn up in organic milk in Maryland, but traces of it
were also found in bottled spring water in California and
Texas, and lettuce in Florida and Arizona.

Given the coast-to-coast diversity of locations where
perchlorate was detected in food, it seems that some garden
variety worrying might be in order. When the EPA official
was asked if the situation was worrisome, he said, "We don't
know yet." Which is sort of like saying, go ahead and worry
if you want to, because your worry just might turn out to be
justified.

Apparently the EPA and the FDA have spent years puzzling
(and worrying?) over the toxicity of perchlorate, trying to
determine what amount should be considered unsafe in foods.

Nobody asked me, but I'd like to go on record as suggesting
this simple standard: Why don't we set the safe amount of
perchlorate in food at, oh, I don't know, how about ZERO!?

But the fact is I know better. Because perchlorate is just one
of the many man-made chemicals that show up in trace
amounts in virtually all our foods. And all of these chemicals
put a serious drain on the nutritional value of food.

So the next time someone suggests that dietary supplements
are unnecessary because you can get all the vitamins and
minerals you need from good dietary choices, remind them
that many of us pick up a pinch of rocket fuel in our diets,
along with pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, carbon
monoxide and aluminum from acid rain, hormones,
antibiotics, preservatives, etc.

But , you know , no need for alarm.

To Your Good Health,

Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute

Sources:
"Milk and Lactose Intakes and Ovarian Cancer Risk in the
Swedish Mammography Cohort" American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 80, No. 5, November 2004, ajcn.org
"Two Daily Glasses of Milk May Up Ovarian Cancer Risk"
Reuters Health, 11/17/04, reutershealth.com
"Dietary Folate Intake and Incidence of Ovarian Cancer: The
Swedish Mammography Cohort" Journal of the National
Cancer Institute,Vol. 96, No. 5, 3/3/04,
jncjcancerspectrum.oupjournals.org
"Rocket Fuel Chemical Found in Organic Milk" The
Associated Press, 11/30/04, yahoo.com

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The e-Alert may not be posted on commercial sites without
written permission.

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