I have always been amazed about stories and research findings on the kind of diet or food that may prevent or even treat cancer.




Here are some of them from the past week:

Low fat diet shows decreased risk for ovarian cancer

Published in Journal of the National Cancer Institute, the results show that after a four-year period, women who decreased the amount of dietary fat they consumed were 40 per cent less likely to develop ovarian cancer than women who followed normal dietary patterns.

The results did not reveal strong or statistically significant links for other cancers in the study.

The findings are significant not only because they corroborate a link between nutrition and cancer risk reduction, but also because they lend to the idea that diets lower in fats have benefits beyond the prevention of cardiovascular or high-glycaemia-related conditions.

Ovarian cancer has the highest mortality among all the cancers of the female reproductive cancer.

Full-fat dairy may protect prostates from cancer

An increased intake of full fat dairy products may reduce the risk of prostate cancer, says a new study from Hawaii.

The study, by researchers from the University of Hawaii, also reports that the benefits were not related to calcium or vitamin D, opening up possibilities that the bioactive ingredients are a specific type of fat in the milk.

"Although the findings from this study do not support an association between the intakes of calcium and vitamin D and prostate cancer risk, they do suggest that an association with milk consumption may vary by fat content, particularly for early forms of this cancer," wrote lead author Song-Yi Park in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

Both men and women are not except from the risk factors of cancer. At least our lifestyle and diet are factors that we can change, while the genetic factor we cannot do anything about.

Bilberry extract - can it help prevent certain cancers?

A Leicester cancer research project, which receives funding from Hope Against Cancer (formerly The Hope Foundation,) is investigating whether an extract from bilberries can prevent or delay the onset of certain cancers.

Professor Andy Gescher, of the University of Leicester, is leading an investigation to carry out clinical trials with the commercially produced substance Mirtoselect (extracted from bilberries), with the cooperation of patients about to undergo surgery for colorectal and liver cancer.

Among his research team are two Allison Wilson Fellows whose work is funded by Hope Against Cancer, Ms Sarah Thomasset and Mr Giuseppe Garcea.

And remember that prevention is a lot better than treatment. Moreover, if you are at a high risk for cancer should have yourself screened at the earliest time.

Cancer need not be fatal if caught early.