The traditional diet of Greece and cancer.

[Jackie07]

O - sorry; I thought R. B. stood for 'Roseanne Barr'.

[Andrea Barnett Budin]

ABB here. Hi RB. Jackie, you rock!

Just hoping to bump this up -- for an array of reasons.

The whole link, of course, and -- the last 3 posts. I agree, some valuable info here "NOT ABOUT DIET BUT CRUCIAL TO OUR SURVVAL!

[R.B.]

The formation of blood vessels to supply a tumour, called 'angiogenisis', is a key part of cancer.

Some Omega 6 products increase of VGEF which promotes blood vessel formation.

This article recognises the role of Omega 3 but does not look in any depth at Omega 6.

Tumor Angiogenesis as a Target for Dietary Cancer Prevention

http://downloads.hindawi.com/journal...012/879623.pdf


HER2 is listed as a promoter of angiogenisis

This is a fascinating article on the topic which can be read free.

The article looks at how many of us carry cancerous cells and very small cancers saying

"Microscopic cancer cells are commonly present in the healthy adult, the result of errors during replication of 60–90 trillion cells."


It looks a evidence that many foods may play a part in controlling new blood vessel production.

Some suggest that those with hormone sensitive cancer should be careful about taking Resveratrol.

[R.B.]

More evidence that Omega 6 linoleic acid has a potential role in the development and spread of breast and logically other cancers.

An explanation for 'Epithelial-mesenchymal-transition' can be found at this wiki link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epithel...mal_transition

Cadherins are proteins a bit like living velcro that help keep cells anchored to each other. Vitamin D reportedly increases adhesion between cells. In contrast this paper suggests Omega 6 linoleic acid weakens them, which would tie in with other reading


Int J Biochem Cell Biol. 2011 Dec;43(12):1782-91. Epub 2011 Sep 16.
Linoleic acid induces an EMT-like process in mammary epithelial cells MCF10A.
Espinosa-Neira R, Mejia-Rangel J, Cortes-Reynosa P, Salazar EP.
Source

Departamento de Biologia Celular, Cinvestav-IPN, Av. IPN # 2508, San Pedro Zacatenco, Mexico, DF 07360, Mexico.
Abstract

Epidemiological studies and animal models suggest an association between high levels of dietary fat intake and an increased risk of developing breast cancer. Epithelial-mesenchymal-transition (EMT) is a process, by which epithelial cells are transdifferentiated to a mesenchymal state, and it has been implicated in cancer progression, including invasion and metastasis. Linoleic acid (LA) induces proliferation and invasion in breast cancer cells. However, the role of LA on the EMT process in human mammary epithelial cells remains to be studied. In the present study, we demonstrate that LA induces a transient down-regulation of E-cadherin expression, accompanied with an increase of Snail1, Snail2, Twist1, Twist2 and Sip1 expressions. Furthermore, LA induces FAK and NFκB activation, MMP-2 and -9 secretions, migration and invasion. In summary, our findings demonstrate, for the first time, that LA promotes an EMT-like process in MCF10A human mammary epithelial cells.

[Ellie F]

Thanks RB for the interesting article from hindawi.
Ellie

[R.B.]

Clearly fish has to be a better option than fish oils as fish contain minerals, vitamin D, iodine etc, but there are lots of reasons for taking a couple of grams total combined of EPA plus DHA in the form of fish oil.

The paper in arriving at its conclusion of no benefits with fish oil as against whole fish, caveats "However, use of fish oil supplements in this cohort of breast cancer survivors was low (generally <5%) and therefore we were not well powered to examine this exposure."

Full free article on line

Marine Fatty Acid Intake Is Associated with Breast Cancer Prognosis1,2

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...9/?tool=pubmed

EPA and DHA, long-chain (n-3) PUFA largely obtained from fish, inhibit the proliferation of breast cancer cells in vitro and reduce the initiation and progression of breast tumors in laboratory animals. Our purpose in this analysis was to examine whether intake of these marine fatty acids (EPA and DHA) were associated with prognosis in a cohort of women who had been diagnosed and treated for early stage breast cancer (n = 3,081). Median follow-up was 7.3 y. Dietary intake was assessed using 24-h recalls (~4 recalls per dietary assessment obtained at 7 time points over 6 y). Survival models with time-dependent covariates were used to examine the association of repeated measures of dietary intake of EPA and DHA from food (i.e., marine sources) and supplements with disease-free survival and overall survival. Women with higher intakes of EPA and DHA from food had an approximate 25% reduced risk of additional breast cancer events [tertile 2: HR = 0.74 (95% CI = 0.58–0.94); tertile 3: HR = 0.72 (95% CI = 0.57–0.90)] compared with the lowest tertile of intake. Women with higher intakes of EPA and DHA from food had a dose-dependent reduced risk of all-cause mortality [tertile 2: HR = 0.75 (95% CI = 0.55–1.04); tertile 3: HR = 0.59 (95% CI = 0.43–0.82)]. EPA and DHA intake from fish oil supplements was not associated with breast cancer outcomes. The investigation indicates that marine fatty acids from food are associated with reduced risk of additional breast cancer events and all-cause mortality.

[karen z]

o.k., RB,
I am feeling a bit tired and would like to go to the punch line on this important thread. Could you (or someone) give me the short and sweet version (from any source) of a classic mediterranean diet? Perhaps a yes/no list (recipes along with that list would be great) but mostly the punchline. Sorry to be lazy!!!

[karen z]

Can anyone help with my request?
THANKS.

[Mtngrl]

Karen--

I'll take a stab at it, though R.B. is the expert. He even wrote a book on it.

In an early post it says: "The diet of our ancestors was less dense in calories, being higher in fiber, rich in fruits, vegetables, lean meat, and fish. As a result, the diet was lower in total fat and saturated fat, but contained equal amounts of n-6 and n-3 essential fatty acids. Linoleic acid (LA) is the major n-6 fatty acid, and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) is the major n-3 fatty acid. In the body, LA is metabolized to arachidonic acid (AA), and ALA is metabolized to eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)."

Translation: Nowadays, our diet has a much higher ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 than the diet we evolved on, both because we directly eat a lot of vegetable oils that are high in Omega 6 and because the animal foods that we consume (meat, eggs, milk, butter) have the same imbalance, because the animals were fed a high Omega 6 diet (i.e. grains and soy.)

The practical application is this: Eat a predominately plant-based diet of whole, unprocessed foods: whole grains, lots and lots of vegetables, and fruit. Eat wild, cold-water fish a few times a week. If you can get it, eat "pastured" (grass fed) meat, eggs, butter and milk. Milk from grass fed cows is higher in Omega 3 fatty acids than conventional milk, and it has conjugated linoleic acid, which is good for you, and which conventional milk does not have. If you can't get red meat, chicken, eggs and dairy foods from grass fed animals, consider skipping them or severely limiting them. (Nonfat dairy foods should be alright--no fat means no imbalance of fats, I should think.) Don't eat anything fried. Use just a little olive oil on your salads. Avoid all trans fats (hydrogenated fats). Avoid or limit added sugar. Don't use artificial sweeteners.

You might want to take fish oil supplements--one or two grams a day. If you are a vegetarian, flax seed is high in Omega-3, but it is a kind that your body has to convert to be useful. Some people's bodies do this better than others'.

For breast cancer, the question of drinking red wine, which is another component of the "Mediterranean Diet," is controversial. At least one researcher thinks it's fine to have one glass a day with a meal of the "right" foods. The consensus, however, seems to be to the contrary.

One "flat belly" diet program based on the Mediterranean diet says to eat monounsaturated fatty acids with each meal. Sources include olives, dark chocolate, olive oil, avocado, cashew, sesame, and other nuts. But fats are very nutrient dense, and as the opening sentence stated, we evolved on a less dense, lower-fat diet than we typically eat now.

[karen z]

Amy,
Thanks so much for your summary of main points for me. I know this wasn't easy to do and that you are busy. I greatly appreciate your help.
Grazie ! !
Karen Z

[R.B.]

Hi Karen and thanks for your help Mtngrl,

Whilst I have been nerding for several years on the subject of Omega 3 and 6 and wider diet, and have completed a not well written but general scientifically sound and hopefully thought provoking book on Omega 3 and 6, and their impact on western disease, I am not an expert in the traditional sense of the word in that I have no formal qualifications. I have been working for several years on a follow up that puts Omega 3 and 6 into a wider dietary context through the common thread of oxidative stress and its role in western disease.

Whilst the thread was titled the Greek Diet, the traditional Mediterranean diet lifestyle is in a sense a ghost, so it is not adequate just to refer to a particular diet plan, because even unprocessed food it not what it was a generation or two ago. Traditional Island foods were locally grown on highly mineralized often volcanic based soils. Goats and chicken got to wander and select their own foods. Islanders got sun and exercise etc.

The Mediterranean diet is not the only protective one. Reports by doctors working with a mix of European and native populations in locations around the world in the 1920s to 1940s clearly showed tribes on a wide variety of native diets rarely got western conditions - so it is as much about food quality and mix as type of diet.

Today in contrast western diseases are common in the same population groups that have moved to the west.

Our diets are not what they were. Most of us are deficient in one or more minerals (RDA) because the crops we and animals feed on no longer contain the mineral content they did. We abstract minerals in crops and do not replace them. A British paper records drops over the last 50 years of the amounts of various minerals in a basket of foods foods of between 20-70%. This is partly due to soil depletion and partly to breeding for carbohydrate quantity / size rather than mineral density etc. These mineral deficits obviously work up the food chain to us, and are a factor in all sorts of ailments, in both humans and animals (e.g. sheep often need to be routinely given minerals because the farmers know otherwise they are not sufficiently healthy to reproduce - but ironically we often do not ensure women with fertility issue are mineral sufficient)

Most of us are vitamin D deficient because we no longer go in the sun / wear sun cream / wash with soap before or after going in the sun.

Many of us are iodine deficient.

A good proportion of us are deficient in one or more B vitamins

Many of us are vitamin K deficient.

We eat way to much Omega 6 and not enough Omega 3

To add to these woes we refine food, and try to increase its shelf life. We treat crops / foods with all sorts of things like ammonia and bleach to prevent bacteria formation. As well as killing the bacteria these processes arguably can damage important sensitive nutrients. Many of the processes used in refining, damage the food (oxidation in various forms), as well as removing minerals.

Precooked stored meals etc probably add to the problem.

Vegetable water, the juices from meat etc and the nutrients they contain go down the sink. . .

Digestive disturbances can impair digestion - eg H Pylori affects absorption, of iron, vitamin c, and folate. Many of us have impaired digestion for a variety of reasons.

Grains contain anti nutrients, including phytate. Fermentation reduces phytate, but under the commercial imperative we have found ways of making bread rise quickly without fermenting it so saving several hours, and ironically sometimes even add phytate to bread, leading to blocking of mineral uptake. Most traditional cultures fermented their grains prior to eating them.

The lists just go on . . .

Trying to mimic a long gone Mediterranean diet of one sort or another is a hugely positive step compared to eating high levels of processed foods, but there is no ideal modern equivalent diet based on historic diets, because we have so badly distorted the quality and variety of food, and depleted it of nutrients. Even if you notionally ate the same food as your grandparents it will not contain as many nutrients, and will have been damaged by some of the industrial processes used in its storage and preparation.


Sunshine, a wide range of home grown foods on mineral rich volcanic soils, marine foods, chickens and goats that wandered round the mountains, and exercise, kept Mediterranean people healthy until they started working indoors and eating processed foods . . . better start saving for your own Island if you want a true Greek Island diet

So even with a whole (unprocessed) food diet most of us urban dwellers will be nutrient deficient. Appropriate supplementation, however imperfect and difficult to optimise, has to be a better option than deficiencies in essential very basic nutrients, particularly iodine, Vit D, minerals, K, etc. In very general terms at sensible recommended supplementation levels, for most healthy people but not necessarily those with specialist conditions, the negatives from deficiency far outweigh the risks of toxicity. Just to be clear I am not a fan of supplementation in general terms for iodine, Vit D, minerals, K, etc. as they are much better obtained in food (sunshine is the primary source in the case of Vit D) - the problem is they are not in general in foods in sufficient quantities any more. How much we get is a lottery as different soils contain different mixes and amounts.

There is a great deal we do not understand as to how the body absorbs minerals etc, but cows lick iron gateposts to get at the iron they contain, wild animals seek out mineral licks, and farmers give them mineral supplements so they reproduce, and they do. So clearly supplementation may not be optimal but has a place, and particularly so if you do not want to go to work with a gatepost for lunch - they are quite heavy and do not fit well into pockets.

However as stated. pragmatically supplementation however imperfect is a much better option than deficiency. For many of us, what we have done to the food chain / modern lifestyle, leaves us with little option but to supplement. Welcome to the nutritional lottery / risk reward guesstimate game.

Supplementation is of course an add on to doing the best we can do to pick the most nutritious foods available to us and should be undertaken only in consultation with your medical advisors.

I hope this helps. The above is a hint of what I have been nerding away at, and am currently preparing what I hope is a final restructure of the new book I have occasionally mentioned over the years, which has taken rather longer than expected, there is always just one more thing to check . . . In the meanwhile there is a book I would recommend with which I share much common ground albeit from a different perspective, which I will link to hopefully at the weekend (sorry for the delay), along with some blogs links that may be of interest

[karen z]

Hi R.B.,
Thanks again. This is very enlightening and, I can see, quite complex. I have had problems with D for some time (seems to be good now) and just found out from a holistic/integrative center I started going to that I am very low in B and have some definite digestive problems- so being supplemented with both with the help of a compounding pharmacy (also, again taking the correct omegas hopefully). Also, starting to take melatonin and magnesium at night for sleep. Will look forward to links and,hey, my first acupuncture treatment went very well (thought I'd throw that into the mix).
Best,
Karen

[SoCalGal]

Hi RB. Just wanted to say hello and thanks for all the awesome info. Been a bit lax in my vitamin taking and this thread has encouraged me to be more diligent. All the best! Flori

[R.B.]

I meant to do this at the weekend and got distracted, mostly usefully (-: but not always )-:

I have hesitated to post information that does not come directly out of trials, but I would recommend this book by impassioned scientists written from the knowledge gained in trying to sort out their own health issues. There are lots of good health books, but for me this flags some core health issues, some of which I have already raised on this site. I suspect the book is probably more accessible because it is written by people with a passion born of their own experience coming fresh to the subject. My totally revised and expanded book which I am trying to complete at the moment covers a lot of common ground with theirs, albeit from a different perspective. Trying to answer Karen z's post made me think I should highlight the book

http://perfecthealthdiet.com/?page_id=781
http://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Health...9178399&sr=8-1

I have had no contact with them but I do get a 'hat tip' in the notes - I suspect for my posts on this site.

This is their blog -http://perfecthealthdiet.com/

I do not agree with everything in it, but do agree with much of the general direction. I have found their book very useful, and though provoking.

I very much agree with the general direction of travel. The issue of what is the ideal mix of fats v carbs is more complex than they portray, which they acknowledge post book on their blog. They try to work out an ideal ratio and give their reasons for that, but nature throws exceptions, which exceptions beg questions.

For example Eskimos on a high marine (largely), often raw, meat / fish diet did not have western conditions, and neither did Indonesians who lived on a 97% carb diet eating mainly varieties of sweet potatoes. They each had their issues as a result of their diets - late development and small stature in the Indonesians - higher risk of cerebral hemorrhage in Eskimos - but both and all other tribes on traditional diets - no matter what the diet - had very low western diseases including BC - so the problem is not whole food but what we have done with it.

The Hunza who had very long lives ate grain -reportedly they lived well into their 100s - which suggests that grains are not inherently bad - but we have depleted soils, altered varieties, treat grains in storage, industrially process the result, . . . and now increasing numbers of people seem to have problems with grains . . .

I do think that wheat/ grains generally should be avoided unless fresh ground from organic sources, as industrial processing treatment in storage may (and based on small studies certain processes probably do) be leading to oxidative damage of the fats and proteins they contain. Grains also contain anti-nutrients which fermenting removes to a degree - our ancestors used to ferment grains - perversely we have worked out way of proving bread artificially in much shorter times because of economics. I think their argument that there are 'safer' carbs may have some basis, but in the negative some of these carbs may not be very nutrient rich.

I agree their arguments for keeping glucose levels under control, on the basis excess glucose leads to oxidation products, and glucose is arguably is a good fuel for cancer cells.

They also 'broadly' encapsulate the Omega 3:6 argument although they are not aware that plant based Omega 3 has important roles, as does plant based Omega 6, which is why an imbalance is so damaging, etc.

There is also lots of useful information on commonly deficient essential nutrients; Iodine, Vitamin D, minerals, vitamin K, some B vitamins etc.

They also raise the issue of the effect of different diets and fasting on the immune function, which lead me to start reading more on this very complex and fascinating issue.

This is a highly thought provoking and useful book that tries to explain why rather than just telling you to take things. So I return the compliment and hats off to Paul and Shou-Ching Jaminet. http://perfecthealthdiet.com/?page_id=2

Tests that accurately disclose the status of many nutrients are simply not available. Even where they are available they are often only looking at one area eg blood. For example mineral levels in the blood will not tell you much about your bone mineral status.

As posted above, trying to get the dietary nutrients that meet our basic needs by using supplements to try and address the damage we have done to our foods is a bit of a guessing game. Even whole organic foods may well not contain the same levels of minerals as those eaten 50 years ago - which by then were already often depleted compared with foods from earlier in the century. . .

As ever it is important not to lose sight that the body is enormously complex, much is not know, we are all subtly different, so please discuss dietary changes etc with you medical and or dietary advisors.

[R.B.]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22412148

J Clin Oncol. 2012 Mar 12. [Epub ahead of print]
Fatigue, Inflammation, and ω-3 and ω-6 Fatty Acid Intake Among Breast Cancer Survivors.
Alfano CM, Imayama I, Neuhouser ML, Kiecolt-Glaser JK, Wilder Smith A, Meeske K, McTiernan A, Bernstein L, Baumgartner KB, Ulrich CM, Ballard-Barbash R.
Source

Catherine M. Alfano, Ashley Wilder Smith, and Rachel Ballard-Barbash, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD; Ikuyo Imayama, Marian L. Neuhouser, Anne McTiernan, and Cornelia M. Ulrich, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center; Anne McTiernan, University of Washington, Seattle, WA; Janice K. Kiecolt-Glaser, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH; Kathleen Meeske, University of Southern California, Los Angeles; Leslie Bernstein, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA; Kathy B. Baumgartner, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY; and Cornelia M. Ulrich, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany.
Abstract

PURPOSEEvidence suggests that inflammation may drive fatigue in cancer survivors. Research in healthy populations has shown reduced inflammation with higher dietary intake of ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), which could potentially reduce fatigue. This study investigated fatigue, inflammation, and intake of ω-3 and ω-6 PUFAs among breast cancer survivors. METHODSSix hundred thirty-three survivors (mean age, 56 years; stage I to IIIA) participating in the Health, Eating, Activity, and Lifestyle Study completed a food frequency/dietary supplement questionnaire and provided a blood sample assayed for C-reactive protein (CRP) and serum amyloid A (30 months after diagnosis) and completed the Piper Fatigue Scale and Short Form-36 (SF-36) vitality scale (39 months after diagnosis). Analysis of covariance and logistic regression models tested relationships between inflammation and fatigue, inflammation and ω-3 and ω-6 PUFA intake, and PUFA intake and fatigue, controlling for three incremental levels of confounders. Fatigue was analyzed continuously (Piper scales) and dichotomously (SF-36 vitality ≤ 50).ResultsBehavioral (P = .003) and sensory (P = .001) fatigue scale scores were higher by increasing CRP tertile; relationships were attenuated after adjustment for medication use and comorbidity. Survivors with high CRP had 1.8 times greater odds of fatigue after full adjustment (P < .05). Higher intake of ω-6 relative to ω-3 PUFAs was associated with greater CRP (P = .01 after full adjustment) and greater odds of fatigue (odds ratio, 2.6 for the highest v lowest intake; P < .05). CONCLUSION Results link higher intake of ω-3 PUFAs, decreased inflammation, and decreased physical aspects of fatigue. Future studies should test whether ω-3 supplementation may reduce fatigue among significantly fatigued breast cancer survivors.

[R.B.]

Low vitamin D is a huge issue for lots of reasons. This information comes from this thread
http://her2support.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=43711
in case you have not seen it.



Two telling excepts from scientific papers


"More than half of North American women receiving therapy to treat or prevent osteoporosis have vitamin D inadequacy, underscoring the need for improved physician and public education regarding optimization of vitamin D status in this population."
http://jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/con...ract/90/6/3215

"These findings show that free-living elderly Europeans, regardless of geographical location, are at substantial risk of inadequate vitamin D status during winter and that dietary enrichment or supplementation with vitamin D should be seriously considered during this season."
http://grande.nal.usda.gov/ibids/ind...&therow=110910




(-: Some Must Watch University of California TV videos (-:

Pass them on please (-:

This is a passionate understandable very punchy slightly acerbic lecture to doctors by Dr Holick, a man ahead of his time, an expert in the vitamin D field, and someone who bravely stuck to his science through the dark days despite wide opposition and ridicule, and now thanks to his grit and the determined work of others Vitamin D is on the agenda.


Dr Holick - D-Lightful Vitamin D: Bone & Muscle Health and Prevention of Autoimmune and Chronic Diseases
http://www.uctv.tv/search-details.aspx?showID=15773




Other fascinating UCLA lectures

Vitamin D Prevents Cancer: Is It True?
http://www.uctv.tv/search-details.aspx?showID=16940

Skin Cancer/Sunscreen - the Dilemma
http://www.uctv.tv/search-details.aspx?showID=15770

Dose-Response of Vitamin D and a Mechanism for Cancer Prevention
http://www.uctv.tv/search-details.aspx?showID=15767

Vitamin D & Cardiovascular Disease- New Frontiers for Prevention
http://www.uctv.tv/search-details.aspx?showID=15772

[R.B.]

Iodine is another potential major dietary issue.

It is hard to believe in a modern world with so many resources and so much technology that many people are iodine deficient, but that is exactly what the evidence and science points to.

Iodine is truly fundamental to the function of the body. Only 20% of the stored iodine in the body is in the thyroid, the other 80% is used in other cells all over the body, in a variety of very important ways. Iodine has very particular chemical properties and may well have been fundamental in the development of life as outlined by Professor Venturi, a leading and arguably under-recognised researcher in the field.

"Environmental iodine deficiency: A challenge to the evolution of terrestrial life?

Venturi S, Donati FM, Venturi A, Venturi M.
Thyroid. 2000 Aug;10(8):727-9.

http://iodine4health.com/special/evo..._evolution.htm

“In conclusion, we believe that environmental iodine deficiency might be an important evolutionary factor of terrestrial life of vertebrates. ”"

Many people are arguably iodine insufficient due to a combination of low intake, iodine blocking foods, higher iodine utilisation, iodine blocking chemicals, and the inclusion in the diet of 'large' amounts of bromine and fluorine products which compete with iodine.

Western recommended intakes are much lower than recorded Japanese intakes. Current Japanese intake was reported to be about 1mg a day, and their parents ate more. Historically the Japanese had lower levels of many western conditions.

Iodine in the soil is deficient in many parts of the world, so you cannot count on getting it in your diet. Some Governments have recognised falling iodine intake is a serious health issue, for example in Australia they have restarted to iodise bread.

Iodine intakes have fallen significantly over the last 30 years, for a number of reasons. For example the intake / iodination of foods has fallen and iodine is no longer used to disinfect cattle milking systems / teats.

There are many factors in the modern lifestyle and diet that increase the requirement for iodine. Things that block iodine uptake and usage by the body are everywhere, for example fire retardants, and form an increasing part of our lives. Many of the healthy green vegetables such as brassica are goitregenic (iodine blocking). Industrial production and some rock based fertilizers introduce perchlorate into the food chain. Perchlorate is a strong iodine blocker.

Other chemicals of the same family as iodine, the halides, such as fluoride and bromide compete with iodine and block iodine usage and uptake. Our intakes of bromine and fluorine have significantly increased.

For example bromide is added to flour in some countries, and included in drinks. It is also used a a flame retardant. Bromide is found in sea food but with iodine.

Fluoride is added to water and toothpaste, and there is evidence it may protect young teeth, but does not seem to have much effect on adult teeth - but possibly at the cost of reducing the structural 'hardness' of the bone in teeth - does that include other bones I have no idea, but logically it might.

Most foods contain very little iodine. The primary source of iodine is marine foods. Seaweeds often contain from significant to very large amounts of iodine.

Iodine is concentrated by the breast and dairy foods are an important dietary iodine source, but many now avoid dairy products. The amount of iodine in the milk will reflect the amount in the pasture / and or feed - so cattle fed on deficient pastures will produce milk low in iodine.

Some fresh water plants provide a source of iodine and some cultures would burn them and eat the ash.

We are probably able to survive on relatively low iodine intakes on a 'natural' diet in an unpolluted world, and many peoples who had relatively limited access to iodine lived long health lives. These people may have relied on particular food sources to provide the minimum of iodine needed. People of the Andes carried and traded fish eggs far inland. Mountain people like the Georgians and Hunza ate dairy products. People in Africa are reported to have collected burnt and ate fresh water plants. In contrast some populations are seriously iodine deficient with very serious health and developmental consequences.

Many western populations are also seriously iodine deficient. The problem today is a combination of changing diets that increase iodine need, dietary goitregens, chemical goitregens, and declining intake.

Iodine has many roles in the body and deficiency results in a wide range of health issues.

Everything in the body interlinks, for example selenium has particular importance in the metabolism of iodine, and in considering iodine intakes it is important not to loose sight of the whole picture. Omega 3 and 6 which also interact with iodine, which is where my interest started, and lead to me reading round the subject.

This passionate excellent and highly thought provoking video by a respected Doctor who has been working with iodine for a number of years deals with some of the items mentioned above in more detail, as well as setting out his clinical experience in using iodine to treat his patients. The video is iodine centric, and needs to be considered in a wider dietary context.

You may wish to start the video at 1 hour 24 minutes 20 seconds where Dr Brownstein talks about iodine and breast cancer.

Sadly research into iodine is limited presumably because it cannot be patented - one of the flaws of a purely financially driven economic model.

I have started an iodine thread on the nutrition page which includes this post, included further information, and tries to bring together historic posts by others.
http://her2support.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=53928

As usual please discuss dietary change with your doctor.

Must watch video. You may want to start at the breast cancer / fibrosis section at just after 1 hour 24 minutes in.

Iodine The Misunderstood Nutrient David Brownstein

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kd34EJ5E3bI

[R.B.]

The risk associated with saturated fats may be because of how we process it, and what is defined as saturated fat e.g. lard, which in fact contains significant amounts of Omega 6 etc, and or saturated fats in processed foods that are derived from 'artificial' saturated fats such as trans and interestified fats.

For me it is clear that excess Omega 6 increases the risk of a number of diseases, as does a lack of Omega 3.

I think the story on saturated fats is more complex, and as we learn more it will become recognized that natural dietary unprocessed saturated fats have a place as part of a healthy diet. This comment comes with a lot of caveats which are too complex for this post, including calorie intake, the type of saturated fats, exercise, industrial processing, the source, what we are feeding our animals on, the wider diet etc.


New insights into the health effects of dietary saturated and omega-6 and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids

http://www.biomedcentral.com/content...7015-10-50.pdf

Michel DE Lorgeril and Patricia Salen

Cardiovascular diseases and cancers are leading causes of morbidity and mortality. Reducing dietary saturated fat and replacing it with polyunsaturated fat is still the main dietary strategy to prevent cardiovascular diseases, although major flaws have been reported in the analyses supporting this approach. Recent studies introducing the concept of myocardial preconditioning have opened new avenues to understand the complex interplay between the various lipids and the risk of cardiovascular diseases. The optimal dietary fat profile includes a low intake of both saturated and omega-6 fatty acids and a moderate intake of omega-3 fatty acids. This profile is quite similar to the Mediterranean diet. On the other hand, recent studies have found a positive association between omega-6 and breast cancer risk. In contrast, omega-3 fatty acids do have anticancer properties. It has been shown that certain (Mediterranean) polyphenols significantly increase the endogenous synthesis of omega-3 whereas high intake of omega-6 decreases it. Finally, epidemiological studies suggest that a high omega-3/omega-6 ratio may be the optimal strategy to decrease breast cancer risk. Thus, the present high intake of omega-6 in many countries is definitely not the optimal strategy to prevent CVD and cancers. A moderate intake of plant and marine omega-3 in the context of the traditional Mediterranean diet (low in saturated and omega-6, but high in plant monounsaturated fat) appears to be the best approach to reduce the risk of both cardiovascular diseases and cancers, in particular breast cancer.

[Ellie F]

Thanks for the reminders!! Having recently been diagnosed with osteoporosis I am trying very hard to get the balance right so as to get as much calcium from diet but also to ensure I get enough vit d and magnesium.AS I hardly eat dairy it is much more of a struggle.
Ellie

[R.B.]

The ratios and amounts of the fats you eat ultimately alters the structure of the membranes of the cells. Changes in the the structure of the cell membrane alters their function. Polyunsaturated fats make cell membranes more flexible.

For example skin is made of cells, and cells are enclosed by membranes. Women make more long chain Omega 3 DHA than men and this may be part of the explanation for softer skin etc

Cell membranes have different composition in different parts, in a sense in the same way as our skin, our membrane with the outside world, differs in composition according to its functions. Lipid rafts are areas with a different composition within the main membrane.

The body also uses the cell membrane as a 'larder' for fats, and draws down on them when they are needed as ingredients to make chemical messengers.

The the type and amount of Omega 3 and 6 you eat really does matter, in that it has significant effect on the function of cells and so the body.






Cell Biochem Biophys. 2012 May 24. [Epub ahead of print]
Chemical-Physical Changes in Cell Membrane Microdomains of Breast Cancer Cells After Omega-3 PUFA Incorporation.
Corsetto PA, Cremona A, Montorfano G, Jovenitti IE, Orsini F, Arosio P, Rizzo AM.
Source

Dipartimento di Scienze Farmacologiche e Biomolecolari, UniversitÃ* degli Studi di Milano, Via D. Trentacoste 2, 20134, Milan, Italy, paola.corsetto@unimi.it.
Abstract

Epidemiologic and experimental studies suggest that dietary fatty acids influence the development and progression of breast cancer. However, no clear data are present in literature that could demonstrate how n - 3 PUFA can interfere with breast cancer growth. It is suggested that these fatty acids might change the structure of cell membrane, especially of lipid rafts. During this study we treated MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells with AA, EPA, and DHA to assess if they are incorporated in lipid raft phospholipids and are able to change chemical and physical properties of these structures. Our data demonstrate that PUFA and their metabolites are inserted with different yield in cell membrane microdomains and are able to alter fatty acid composition without decreasing the total percentage of saturated fatty acids that characterize these structures. In particular in MDA-MB-231 cells, that displays the highest content of Chol and saturated fatty acids, we observed the lowest incorporation of DHA, probably for sterical reasons; nevertheless DHA was able to decrease Chol and SM content. Moreover, PUFA are incorporated in breast cancer lipid rafts with different specificity for the phospholipid moiety, in particular PUFA are incorporated in PI, PS, and PC phospholipids that may be relevant to the formation of PUFA metabolites (prostaglandins, prostacyclins, leukotrienes, resolvines, and protectines) of phospholipids deriving second messengers and signal transduction activation. The bio-physical changes after n - 3 PUFA incubation have also been highlighted by atomic force microscopy. In particular, for both cell lines the DHA treatment produced a decrease of the lipid rafts in the order of about 20-30 %. It is worth noticing that after DHA incorporation lipid rafts exhibit two different height ranges. In fact, some lipid rafts have a higher height of 6-6.5 nm. In conclusion n - 3 PUFA are able to modify lipid raft biochemical and biophysical features leading to decrease of breast cancer cell proliferation probably through different mechanisms related to acyl chain length and unsaturation. While EPA may contribute to cell apoptosis mainly through decrease of AA concentration in lipid raft phospholipids, DHA may change the biophysical properties of lipid rafts decreasing the content of cholesterol and probably the distribution of key proteins.