Sophie St-Hilaire worked with a team of researchers from Idaho State University, USA, to study the correlation between various weather parameters and the incidence of prostate cancer at the County-level across the US. She said, “We found that colder weather, and low rainfall, were strongly correlated with prostate cancer. Although we can’t say exactly why this correlation exists, the trends are consistent with what we would expect given the effects of climate on the deposition, absorption, and degradation of persistent organic pollutants including pesticides.”

Approximately one in six men will develop prostate cancer in their life-time, and across the northern hemisphere, it has been reported that incidences are higher in the north than the south. It is known that some persistent organic pollutants cause cancer, and researchers believe that cold weather slows their degradation, while also causing them to precipitate towards the ground. Rain and humidity also play important roles in their absorption and degradation. According to St-Hilaire, “This study provides an additional hypothesis for the north-south distribution of prostate cancer, which builds on the existing supposition that individuals at northern latitudes may be deficient in Vitamin D due to low exposure to UV radiation during the winter months. Our study suggests that in addition to vitamin D deficiency associated with exposure to UV radiation, other meteorological conditions may also significantly affect the incidence of prostate cancer” (Adapted from Eurekalert).

A PDF of the prostate cancer article is available online free here:

Prostate cancer, weather, northern latitudes

Reference: Correlations between meteorological parameters and prostate cancer. Sophie St-Hilaire, et al. International Journal of Health Geographics 2010, 9:19 (21 April 2010) doi:10.1186/1476-072X-9-19.

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“Walnuts should be part of a prostate-healthy diet,” said Paul Davis, Ph.D., who headed the study. Dr. Davis is with the University of California-Davis. “They should be part of a balanced diet that includes lots of fruits and vegetables.”

More than 190,000 men in the United States will get a diagnosis of prostate cancer in 2010, making it the most common non-skin cancer. It claims about 27,000 lives annually. The scientists fed lab mice genetically programmed to develop prostate cancer the equivalent of about 2.5 ounces of walnuts per day – equivalent to 14 shelled nuts – for 2 months. A control group of mice got the same diet except with soybean oil. The walnut-fed mice developed prostate cancers that were about 50 percent smaller than the control mice. Those cases of prostate cancer also grew 30 percent slower.

Walnuts – also rich in certain dietary polyphenols – are quickly earning a place in the category of functional foods, because of their many health-promoting qualities.

For other iHealthBulletin News reports on some of the health benefits of walnuts, see:

Walnuts versus breast cancer

Walnuts uniquely heart healthy

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So, should you eat tofu and other soy foods or leave them alone?

Like any food, there are pros and cons, and soy is neither good nor bad. Clearly, Asians have consumed it safely and healthily for centuries, but they also consume a lot of fish and seaweed, foods that are high in iodine and protect the thyroid. When it comes to soy, your individual health situation and other foods consumed in the diet affect how healthy soy will be for you.

Let’s look at the pros and cons of eating soy.

Why Soy Can Cause Serious Health Problems
We had a patient at LMI who was a breast cancer survivor.  Thinking it was better for her health, she had become vegetarian and was eating a lot of soy.  But despite that, she was overweight and her energy was poor.  In addition, she had developed severe arthritis, and was moving toward needing knee replacements.

After a thorough workup, we found that she had low thyroid and had developed an allergy to soy, as well as to wheat and cow’s milk.  After eliminating these foods and working to restore her gut integrity, she was eventually able to eat small amounts of wheat or dairy, but not soy — even eating a small amount would cause severe pain.  The allergy alone meant she should avoid soy, but given her low thyroid, soy would also interfere with her thyroid hormones.

This patient exemplifies the two conditions in which soy is contraindicated and would not be healthy.  Simple testing will tell you if you have either of these issues, and if you do, you should avoid soy foods.

Why Soy Can Be Health Protective
Soy isoflavones are weakly estrogenic, which means they bind to your estrogen receptors and in so doing, they may protect you from strongly estrogenic substances like xenoestrogens (chemicals in the environment that promote breast and prostate cancer).

For example, one study which surveyed breast cancer survivors found that those who consumed soy isoflavones in the diet had lower levels of cancer recurrence compared to those who did not consume them.² Reduced risk of breast cancer was found when soy isoflavones were consumed at levels comparable to those in Asian populations.

A similar trend has also been observed with men and prostate cancer.³ One study found that the highest intake of soy foods reduced the risk of prostate cancer in men by 40%.⁴

What Can We Conclude About Soy?
For people with an underactive thyroid or soy allergy, soy is not at all a healthy food.  But if there are no contraindications, soy foods can be eaten moderately and will probably provide health benefits.  To get the most out of soy, it’s a good idea to make sure you get enough iodine from fish and kelp and supplement with probiotics.

References

1. www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1039-goitrogens.html
2. Guha N, Kwan ML et al. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2009 Feb 17.
3. Park SY, Wilkens LR et al. Br J Cancer. 2009 Jun 16;16(6).
4. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers and Prev. 2007. 16(3): 538-45.

[Ed. Note: Laura B. LaValle, RD, LD is presently the director of dietetics nutrition at LaValle Metabolic Institute.   Laura and her husband, Jim LaValle, R.Ph, CCN, ND have developed the powerful and life-changing Metabolic Code Diet – containing step-by-step, easy to follow recommendations for harnessing optimal metabolic energy and turning your body's chemical make up into a fat-burning furnace.  To learn more click here now.]

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So, should you eat tofu and other soy foods or leave them alone?

Like any food, there are pros and cons, and soy is neither good nor bad. Clearly, Asians have consumed it safely and healthily for centuries, but they also consume a lot of fish and seaweed, foods that are high in iodine and protect the thyroid. When it comes to soy, your individual health situation and other foods consumed in the diet affect how healthy soy will be for you.

Let’s look at the pros and cons of eating soy.

Why Soy Can Cause Serious Health Problems
We had a patient at LMI who was a breast cancer survivor.  Thinking it was better for her health, she had become vegetarian and was eating a lot of soy.  But despite that, she was overweight and her energy was poor.  In addition, she had developed severe arthritis, and was moving toward needing knee replacements.

After a thorough workup, we found that she had low thyroid and had developed an allergy to soy, as well as to wheat and cow’s milk.  After eliminating these foods and working to restore her gut integrity, she was eventually able to eat small amounts of wheat or dairy, but not soy — even eating a small amount would cause severe pain.  The allergy alone meant she should avoid soy, but given her low thyroid, soy would also interfere with her thyroid hormones.

This patient exemplifies the two conditions in which soy is contraindicated and would not be healthy.  Simple testing will tell you if you have either of these issues, and if you do, you should avoid soy foods.

Why Soy Can Be Health Protective
Soy isoflavones are weakly estrogenic, which means they bind to your estrogen receptors and in so doing, they may protect you from strongly estrogenic substances like xenoestrogens (chemicals in the environment that promote breast and prostate cancer).

For example, one study which surveyed breast cancer survivors found that those who consumed soy isoflavones in the diet had lower levels of cancer recurrence compared to those who did not consume them.² Reduced risk of breast cancer was found when soy isoflavones were consumed at levels comparable to those in Asian populations.

A similar trend has also been observed with men and prostate cancer.³ One study found that the highest intake of soy foods reduced the risk of prostate cancer in men by 40%.⁴

What Can We Conclude About Soy?
For people with an underactive thyroid or soy allergy, soy is not at all a healthy food.  But if there are no contraindications, soy foods can be eaten moderately and will probably provide health benefits.  To get the most out of soy, it’s a good idea to make sure you get enough iodine from fish and kelp and supplement with probiotics.

References

1. www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1039-goitrogens.html
2. Guha N, Kwan ML et al. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2009 Feb 17.
3. Park SY, Wilkens LR et al. Br J Cancer. 2009 Jun 16;16(6).
4. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers and Prev. 2007. 16(3): 538-45.

[Ed. Note: Laura B. LaValle, RD, LD is presently the director of dietetics nutrition at LaValle Metabolic Institute.   Laura and her husband, Jim LaValle, R.Ph, CCN, ND have developed the powerful and life-changing Metabolic Code Diet – containing step-by-step, easy to follow recommendations for harnessing optimal metabolic energy and turning your body's chemical make up into a fat-burning furnace.  To learn more click here now.]

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