[attach id=266185 size="medium"]Pancreatic cancer kills more than 250,000 people worldwide each year.[/attach]
Having experienced the suffering, of someone with pancreatic cancer first hand, it is always welcome to hear of research that offers advice towards reducing the possibility of getting this disease. Researchers say taking vitamins C and E, as well as selenium, daily, can prevent more than one in 12 cases of pancreatic cancer.
This particular form of cancer kills more than 250,000 people worldwide each year. It is one of the deadliest cancers, with just five per cent of sufferers surviving beyond five years after initial diagnosis.
The link between antioxidants and the cancer was identified by researchers who recruited more than 23,500 people for their European Prospective Investigation of Cancer (EPIC) Study. During the 10 years of the trial, 49 people developed pancreatic cancer; this had increased to 86 people by 2010.
However, those in the top 25 per cent for selenium intake had halved their risk of developing the cancer. The risk dropped by a further 67 per cent among those whose diets were also rich in vitamin C and vitamin E. (Gut., 2012). Supplements can support the intake of vitamins C and E.
In addition, high levels of vitamin E can also prevent liver cancer. This cancer is the third deadliest in the world, especially affecting people in the developing countries, with 54 per cent of global cases occurring in China.
The researchers believe there is a direct inverse relationship between vitamin E levels and the cancer. They studied the profiles of 132,837 people in China and discovered that those with the lowest levels of vitamin E were the most likely to have the cancer, and vice versa.
Raising vitamin E levels by taking supplements, or from one’s diet, has the same protective effect, say researchers from the Shanghai Cancer Institute. This vitamin is found in most nuts, spinach and broccoli. (J. Natl. Cancer Inst., 2012).
• A further new study relating to cancer offers advice on dental health. The study has found a link between those with plaque on their teeth and the greater risk of developing cancer, thereby confirming the link between oral hygiene and cancer. People with the highest amounts of dental plaque were nearly twice as likely to have cancer. In women, that was most likely to be breast cancer. (BMJ Open, 2012).
• Moving on to sleep issues, many people have experienced a problem, or trauma, and found they couldn’t sleep due to the mind continually turning the problem over and over. Researchers from Ben-Gurion University in Israel have found that after a trauma, or serious problem, the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be made worse by trying to sleep.
The advice is to stay awake for at least six hours after the trauma. Staying awake after a traumatic experience may appear to be counterintuitive and goes against standard advice; however, it seems to allow the brain to assimilate the event and somehow make sense of what has happened, which can be more beneficial in the long term.
The researchers believe that PTSD could be worse in people whose memories are allowed to become embedded, which is more likely to happen if they are allowed to sleep. The effects of PTSD are so debilitating that around 20 per cent of victims find they are unable to carry on with normal life (Neuropsychopharmacology, 2012).
Researchers say taking vitamins C and E, as well as selenium, daily, can prevent more than one in 12 cases of pancreatic cancer
• Acupuncture has been shown to dramatically help arthritis sufferers. A group of 90 sufferers, with an average age of 71, were treated with acupuncture. In each case, the arthritis was so severe that it warranted surgery.
Instead, they were given acupuncture once a week for a month, and thereafter only once every six weeks. Thirty-one patients were still having regular acupuncture sessions two years later.
Patients were still saying they were not feeling any pain two years after receiving acupuncture, whereas of those who had undergone surgery, one in seven were complaining of suffering severe pain.
Knee arthritis affects around 17 per cent of the over 50s, who report having significant pain. The most common remedy is knee surgery, although this is offered only when the pain is constant and walking becomes almost impossible. In other cases, sufferers are encouraged to take painkillers continually, some of which have serious and long-term side effects.
Those who took part in the study and received acupuncture, experienced dramatic reductions in pain and stiffness as well as improvement in mobility. All these benefits and improvements were so dramatic that none had to undertake surgery (Acupunct. Med., 2012).
• Finally, a bit of advice about fizzy drinks. A report has shown that sweet, fizzy colas and sports drinks could be the direct cause of weight gain, heart disease and liver failure, as well as high blood pressure and diabetes.
The effects occur in people who drink a can every day or two cans each week.
Basically, after a very short time, often within a month, the metabolism changes, making any of the above conditions more likely to occur (Eur. J. Nutr., 2013).
kathryn@maltanet.net