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Western diet and colon cancer in mice
Information Section effect on the premenopausal female breast'. 24 white women consumed 38 g of the soy protein, containing 38 mg genistein, daily and underwent monthly nipple aspiration of breast fluid. This produced a two- to sixfold increase in the volume of nipple aspirate fluid among the 14 premenopausal women. Around 30% of both pre- and postmenopausal women also had evidence of abnormal cell growth (hyperplasia) during the months they were consuming the soy protein. (The findings were unexpected in the light of the epidemiological studies that have shown that women in Asian countries where there is a high consumption of soy products generaUyhave a lower incidence of breast cancer than do women in the West.) The US investigators of the ~rrent clinical study believed their findings were "suggestive of an [o]estrogenic stimulus from the isoflavones genistein and daidzein contained in soy protein isolate" and called for ~more detailed investigations of the effects of soy on the physiology of the female breast" (Petrakis et aL, Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention 1996, 5, '.785).
Infant formulae and cholesterol Cholesterol intake during early infancy may be crucial for proper cell function and lipoprotein metabolism in the developing child; human breast milk is rich in cholesterol (0.30-0.39 mmol/litre). Investigators from Japan have now looked at the lipid composition of plasma and the red blood cell membranes of three groups of infants, one breast-fed, the other two given infant formulae, either a cholesterobfortified (0.22 mmol/litre) or cholesterobunfortified (0.11 mmol/litre) product. The 6-month study showed that the infants fed the cholesterobfortified formula more closely resembled the breast-fed infants (Katokn et aL, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1996, 64, 871).
Anffiumour action of red wine solids in mice Dehydrated-dealcoholized red wine (red wine solids) in the diet of a strain of transgenic mice (that are designed to develop spontaneously a high incidence of readily detectable tumours) significandy delayed the time to tumour onset. The mice received a dose of polyphenols estimated at about one-quarter of that :found in a typical human diet. Apart from the tumour inhibition the wine solids had no other obvious effects on health, growth or reproductive performance when fed to the mice for
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three generations (Clifford et aL, American Journal of Clinicd Nutrition 1996, 64, 748).
Sodium trimetaphosphate fights tooth decay A large double-blind clinical trial in Austrian adolescents has confirmed the anticariogenic action of sodium trimetaphosphate. Compared with 926 subjects who used a product containing no anticaries agent, the 923 who used a toothpaste containing 3% of the phosphate had a 7.9% lower incidence of dental caries over a 3-yr period. The effect was more pronounced (an 11% reduction) in those subjects who brushed their teeth at least twice a day (Statler etal., CariesResearch 1996, 30, 418).
Genetic protection against bowel cancer?. A common mutation of the gene for methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR, an enzyme regulating folate and methionine metabolism) has been linked with a decrease in the risk of developing colorectal cancer. MTHFR genotypes were ascertained in 771 men who had previously completed a dietary questionnaire, 144 of whom went on to develop colorectal cancer. Men who were homozygous for the mutant gene (i.e. those who had inherited one copy of the gene from each parent) were only about half as likely to develop cancer as were those with only one or no copies of the gene [odds ratio (OR) 0.57, 95% CI 0.30-1.06]. The positive association of alcohol consumption and the inverse association of dietary methionine levels with development of the cancer were both found to be enhanced in those homozygous for the mutant gene (Chen et aL, CancerResearch 1996, 56, 4862).
Western diet and colon cancer in mice Mice given a 'western-style' diet (high in fat, low in calcium and vitamin D) for 2 yr developed precancerous lesions in the colon. The investigators suggested that this type of diet induces ~significant changes in cell renewal, apoptosis [programmed cell death] and genetic instability in the epithelium~, thus triggering and sustaining the early phases of colon cancer (Risio et al., CancerResearch 1996, 56, 4910).
Maternal dietary fibre and colon problems in rat offspring Rats on a low-fibre diet are known to be susceptible to colonic diverticulosis (hernias). Work from
Infant formulae and cholesterol Cholesterol intake during early infancy may be crucial for proper cell function and lipoprotein metabolism in the developing child; human breast milk is rich in cholesterol (0.30-0.39 mmol/litre). Investigators from Japan have now looked at the lipid composition of plasma and the red blood cell membranes of three groups of infants, one breast-fed, the other two given infant formulae, either a cholesterobfortified (0.22 mmol/litre) or cholesterobunfortified (0.11 mmol/litre) product. The 6-month study showed that the infants fed the cholesterobfortified formula more closely resembled the breast-fed infants (Katokn et aL, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1996, 64, 871).
Anffiumour action of red wine solids in mice Dehydrated-dealcoholized red wine (red wine solids) in the diet of a strain of transgenic mice (that are designed to develop spontaneously a high incidence of readily detectable tumours) significandy delayed the time to tumour onset. The mice received a dose of polyphenols estimated at about one-quarter of that :found in a typical human diet. Apart from the tumour inhibition the wine solids had no other obvious effects on health, growth or reproductive performance when fed to the mice for
299
three generations (Clifford et aL, American Journal of Clinicd Nutrition 1996, 64, 748).
Sodium trimetaphosphate fights tooth decay A large double-blind clinical trial in Austrian adolescents has confirmed the anticariogenic action of sodium trimetaphosphate. Compared with 926 subjects who used a product containing no anticaries agent, the 923 who used a toothpaste containing 3% of the phosphate had a 7.9% lower incidence of dental caries over a 3-yr period. The effect was more pronounced (an 11% reduction) in those subjects who brushed their teeth at least twice a day (Statler etal., CariesResearch 1996, 30, 418).
Genetic protection against bowel cancer?. A common mutation of the gene for methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR, an enzyme regulating folate and methionine metabolism) has been linked with a decrease in the risk of developing colorectal cancer. MTHFR genotypes were ascertained in 771 men who had previously completed a dietary questionnaire, 144 of whom went on to develop colorectal cancer. Men who were homozygous for the mutant gene (i.e. those who had inherited one copy of the gene from each parent) were only about half as likely to develop cancer as were those with only one or no copies of the gene [odds ratio (OR) 0.57, 95% CI 0.30-1.06]. The positive association of alcohol consumption and the inverse association of dietary methionine levels with development of the cancer were both found to be enhanced in those homozygous for the mutant gene (Chen et aL, CancerResearch 1996, 56, 4862).
Western diet and colon cancer in mice Mice given a 'western-style' diet (high in fat, low in calcium and vitamin D) for 2 yr developed precancerous lesions in the colon. The investigators suggested that this type of diet induces ~significant changes in cell renewal, apoptosis [programmed cell death] and genetic instability in the epithelium~, thus triggering and sustaining the early phases of colon cancer (Risio et al., CancerResearch 1996, 56, 4910).
Maternal dietary fibre and colon problems in rat offspring Rats on a low-fibre diet are known to be susceptible to colonic diverticulosis (hernias). Work from