Eat to Beat Bowel Cancer

Fruits and vegetables provide some of the most important nutrients you can consume, namely, disease-fighting antioxidants in the form of vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals (substances found only in plants that are known to protect your cells from destruction).

One of the many diseases that antioxidants can help prevent is bowel, or colorectal, cancer. But it gets even more specific than that. An Australian survey study, published in the October 2011 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, found that different fruits and vegetables may affect certain parts of the bowel.

Previous studies that link bowel cancer risk and fruit and vegetable consumption have had conflicting results. The Australian researchers point out that this could be because until now, no study has looked specifically at the relationship between diet and the different parts of the bowel where tumors could form.

Your gastrointestinal tract is a long tube that stretches from your mouth to your rectum, with lots of twists, turns, bulges, and folds in between. The food you eat travels this entire course to be broken down, digested, and stripped of its nutrients along the way. Those nutrients are absorbed through your intestinal wall and travel through your bloodstream to wherever they are needed. What's left of your meal is eliminated, along with any indigestible fiber contained in the food.

Your bowel has three main parts and each part is divided into distinct areas. Your distal colon includes the large intestine, sigmoid colon, and descending colon in your distal colon. Your proximal colon includes the cecum, appendix, ascending colon, and transverse colon. Your rectum leads to your anus, which is the end of your large intestine and the end of your gastrointestinal tract.

More clinical studies need to be performed to confirm these results, but upon analyzing the diets of almost 2,000 adults who participated in this study, the Australian researchers found the following associations:

• Eating more cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts may be linked to a lower rate of cancer in both the distal and proximal colons.
• Eating more apples and dark yellow or orange vegetables, such as winter squash, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, and carrots may be linked to a lower risk of developing distal colon cancer.
• Higher total fruit and vegetable intake may be linked to a lower risk of distal colon cancer, but not proximal colon cancer or rectal cancer.
• Increased consumption of fruit juice may be linked to an increased risk of developing rectal or anal cancer.

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Sources:

Annema, N. et al; "Fruit and Vegetable Consumption and the Risk of Proximal colon, Distal Colon, and Rectal Cancers in a Case-control Study in Western Australia." Journal of the American Dietetic Association 111(10):1479-1490 October 2011 Web 20 Oct 2011
http://www.adajournal.org/article/S0002-8223(11)01215-6/abstract

Science Daily: Fruits and Vegetables Reduce Risks of Specific Types of Colorectal Cancers, Study Finds 26 Sep 2011 Web 20 Oct 2011
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110926083346.htm

Is that Feeling Angina or Indigestion?

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You're experiencing tightness, burning, and pain in your chest. You immediately wonder whether it's heartburn caused by that spicy meal you just polished off, or the worst case scenario—a heart attack.

Knowing the difference—and making a quick decision about treatment—could actually save your life.

Diagnosing angina versus simple indigestion can be tricky. Here's what you need to know.

Angina occurs when there's not enough blood flow to the heart. A symptom of coronary artery disease, it causes tightness, heaviness, and discomfort. "We usually think of angina as pressure, the feeling that someone is sitting on your chest," says Tara Narula, MD, attending cardiologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. "But some people describe it as sharp pain, a burning sensation." Dissolving nitroglycerine under the tongue can dilate the blood vessels in the area and bring relief. 

A rule of thumb is that if the discomfort is "anywhere between the nose and the navel that comes on with exertion or emotion and is relieved by rest, that's angina until proved otherwise," says Gordon Ewy, MD, professor of cardiology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine.

Heartburn typically develops after a spicy or greasy meal and can cause many of same symptoms. Not sure if it's heartburn? "One of the best ways to tell if it's heartburn is to take some Pepto Bismol," Ewy says. "If the chest pain is due to too much stomach acid, you'll feel so much better in a few minutes that it's like putting out a fire."

True heartburn tends to be centered, not on the left side, says Narula. It can even go up into the throat area. It tends to not be associated with fatigue, sweatiness, and a moving pain that can radiate to the jaw.

There's also something called unstable angina, Narula says. If sudden, new pain comes on and it feels very differently from earlier bouts of angina, it could even signal that a heart attack is impending. But those symptoms can also be similar to those from heartburn.  "It can be hard to tease out when the pain is from a cardiac cause like angina and when it's not," Narula says.

Recognizing a heart attack can be tricky because it doesn't always involve what you may think of as the classic symptoms. "Often a patient who is having a heart attack is not in pain," says Elsa Grace Giardina, MD, cardiologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia Medical Center. "They may have nausea, fatigue, and shortness of breath."

Chest pain also can be brought on when another organ is acting up. Gall bladder attacks and an inflammation of the pancreas are other causes, Giardina says. To know the difference, keep in mind that cardiac pain is most often associated with activity. "People notice it while they are walking or exercising," she says. "These put a greater demand on the heart. Pain from the pancreas or gall bladder is not associated with activity."

The bottom line: If you are having symptoms, and you have risk factors like a family history of heart disease and obesity, it's worth getting checked out, Narula says. "It's better to err on the side of caution and see if it's cardiac," she says.

If you are wondering if it's a heart attack, don't wait for a roommate or a family member to get home and drive you to the hospital. "It's very important to get to the hospital in a timely fashion," Giardina says. "Don't try to drive yourself and don't be shy. Call 911."

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