Preventing Cancer

A lthough folic acid supplementation has proven benefts- most notably, preventing birth defects-hopes it might protect against cardiovascular disease and cancer were disappointed by a major new meta-analysis.

T aking low-dose aspirin-often recom- mended to protect your heart-may also reduce your odds of colon cancer. A team of researchers whod previously shown a link between high-dose aspirin and lower colon-cancer risk looked at fve trials totaling 16,488 participants taking lower doses, since long-term high-dose aspirin usage can have adverse bleeding effects. Over nearly 20 years of followup, the new analysis found that people assigned to low- dose aspirin regimens for six years were at one-quarter lower risk of colon cancer and one-third less likely to die of the disease.

In a rare bit of good news for red-meat lovers, a study of nearly a half-million people from 10 European countries has found no link between eating red or processed meat and risk of bladder cancer

Quenching your thirst for answers about sodas and your health. Soft-drink lovers who thought they were doing something good for their health got a jolt-not the highly caffeinated soda kind-earlier this year when a report linked diet sodas to greater risk of stroke and heart attack. The surprising findings captured headlines and blared over the nightly news: In a study of 2,564 people

Heres news that might settle the nerves of heavy coffee drinkers: Two new studies suggest that high coffee consumption might be linked to reduced risks of the most aggressive form of breast cancer in women and lethal prostate cancer in men

A new American Cancer Society study concludes that theres no evidence folic acid from fortified foods or supplements increases the risk of colorectal cancer. Earlier research, including a 2007 Tufts study

Women seeking an alternative to hormone-replacement therapy have hoped that soy foods, which contain a plant type of estrogen

The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) says healthy men dont need routine PSA (prostate specific antigen) screening

Quenching your thirst for answers about sodas and your health. Soft-drink lovers who thought they were doing something good for their health got a jolt-not the highly caffeinated soda kind-earlier this year when a report linked diet sodas to greater risk of stroke and heart attack. The surprising findings captured headlines and blared over the nightly news: In a study of 2,564 people

Pancreatic Cancer Patients More Likely to Lack Vitamin DPancreatic cancer, on the rise in the United States, may be deterred by maintaining adequate vitamin D status