Just one in five Britons eats the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, a poll for World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) suggests.

The Department of Health first launched its five-a-day campaign in 2003.

But the WCRF says its survey of more than 2,000 UK adults shows people still find achieving that goal difficult.

It is urging people to eat "just one more portion" for a healthier diet, which would increase cancer protection.

The YouGov survey for the WCRF found that, on average, 17% of lower income households (social groups C2, D and E) eat at least five portions per day, compared with 27% for those in higher income groups.

Fruit and veg consumption levels were lowest in the north of England, where 18% had five or more portions daily.

The highest levels of consumption were reported in the south of England, where 26% said they ate at least five portions.

In London, it was 21%, in Scotland 22% and in Wales 23%.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18032209

A recent statistic has been released that indicates that one in two American men have a lifetime risk for cancer. In women, that risk is one in three. Cancer is now the second most prevalent disease in the United States. It is associated with about $ 210 billion in health care costs each year. Another statistic is that cancer survivors number 10.5 million or nearly 4 percent of the U.S. population.

The most critical modifiable risk factor for cancer is cessation of all tobacco use. Multiple studies have shown that tobacco in any form causes many different kinds of cancers. If a person is serious about cancer prevention, then they must be serious about not smoking and, if they do smoke, stopping immediately. The second leading cause of cancer is weight. The heavier a person is, the greater risk they have of developing cancer. It is known that fat alters a person's hormone mix.

http://www.newschief.com/article/20120422/NEWS/204225029

FRIDAY, April 13 (HealthDay News) -- Studies suggest that eating a diet that contains lots of fresh fruits and vegetables may reduce the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and certain cancers.

So which ones should you choose this spring? Some of your best choices are strawberries, pineapple, spinach, broccoli and mustard greens, which are in season and among the most economical this time of year, experts say.

"Eating a plant-based diet rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans can reduce your risk for cancer," Clare McKindley, a clinical dietitian at University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, said in a university news release. "And buying what's in season keeps your diet fresh and helps you build confidence in your food choices, while supporting your long-term health goals."

http://health.msn.com/health-topics/cancer/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100289089

Consumption of a greater quantity and variety of fruits and vegetables could slash the risk of diabetes by 21%, according to data from a new study.

Continued here...
http://www.nutraingredients.com/Research/Fruit-and-vegetable-consumption-linked-with-reduced-risk-of-diabetes

A study by Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center and Shanghai Center for Disease Control and Prevention investigators reveals that breast cancer survivors who eat more cruciferous vegetables may have improved survival. The study of women in China was presented by postdoctoral fellow Sarah J. Nechuta, Ph.D., M.P.H., at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting in Chicago, Ill.
 
"Breast cancer survivors can follow the general nutritional guidelines of eating vegetables daily and may consider increasing intake of cruciferous vegetables, such as greens, cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli, as part of a healthy diet," said Nechuta.

Nechuta, Xiao Ou Shu, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues investigated the role of cruciferous vegetables in breast cancer survival among women in the Shanghai Breast Cancer Survival Study, a prospective study of 4,886 Chinese breast cancer survivors who were diagnosed with stage 1 to stage 4 breast cancer from 2002 to 2006. Shu, Ingram Professor of Cancer Research, is the principal investigator of the Shanghai Breast Cancer Survival Study.

http://www.news-medical.net/news/20120404/Cruciferous-vegetable-intake-may-boost-survival-of-breast-cancer-patients.aspx

Before, to be diagnosed with the big C seemed to be an implied death sentence. Patients even go through a stage of self-denial. Who can blame them? Conventional medicine paints a rather bleak future for cancer patients and the remedy it offers does nothing to improve their quality of life, nausea and falling hair not to mention.

However, the recent breakthroughs in science have allowed a peek into the true nature of cancer, allowing researchers to consider the concept of nutritional care. They are now faced with the idea that preventing and maybe even reversing cancer may not necessarily involve the development of expensive drugs but something already available in nature: food and sunshine!

If something so powerful is actually available for everyone, why wouldn't someone take advantage of it?

The recent discovery that the body, with the help of vitamin D, possesses the capacity to fight many chronic illnesses has spurred the interest of many researchers - especially on the possibilities the sunshine vitamin can offer with regard to the prevention and reversal of diseases like cancer. A brief rundown of some facts, revealed by recent studies, can give us a perspective on how vitamin D can help.

http://www.naturalnews.com/035063_vitamin_D_cancer_facts.html

We've often viewed getting cancer as luck of the draw. Other than eating enough fiber and avoiding smoking and too much sun exposure we haven't really seen it as having much relationship to lifestyle. Now, we're finding the way we live our lives has a significant effect on both the prevention of cancer and the course of the illness once it is diagnosed. In my two previous columns we looked at lifestyle connections to heart disease and diabetes. Now, let's look at lifestyle and cancer.

With the increased treatment success rates we are seeing for many forms of cancer, people are living longer and healthier lives through early detection and more effective treatments. Yet the American Cancer Society estimated for 2010 there would be more than one and half million new cases of cancer in the United States and more than 21,000 in Colorado alone. There are several lifestyle-cancer connections we are becoming more acutely aware of.

The American Cancer Society tells us about one-third of all cancers are diet and activity related. The standard call for 30 minutes a day of activity is important as so many of our jobs are increasingly sedentary. We also know that eating more fruits and vegetables, whole grains and healthier fats and less processed meats reduces cancer risks. Recent news articles and Breastcancer.org have raised awareness that overweight woman, especially after menopause have a greater risk of breast cancer. Being overweight also can increase the risk of the recurrence of breast cancer. The same risk applies to men and women for increasing the chance of cancers of the colon, endometrium, esophagus, kidney and other organs.

http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20111128/COLUMNISTS136/111280309/Research-now-links-lifestyle-cancer

Leafy greens, widely recognised as containing essential ingredients for ensuring optimum health and wellbeing, have been shown to influence our intestinal health by delivering a protective factor to certain cells of the immune system.

These findings, reported today online in the journal Cell, have implications for better understanding the basis of intestinal inflammatory disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and may offer new opportunities for therapeutic intervention.

The collaboration between UK-based researchers at the Babraham Institute, which receives strategic funding from the BBSRC, and the Medical Research Council’s National Institute for Medical Research provides new insight into how one chemical component found in cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, governs the survival of a special type of white blood cell, part of the body's front line defence against infections and important in wound repair.

The cells in question, known as intra-epithelial lymphocytes (IELs), exist as a network just beneath the epithelial cells that form the barrier along the body's surfaces. They play a critical role in monitoring the large number of micro-organisms present in the intestine, keeping infections at bay and maintaining a healthy gut. The research shows for the first time that mice fed a diet low in vegetables rapidly lose these specialised immune cells (IELs) lining the intestinal tract, but not other immune cells.

http://www.cambridgenetwork.co.uk/news/article/default.aspx?objid=85526

The risk of colorectal cancer associated with different fruit and vegetable consumption varies depending on the tumor location within the large bowel, according to a study published online Sept. 26 in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

TUESDAY, Sept. 27 (HealthDay News) -- The risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) associated with different fruit and vegetable (F/V) consumption varies depending on the tumor location within the large bowel, according to a study published online Sept. 26 in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

http://www.doctorslounge.com/index.php/news/pb/23363