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Stored Calories May Raise Cancer Risk

Mouse Study: Cancer Risk Not From Calories Eaten, but From Calories Kept




Jan. 2, 2007 -- It's not the calories you eat -- it's the calories you don't burn off that increase cancer risk, studies of mice suggest.

It's now well known that a restricted-calorie diet cuts the risk of getting cancer and slows the growth of some cancers. Most researchers think this is directly related to calorie intake.

But not Tim Nagy, PhD, professor of nutrition sciences at the University of Alabama, Birmingham.

When you eat more calories than you burn off, you store the extra calories as fat. Nagy wondered whether it's these extra fat cells, rather than the extra calories themselves, that affect cancer risk.

To test this idea, Nagy's research team devised a clever experiment with mice genetically engineered to get prostate cancer.




Eat Same, Burn More Calories

They fed two groups of mice exactly the same number of calories.

But one group of mice lived in cages warmed to a balmy 80.6 degrees Fahrenheit. The other group's cages were kept at 71.6 degrees.

Mice in the cooler cages burned more calories to keep warm.

After three weeks, they weighed less than the warmer mice. And they were less likely to have prostate cancer.




Eat More, Burn More Calories

In a second experiment, both groups of mice were allowed to eat all they liked.

The mice in the cooler cages ate about 30% more than the warmer mice.

They wound up as fat as the warm mice. And they got prostate cancer at about the same rate -- despite their extra calories.




All in the Fat?

"This study suggests that ... being lean as opposed to being obese has a greater protective effect against cancer," Nagy says in a news release. "Excess calorie retention, rather than consumption, confers cancer risk."

Fat cells, Nagy and colleagues note, aren't just storage cells that hold extra energy. These cells emit many kinds of chemical signals that have profound effects on the body.

One of these signals is called leptin. Leptin promotes some cancers. The heavier mice in the Nagy study had higher leptin levels than the cooler, leaner mice.

Another signal is adiponectin, which seems to protect from cancer. The fat cells of obese people don't give off as much adiponectin as fat cells of lean people.

The heavier mice in the Nagy study had lower adiponectin levels than the cooler, leaner mice.




Exercise the Answer?

It's not a good idea for people to chill themselves in order to avoid cancer. But maybe, Nagy and colleagues suggest, people could get the same effect by exercising more. That, too, burns calories.

"From a public health standpoint, it would be interesting to determine if a similar benefit [as that seen in the cooler mice] could be achieved with exercise," Nagy and colleagues suggest.

Today's post was sent to me by kktaylorcc. I thought it was worth sharing with everyone. If anyone else has anything they feel would be beneficial to all, please send to me PM. Thanks Dreww




IS YOUR HOUSE MAKING YOU FAT?
By Carol Krucoff for Prevention




Everyone knows that ordering 64-ounce sodas and always driving instead of walking contribute to tightening waistbands. But your house can harbor other, less obvious diet enemies: the wrong size juice glasses pack on an extra 8 pounds a year; lined curtains in your bedroom may contribute to that "I'm too tired to exercise" feeling. And the type of TV stand you have could affect both your eating and exercising habits. In short, your house may be making you fat.

Kitchen/family room combinations make food continuously present, gadgets do much of our work, and elaborate entertainment centers entice us to sit motionless for hours. "Even the trend to having more bathrooms means people walk shorter distances," says Kelly D. Brownell, PhD, director of the Yale Center for Eating and Weight Disorders. "We've created a toxic environment that encourages excess eating and inactivity."

We're not suggesting you move into a three-story colonial with only one toilet. Simple changes can have a dramatic effect. An emerging body of research from top institutions reveals that your decorating style--from the color of your walls to the scent of your candles--can affect your eating and exercise habits and, ultimately, your weight. Here are 22 ways to create a home environment to help you--and your family--stay slim.




KITCHEN
1. Color your appetite blue. "Most people are unaware of the profound effect color has on their behavior," says Kenneth R. Fehrman, EdD, a professor of interior design and coauthor of Color, The Secret Influence. For instance, blue is an appetite suppressant. "In tests, many people could not bring themselves to eat foods colored blue. We have deep-seated instincts to avoid blue and purple foods, because they tend to be poisonous." To take advantage of this natural instinct, use blue plates, napkins, or place mats. You might even consider painting a wall blue or placing a blue light in the refrigerator to help curb late-night raids.

Avoid red, yellow, and orange in the kitchen and dining areas. "They exert a measurable effect on the autonomic nervous system, stimulating appetite," says Fehrman. Food manufacturers exploit this physiologic reaction by using food coloring, and it's no coincidence that many fast-food logos and restaurant decors use the red end of the color spectrum. "It makes us salivate and gets our stomach juices flowing," explains Fehrman.




2. Downsize dinnerware. Extensive research shows that "people eat what's put on their plates--even if it's more than they need to satisfy their hunger," says Judith S. Stern, ScD, RD, professor of nutrition at the University of California, Davis. To avoid portion distortion, Stern recommends buying smaller dishes. "We need to bring back eight-ounce beverage glasses, six-ounce coffee cups, and those little six-ounce juice glasses--that are what serving sizes should be." Many popular brands such as Libbey and Pfaltzgraff sell five- and six-ounce juice glasses and eight-ounce beverage glasses. Save the 12-ounce glasses for water.

Orlando dietitian Roniece Weaver, RD, advises clients to purchase a set of inexpensive salad plates, seven to nine inches in diameter. "People like to fill their plates, so when they eat spaghetti off a regular 10 to 12-inch dinner plate," she says, "they may eat enough for four people." (The widely available Corelle brand sells luncheon plates that are eight 1/2 to nine inches and salad/dessert plates that are about seven inches in many of their patterns.)




3. Use your spoodle. Weaver also recommends serving foods with a four-ounce spoodle--a cross between a spoon and a ladle. "It's an easy way to portion out a half-cup serving of any food--meat, vegetable, or starch--which is generally enough to leave people feeling satisfied." Available at restaurant supply stores or online.




4. Turn up the lights. The kitchen may be closed, but keep the lights on. In two studies that tracked more than 400 people, researchers found that dieters are more likely to binge when there's less light. "Dimmer light makes you less self-aware, which loosens your inhibitions," says study author Joseph Kasof, PhD, of the University of California, Irvine. Conversely, bright lights make you more aware. "And if you're conscious of what you're doing, you're less apt to succumb to temptation."