You know, Kathryn, this sort of suggestion is like ones I've made in the 
area......... you won't believe...... of foreign language teaching. The 
field is rent by just the same sort of claims and counterclaims and intense 
emotions over how to teach fl as the "science" of diet is. I read Taube's 
book with horror - how could so-called scientists be not only so sloppy, but 
so blinded by their "paradigm"?
As in fl teaching, it would take millions of dollars to set up such an 
experiment. Better to spend billions repairing bodies and minds than 
millions finding an answer. Keeps the economy going, I guess.
Pat Barrett  [log in to unmask]
http://ideas.lang-learn.us/barrett.php

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kathryn Rosenthal" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, June 21, 2008 10:40 AM
Subject: Lifestyle Changes Affect Cancer Genes


Every time I think we are done hearing about Dean Ornish, he pops up again. 
This is this kind of "science" that so many people accept.  I wonder what 
Gary Taubs would say about this?  I'd like to see a study involving an 
organic paleo diet, exercise and stress management.

Kath

  1..  Lifestyle Changes Affect Cancer Genes [HealthDay News]

  TUESDAY, June 17 (HealthDay News) - Genes may not fully control your 
destiny when it comes to cancer risk, according to a new study of men with 
prostate cancer.

  New research suggests that stringent dietary changes, getting more 
exercise and practicing stress reduction can change the expression of 
hundreds of genes. Some of the changes positively affect genes that help 
fight cancer, while others help turn off genes that promote cancer 
development, according to the study, which is in this week's issue of the 
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

  "These findings are very exciting. They counter the genetic nihilism I 
hear so often. People say, 'It's all in my genes, there's nothing I can do,' 
but actually you can do quite a lot," said the study's lead author, Dr. Dean 
Ornish, president of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute and a 
clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, San 
Francisco.

  Previous epidemiological studies have found that the incidence of prostate 
cancer is significantly lower in areas of the world where people eat a more 
plant-based, low-fat diet instead of the higher-fat, higher-protein diet 
often consumed in the United States. Because of these findings, Ornish and 
his colleagues initially set out to see if altering diet and lifestyle could 
decrease the amount of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in men who'd been 
diagnosed with early prostate cancer. PSA is a blood marker for prostate 
growth.

  In September 2005, they reported that after intensive lifestyle changes - 
consuming a vegan diet with about 10 percent of calories from fat, walking 
30 minutes six times a week, and practicing stress management one hour 
daily - men with early prostate cancer lowered their PSA scores by 4 
percent, while men in the control group saw their PSA score rise by 6 
percent.

  But, the researchers didn't know what the mechanism behind the change was, 
according to Ornish. The current study was designed to elucidate the reasons 
behind the improvement.

  Thirty men diagnosed with early prostate cancer were enrolled in the 
study. The men were predominantly white (84 percent), with an average age of 
62.3 years, and an average PSA score of 4.8 nanograms per milliliter 
(ng/ml). Their Gleason scores - another measure of the severity of the 
cancer - were an average of six.

  All of the men had already declined immediate surgery, hormonal therapy or 
radiation. Instead, they chose to have their tumors periodically monitored 
to ensure that they remained slow-growing.

  The lifestyle interventions began with a 3-day residential retreat, 
followed by weekly telephone consultations and a one-hour group support 
session each week. The study participants were provided all of their food 
and were asked to follow a plant-based diet containing about 10 percent of 
calories from fat. They were also told to walk for 30 minutes a day, six 
days a week.

  Additionally, the study volunteers practiced stress management for 60 
minutes a day. Stress management techniques included yoga-based stretching, 
breathing exercises, meditation, imagery, and progressive relaxation. The 
study volunteers were also given additional soy, three grams of fish oil, 
100 units of vitamin E, 200 milligrams of selenium and 2 grams of vitamin C 
daily.

  The researchers compared genetic expression from baseline samples to those 
taken after three months of study intervention and found positive changes in 
more than 500 genes, according to Ornish.

  "I thought younger people with milder disease would show the most 
improvement, but neither age nor disease severity made as much difference as 
adherence," said Ornish. That means that the more people are able to change, 
the better. And, these findings suggest that you're never too old to make 
changes that can positively affect your health.

  "It's encouraging to see that by going on a very low-fat diet that you can 
change gene expression in the prostate itself, but just because changes can 
happen, you don't yet know if it would mean anything for cancer risk," said 
Dr. Simon J. Hall, director of the Deane Prostate Health and Research 
Center, and the chairman of urology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New 
York City.

  [NOTE: For the full article, please follow the supplied link.]