Green Teaser
Men and women do not respond the same way to green tea, according to researchers from the National Cancer Center in Tokyo. While a polyphenol found in green tea (epicatechin gallate) is associated with a 75 percent decrease in the risk of stomach cancer in women, it actually doubles the risk of stomach cancer in men. Protect yourself from stomach cancer by doing the following: Eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables; limit or avoid smoked, cured, or pickled foods; get plenty of vitamin C, which can eradicate the ulcer- and cancer-causing H. pylori bacteria; and don't let your cholesterol levels drop below normal. Studies have linked lower-than-normal cholesterol to a twofold increase in stomach-cancer risk.
Not-So-Hot Potatoes
When you cook starchy foods such as potatoes at temperatures above 250°F, a carcinogen called acrylamide is created. Researchers reporting in the
Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture think that the amino acid asparagine reacts with sugars to create acrylamide. Soaking starchy foods in water for 30 minutes before cooking reduces sugars, decreasing the carcinogen levels by nearly 40 percent.
Don't Take Your Vitamins
In light of recent studies linking multivitamin use to an increased risk of cancer, Harvard Men's Health Watch is suggesting that the average healthy man stop taking a daily multivitamin until more research is available. The studies suggest that multivitamin use leads to a general increase in the risk of prostate cancer and also link the intake of folic acid to men's colon cancer. If you do stop popping a multivitamin, start taking a vitamin D supplement, because Americans don't get enough D in their diets.
60%
Percentage decrease in ultrafine, fine, and coarse air particles in homes that use a high-efficiency particle air (HEPA) filter, according to a study in the -American
Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. Exposure to recirculated air after only 48 hours of filtration improves cardiovascular function by 8.1 percent.
10%
Percentage by which you'll reduce your daily risk of death for every five years you delay retirement, according to a recent study in the
American Journal of Epidemiology.
Prostate Protection
Soybeans contain an antioxidant called genistein, which, according to a recent study in
Cancer Research, decreases the spread of prostate cancer to the lungs by 96 percent. Aggressive prostate cancer kills almost 30,000 men every year. To keep your sex gland healthy, eat four or more servings of vegetables daily, get about 20 percent of your daily calories from lean protein, and drink alcohol regularly but moderately (no more than two drinks a day), suggests a new study in the
American Journal of Epidemiology.
All lubed up & no place to go
Your sex lubricant might be doing more than you bargained for between the sheets. Four of the most popular lubes (Replens, FemGlide, K-Y Jelly, and Astroglide) alter the chromosomal makeup of sperm and decrease their motility, according to researchers at the Cleveland Clinic. The researchers believe that the glycerin in these sex aids decreases motility, while their low pH levels damage sperm. The best lube to buy? Pre-Seed. It has a higher pH and doesn't contain glycerin, so your sperm can go on about things, well, just swimmingly.
40
Number of millisieverts of radiation you're exposed to if you visit an emergency room in the United States. That's the equivalent of 1,005 chest X-rays, according to a report in the
Annals of Emergency Medicine, and doses that high increase the risk of cancer.
