Feb 22, 2022 07:47 PM
Ballard Norendaw: "If you don't like a conclusion from the erratic domain of biomedical research, then just wait a few years, and it will flip-flop or change. The same cow that bore the notoriously compromised social sciences must have dropped another calf."
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Eating vegetables does not protect against cardiovascular disease, finds large-scale study
https://blog.frontiersin.org/2022/02/21/...t-protect/
RELEASE: A sufficient intake of vegetables is important for maintaining a balanced diet and avoiding a wide range of diseases. But might a diet rich in vegetables also lower the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD)? Unfortunately, researchers from the Nuffield Department of Population Health at the University of Oxford, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the University of Bristol found no evidence for this.
That the consumption of vegetables might lower the risk of CVD might at first sight seem plausible, as their ingredients such as carotenoids and alpha-tocopherol have properties that could protect against CVD. But so far, the evidence from previous studies for an overall effect of vegetable consumption on CVD has been inconsistent.
Now, new results from a powerful, large-scale new study in Frontiers in Nutrition shows that a higher consumption of cooked or uncooked vegetables is unlikely to affect the risk of CVD. They also explain how confounding factors might have explained previous spurious, positive findings.
“The UK Biobank is a large-scale prospective study on how genetics and environment contribute to the development of the most common and life-threatening diseases. Here we make use of the UK Biobank’s large sample size, long-term follow-up, and detailed information on social and lifestyle factors, to assess reliably the association of vegetable intake with the risk of subsequent CVD,” said Prof Naomi Allen, UK Biobank’s chief scientist and co-author on the study.
The UK Biobank, follows the health half a million adults in the UK by linking to their healthcare records. Upon their enrollment in 2006-2010, these volunteers were interviewed about their diet, lifestyle, medical and reproductive history, and other factors.
The researchers used the responses at enrollment of 399,586 participants (of whom 4.5% went on to develop CVD) to questions about their daily average consumption of uncooked versus cooked vegetables. They analyzed the association with the risk of hospitalization or death from myocardial infarction, stroke, or major CVD. They controlled for a wide range of possible confounding factors, including socio-economic status, physical activity, and other dietary factors.
Crucially, the researchers also assessed the potential role of ‘residual confounding’, that is, whether unknown additional factors or inaccurate measurement of known factors might lead to a spurious statistical association between CVD risk and vegetable consumption.
The mean daily intake of total vegetables, raw vegetables, and cooked vegetables was 5.0, 2.3, and 2.8 heaped tablespoons per person. The risk of dying from CVD was about 15% lower for those with the highest intake compared to the lowest vegetable intake. However, this apparent effect was substantially weakened when possible socio-economic, nutritional, and health- and medicine-related confounding factors were taken into account. Controlling for these factors reduced the predictive statistical power of vegetable intake on CVD by over 80%, suggesting that more precise measures of these confounders would have completed explained any residual effect of vegetable intake.
Dr Qi Feng, a researcher at the Nuffield Department of Population Health at the University of Oxford, and the study’s lead author, said: “Our large study did not find evidence for a protective effect of vegetable intake on the occurrence of CVD. Instead, our analyses show that the seemingly protective effect of vegetable intake against CVD risk is very likely to be accounted for by bias from residual confounding factors, related to differences in socioeconomic situation and lifestyle.”
Feng et al. suggest that future studies should further assess whether particular types of vegetables or their method of preparation might affect the risk of CVD.
Last author Dr Ben Lacey, Associate Professor in the department at the University of Oxford, concluded: “This is an important study with implications for understanding the dietary causes of CVD and the burden of CVD normally attributed to low vegetable intake. However, eating a balanced diet and maintaining a healthy weight remains an important part of maintaining good health and reducing risk of major diseases, including some cancers. It is widely recommended that at least five portions of a variety of fruits and vegetables should be eaten every day.”
Beware of These 6 Early Warning Signs of Pancreatic Cancer
https://www.newsmax.com/health/health-ne...d/1057773/
EXCERPT - Here are some signs and symptoms to look for:
• Abdominal and back pain. Pain radiating from the upper abdomen to the back which can start as dull discomfort and become sharper and more persistent with time is a common sign of pancreatic cancer.
• Diabetes with weight loss. A study published in JAMA Oncology in 2020 found that participants with recent-onset diabetes accompanied by weight loss had a substantially increased risk for pancreatic cancer, the third leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Wolpin, the senior author of the study, revealed that the incidence for this type of cancer was six- to tenfold higher among study participants with newly diagnosed diabetes and weight loss than among the study subjects without diabetes or weight loss.
• Jaundice. According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), jaundice, or yellowing of the eyes and skin may be one of the first signs of pancreatic cancer. Jaundice is caused by the buildup of bilirubin, a yellow-brown substance made in the liver, and contained in a liquid called bile. Normally bilirubin passes through the body in the stool after it goes through the bile duct, but if that duct is blocked by cancer of the pancreas, the amount of bilirubin in the body builds up, causing jaundice. Other signs of jaundice include dark urine, light-colored or greasy stools, and itchy skin.
• Nausea or vomiting. If the cancer presses on the far end of the stomach it can make it hard for food to get through. This can cause nausea, vomiting, and pain that tends to be worse after eating, says the ACS.
• Blood clots. The first clue that someone has pancreatic cancer may be a blood clot in a large vein, often the leg. This is called deep vein thrombosis or DVT. “The symptoms of a DVT include sudden swelling of the ankles or legs,” Dr. Jonathan Aliota, an interventional cardiologist and a member of the Texas Heart Institute at the Baylor College of Medicine, tells Newsmax. Sometimes a piece of the clot can break off and travel to the lungs, which could cause chest pain.
• Enlarged gallbladder or liver. If the tumor is blocking the bile duct, the bile can build up in the gallbladder, making it larger. This can be seen on imaging tests or even felt by a doctor during an examination. The ACS says that pancreatic cancer can also travel to the liver, causing enlargement, which again, can be seen on imaging tests or felt by a physician... (MORE - missing details)
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Eating vegetables does not protect against cardiovascular disease, finds large-scale study
https://blog.frontiersin.org/2022/02/21/...t-protect/
RELEASE: A sufficient intake of vegetables is important for maintaining a balanced diet and avoiding a wide range of diseases. But might a diet rich in vegetables also lower the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD)? Unfortunately, researchers from the Nuffield Department of Population Health at the University of Oxford, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the University of Bristol found no evidence for this.
That the consumption of vegetables might lower the risk of CVD might at first sight seem plausible, as their ingredients such as carotenoids and alpha-tocopherol have properties that could protect against CVD. But so far, the evidence from previous studies for an overall effect of vegetable consumption on CVD has been inconsistent.
Now, new results from a powerful, large-scale new study in Frontiers in Nutrition shows that a higher consumption of cooked or uncooked vegetables is unlikely to affect the risk of CVD. They also explain how confounding factors might have explained previous spurious, positive findings.
“The UK Biobank is a large-scale prospective study on how genetics and environment contribute to the development of the most common and life-threatening diseases. Here we make use of the UK Biobank’s large sample size, long-term follow-up, and detailed information on social and lifestyle factors, to assess reliably the association of vegetable intake with the risk of subsequent CVD,” said Prof Naomi Allen, UK Biobank’s chief scientist and co-author on the study.
The UK Biobank, follows the health half a million adults in the UK by linking to their healthcare records. Upon their enrollment in 2006-2010, these volunteers were interviewed about their diet, lifestyle, medical and reproductive history, and other factors.
The researchers used the responses at enrollment of 399,586 participants (of whom 4.5% went on to develop CVD) to questions about their daily average consumption of uncooked versus cooked vegetables. They analyzed the association with the risk of hospitalization or death from myocardial infarction, stroke, or major CVD. They controlled for a wide range of possible confounding factors, including socio-economic status, physical activity, and other dietary factors.
Crucially, the researchers also assessed the potential role of ‘residual confounding’, that is, whether unknown additional factors or inaccurate measurement of known factors might lead to a spurious statistical association between CVD risk and vegetable consumption.
The mean daily intake of total vegetables, raw vegetables, and cooked vegetables was 5.0, 2.3, and 2.8 heaped tablespoons per person. The risk of dying from CVD was about 15% lower for those with the highest intake compared to the lowest vegetable intake. However, this apparent effect was substantially weakened when possible socio-economic, nutritional, and health- and medicine-related confounding factors were taken into account. Controlling for these factors reduced the predictive statistical power of vegetable intake on CVD by over 80%, suggesting that more precise measures of these confounders would have completed explained any residual effect of vegetable intake.
Dr Qi Feng, a researcher at the Nuffield Department of Population Health at the University of Oxford, and the study’s lead author, said: “Our large study did not find evidence for a protective effect of vegetable intake on the occurrence of CVD. Instead, our analyses show that the seemingly protective effect of vegetable intake against CVD risk is very likely to be accounted for by bias from residual confounding factors, related to differences in socioeconomic situation and lifestyle.”
Feng et al. suggest that future studies should further assess whether particular types of vegetables or their method of preparation might affect the risk of CVD.
Last author Dr Ben Lacey, Associate Professor in the department at the University of Oxford, concluded: “This is an important study with implications for understanding the dietary causes of CVD and the burden of CVD normally attributed to low vegetable intake. However, eating a balanced diet and maintaining a healthy weight remains an important part of maintaining good health and reducing risk of major diseases, including some cancers. It is widely recommended that at least five portions of a variety of fruits and vegetables should be eaten every day.”
Beware of These 6 Early Warning Signs of Pancreatic Cancer
https://www.newsmax.com/health/health-ne...d/1057773/
EXCERPT - Here are some signs and symptoms to look for:
• Abdominal and back pain. Pain radiating from the upper abdomen to the back which can start as dull discomfort and become sharper and more persistent with time is a common sign of pancreatic cancer.
• Diabetes with weight loss. A study published in JAMA Oncology in 2020 found that participants with recent-onset diabetes accompanied by weight loss had a substantially increased risk for pancreatic cancer, the third leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Wolpin, the senior author of the study, revealed that the incidence for this type of cancer was six- to tenfold higher among study participants with newly diagnosed diabetes and weight loss than among the study subjects without diabetes or weight loss.
• Jaundice. According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), jaundice, or yellowing of the eyes and skin may be one of the first signs of pancreatic cancer. Jaundice is caused by the buildup of bilirubin, a yellow-brown substance made in the liver, and contained in a liquid called bile. Normally bilirubin passes through the body in the stool after it goes through the bile duct, but if that duct is blocked by cancer of the pancreas, the amount of bilirubin in the body builds up, causing jaundice. Other signs of jaundice include dark urine, light-colored or greasy stools, and itchy skin.
• Nausea or vomiting. If the cancer presses on the far end of the stomach it can make it hard for food to get through. This can cause nausea, vomiting, and pain that tends to be worse after eating, says the ACS.
• Blood clots. The first clue that someone has pancreatic cancer may be a blood clot in a large vein, often the leg. This is called deep vein thrombosis or DVT. “The symptoms of a DVT include sudden swelling of the ankles or legs,” Dr. Jonathan Aliota, an interventional cardiologist and a member of the Texas Heart Institute at the Baylor College of Medicine, tells Newsmax. Sometimes a piece of the clot can break off and travel to the lungs, which could cause chest pain.
• Enlarged gallbladder or liver. If the tumor is blocking the bile duct, the bile can build up in the gallbladder, making it larger. This can be seen on imaging tests or even felt by a doctor during an examination. The ACS says that pancreatic cancer can also travel to the liver, causing enlargement, which again, can be seen on imaging tests or felt by a physician... (MORE - missing details)