The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point
  • About this web log

    This blog ran from 2006 to 2016 and was intended as an objective and dispassionate source of information on the latest CAM research. Since my background is in pharmacy and allopathic medicine, I view all CAM as advancing through the development pipeline to eventually become integrated into mainstream medical practice. Some will succeed while others fail. But all are treated fairly here.

  • About the author

    John Russo, Jr., PharmD, is president of The MedCom Resource, Inc. Previously, he was senior vice president of medical communications at www.Vicus.com, a complementary and alternative medicine website.

  • Common sense considerations

    The material on this weblog is for informational purposes. It is not medical advice or counsel. Be smart, consult your health professional before using CAM.

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    Diet and the risk of colorectal cancer

    Researchers at Simmons College, in Boston compared the Alternate Mediterranean Diet (aMed) and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet in middle-aged adults.

    First, the details.

    • 87,256 adult women and 45,490 adult men without a history of cancer were followed up to 26 years.
    • The aMed and DASH scores were calculated for each participant by using dietary information that was assessed up to 9 times during follow-up.
      • The aMed diet score includes only whole grains, separates fruit and nuts into 2 groups, eliminated dairy products, deducts points only for red and processed meats, and allows equal amounts of alcohol for men and women.
    • Relative risks for colorectal cancer were computed and adjusted for potential confounding factors.

    And, the results.

    • There were 1432 cases of colorectal cancer among women and 1032 cases in men.
    • Comparing the highest intake to lowest intake of the DASH diet, there was a significant increased risk of colorectal cancer and colon cancer, with the lowest intake.
    • There was no association with rectal cancer when comparing highest to lowest DASH intake.
    • No association was observed with the aMed score.

    The bottom line?

    The authors concluded, “Adherence to the DASH diet (which involves higher intakes of whole grains, fruit, and vegetables; moderate amounts of low-fat dairy; and lower amounts of red or processed meats, desserts, and sweetened beverages) was associated with a lower risk of colorectal cancer.”

    That’s good news.

    More about the DASH diet is here.

    11/21/10 18:36 JR

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