The Dr. Oz Show
Air date: November 22, 2011
Is Your Fat Causing Cancer
- Medical Alert: Is your fat causing cancer?
- Can reading your palm tell you about your health?
- Is there a new source of omega-3
- Lower cholesterol with citrus fruit
Every cancer Dr. Oz will discuss today is linked to body fat. The information shocked even Dr. Oz. He has always known that fat increases your risk for disease such as stroke and heart disease. Today, Dr. Oz says he will preform an autopsy to show how deadly extra fat can be. His message is to lose the fat or you may lose your life.
And stay up-to-date with WatchingDrOz.com
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New studies show that extra fat may cause cancer, may promote cancer tumor growth. Add in another common physical state: Fat + stress = causes cancer growth to spin out of control.
At the forefront of the research study looking at the link between fat and cancer is Dr. Kathleen Wolin, ScD of Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Wolin says that cancer deaths in woman are more and more being linked to cancer.
Dr. Oz wants to know how much weight are we talking about? Any amount of weight will put you at greater risks for a long list of cancers, says Dr. Wolin. Being in the overweight category on the BMI increases your cancer risk. Being in the obese category increases your cancer risks even more. An important fact found in her research, not adding more weight, more pounds, will help reduce your risk. So by stopping weight gain, you can reduce your risk of cancer.
To put the issue in perspective, Dr. Oz explained that smoking is credited with causing 30% of cancers in the United States. Being overweight and/or sedentary causes the same amount of cancer, 30%.
Dr. Oz thought that fat had more to do with his specialty of heart heath. But today, he is learning and sharing with his viewer how important it is to maintain a healthy weight to reduce your risk for cancers. By showing the organs in the body and how they look when cancer has taken over, Dr. Oz hopes to prove to his viewer to importance of losing the weight today.
Fat Linked to Ovarian Cancer
Wendy's parents were both diagnosed with cancer in the same week. Her parents were in their 60's and a little over weight.
Stringy belly fat, called omentum comes alive in the body and it sends out hormones, chemicals. The omentum is as big a producer of hormones as our glands and is linked to ovarian cancer.
Hidden beneath the belly fat sits the uterus and ovaries. Ovarian cancers are carefully linked to belly fat. Dr. Wolin's ground breaking research is saying that this belly fat is fueling cancer.
Normal cells are not influenced by the fuel provided by the belly fat but the vulnerable cells that already have cancer then start to grow faster when the hormones created by belly fat gets into those cells. Those cancer cells will start take over the normal cells.
Reduce Ovarian Cancer Risks
To reduce your risk for ovarian cancer, look toward fruits and veggies in the red and purple color group. This color group contains the antioxidant anthocyanins, which provides the color to the food, that can help to reduce the growth patterns of cancerous cells. These foods may also help with a weight loss by filling you up with fiber and vitamins.
Fat Linked to Pancreatic Cancer
The next audience member to participate in the autopsy, shared that she has a strong family history of pancreatic cancer. Her father had a yo-yo relationship with his weight all his life and died of pancreatic cancer. Two weeks before his, her aunt died from pancreatic cancer.
Under the belly fat, under the intestines and next to the liver lives the pancreas. The link to pancreatic cancer is associated with insulin resistance. An inability to regulate blood sugar levels contributes to pancreatic cancer because the sugar is fueling the cancer cell growth.
Dr. Oz showed what he calls the most amazing example of cancer shown on his show, a pancreas completely taken over by cancer cells. The organ as though it is spiraling out, like a sea shell. The cancerous pancreas is filled with billions of tumor cells and is black and green.
Reduce Pancreatic Cancer Risks
Including folate in the diet can help to reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer. Folate can be found in green leafy vegetables, fruits, whole grains, eggs, asparagus and oranges. Dr. Wolin stated that there is better data showing that folate from food sources is superior however folate from a multivitamin is a good source.
Fat Linked to Colon Cancer
The third audience member to assist with the autopsy, has a family history of colon cancer. Her grandmother passed away in 2007 from colon cancer and she has been obsessed with not getting cancer since.
In the tissue sample, fat has enveloped the colon making it heavy and look like pale seaweed. When cancer infiltrates the it throws off the body's ability to regulate the immune systems and also creates inflammation.
Normally, immune cells will find abnormal cells in the body and destroy them but with excess fat in the equation it can hold back the immune cells from destroy cells not allowing it to keep up with cancer cell growth.
Reduce Colon Cancer Risks
Dr. Wolin shared two ways to lower your colon cancer risk. Exercise and long-term aspirin use of 5 years of more are both associated with lowered risks, colon cancer and death from colon cancer. Dr. Wolin stated that aspirin use has side effects and she encourages people to talk to doctor about it based on your individual health history. Dr Oz recommends taking two baby aspirins daily. He said one aspirin doesn't seem to help and taking two doesn't increase risks of side effects. Take aspirin with a glass of warm water to help speed up rate of dissolving the aspirin.
[Well, at least someone finally stated that daily aspirin use has side effects! It's thrilling to see a doctor talking about the side effects, however briefly. Read more about the side effects of daily aspirin use in previous posts on WatchingDrOz.com.]
Fat Linked to Kidney Cancer
Dr. Wolin says that studies are looking at leptin, a hormone, that is being linked to fueling cancer growth. Leptin helps to bring blood vessels to the cancer cells creating a stronger food supply to the cancer.
Blood pressure management is important for kidney health. High blood pressure causes damage to the kidneys. Dr. Oz likened the damage to the kidneys getting punched by high blood pressure. Cancer cells, such as the ones shown in a kidney tissue sample, cause internal bleeding when they die off and the kidney essentially begins to crumble away.
Reduce Kidney Cancer Risks
Dr. Wolin says to reduce risks of kidney cancer, it's important to manage blood pressure, get regular exercise, maintain a low-salt intake, and consume potassium-rich foods such as apricots, bananas, and broccoli.
A Dr. Oz homework assignment for the next segment: grab a measuring tape.
Fat Linked to Endometrial Cancer
The final autopsy assistant shared that she struggles to find time to exercise and that her yo-yo weight gain is a problem.
The cancer most closely linked to too much belly fat is endometrial, or uterine, cancer. The uterus is percolated and bathed in hormones and fat. Fat tissue produces estrogen on its own. Fat, in fact can be the leading producer of estrogen in overweight women.
The biggest predictor of endometrial cancer in women is waist size. Place the tape measure around the waist, the level of the belly button, above the hips. Recent study of women showed that a waist size over 35” increased the isk of endometrial cancer by 57%. It should be frightening, says Dr. Oz.
Hormones hyper stimulate the uterus those and those extra inches really matter. The way the fat is distributed in the body effects the risk of cancer.
Reduce Endometrial Cancer Risks
Dr, Wolin explained that weight is such a big factor in cancer risks but there are other tools in the tool box - weight is the hammer in the toolbox. [Nice analogy Dr. Wolin!]
Coffee boosts metabolism [and therefore a possible role in weight loss] providing another reason to have a cup of coffee in the morning – but not the cream and sugar [they detract from the benefits of the coffee.[
Dr. Oz says that losing weight can be the most important step you take in your life to reducing cancer.
Palm Reading for Clues to Your Health
Want to know your risk for disease? You may need to look no further than your palms. There are three ways you can
Liver Disease - Red and blotchy palm
Red and blotch palms could be simply an allergy or caused by rubbing the palms but having red and blotchy palms for a long period of time could be a sign of liver disease. When the liver is not functioning properly it cannot process hormones properly which contributes to the blotchy palm. You can't see cirrhosis in your liver but you can see your palm. Cirrhosis and liver disease can also manifest swollen legs and abdominal muscles as well as prominent veins on the legs.
Hypothriodism - Swollen fingers
I your rings don't fit like they used to there may be too much salt in the diet or it could be hypothroidism one sign of hypo is too much fluid in your body
Iron Deficiency - Pale palm
A pale pale and white lines on the palm when the fingers are pulled back away from the palm can be a sign of iron deficiency. ON a normal palm, the lines will stay red when the fingers are pulled back. Iron deficiency can lower the body's ability to create red blood cells which can lead to fatigue. Dr. Oz recommends eating iron-rich foods including green leafy vegetables such as spinach and red meat.
Best Sources of Omega-3's
He talks about it all the time: omega-3's, essential fatty acids, and fish oil. Dr. Oz never thought there would be a better source than fish oil to get your omega-3's.
They look like baby shrimp and they are actually shrimp-like creatures - krill. Krill are at the bottom of the food chain and may be a faster and stronger source of omega-3 than fish oil. Dr. Oz says he loves fish oil from any source.
Fish eat krill, we eat the fish and the omega-3s go into the blood stream. In an animation, the krill oil can penetrate the blood vessels more efficiently and get into the cardiovascular system faster.
Dr. Oz says that krill oil may be also be stronger. Krill naturally contains the antioxidant astaxanthin which protects the krill oil from oxidation. In theory, the krill oil can make a more profound difference in cholesterol levels. Dr. Oz says that 1,000mg of krill oil is as effective of 3,000mg of fish oil. He recommends taking 1g to 3g of krill.
Best Ways to Lower Your Cholesterol
Game Show Time! Fruits that can make a difference on your cholesterol levels.
Why does the Mediterranean diet help to lower cholesterol? Is it high in monounsaturated fat or low in monounsaturated fat?
The Mediterranean diet is high in monounsaturated. Replace bad fats, such as saturated fat, with monounsaturated fats such as olive oil.
Which is better for lowering cholesterol? Citrus fruits or whole grains?
Citrus fruits contain soluble fiber which dissolves with water. Oats, beans, peas, apples along with citrus all contain soluble fiber that helps to quickly reduce cholesterol. Dr. Oz recommends to eat at least one citrus fruit a day.
Which snack contains cholesterol? Peanut butter or cottage cheese?
Cottage cheese contains cholesterol because it comes from animals and animals have cholesterol. Peanuts come from plants and plants don't have cholesterol.
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Hello Dr. Oz
ReplyDeleteCan you give me a source to inhance my memory. i had a stroke in February 2011. Also is the Omega 3 good for me to take for my health.
Also my wife has back problems siactica. she suffers pain down her whole left side. Would you have a solution of reliefe for her.
I would like to tell you I love your show and look forward to seeing you each day that i'm not scheduled for therapy.
God bless you
Robert
prftpndltn@aol.com
Hi Robert! WatchingDrOz is not associated with Dr. Oz or The Dr. Oz Show. My name is Heather and I'm not a doctor. Monday-Friday I watch The Dr. Oz Show, write about the episode and post it here. My goal is to pass along more detailed information about the supplements and lifestyle recommendations discussed on The Dr. Oz Show.
ReplyDeleteProviding you with a recommendation, even a supplement, to help you with a specific disease is something that I cannot do as, again, I'm not a doctor.
I would encourage you to talk with your health care providers about supplement options that would be appropriate for you given your indivdual situation and any current therapies or medications you may be taking. If your health care team isn't open to supplements, it's worth asking the question why to continue the converstaion. If, in the end, your medical team isn't open to supplements you may want to consider finding health care providers who are more open to supplements and therefore more closely aligned with your personal goals.
That said, fish oil supplements and omega-3's are generally well tolerated however any supplement may potentially intefere with pharmaceuticals. If you're on any medications, talk with your doctor of pharmacist to determine if they are appropriate for you.
Start a conversation with your health care providers about the questions you posed here for both you and your wife. That is a great place to start. Good luck!