A six-to-eight page bi-monthly publication containing up-to-date and timely health-related information as well as some tasty McDougall Recipes. The cost is: $20.00 per year. Or $3.25 per single copy. The cost outside the U.S.A. is $24.00 per year. Send orders to: The McDougalls, P.O. Box 14039, Santa Rosa, CA 95402. Or call the McDougall Offices at 707-576-1654.

At the turn of this century, Role Russell maintained death from cancer is highest "in countries that eat more flesh". Nearly a century later the American Cancer Society on September 16, 1996 recommended curtailing all red meat because of the close link to the cause of colon and prostate cancer. They found further ties between meat, and other high fat foods, and rectal, endometrial (uterus), kidney, and breast cancer. Many other scientists agree that we can "win the war on cancer" through prevention by making changes. The Harvard School of Public Health concluded on Nov. 19, 1996, after distilling virtually the entire body of research into cancer's causes, nearly 70 percent of cancer can be attributed to smoking, eating, and drinking habits and a sedentary lifestyle. Only 2 percent are traceable to environmental pollution and 10 percent to genetics. This report is an antidote to the fatalistic feeling people have that "everything causes cancer. Because there are no drawbacks or side effects from improving your diet and lifestyle, these changes should be made immediately, and to the greatest degree.

Breast cancer serves as an enlightening example of how, with the right information, we can change our future health. The risk of breast cancer varies worldwide among populations of people who live and eat differently - this clearly implies an environmental connection. The strongest contact we have with our environment is our food - we take in one to five pounds of it a day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Women living in Japan, eating a diet based on rice, have one-sixth the risk of cancer as women in the US. Women who change their diet to rich foods while living in Japan, or move to the US and make that change, increase their risk of breast cancer dramatically. In the US the highest rates of breast cancer are among affluent women, with a life time risk of one in seven.

The Diet/Lifestyle Cancer Link
Our diet and habits play a pivotal role in all phases of cancer. Cancer starts with damage to our intra cellular genetic material, DNA, by chemicals, radiation, and viruses found in our environment. Unhealthy foods, pollution, smoking, and certain medications are common sources of cell damaging chemicals. Once started, we have a second chance to stop the cancer with cancer cell destroying activities of our immune systems. Good nutrition with fruits and vegetables enhances our immune system. The activity of "natural killer cells, which seek out and destroy cancer cells, has been found to be 100% higher in vegetarians compared to meat eaters (Nuts Cancer 12:271, 1989).

Once started, the growth rate of breast cancer is influenced by sex hormones. Scientists recognize this cancer as a hormone-dependent cancer because it is 100 times more common in women than men, women who lose their ovaries early in life have a much reduced risk of getting breast cancer, and women who take estrogen pills after menopause have more breast cancer. Women consuming the rich western diet have higher levels of hormones in their bodies. For example, British women, 55-64 years old, are found to have 171% higher levels of the powerful female hormone, estradiol, compared to Chinese women (Br J Cancer 62:631, 1990). The British diet is 43% fat compared to the 15% fat Chinese diet. Furthermore, a reduction in fat intake will decrease the levels of hormone in a woman's body. In one study, estradiol levels were cut in half (18.1 to 9.4 pg/ml) when postmenopausal women were changed to a diet with less than 10% of the calories as fat (Nutrition 7:137, 1991).

Not only are the hormone levels higher, but they are also higher for more years of a woman's life. The rich western diet causes early onset of maturity and late menopause. British girls, on the average, start their first period at age 13, while Chinese girls start at age 17. Menopause occurs 1.8 years earlier in Chinese women than British women (48.1 vs 49.9). This prolonged, as well as elevated stimulation, promotes disease of the breast tissue, including breast cancer UNCI 50:21, 1973).

Another hormone, called prolactin, is made in the pituitary gland of the brain. Prolactin normally stimulates the breasts to prepare them for milk production. Dietary fat increases the amount of prolactin, and some studies show higher levels of prolactin in women with breast cancer (Am I Clin Nutr 56:943, 1992).

Breast Cancer Prevention - More Than A Low-Fat Diet

Recently, scientists have questioned the one widely held theory that fat causes breast cancer. Two large studies from Harvard found n relationship with fat and breast cancer in women who all ate a version of the western diet (IAMA 268:2037, 1992); (New Eng I M~ 334:356, 1996). News of these finding spread rapidly across the country, reinforcing those people who like to hear "good news about their bad habits" - now they don't have to avoid fatty foods; and taking hope away from women who had thought they could do some thing to reduce their risk of cancer. The truth is fat is only a part of the problem with the rich American diet. Many Americans eat low-fat foods, and still eat an unhealthy diet; devoid of cancer fighting fruits and vegetables.

Check the accuracy of this information with your doctor before applying information in this newsletter to your health care. Don't change your diet or medication without your doctor's advice.
Thank you!
John McDougall, M.D.

Diet Pill Dangers

DHEA - Hormone Supplementation

Removing Bee Stings

Recipes

Call and order the November/December back issue of The McDougall Newsletter for $3.50.

CREAMY SPINACH PESTO PASTA

Servings: 4 Preparation Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: 10 minutes.

10 ounces dried spinach fettucine

1 6 ounce bag triple washed baby spinach leaves

1 cup fresh basil leaves

½ teaspoon fresh minced garlic

1 cup soft lite silken tofu dash salt

2/3 cup vegetable broth

1½ cups halved cherry tomatoes

fresh ground pepper to taste

Put a large pot of water on to boil. Drop the pasta into the water and cook according to package directions. Just before turning off heat, add the spinach and cook until wilted, about 30-45 seconds.

Meanwhile, place the basil and garlic in a food processor and process until chopped. Add the tofu and the salt. Process until smooth. Place in a pan with the vegetable broth and heat gently, do not boil.

Drain fettucine and spinach. Place in a bowl, pour the tofu mixture over the pasta and toss well to mix. Spoon the cherry tomatoes over the pasta and season with fresh ground pepper.

Recipe Hint: To make this a little spicier, add a dash or two of Tabasco sauce to the tofu mixture. If you are a real spinach lover, use 2 bags of the baby spinach leaves instead of one.

The other Recipes are:

Thai Tofu with Cashews

Spicy Arroz Verde

Apricots Bars

Banana French Toast

Call 1-800-570-1654 and subscribe to, The McDougall Newsletter, and keep these fact filled Newsletters coming every 2 months.