Coffee may curb liver cancer

Could a cup of coffee cut your risk of developing liver cancer? Maybe, but don't bet your next latter on it just yet.

A new report, found, boils down the findings from 10 studies on coffee and liver cancer.

The studies were reviewed by researchers including Francesca Bravi, ScD of the Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche "Mario Negri" in Milan, Italy.

Together, the studies included 2,260 people with liver cancer and nearly 240,000 people without liver cancer. Participants lived in Greece, Italy, or Japan.

Participants reported their coffee-drinking habits. The data show that coffee drinkers were 41% less likely to have been diagnosed with liver cancer than people who don't drink coffee.

For every daily cup of coffee people drank, their odds of having been diagnosed with liver cancer dropped by 23%, compared with people who never drink coffee.

People who drank a lot of coffee were 55% less likely to have been diagnosed with liver cancer than those who didn't drink any coffee.

What's a lot of coffee? That depends on which of the 10 studies you look at. Some of the studies defined high coffee consumption as three or more daily cups. Others set the bar lower, at more than one daily cup.

The fact that liver cancer was rarer among coffee drinkers a world - suggests that the coffee findings weren't a fluke or a local phenomenon.

They speculate that coffee perks up liver enzymes and may cut cirrhosis and liver cancer.

But Researcher's team doesn't promise that drinking coffee will prevent liver cancer. They note that people with various digestive and liver diseases might choose not to drink coffee for reasons that aren't reflected in the data.

Source: www.medical-health-care-information.com

How to Stop Overeating

Babies are born knowing to eat when they are hungry, and stop when they are comfortable. But as we grow up and are exposed to fad diets, advertising, food used as a reward, etc., many of us unlearn this beautifully balanced way of eating.

Yet eating when you are hungry and stopping when you are comfortable is one of the keys to healthy eating and living, says Linda Bacon, PhD, nutrition professor at the City College of San Francisco.

Much has been written on the "eating when you're hungry" side of this equation. But how do you learn to stop when you're comfortable if you've lost touch with this over the years?

Overcoming Overeating
Experts say there are things you can do to make yourself more likely to stop eating when you are comfortable. They include:

Eat slowly. This isn't a new concept; remember all those familiar dieting tips like "sip water between bites" and "chew thoroughly before swallowing"? These were all aimed at slowing us down when we eat. Research led by Mark Gold, MD, at the University of Florida at Gainesville has shown it takes 12 or more minutes for food satisfaction signals to reach the brain of a thin person, but 20 or more minutes for an obese person. Eating slowly ensures that these important messages have time to reach the brain.

Be aware. "Be more attentive about the whole eating experience; don't eat when you are driving or at the computer," advises Bacon. When we're distracted or hurried the food (and calories) we eat tend not to register well in our brains. Jean Kristeller, PhD, a psychologist and Indiana State University researcher, suggests a brief premeal meditation to get centered before eating so you can more easily derive pleasure from your food, give the meal your full attention, and notice when you've had enough.

Make the first bites count. Bacon believes that maximum food enjoyment comes in the initial bites. "After a few bites, taste buds start to lose their sensitivity to the chemicals in food that make it taste good," she explains. Satisfying your taste buds by really savoring those first few bites may help you stop eating when you're physically comfortable.

Keep up appearances. Using a smaller plate and paying attention to the presentation of a meal can increase your awareness of the food in front of you and help you stop eating when you are comfortable. "The brain looks at the plate and decides if the portion is adequate," says Gold. "It takes some time, but the smaller the plate, the smaller the portion."

Choose satisfying foods. Steer away from foods that give you a lot of calories for very little volume, such as milk shakes, cheese, and chocolate, Gold recommends. The higher the fiber, protein, and/or water content of a food or meal, the more likely it is to be satisfying in your stomach without going overboard on calories.

Source: www.medical-health-care-information.com