GOLDEN ARCHES TO MAKE HEALTHIER FRIES
McDonald's is making its famous fries healthier -- but the fast-food giant promises no change in the taste. Starting in October, 13,000 McDonalds will switch cooking oils to reduce trans fatty acids in all fried items on the menu. The goal, says the Golden Arches, is to eliminate TFAs from its cooking oil. The new oil will reduce TFA levels of its fries by 48 percent, along with reducing saturated fat by 16 percent. On the other side, polyunsaturated fat will increase by 167 percent. While the total fat content in the fries remains unchanged, reducing TFAs and saturates, while increasing polyunsaturates, is beneficial to heart health.
RADIATION OPTION FOR CANCER PAIN
Radiation can help ease the pain of cancer sufferers but experts say it's not used often enough as a treatment. "When many people think of cancer, they think of pain. That's because tumors often invade very sensitive areas of the body when they grow," says Dr. Nora Janjan, president and incoming chair of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology and a palliative care expert from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. "Radiation therapy effectively reduces pain by shrinking the tumor." Radiation therapy often is used only
when other types of treatment are not effective. Also, because of limited support for hospice care, it often is difficult to include radiation therapy in cancer care.
ANOTHER REASON TO TAKE A DAILY ASPIRIN
Another discovery about the benefits of daily aspirin, according to a study in the journal Circulation, of the American Heart Association, is that it can prevent heart attacks and stroke by reducing inflammation associated with atherosclerosis. It also stabilizes athersclerotic plaque. University of Pennsylvania researchers say atherosclerosis -- hardening of the arteries -- is a main cause of heart attacks and strokes, two leading causes of death. Many factors, including genetics and diet, spur the disease, which occurs as cholesterol-rich cells of the immune system accumulate inside blood vessels, causing them to narrow so blood cannot flow properly. The Penn researchers say low-dose aspirin leads to a change in the composition of the plaque, turning it from a soft foamy material to a harder material that is less likely to rupture and cause a blockage.
NO DAIRY, BREAST CANCER LINK AFTER MENOPAUSE
A study by the Harvard School of Public Health finds that among postmenopausal women, the consumption of dairy products is not associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer. The study is found in Wednesday's Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The researchers did find, however, among premenopausal women, consumption of low-fat dairy products may result in a modest reduction in breast cancer risk. The research included 88,691 participants in the Nurses' Health Study. After 16 years of follow-up, the authors found no link between dairy products and risk of breast cancer among postmenopausal women.
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(EDITORS: For more information on FRIES, contact Walt Riker, 630-623-7318 or Anna Rozenich, 630-623-7316, or go to mcdonalds.com. For RADIATION, Katherine Egan Bennett or Aislinn Raedy at 800-962-7876 or e-mail [email protected]. For ASPIRIN, Greg Lester at the University of Pennsylvania at 215-349-5658 or e-mail [email protected], and for DAIRY, Jeff Ventura at 617-534-1605 or e-mail [email protected])
