Food – Lanka Talents

Risk of prostate cancer may decrease with Mediterranean diet: Study

Lanka Talents Creation — Mon, 11 Jan 2021 04:07:38 +0000

Men with localised prostate cancer who reported a baseline dietary pattern that more closely follows the key principles of a Mediterranean-style diet fared better over the course of their disease, suggest the findings of a new study.

“Men with prostate cancer are motivated to find a way to impact the advancement of their disease and improve their quality of life,” said Justin Gregg, M.D., assistant professor of Urology and lead author of the study, published today in Cancer.

“A Mediterranean diet is non-invasive, good for overall health and, as shown by this study, has the potential to affect the progression of their cancer,” added Gregg.

After adjusting for factors known to increase risk of cancer getting worse over time, such as age, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and tumour volume, men with a diet that contained more fruits, vegetables, legumes, cereals and fish had a reduced risk of their prostate cancer growing or advancing to a point where many would consider active treatment. The researchers also examined the effect of diabetes and statin use and found a similar risk reduction in these patient groups.

The study, whose largest number of participants were white, also found that the effect of a Mediterranean diet was more pronounced in African American participants and others who self-identified as non-white.

These findings are significant as the rate of a prostate cancer diagnosis is more than 50% higher in African American men, who also have a higher risk of prostate cancer death and disease progression.

“The Mediterranean diet consistently has been linked to lower risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease and mortality. This study in men with early-stage prostate cancer gets us another step closer to providing evidence-based dietary recommendations to optimize outcomes in cancer patients, who along with their families, have many questions in this area,” said Carrie Daniel-MacDougall, PhD, associate professor of Epidemiology and senior author of the study.

After skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the United States. Since most cases are low-risk disease, localized to the prostate and have favourable outcomes, many men do not need immediate treatment and opt for active surveillance by their doctor.

Treatments for prostate cancer can cause changes in quality of life and declines in urinary and sexual function, therefore there is interest in finding modifiable factors for men managed by active surveillance.The study followed 410 men on an active surveillance protocol with Gleason grade group 1 or 2 localized prostate cancer. All study participants underwent a confirmatory biopsy at the beginning of the study and were evaluated every six months through the clinical exam and laboratory studies of serum antigen PSA and testosterone.Trial participants were 82.9 per cent Caucasian, 8.1 per cent Black and 9 per cent other or unknown. The median age was 64, 15 per cent of the men were diabetic and 44 per cent used statins.The men completed a 170-item baseline food frequency questionnaire, and Mediterranean diet score was calculated for each participant across 9 energy-adjusted food groups. The participants were then divided into three groups of the high, medium, and low adherence to the diet.

After adjustments for age and clinical characteristics, researchers saw a significant association between high baseline diet score and lower risk of cancer grade progression.

For every one-point increase in the Mediterranean diet score, researchers observed a greater than 10 per cent lower risk of progression. After a median follow-up of 36 months, 76 men saw their cancer progress.

The study was limited by the low number of events in these men with mostly low-risk disease monitored at MD Anderson. Future research is needed to see if the same effects are seen for larger and more diverse patient groups and men with higher-risk prostate cancer.

“Our findings suggest that consistently following a diet rich in plant foods, fish and a healthy balance of monounsaturated fats may be beneficial for men diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer,” Gregg said.

“We are hopeful that these results, paired with additional research and future validation, will encourage patients to adopt a healthy lifestyle,” added Gregg.

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Capitol violence: World leaders appalled by US rioting, urge peaceful transfer

Lanka Talents Creation — Thu, 07 Jan 2021 08:47:24 +0000

Here are reactions from around the world:

UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was “saddened” by the events at the U.S. Capitol, his spokesman said.

“In such circumstances, it is important that political leaders impress on their followers the need to refrain from violence, as well as to respect democratic processes and the rule of law,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

SWEDEN

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven in a tweet described the scenes as “an attack on democracy”. “President Trump and many members of Congress bear significant responsibility for what’s now taking place. The democratic process of electing a president must be respected.”

UNITED KINGDOM

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a tweet called the events in the U.S. Congress a “disgrace”, saying the United States stood for democracy around the world and that was it was “vital” now that there should be a peaceful and orderly transfer of power.

GERMANY

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said democracy’s enemies would be cheered by scenes of violence at the United States Capitol, and he called on Trump to accept U.S. voters’ decision.

In a Tweet, Maas said the violence had been caused by inflammatory rhetoric. “Trump and his supporters must accept the decision of American voters at last and stop trampling on democracy.”

RUSSIA

“Quite Maidan-style pictures are coming from DC,” Russia’s deputy U.N. Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy posted on Twitter, referring to protests in Ukraine that toppled Russian-backed President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovich in 2014.

“Some of my friends ask whether someone will distribute crackers to the protesters to echo Victoria Nuland stunt,” he said, citing a 2013 visit to Ukraine when then-U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland offered food to protesters.

AUSTRALIA

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison described the scenes in Washington as “distressing.” “We condemn these acts of violence and look forward to a peaceful transfer of Government to the newly elected administration in the great American democratic tradition,” he posted on Twitter.

NATO

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called the violent protests in Washington “shocking scenes” and said the outcome of the democratic U.S. election must be respected.

SPAIN

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in a tweet: “I am following with concern the news that are coming from Capitol Hill in Washington. I trust in the strength of America’s democracy.

“The new Presidency of @JoeBiden will overcome this time of tension, uniting the American people.”

CANADA

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed his concern about events in Washington. “Obviously we’re concerned and we’re following the situation minute by minute,” Trudeau told the News 1130 Vancouver radio station. “I think the American democratic institutions are strong, and hopefully everything will return to normal shortly.”

Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne on Twitter: “Canada is deeply shocked by the situation in Washington DC. The peaceful transition of power is fundamental to democracy – it must continue and it will. We are following developments closely and our thoughts are with the American people.”

NEW ZEALAND

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Twitter: “Democracy – the right of people to exercise a vote, have their voice heard and then have that decision upheld peacefully should never be undone by a mob. Our thoughts are with everyone who is as devastated as we are by the events of today. I have no doubt democracy will prevail.”

FINLAND

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said in a statement: “The attack on Capitol Hill in Washington DC is a very serious and worrying matter. It shows how important it is to firmly and strongly defend democracy at all times.”

TURKEY

Turkey’s foreign ministry issued a statement expressing concern about the violence and called for calm and common sense while urging its citizens to avoid crowds and the protest area.

FRANCE

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Twitter: “The violence against the American institutions is a grave attack on democracy. I condemn it. The will and the vote of the American people must be respected.”

EUROPEAN UNION

Charles Michel, chairman of EU leaders, on Twitter expressed his shock at the scenes in Washington. “The US Congress is a temple of democracy…We trust the US to ensure a peaceful transfer of power to @JoeBiden”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “I believe in the strength of US institutions and democracy. Peaceful transition of power is at the core. @JoeBiden won the election. I look forward to working with him as the next President of the USA.”

VENEZUELA

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza tweeted: “Venezuela expresses its concern for the violent events that are taking place in the city of Washington, USA; condemns the political polarization and hopes that the American people will open a new path toward stability and social justice.”

NORWAY

Norwegian Prime Minster Erna Solberg posted on Twitter: “This is an unacceptable attack on the U.S. democracy. President Trump is responsible for stopping this. Scary images, and unbelievable that this is happening in the United States.”

IRELAND

Ireland’s foreign minister Simon Coveney called the scenes in Washington “a deliberate assault on Democracy by a sitting President & his supporters, attempting to overturn a free & fair election! The world is watching! We hope for restoration of calm.”

ARGENTINA

Argentine President Alberto Fernandez tweeted: “We express our condemnation of the serious acts of violence and the affront to Congress that occurred today in Washington DC. We trust that there will be a peaceful transition that respects the popular will and we express our strongest support for President-elect Joe Biden.”

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Pics of ‘screaming pasta’ spark meme fest on Twitter, Zomato joins in

Buddhika Perera — Thu, 07 Jan 2021 06:21:41 +0000

The post was originally shared by Twitter user @bayabikomigim on December 28. The post included two pictures. One of them had a single boiled pasta which had a screaming expression and the other picture had three similar looking pastas.

When translated loosely from Turkish the caption shared alongside the post read, “This pasta has started to scream for no reason, what should I do?”

Well, it turns out, tweeple knew exactly what to do. The meme fest was also joined by Zomato and the result is so hilarious that any chai lover will relate to it.

Here are some other memes that you may enjoy

Most of us are guilty of doing like this at morning assemblies in school

Did you read the text in Shah Rukh Khan’s voice too?

Chandler is a mood and so is this angry pasta

One more time from the top!

Guess we will never know whether a pasta inspired Edvard Munch

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