Skip to main content

Natural Awakenings Central New Jersey

Palo-Santo-Candles

Legumes, Nuts and Corn Cut Risk of Breast Cancer

A Harvard Medical School study concluded that eating more peanut butter, corn, nuts and beans, including lentils and soybeans, during adolescence significantly reduces the risk of breast cancer later on.

The researchers followed 9,039 young women that were between 9 and 15 years old when the study started in 1996, having the subjects complete diet questionnaires every year through 2001, and also in 2003, 2004, 2007 and 2010. When the women were ages 18 to 30, the number of benign breast diseases that had developed was recorded. The statistics associated a daily serving of nuts and legumes at age 14 with a 66 percent reduction in risk of developing breast cancers. Just a single serving of peanut butter once every three days at the age of 11 was associated with a 44 percent reduction of breast cancer risk. Intake of at least one serving of corn every three days was correlated with a 39 percent reduction in breast cancer risk.

Earlier studies by Harvard researchers found that eating pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, soybeans, tofu and other vegetable fats also reduce breast cancer risk.

Health Briefs
Tick Talk

Spring officially sprung on March 21. We have turned our clocks ahead. We are looking forward to warm winds, sunny skies and the smell of fresh cut grass. The daffodils and tulips have recently bloomed and we are just starting with the yard work that comes with the warmer weather.  Sadly, another season has started ramping up.  Tick season.

•             The best form of protection is prevention. Educating oneself about tick activity and how our behaviors overlap with tick habitats is the first step.

•             According to the NJ DOH, in 2022 Hunterdon County led the state with a Lyme disease incidence rate of 426 cases per 100,000 people. The fact is ticks spend approximately 90% of their lives not on a host but aggressively searching for one, molting to their next stage or over-wintering. This is why a tick remediation program should be implemented on school grounds where NJ DOH deems high risk for tick exposure and subsequent attachment to human hosts.

•             Governor Murphy has signed a bill that mandates tick education in NJ public schools. See this for the details.  Tick education must now be incorporated into K-12 school curriculum. See link:

https://www.nj.gov/education/broadcasts/2023/sept/27/TicksandTick-BorneIllnessEducation.pdf

•             May is a great month to remind the public that tick activity is in full swing. In New Jersey, there are many tickborne diseases that affect residents, including Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, Powassan, and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis.

•             For years, the focus has mainly been about protecting ourselves from Lyme disease. But other tick-borne diseases are on the rise in Central Jersey. An increase of incidence of Babesia and Anaplasma are sidelining people too. These two pathogens are scary because they effect our blood cells. Babesia affects the red blood cells and Anaplasma effects the white blood cells.

•             Ticks can be infected with more than one pathogen. When you contract Lyme it is possible to contract more than just that one disease. This is called a co-infection. It is super important to pay attention to your symptoms. See link.

https://twp.freehold.nj.us/480/Disease-Co-Infection

A good resource from the State:

https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/tickborne.shtml

 

Upcoming Events Near You
Follow Us On Facebook