Tag: genes

We all know people who follow calorie-restricted diets without losing weight or others who always have room for dessert but never gain an ounce. When scientists finished mapping the human genome, many felt that genes held the answers to this conundrum. Researchers identified the first gene variant linked with obesity in 1997; subsequently they discovered more than 50 additional variants impacting weight.

Unsurprisingly, diets based on eating for your genes looked promising. Put to the test, however, they didn’t measure up.

The American Cancer Society (ACS) recently updated its guidelines on preventing cancer and its recommendations offer few surprises. Basically, current research confirms what we’ve known for decades–a healthy lifestyle (at least moderate amounts of exercise and a nutritious diet) is cancer-protective.

Prostate cancer is one of the most serious health problems in the global community. Other than skin cancer, it is the most common malignancy among American men and has touched almost every family. Recently, the rate of prostate cancer caught up to that of lung cancer among men. More than 164,000 cases of prostate cancer will be detected this year in the United States alone. About one in every nine men in the United States will develop the disease during their lifetime.