Nutrition News by Charlyn Fargo

Here's something to think about as 2012 rolls in: strategies to reduce your cancer risk next year. Don't focus on just losing weight. Focus on what you can do to live a healthier lifestyle for the rest of your life.

The UC Berkeley Wellness Letter offers 12 recommendations for reducing your overall cancer risk. The authors acknowledge that what makes cancer so scary is the conflicting advice on what we should or shouldn't do to reduce cancer risks. Their 12 recommendations go a long way toward healthy living and cancer prevention.

1. Don't smoke or use any tobacco product. Cigarette smoking causes not only lung cancer but also cancers of the esophagus, larynx, mouth, throat, kidney, bladder, pancreas, stomach and cervix.

2. Keep the weight off. Studies suggest that obesity contributes to about 14 percent of the cancer deaths in American men and 20 percent of those in women. 3. Get off the couch. Exercise may reduce cancer risk by lowering hormones and cellular growth factors, improving insulin resistance and improving the immune system. 4. Eat a healthy diet. Eat at least five (better yet, nine) servings of a variety of vegetables and fruits every day. Limit your intake of red meat and pork, especially processed meats. Choose whole grains over refined-grain products. Avoid salty and salt-preserved foods.

5. Drink less alcohol. Alcoholic beverages increase the risk of various cancers, and the more you drink, the greater the risk.

6. Limit high-heat cooking. Cooking high-protein foods such as meat, fish and poultry at high temperatures over coals or flames creates chemicals that are believed to promote cancer risk.

7. Limit sun exposure. Ultraviolet radiation from the sun or tanning beds is responsible for the great majority of the 2 million cases of skin cancer diagnosed in the U.S. each year.

8. Limit radiation from medical imaging tests. Americans, on average, are exposed to six times more radiation from medical imaging than they were three decades ago. The risk from a single CT scan is minuscule, but radiation exposures add up over a lifetime.

9. Test your home for radon.

10. Test your water for arsenic.

11. Decrease your workplace exposure to carcinogens such as secondhand smoke and other chemicals.

12. Limit your exposure to air pollution - outdoors and indoors.

Information courtesy the UC Berkeley Wellness Letter.

Q AND A

Q: Do walking and strength-training exercises provide the same kind of anti-inflammatory and general health benefits?

A: Experts say that we really need a combination of both strength-training and aerobic exercise (such as walking, swimming and gardening). Both provide benefits, but together they offer the best protection from chronic diseases.

A lot of research focuses on people with type 2 diabetes because they are likely to have inflammation in addition to insulin resistance.

Insulin resistance occurs when the body becomes less sensitive to its action. Insulin levels increase in an effort to control blood sugar, but these higher circulating levels can have undesirable effects, apparently promoting growth of some cancers, for example.

In one study, even without significant weight loss, aerobic exercise four times a week for 45 to 60 minutes reduced markers of inflammation and insulin resistance. In yet another study among sedentary people with type 2 diabetes, while both types of exercise led to decreased body fat and waist size (important markers of health risk), only the combination approach to physical activity brought meaningful reductions in hemoglobin A1C, a marker of blood sugar control linked to heart disease risk.

The bottom line from these and other studies is that getting either type of exercise is beneficial. Getting both daily aerobic exercise and strength-training exercise two or three times each week is best.

Information courtesy the American Institute for Cancer Research.

RECIPE

Cooking Light's December issue is full of cookies and party nibbles, but there's also room at the holiday table (and magazine) for a few recipes that are quick, healthy and perfect for those days when time seems to fly by — and it's dinnertime.

Chicken with Brussels Sprouts and Mustard Sauce

— 2 tbsp. olive oil, divided

— Four 6-ounce skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

— 3/8 tsp. salt, divided

— 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

— 3/4 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth, divided

— 1/4 cup unfiltered apple cider

— 2 tbsp. whole-grain Dijon mustard

— 2 tbsp. butter, divided

— 1 tbsp. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

— 12 ounces Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Heat a large ovenproof skillet over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil. Sprinkle chicken with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper; add to pan. Cook 3 minutes or until browned. Turn chicken; place pan in oven. Bake at 450 degrees for 9 minutes or until done. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm. Heat pan over medium-high heat. Add 1/2 cup broth and cider; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 4 minutes or until thickened. Whisk in mustard, 1 tablespoon butter and parsley. Add chicken back to pan and keep warm.

Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add Brussels sprouts; saute 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Add remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 cup broth to pan; cover and cook 4 minutes or until crisp-tender. Serve sprouts with chicken and sauce. Serves four. (Serving size: one chicken breast half; 2/3 cup Brussels sprouts and 2 tablespoons sauce.

Per serving: 355 calories; 42.8 g protein; 11.6 g carbohydrates; 14.9 g fat; 114 mg cholesterol; 3.5 g fiber; 647 mg sodium.

Charlyn Fargo is a registered dietitian from Springfield, Ill. For comments or questions, contact her at charfarg@aol.com. To find out more about Charlyn Fargo and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2011 CREATORS.COM