Researchers found that U.S. pork products have a higher prevalence of methicillin-resistant “Staphylococcus aureus” bacteria (MRSA) than previously identified. MRSA can occur in the environment and in raw meat products, and causes about 185,000 cases of food poisoning each year. The bacteria can also cause serious, life-threatening infections of the bloodstream, skin, lungs, and other organs. MRSA is resistant to a number of antibiotics.

The study, published last week in the journal “PLoS ONE”, represents the largest sampling of raw meat products for MRSA contamination to date in the country. The researchers collected 395 raw pork samples from 36 stores in Iowa, Minnesota, and New Jersey. Of these samples, 26 — or about seven percent — carried MRSA.

(This isn’t the first time we’ve had to blow the whistle on the food industry; see: Is There Cardboard in Your Food?)

What this essentially means is that the meat we buy in our grocery stores has a higher prevalence of staph bacteria than we thought. The researchers suggest that this will help food safety officials recommend safer ways to handle raw meat products to make it safer for the consumer.

The study also found no significant difference in MRSA contamination between conventional pork products and those raised without antibiotics. This was surprising to the researchers, though it’s possible that this finding has more to do with the handling of the raw meat at the plant than the way the animals were raised.

Food poisoning is actually called “foodborne illness” and most is caused by bacteria. The problem is that you cannot detect the bacteria and germs that cause this illness, because they are not visible, do not smell, and have no taste. But that which you can’t see can multiply into the millions in just a few hours if the temperature is right.

Symptoms of foodborne illness can include diarrhea, fever, stomach cramps, nausea, and vomiting. You can’t easily tell if such symptoms are caused by food. You can start feeling sick anywhere from hours to weeks after eating the tainted food. Mostly, people get sick within a few days after eating food that has become contaminated. Older adults are among the most likely to become seriously sick from eating contaminated food.

A safer way to prepare pork can help you eliminate or limit bacteria in your food; this includes cooking your pork to a specific temperature. The United States Department of Agriculture says that you should cook ground pork mixtures (such as patties and meat loaf) to 160°F and other cuts of raw pork, such as pork chops and pork roast, to at least 145°F. If you have a compromised immune system, perhaps you should avoid pork products for now.

This latest health news comes courtesy of a study that compared zinc levels in the prostate tissue, plasma, and urine in patients diagnosed with BPH or prostate cancer. After analyzing results from tests, the researchers found that tissue zinc was decreased by 83% in prostate cancer patients, as compared to normal tissue in control patients. In BPH patients, there was a 61% decrease in mean tissue zinc as compared to normal tissues! Not surprisingly, both these values were deemed statistically significant by the researchers. As for plasma zinc (the amount of zinc suspended in blood plasma), prostate cancer patients showed a 27% decrease, as compared to controls, and an 18% decrease, as compared to BPH.

The researchers discovered one other important link between zinc and BPH and prostate cancer: urine zinc (meaning zinc lost from the body) was significantly increased to 53% in prostate cancer patients, and a 20% significant increase was observed in BPH, as compared to normal subjects.

The researchers concluded that it is evident from this study that BPH or prostate cancer may be associated with a reduction in the levels of tissue zinc and plasma zinc, and an increase in urine zinc.

If you are concerned about your prostate, go for a prostate check at your doctor’s. In the meantime, reduce your chances of getting BPH or prostate cancer by supplementing with these top five food sources of zinc:

1. Oysters — your number one source!
2. Fortified cereal
3. All meat
4. Whole grains (especially whole wheat, oats, rye)
5. Nuts & peanut butter

RECOMMENDED: Treating Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia with Saw Palmetto

 Until recently, scientists have only had a rudimentary understanding of metastasis, which is a complicated process that involves genes splitting, altering, and spreading. It’s tough because one metastasis (say, breast cancer spreading to the lung) is different than the next (stomach cancer spreading to the bone). It is the metastasis that kills, more than any one tumor.

 Usually cancer will start in an organ, and the real trouble happens if a cancerous cell changes shape, squeezes through dense tissue, and finds the bloodstream. From there, it can go anywhere in the body.

 There is a lot more involved in the process after that, but it’s a touch complicated and depends on the area of the body where the cell ends up. Lately, scientists have understood that metastasis involves many processes rather than one event, and they’ve investigated each step. This has led to many new fields of study that could pave the way to real cancer treatment options. All of these are ideas that we can tailor therapy toward:

 – The idea that the environment of the invaded organ influences metastasis. The less resistance the organ gives, the easier it will be for cancer. We’re investigating what events in an organ give cancer an easier time right as it arrives. Example: white blood cells don’t actually battle the cancer, but in fact help tumors progress.

 – Cancer often spreads from bone. When bone breaks down, it releases factors that fuel cancer. Some patients are being given osteoporosis drugs to prevent bone breakdown to see if the cancerous cycle can be stopped.

 – Some people’s bodies may be more tumor friendly than others. Could a blood test one day predict your level of risk for metastasis? Could we then customize cancer treatment?

 – We’re closing in on DNA predicting. We know of certain genes that cause an increased risk for metastasis. Researchers are searching for genes called “master regulators.”

 – Stem cells are big. Cancer stem cells may be the culprits behind all metastasis, explaining why millions of cancer cells spread but only a select few actually stick and cause a tumor. These would be the stem cells.

 – What about that colonization, the last step of metastasis? We may, in fact, already have “micrometastases” (cancer cells that spread, but are too small to be detected) in our body right when cancer is diagnosed. Could we one day find them in order to prevent cancer’s spread?

 – Some are trying to block blood vessels from developing and feeding the cancer. A cancerous cell needs to thrive in new blood vessels first. Maybe we can stop this initial step.

]]> http://www.doctorshealthpress.com/health-articles/new-therapies-are-on-the-horizon-as-we-learn-about-how-cancer-spreads/feed 0 http://www.doctorshealthpress.com/health-articles/vitamin-d-is-good-for-your-gums-too?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=vitamin-d-is-good-for-your-gums-too http://www.doctorshealthpress.com/health-articles/vitamin-d-is-good-for-your-gums-too#comments Thu, 01 Dec 2005 13:02:27 +0000 The Doctors Health Press Editorial Board http://www.doctorshealthpress.com/?p=13725 Vitamin D isn’t just for your bones anymore. This versatile vitamin is now showing promise in the fight against gum disease as well. According to a new study, vitamin D has both anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties. (This means that it can reduce inflammation and boost your body’s ability to fight off infections.) It appears that people who have more vitamin D in their bodies run a lower risk of contracting gum disease.

 The Boston-based study looked at 6,700 people who had never smoked before. They examined the gums and teeth of these people and compared … Read More