Conscious Choice: Body Talk

March 2007

Body Talk

By Elizabeth Barker

The June Cleaver workout

Keeping a squeaky-clean house is better for your health then working out. Or at least that’s what a quick glance at a recent study from Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention might indicate. Using data on more than 200,000 European women between ages 20 and 80, researchers concluded that housework is more likely to protect against breast cancer than on-the-job physical activity and other forms of exercise.

But a closer look reveals that the study’s low prevalence of women with a steady fitness routine may have ruled out the chance of finding a link between workouts and breast cancer prevention. And since housework provides study subjects moderate-intensity exercise on a regular basis, it “may be more important than less frequent but more intense recreational activity in reducing breast cancer risk,” the study authors note.

For those who aren’t up for the two-plus daily hours of housework performed by the study members, American Council on Exercise spokesperson Fabio Comana suggests getting your moderate-intensity workout by jogging for 15 minutes, swimming laps for 20 minutes or riding a bike for a half-hour.

Mind-body medicine for back pain

Need to ease your aching back? Start with your head. In a recent Health Psychology research review of 22 studies, psychologist Robert Kerns, PhD, found that mind-based approaches like cognitive-behavioral therapy, biofeedback and relaxation training were effective for treating chronic low back pain.

Such solutions may stand superior to medical treatment for the condition, according to Dennis Turk, PhD, a professor of anesthesiology and pain research at the University of Washington. “Even the latest and greatest treatments don’t cure people with chronic pain,” he says. “Psychological interventions are not cures, but they do reduce pain and improve function.”

Power down on protein

Going veggie and cutting back on protein may lower your levels of a substance linked to some cancers, according to a new study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Researchers discovered that the 21 study members who had been following a low-protein vegetarian diet for at least two years had lower blood levels of plasma insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), a protein found at high levels in people with pre-menopausal breast cancer, prostate cancer and certain colon cancers. The study also showed that its group of 21 endurance runners had lower IGF-1 levels than a third group of 21 sedentary people on a high-sugar, high-animal-product Western diet.

“I believe our findings suggest that protein intake may be very important in regulating cancer risk,” says lead study author Luigi Fontana, MD, who recommends choosing more whole grains, beans, fruits and vegetables and going easy on meat, cheese, eggs and butter.

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