Major New Discovery to Predict Colon Cancer Earlier

An easily overlooked colon abnormality turns out to be likely to turn cancerous. It is more common than had previously been thought.

Generally, doctors search for polyps, abnormal growths that stick out from the lining of the colon. But another type of growth is both more dangerous and harder to see because it is flat and similar in color to healthy tissue.
It takes a trained and vigilant eye to see these growths, and special techniques to remove them.

Colon cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death in the United States, causing about 52,000 deaths a year. It is one of the few cancers that is totally preventable if precancerous growths are found and removed.


Sources:

* New York Times March 5, 2008

Why Fermented Soy is Better

Two new studies have show that fermenting soy dramatically reduces its potential allergenicity, and also increases the number of essential amino acids in soy products.
When soy products were fermented, immunoreactivity was reduced by as much as 99 percent, according to tests that compared the blood plasma reactions for both fermented and unfermented soy products.

Fermentation had also improved the essential amino acid composition in the soy products and produced new peptides that may be beneficial. This was attributed to partial digestion of large soybean peptides by enzymes secreted by the microorganisms used in fermentation.


Sources:

* Science Daily March 6, 2008

Food Quality Risks are Affecting the Global Food Supply Chain

A new study has shown the potential for contamination of globally sourced foods and proposes a conceptual framework of supply chain quality management.
The study utilized information from trends of U.S. food imports from China and subsequent recall events to highlight the inherent risks posed by global food supply chains. Problems arise when pursuit of profit is not held in check by regulatory forces.

The study argues that “adding on inspections and stricter regulations alone may be neither sustainable nor effective in the long run.” The authors suggest following a conceptual framework called the “6Ts” of supply chain quality management -- traceability, transparency, testability, time, trust, and training.


Sources:

* Science Daily March 6, 2008

Obese Girls 50 Percent Less Likely to Attend College

It is well known that a college education helps reduce the probability of obesity. But research now shows that obese girls are 50 percent less likely to attend college, which may put them in a downward spiral of obesity, health problems and low income.
The author of the study, sociologist Robert Crosno, said that, “Obese girls were less likely to enter college after high school than were their non-obese peers, especially when they attended schools in which obesity was relatively uncommon.”

The study looked at data for 11,000 adolescents from 128 schools. The goal of the research was to study how obesity predicts maladjustment. The study also found that obese girls had higher class failure and self-rejection.


Sources:

* The Business Shrink March 6, 2008