"breast cancer" news and stories

Every time we turn around it seems that there is some expert or some study telling us that another food is "bad" for us. And given a little more time, there will be another person saying that the food is, in fact, "good." Red meat -- a category that includes beef, pork and lamb -- has been subject to this time and again and it is getting difficult to keep track of all the things that it can -- and cannot -- do. Fortunately, an Independent columnist neatly summarized the benefits and risks of eating red meat.

Benefits

• High in zinc, which is important for a healthy immune system.
• Contains more iron than most foods, and it is more easily used by the body than iron from other sources
• Also a good source of other vitamins and minerals, including phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, selenium and b vitamins.
• Excellent source of complete proteins
• A high-protein diet based on lean red meat has been shown to help weight loss

Risks

• An increased risk of bowel cancer was found for people who ate more than two servings of red meat per week.
• The Mediterranean diet, which is low in red meat, has been shown to decrease the risk of Alzheimer's disease
• Excessive amounts of red meat can lead to a higher risk of osteoporosis due to an acid byproduct from digesting very large amounts of protein.
• Eating red meat every day can double the risk of Arthritis
• Red meat is high in saturated fat and cholesterol
• A recent study found that rating more than one serving of red meat per day can double the risk of breast cancer, especially in young women.

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Some new research suggests that there may be a link between breast cancer and the amount of red meat women consume. Researchers said that having "one-and-a-half servings of red meat per day almost doubled the risk of hormone receptor-positive breast cancer compared to three or fewer per week." The conclusion was drawn from data from the Nurses' Health Study II, which was collected from 1989 to 2003, and where one portion of meat was defined as having a meat main dish (or major component of the name dish) at any meal, including in a sandwich, hamburger, hot dog or bacon.

There are a few reasons attributed to the increase in risk. First, some cancer-causing chemicals "such as heterocyclic amines" are created when red meat is cooked. Second, there may be a link with some of the growth hormones given to cattle. That being said, previous forays into this area have proven to be inconclusive, so even though there was a correlation it doesn't mean that anything is completely certain at this point.

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Add another product to the list of things that have going pink in support of breast cancer awareness. This special edition set of Mundial knives is a ten piece set and includes seven knives, a carving fork, kitchen shears and the wood block holder to keep everything organized. One of the included knives is a granton edge santoku knife, one of the most popular models available, and this is the first Mundial set to include it.

Even though the set was created in honor of the company's partnership with the National Breast Cancer Foundation, the charmingly feminine pink color of the set should make it appealing to many for purely aesthetic reasons. In other words, whether you intend to support the cause or not, a girly set of kitchen knives is a nice change from the basic black of most manufacturers.

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After getting all that Pink tea from the Republic of Tea, it's probably a good idea to have something to drink it out of and, since we're already looking at a lot of pink-themed things for breast cancer awareness month, why not a pink ribbon cup, as well? While buying one tea cup at a time isn't the most practical way to outfit a kitchen, it's nice to be able to get one to support a cause. The Pink Ribbon Tea Cup is another product where a portion of the proceeds go to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and its connection to the charity extends beyond the color outside cup to the little pink ribbon within.

We think that a cup like this would make a great gift set when paired up with some favorite teas. The teas mentioned above would be a good choice, but other purveyors, including Adagio, will give you a wider range of tea options to choose from, although coffee is always an option, too.

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If you want to honor breast cancer awareness month, or if you just happen to like pink, there are a lot of options for pink foods that don't require you to get a new set of cookware or buy cookies. Besides, baking your own cookies is much more fun, isn't it?

A good place to start is by looking back at our archives, because last year some food bloggers got together to make up their own pink recipes. Once you've had your fill of those, you can take a look at the famous pink recipes from KitchenAid's Cook For the Cure collection, as well as looking (perhaps somewhat lustily) at all their lovely pink appliances, as well. iVillage has a complete pink party menu that will get you from appetizers and cocktails through dessert. Speaking of cocktails, there are well over 100 cocktail recipes that turn out pink-hued drinks, or at least use pink in the name. Finally, RecipeZaar, a great online recipe source full of user-submitted recipes and reviews, has 156 pink recipes, including one for Pink Fluff, a sweet concoction that can be either salad or dessert.

Whew! That was quite a list, but you should be able to find plenty of pink foods even without using these resources. How about a medium steak for dinner, followed up by a creamy strawberry milkshake?

[Thanks for some of the tips, Ken!]