Hello, I Must Be Going

Greetings, readers of this blog. I have good news and. . .well, good news.

The good folks at HealthCentral.com, a network of Web communities devoted to 28 health conditions and interests, have adopted my blog and now feature it on their site.

You'll find my profile and first handful of entries here. You'll notice the following changes:

• Practically none. Same format, same mission--a dedication to parsing the study-of-the-day and sorting out what it says, what it doesn't, and what, if anything, you should do about it. I will be writing (nearly) every weekday.
• Well, one change. Because HealthCentral is devoted to various niche areas, from acid reflux to sleep, you'll find my entries posted in each of those areas. You will also likely find the daily entry on the main HealthCentral home page.
• And with my HealthCentral profile, you'll see a photograph of me. Yes, it's true. I shave my head. In line with my commitment to personal health best practices, however, I always polish it with SPF 30 before leaving the house. If you look closely at the photo, you'll see the distinctive gloss.

I hope you'll follow me to HealthCentral. In any event, thanks for reading the home-rolled version of this blog. It's your support that's helped me take my show to a larger audience.

Cheers,

Craig Stoltz

You Say Lycopene, I Say Tomato

I have to admit I love it when the supplementeers are rocked back on their heels. For quite some time folks who sell the nutrient lycopene in dietary supplement form have been crowing about its benefits for vision, prostate health and cancer prevention. Some in the tomato "industry" (can vegetables have an industry?) have rallied for the FDA to permit health claims for tomato products.

Two recent studies pretty much upend those claims. Details? Funny you should ask.

Bottom line first

Lycopene does not appear to reduce risk for prostate cancer, and there is little credible evidence that tomatoes or tomato products are linked to lower cancer risk.

These studies in 50 words or less

Study 1: Researchers reporting in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention followed 28,000 men for eight years and found no link between blood levels of lycopene and risk of prostate cancer. Study 2: An FDA review of evidence about the cancer-fighting properties of tomatoes Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Yes, but. . .

• Study 1 was not a gold-standard clinical trail; it followed a large group of men closely over time. Power of this kind of study: C. Study 2 analyzed 145 different reports with different methodologies. Depending on which side of the tomato divide you stand on, this is either a strength or weakness of the study. Earlier, less thoroughgoing studies have found some possible/minor/both benefits linked to tomato consumption.
• Study 2 leaves open the possibility that lycopene/tomato/tomato products may reduce the severity of prostate cancer, or likelihood of the cancer progressing.
• Study 1 found, as a secondary (less statistically dependable) finding, that high blood levels of beta-carotene (responsible for the orange color of carrots), was linked to a higher risk of aggressive prostate cancer. Previous studies, including those of smokers, have suggested a high beta carotene/higher cancer risk link.

So what are you going to do about it?

I like what Karen Collins, of the American Institute for Cancer Research, a D.C. nonprofit that supports the role of diet in cancer prevention, told the Boston Globe: "We don't have the evidence to jump into lycopene supplements. But we do still recommend eating tomatoes, cooked and raw, not because they have magical powers but because they are a great source of many nutrients and are part of a good, plant-based diet."

Our very good friends at Natural Standard (Truth Squadders will recognize this motif) report all that was known about lycopene until these studies came out. Funny thing: NS never gave any lycopene claims any higher grade than C.

Join SparkPeople. Says Who? A Medical Journal.

Here's something you don't see everyday: a wellness Web site endorsed by a medical journal.

A study of 18 online user groups devoted to weight loss, published in the American Journal of Medicine, cited SparkPeople as a site users should turn to for support and accurate information. The authors essentially were testing the accuracy of content in community forums. They found that larger communities with many regular posters were indeed mostly self-correcting (as Wikipedia allegedy is. But don't get me started riding that hobby horse.)

Wrote the authors, addressing clinicians seeking to help patients lose weight:
Refer patients to high-activity forums, such as the “Diet and Nutrition” or “Fitness and Exercise” forums on http://www.sparkpeople.com/ or other forums with more than 1,000 messages per month.

They also looked at the fora of CalorieKing, the delightfully named 3fatchicks, about.com and others.

Stat freaks should check out the full study linked above, which cites how many errors they found, how many were corrected by the community, how many were serious, etc. (Answers: Not many, about 1/3, very few).

As it turns out, I participated in the SparkPeople community for a year or so, as a personal experiment in online health communities. (Also I wanted to cut 10 pounds.) I can tell you it is a great source of motivation and support, plus first-rate expert advice. I don’t think I ever got a bum steer.

Of course I could have written a novel in the time I spent on the site, but that’s another story.