Bawang merah dan bawang putih dapat mencegah kanker

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 84, No. 5, 1027-1032, November 2006. © 2006 American Society for Nutrition. Onion and garlic use and human cancer. Carlotta Galeone, Claudio Pelucchi, Fabio Levi, Eva Negri, Silvia Franceschi, Renato Talamini, Attilio Giacosa and Carlo La Vecchia

Masyarakat Asia banyak menggunakan bawang merah (Allium cepa) dan bawang putih (Allium sativum) dalam makanan sehari2. Tentang khasiat bawang merah dan bawang putih juga telah banyak diteliti di China. Para ahli di Italia mengadakan penelitian untuk membuktikan khasiat bawang merah dan bawang putih.

Mereka mendapatkan bahwa kelompok orang yang banyak mengkonsumsi bawang merah dan bawang putih dapat menurunkan risiko terjadinya kanker rongga mulut, kanker tenggorokan, kanker esofagus, kanker kolorektal (usus besar), kanker larynx, kanker payudara, kanker prostat, dan kanker ginjal.

Kesimpulan konsumsi bawang merah dan bawang putih terbukti dapat menurunkan risiko kanker.

Abstract

Background: Interest in the potential benefits of allium vegetables, in particular, onion (Allium cepa) and garlic (Allium sativum), has its origin in antiquity, but the details of these benefits are still open to discussion.

Objective: We investigated the role of allium vegetables in the etiology of various neoplasms. Previous data are scanty and are based mainly on Chinese studies.

Design: Using data from an integrated network of Italian and Swiss case-control studies, we analyzed the relation between frequency of onion and garlic use and cancer at several sites. We calculated odds ratios (ORs) by using multivariate logistic regression models that were adjusted for energy intake and other major covariates.

Results: Consumption of onions varied between 0-14 and 0-22 portions/wk among cases and controls, respectively. The multivariate ORs for the highest category of onion and garlic intake were, respectively, 0.16 and 0.61 for cancer of the oral cavity and pharynx, 0.12 and 0.43 for esophageal cancer, 0.44 and 0.74 for colorectal cancer, 0.17 and 0.56 for laryngeal cancer, 0.75 and 0.90 for breast cancer, 0.27 and 0.78 for ovarian cancer, 0.29 and 0.81 for prostate cancer, and 0.62 and 0.69 for renal cell cancer.

Conclusions: This uniquely large data set from southern European populations shows an inverse association between the frequency of use of allium vegetables and the risk of several common cancers. Allium vegetables are a favorable correlate of cancer risk in Europe.

Biaya kesehatan untuk anak obes lebih mahal

Bagi para orang tua yang masih menginginkan anaknya bertubuh gemuk, temuan terbaru ini layak disimak.

Para peneliti di USA menemukan bahwa biaya kesehatan untuk anak dengan obesitas lebih mahal dibanding anak normal, karena lebih sering mengunjungi dokter dan melakukan pemeriksaan laboratorium.

Hal yang sama berlaku juga pada orang dewasa dengan obesitas. Disebutkan pula bahwa 80% anak usia 12 tahun dengan obesitas akan berlanjut menjadi obesitas dewasa.

Health Care Expenditures Significantly Higher For Children With Obesity Sarah E. Hampl, M.D., et al. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2007;161:11-14

Children and adolescents who are obese or overweight have higher health care utilization and a significantly higher average of health care charges than their healthy-weight peers, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

According to background information in the article, 30 percent of children in the United States are obese or overweight with six in ten having at least one risk factor for cardiovascular disease and 25 percent having more than two risk factors for the disease. The authors note that more than 80 percent of obese 12-year-olds will carry their overweight status into adulthood.

Sarah E. Hampl, M.D., and colleagues at Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics and the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine analyzed data from 8,404 patients age 5 to 18 who attended a primary care clinic in the Midwest for well-child care visits during 2002 and 2003. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated with patients' height and weight information. Four weight categories were used in the study: patients with a BMI in the 95th percentile or higher for their age and sex with a discharge diagnosis of obesity, patients with a BMI in the 95th percentile or higher for their age and sex without a diagnosis of obesity, patients with BMI between the 85th and 94th percentiles classified as overweight and patients with BMIs lower than the 85th percentile classified as healthy weight.

Health care resource utilization was measured for each category and included the number of health care visits and blood tests that occurred within a year from each patient's initial visit. Health care expenditures were determined by charge data obtained through the billing system of health care resources. Factors associated with the diagnosis of obesity were also examined.

Based on the patients' BMI, 17.8 percent were overweight and 21.9 percent were obese. Of the obese children, only 42.9 percent had a discharge diagnosis of obesity, suggesting a significant rate of underdiagnosis. "When obesity was present, being female, older and insured by Medicaid were associated with a higher probability of having diagnosed obesity," the authors write.

A significantly higher rate of utilization of laboratory services by overweight and obese children was found when compared to their healthy-weight peers. This increase was most notable for children with diagnosed obesity. "We speculate that this increase reflects primary care provider compliance with expert committee recommendations for laboratory evaluation of obese children and adolescents," the authors write. "Compared with their healthy-weight peers, children with overweight, diagnosed obesity and undiagnosed obesity had significantly higher charges, with the highest for the diagnosed obesity category," with an average adjusted difference of $172.

"This finding is perhaps reflective of primary care provider intent to detect and treat comorbid conditions. This trend of increased health care utilization, observed even in children younger than 10 years, is similar to the trends seen in adult patients," the authors conclude. "Efforts to continue to educate primary care providers regarding the diagnosis of obesity and early interventions to address obesity in children are warranted."

Nutrition in toddlers

Am Fam Physician <http://www.aafp.org/afp/20061101/1527.html> November 1 2006;74:1527-32, 1533-4. © 2006 American Academy of Family Physicians. Nutrition in Toddlers, Richard E. Allen, M.D., M.P.H. and Anya L. Myers, R.D., M.SC.

Pada usia 'toddler' seorang anak mengalami transisi dari bayi menjadi anak, demikian pula dietnya berubah dari diet susu menjadi diet anak yang omnivor. Dalam peralihan ini dokter perlu melakukan monitoring pertumbuhan dan indeks massa tubuh untuk menentukan diet yang sehat bagi sang anak.

Pembatasan makanan berlemak dan kolesterol kiranya belum perlu pada anak <2 tahun. Setelah usia 2 tahun dianjurkan konsumsi lemak 30% dari jumlah total kebutuhan kalori per hari, terutama lemak tak jenuh jamak (polyunsaturated fats). Dianjurkan konsumsi susu atau produk olahan susu (dairy product) setidaknya dua sampai tiga kali sehari. Konsumsi pemanis/minuman manis dibatasi 120-180 gram per hari. Penggunaan multivitamin secara rutin tidak perlu. Dianjurkan konsumsi berbagai golongan makanan.

Karena anak cenderung meniru orang tuanya maka parental modeling perlu dalam rangka membentuk kebiasaan makan yang baik bagi sang anak. Tidak ada bukti kuat bahwa obesitas pada usia anak berhubungan dengan obesitas pada usia dewasa, sehingga lebih baik anak tidak kurang gizi daripada khawatir terjadinya obesitas pada usia toddler.

Toddlers make a transition from dependent milk-fed infancy to independent feeding and a typical omnivorous diet. This stage is an important time for physicians to monitor growth using growth charts and body mass index and to make recommendations for healthy eating. Fat and cholesterol restriction should be avoided in children younger than two years. After two years of age, fat should account for 30 percent of total daily calories, with an emphasis on polyunsaturated fats. Toddlers should consume milk or other dairy products two or three times daily, and sweetened beverages should be limited to 4 to 6 ounces of 100 percent juice daily. Vitamin D, calcium, and iron should be supplemented in select toddlers, but the routine use of multivitamins is unnecessary. Food from two of the four food groups should be offered for snacks, and meals should be made up of three of the four groups. Parental modeling is important in developing good dietary habits. No evidence exists that early childhood obesity leads to adult obesity, but physicians should monitor body mass index and make recommendations for healthy eating. The fear of obesity must be carefully balanced with the potential for undernutrition in toddlers. (Am Fam Physician 2006;74:1527-32, 1533-4. Copyright © 2006 American Academy of Family Physicians.)