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Eating Fish and cutting red meat can lower Cancer Risk by 40%

Study shows substantial benefit in eliminating/reducing red meat and substituting healthier proteins

It is commonly believed that lowering your intake of red meats while eating more fish will improve health and lower the risk of cancer. A new meta-analysis in Nutrition Reviews reports that consumers of red and processed meat have a 40% higher risk of developing oesophageal cancer than their peers.

Red meat: in addition to raising the risk for colorectal cancer and other health problems, it can actually shorten your life. That's the clear message of the latest research based on data from two ongoing, decades-long Harvard School of Public Health studies of nurses and other health professionals. It appears "healthy meat consumption" has become an oxymoron.

"This study provides clear evidence that regular consumption of red meat, especially processed meat, contributes substantially to premature death," according to Dr. Frank Hu, one of the senior scientists involved in the study and a professor of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health.

How should you respond to this latest blow to red-blooded American cuisine? How much meat can you eat? And if not meat, what types of protein should you substitute?

Meat and mortality

In the study, published April 9, 2012, in the Archives of Internal Medicine, a team of Harvard researchers looked for statistical links between meat consumption and cause of death. The populations scrutinized included about 84,000 women from the Nurses' Health Study and 38,000 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study.

People in the study who ate the most red meat tended to die younger, and to die more often from cardiovascular disease and cancer. These people also tended to weigh more, exercise less, smoke tobacco more, and drink more alcohol than healthier people in the study. Yet even when the researchers compensated for the effects of unhealthy lifestyle, mortality and meat remained associated.

What the study found

After 28 years, nearly 24,000 people in these two studies died from cardiovascular disease or cancer. How much and what kind of meat did they eat while they were alive?

Using questionnaires, the scientists asked people in the study to estimate how many servings of meat they consumed. Unprocessed red meat included beef, pork, lamb, and hamburger at serving sizes of 3 oz, or a portion about the size of a deck of playing cards.

Processed meat included bacon, hot dogs, sausage, salami, bologna, and other processed items. Two slices of bacon represented 1 serving; so did one slice of cold cuts.

The study determined that each additional daily serving of red meat increased risk of death by 13%. The impact rose to 20% if the serving was processed, as in food items like hot dogs, bacon, and cold cuts.

What it means for you

What does a 13% increased "risk of mortality" (for each additional serving of unprocessed red meat) mean for an individual? Dr. Walter Willett, a senior scientist on the team and the chair of the departments of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health, suggests this way of looking at the study results:

"If someone is age 60 and has a 50% chance of dying in the next 25 years, adding one serving a day would increase his risk of dying in that time to about 57%, and if he had two servings a day, this would be about a 63% risk of dying in that time."

Substituting healthy proteins

The study points to an even greater benefit if you substitute meat with equivalent servings of more healthful protein sources, such as fish, poultry, nuts, legumes, low-fat dairy products, and whole grains. The benefit was 7% for substituting fish, 14% for poultry, and 19% for nuts.

Again, says Dr. Willett, there is a clear mortality dividend for such substitutions. "If someone who has a 50% risk of dying in the next 25 years replaces one serving of red meat per day with chicken, the risk is decreased to about 42%, and to about 40% if nuts replace red meat."

What should you do?

The prudent course would be to try to reduce red meat consumption if you already haven't. On an individual level the exact benefit is hard to predict, but you can bet that reducing meat consumption�particularly processed meat�is likely to score you an advantage. "Making these kinds of decisions is like being a smart gambler," Willett says. "Nothing is guaranteed, but this is putting the odds in your favor." It's a menu many men can live with�literally.

Agent Orange linked to life-threatening Prostate Cancer

A new analysis has found a link between exposure to Agent Orange and lethal forms of prostate cancer among US Veterans. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the findings suggest that Agent Orange exposure history should be incorporated into prostate screening decisions for Veterans.

The herbicide Agent Orange was heavily used during the Vietnam War era and was often contaminated with dioxin, a dangerous toxin and potential carcinogen. Prior research suggests that exposure to Agent Orange may increase men�s risk of developing prostate cancer, but it is unclear whether it specifically increases their risk of developing lethal forms of the disease. �This is an important distinction as the majority of prostate cancer cases are non-lethal and thus do not necessarily require detection or therapy. Having a means of specifically detecting life-threatening cancer would improve the effectiveness of screening and treatment of prostate cancer,� said Mark Garzotto, MD, of the Portland Veterans Administration Medical Center and Oregon Health & Science University.

To look for a link between Agent Orange exposure and life-threatening, or high-grade, prostate cancer, Nathan Ansbaugh, MPH, designed and conducted analyses on a group of 2,720 US Veterans who were referred

by multiple providers for initial prostate biopsy. Biopsy results and clinical information were compiled for analysis by principal investigator Dr. Garzotto.

Prostate cancer was diagnosed in 896 (32.9 percent) of the Veterans; 459 (16.9 percent) had high-grade disease. Agent Orange exposure was linked with a 52 percent increase in overall risk of prostate cancer detection by biopsy. Exposure to the herbicide did not confer an increase in risk of low-grade prostate cancer, but it was linked with a 75 percent increase in risk of high-grade prostate cancer. In addition, Agent Orange exposure was associated with more than a two-fold increase in the highest-grade, most lethal cancers.

This study indicates that determining men�s Agent Orange exposure status is a readily identifiable means of improving prostate cancer screening for US Veterans, allowing for earlier detection and treatment of lethal cases and potentially prolonging survival and improving quality of life. �It also should raise awareness about potential harms of chemical contaminants in biologic agents used in warfare and the risks associated with waste handling and other chemical processes that generate dioxin or dioxin-related compounds,� said Dr. Garzotto.

Federal data conflicts with Gun Control rhetoric

BELLEVUE, WA - Newly-released data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) proves that more guns in private hands do not lead to more murders, and a Pew Research study showing widespread ignorance of this fact suggests that the public has been misled, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today.

"The BJS data covers 1993 to 2011 and suggests that for almost 20 years, the gun prohibition lobby has been consistently wrong about private gun ownership and its correlation to crime," said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. "The Pew report suggests that the public has been essentially hoodwinked into believing otherwise."

An Associated Press report about the Pew Research revelation suggested that "intense publicity generated by recent mass shootings" may help to skew the public perception about gun-related violent crime.

"The release of these reports blows holes in the gun prohibition agenda," Gottlieb stated. "If violent crime had gone upward, gun grabbers would exploit the fact as proof that more guns in private hands lead to more violent crime.

"However," he added, "if the gun rights community argued that the BJS data proves increased gun ownership leads to lower violent crime rates, the dominant liberal media would savage the notion. Of course, this is the same anti-gun press that has sensationalized crimes while remaining silent about the actual crime data.

"The BJS data shows that gun-related homicides declined by 39 percent from 1993 to 2011, and the Pew Research Center found that gun-related homicides fell from 7 per 100,000 in 1993 to 3.6 per 100,000 in 2010, a decline of 49 percent," Gottlieb said. "The declining percentages go in the same direction. Firearms-related homicides have plummeted dramatically while more Americans bought more guns, including millions of semi-automatic modern sporting rifles. More people are licensed to carry in more states, and crime is down.

"It is time for the gun control crowd to acknowledge they have been consistently and undeniably wrong," Gottlieb concluded, "and admit that their agenda has never been about crime, but about public disarmament. They don't want to prevent gun crime, they want to prevent gun ownership."

Feds issue 2013 Asian Carp Monitoring and Response Plan

Full plan posted on http://asiancarp.us.

Since 2010, Federal and state partners have executed a coordinated Asian carp monitoring and sampling strategy, dedicating more than 35,000 hours to surveying and removing Asian carp from the CAWS and Illinois Waterway.  In 2012, 200 miles of waterway from Starved Rock Lock and Dam (near the village of Utica, Illinois) to Lake Michigan were monitored, including 76 miles of the CAWS.  Last year, almost 100,000 fish were collected upstream of the electrical barrier system, none of which were bighead or silver carp.  The 2013 MRP continues and intensifies monitoring and sampling actions previously identified in the Framework, and revises them to better use new technology, tools and understanding of these invasive species.

While some of the 21 actions included in the 2013 MRP are reoccurring and ongoing projects from the 2012 plan, several new actions can be found in the plan:

uElectrofishing at fixed and random sampling sites upstream of the electric barrier system will be reduced, while efforts to monitor and sample below the barriers will be increased. 

uUntil the context of the eDNA positive detections can be further refined, the MRP will not use the presence of Asian carp eDNA to trigger a response action in 2013.  However, eDNA is being retained as a monitoring and surveillance tool in the MRP.

uTwo planned eDNA sampling trips above the electric barrier system will be conducted in 2013.  Additionally, two planned intensive monitoring events for live Asian carp will be conducted throughout the CAWS.  These monitoring events will be done in coordination with eDNA sampling.

uTesting of water guns and other control technologies (carbon dioxide, attractants and fish toxicants) will be undertaken to assess the effectiveness and impacts.

The 2013 MRP details approximately $6.5 million of monitoring, sampling and response activities to be conducted by multiple members of the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee. The plan outlines actions for the current (2013) field season focused on monitoring and removal of Asian carp in the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS) and upper Illinois Waterway; and on-going evaluations of the effectiveness of barriers and gears used in keeping Asian carp from establishing in the CAWS and Lake Michigan.

The 2013 MRP also is accompanied by an Interim Summary Report (MRWG 2012), containing preliminary results and analysis of actions completed for each of the 18 projects described in the 2011 Plan. The Interim Report includes recommendations for modifications and enhancements to project plans based on past results and experiences which have been made in the 2012 MRP.

The MRP targets the Upper Illinois River and Chicago Area Waterway System, the Asian carp pathway of greatest concern. The Obama Administration also remains focused on preventing Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes through all possible pathways.

For more information on the 2013 MRP and 2012 Interim Report documents or to view the entire 2013 Asian Carp Control Strategy Framework, go to http://asiancarp.us.

Weekly Great Lakes Water Levels for May 10, 2013 

WEATHER CONDITIONS

The Great Lakes region experienced pleasant weather this past week, with temperatures above seasonal averages and minimal precipitation. This weekend look for cooler weather and the chance of showers, especially in the southern and eastern portions of the region which could receive up to an inch of precipitation. By early to mid next week warmer temperatures are expected to return to the region.

LAKE LEVEL CONDITIONS

All of the Great Lakes are in their seasonal rise. The water level of Lake Superior is near its level of a year ago, while Lake Michigan-Huron is 6 inches lower than at this time last year. Lakes St. Clair, Erie, and Ontario are 7, 7, and 3 inches, respectively, lower than their levels of a year ago. Over the next month, Lakes Superior and Michigan-Huron are forecasted to rise 4 and 3 inches, respectively. The water levels of lakes St. Clair, Erie and Ontario are projected to rise 3, 2, and 4 inches, respectively, in the next thirty days.

FORECASTED MONTHLY OUTFLOWS/CHANNEL CONDITIONS

Lake Superior�s outflow through the St. Marys River is projected to be below average for the month of May. Lake Huron�s outflow into the St. Clair River and the outflow from Lake St. Clair into the Detroit River are also expected to be below average throughout the month of May. Lake Erie�s outflow through the Niagara River is predicted to be below average and the outflow of Lake Ontario into the St. Lawrence River is expected to be below average in May.

ALERTS

Official records are based on monthly average water levels and not daily water levels. Lake Superior and Lake Michigan-Huron are below chart datum. Users of the Great Lakes, connecting channels and St. Lawrence River should keep informed of current conditions before undertaking any activities that could be affected by changing water levels. Mariners should utilize navigation charts and refer to current water level readings. WEATHER CONDITIONS

The Great Lakes region experienced pleasant weather this past week, with temperatures above seasonal averages and minimal precipitation. This weekend look for cooler weather and the chance of showers, especially in the southern and eastern portions of the region which could receive up to an inch of precipitation. By early to mid next week warmer

temperatures are expected to return to the region.

LAKE LEVEL CONDITIONS

All of the Great Lakes are in their seasonal rise. The water level of Lake Superior is near its level of a year ago, while Lake Michigan-Huron is 6 inches lower than at this time last year. Lakes St. Clair, Erie, and Ontario are 7, 7, and 3 inches, respectively, lower than their levels of a year ago. Over the next month, Lakes Superior and Michigan-Huron are forecasted to rise 4 and 3 inches, respectively. The water levels of lakes St. Clair, Erie and Ontario are projected to rise 3, 2, and 4 inches, respectively, in the next thirty days.

FORECASTED MONTHLY OUTFLOWS/CHANNEL CONDITIONS

Lake Superior�s outflow through the St. Marys River is projected to be below average for the month of May. Lake Huron�s outflow into the St. Clair River and the outflow from Lake St. Clair into the Detroit River are also expected to be below average throughout the month of May. Lake Erie�s outflow through the Niagara River is predicted to be below average and the outflow of Lake Ontario into the St. Lawrence River is expected to be below average in May.

ALERTS

Official records are based on monthly average water levels and not daily water levels. Lake Superior and Lake Michigan-Huron are below chart datum. Users of the Great Lakes, connecting channels and St. Lawrence River should keep informed of current conditions before undertaking any activities that could be affected by changing water levels. Mariners should utilize navigation charts and refer to current water level readings.

Fact Check: Gun homicides down since 1990s

WASHINGTON (AP) � Gun homicides have dropped steeply in the United States since their 1993 peak, a pair of reports released Tuesday showed, adding fuel to Congress' battle over whether to tighten restrictions on firearms.

A study released Tuesday by the government's Bureau of Justice Statistics found that gun-related homicides dropped from 18,253 in 1993 to 11,101 in 2011. That's a 39 percent reduction.

Another report by the private Pew Research Center found a similar decline by looking at the rate of gun homicides, which compares the number of killings to the size of the country's growing population. It found that the number of gun homicides per 100,000 people fell from 7 in 1993 to 3.6 in 2010, a drop of 49 percent.

Both reports also found that non-fatal crimes involving guns were down by roughly 70 percent over that period. The Justice report said the number of such crimes diminished from 1.5 million in 1993 to 467,300 in 2011.

But perhaps because of the intense publicity generated by recent mass shootings such as the December massacre of 20 school children and six educators in Newtown, Conn., the public seems to have barely noticed the reductions in gun violence, the Pew study shows.

The non-partisan group said a poll it conducted in March showed that 56 percent of people believe the number of gun crimes is higher than it was two decades ago. Only 12 percent said they think the number of gun crimes is lower, while the rest said they think it remained the same or didn't know.

The data was released three weeks after the Senate rejected an effort by gun control supporters to broaden the requirement for federal background checks for more firearms purchases. Senate Democratic leaders have pledged to hold that vote again, perhaps by early summer, and gun control advocates have been raising public pressure on senators who voted "no" in hopes they will change their minds.

Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, a member of the Senate Republican leadership, said the figures show that gun control groups have emphasized the wrong approach to controlling firearms violence.

"That's what many of us have argued all along, is that focusing just exclusively on the guns is not the correct approach to this," he said. Thune said lawmakers should aim instead at preventing future mass

killings by improving mental health programs and increasing the records that state governments send the federal background check system so the checks can do a better job of keeping guns from people who shouldn't have them.

Gun control supporters said the numbers have declined but remain too high, with U.S. rates of gun killings remaining far greater than most other nations.   "None of these studies change the impact of Newtown and other recent mass slayings, showing the need for common sense measures" restricting guns, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said.

The Justice study said that in 2011, about 70 percent of all homicides were committed with firearms, mainly handguns. The trend in firearm-related homicides is part of a broad nationwide decline in violent crime over past two decades, including incidents not involving firearms.  Both studies concluded that most of the decline in gun homicide rates occurred in the 1990s. The Justice report found that since 1999, the number of firearm homicides increased from 10,828 to 12,791 in 2006 before declining to 11,101 in 2011.

Though researchers differ over all the reasons why gun violence has declined, many attribute it to the aging of the baby boomers. The crime rate was higher in the 1960s and 1970s when many in that large generation were teenagers, an age when higher proportions of people commit crimes.

Crime rates dropped in the early 1980s as that generation aged, rose in the latter part of that decade as the use of crack cocaine grew, then dropped again in the 1990s as the nation's economy improved, analysts say.

The Pew report also said:

�The gun suicide rate is 6.3 per 100,000 people, and there were 19,392 suicides by firearms in 2010. That rate has declined more slowly than the firearms homicide rate, with 6 in 10 gun deaths now suicides, the highest proportion since at least 1981.

�More than 8 in 10 victims of gun homicides are men and boys.

�Fifty-five percent of gun homicide victims in 2010 were black, far beyond their 13 percent share of the population.

The Pew study chiefly used federal data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Justice Department's National Crime Victimization Survey, a household survey conducted by the Census Bureau.

NSSF Dumps Reed, SHOT Management Still Undecided

Four months after Reed Exposition's unwavering decision forbidding modern sporting rifles at the Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show caused a boycott by exhibitors and eventually killed the popular Pennsylvania event, the National Shooting Sports Foundation announced their decision to end their 30+ year affiliation with the British-owned Reed Management.

A short statement announcing the decision to break the relationship said that despite good service for more than three decades "the company's decision to restrict the sale of certain kinds of firearms this year at its consumer hunting and fishing show- an

event unrelated to NSSF - and Shot show - was in conflict with NSSF's
mission to serve the shooting sports industry."
 

"As a result, both organizations decided it was in the best interest of SHOT Show to end the relationship."

According to the NSSF statement, the process of identifying a new show management company to manage and produce the SHOT Show beginning in 2014 is now "actively underway." Sources tell us the search has been complicated because some potential management groups are reluctant to handle the firearms-centered SHOT Show.

Remington expands Ammunition Operations

Madison, N.C. � Remington announced last week it's plan to expand operations at the Remington Ammunition Plant in Lonoke, Arkansas. Work on the expansion, which will include the construction of a new building, is expected to begin second quarter of 2013.  The $32 million

expansion plan is projected to be in operation by the second quarter of 2014.

For more info about Remington Ammo www.remington.com/product-categories/ammunition.aspx

Women in the Outdoors

The National Wild Turkey Federation will host a �Women in the Outdoors� event on Sat., May 18 at the Illinois Conservation Foundation�s Torstenson Family Youth Conservation Education Center in Pecatonica, IL.  Courses

include archery, shooting skills, nature crafts, outdoor photography, fly casting and more.  Registration fee is $60.  For registration and more information, phone 815-222-5010.

Camping Reservations

Make your Illinois campsite and shelter reservations for many IDNR sites online through the Reserve America website at www.reserveamerica.com

using a Visa or MasterCard. For more information, check the IDNR website at

http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/landmgt/programs/camping/camprsvp.htm

Life Jacket - Wear It: 

As the busy boating season begins, IDNR urges boat operators and passengers to �Wear It!� � a reminder to wear a life jacket whenever they�re on the water in Illinois.  The �Wear It!� campaign is highlighted annually as part of National Safe Boating Week, May 18-24, 2013. Life jackets save lives on the water, and Illinois law requires that personal floatation devices (PFDs) � life jackets or life vests � be available for each person aboard a boat or other watercraft. 

State law also requires that anyone under the age of 13 must wear a lifejacket while aboard any watercraft under 26 feet in length at all times the boat is underway,  unless they are below deck in an enclosed cabin or operating on private property.  Illinois law also requires persons of any age to wear a PFD while operating a personal watercraft or Jet Ski. For more information on the �Wear It!� campaign, click on www.safeboatingcampaign.com