Lycopene from tomato may help decrease the risk of colon and other cancers

High levels of Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 are associated with increased risk of colon cancer and other cancers. Israeli scientists from the Colorectal Unit Departments at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev along with other centers enlisted 56 colon cancer patients scheduled for surgical removal of their cancer into a double-blind randomized, controlled clinical trial. The patients were scheduled for surgery within a few days to a week. The patients were supplemented with either tomato Lycopene or a similarly looking placebo. In this short time the level of Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 decreased significantly by 25% on average compared with the placebo group. Tomato Lycopene extract has a role in the prevention of colon cancer and possibly other types of cancer. The study is published in the August 2007 issue of the European Journal of Cancer Prevention

Echinacea significantly protects you from cold infections

Researchers from the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy crunched data from 14 previous studies that included over 1,600 patients. This form of analysis is very important because it can tease out trends that may not be readily apparent in just one study. The results were spectacular; Echinacea decreased the risk of developing a cold by 60%. In fact, in one study combining Vitamin C plus Echinacea the risk reduction was a stunning 86%. And there is more; taking the herb Echinacea also decreased the length of a cold by 1.5 days. The study is published in the June 2007 issue of the journal The Lancet: Infectious Diseases