Eat your vegetables! They’re good for you!…….Yes Mom. Actually it didn’t come down quite like that for me. Most vegetables I grew up with were some strange strain that came in a can. A distinctly different species from what comes out of a garden. Any doubts could be laid to rest by sampling canned or fresh cooked spinach, canned or fresh mushrooms, etc.
For a very long time now groups have been beating the “eat your fruit and vegetables to ward off cancer ” drum. It makes sense. With so much food out there that is obviously bad for you (yes, I’m thinking McDonalds) there is some logic to be toyed with. If one food can kill you there’s a good chance another can save you.
Now a modest study of 100,000 people comes along and blows the wall down. There simply isn’t any conclusive evidence that fruits and vegetables, or the amount of them has any impact on cancer. I have to admit that I’m really not particularly put out by this news since I like fruits and vegetables and eat them regularly anyway, and never did do it because I thought it would save my life. But think of all of those vegetable haters that have been gagging down broccoli for years. What a drag.
Bottom line. This really didn’t have much to do with life insurance, other than really all health matters impact mortality and life insurance premiums, but for a Friday I felt it was worth sharing.
July 11th, 2008
In my experience it is the guys in this world that not the brightest lights on the block when it comes to preventive measures like using sunscreen, wearing hats and not overexposing themselves to the sun. I would put my money on men to be the first sex to be overwhelmed and become extinct due to skin cancer.
Growing up on a golf course or at the lake, I know that sunburns were worn and compared like badges of honor. Losing multiple layers of skin over the course of a summer was a job well done.
Now an alarming study shows that men, for all of their brainless effort for the last 30-40 years, are being left behind when it comes to increases in the number of new melanoma cases. Since 1980 diagnosis rates in younger (15-39 year old) men have remained level while the number of younger women diagnosed has risen 50%. Melanoma is the most dangerous of the three types of skin cancer.
This is especially foreboding since most skin cancer is diagnosed at older ages. There were a couple of factors noted that may have contributed to this disparity in the rise of melanoma cases. First, woman are more likely to wear sunscreen and because of that, may expose themselves to more sun because they feel protected. The other culprit could very well be tanning beds. Not a lot of guys hang out in the UV sandwich looking things.
From a life insurance standpoint melanoma is a serious subject, and for good reason. Unlike its’ less potent cousins basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, melanoma kills. Depending on the stage, grade and depth, it could easily be three to five years after treatment before reasonable rates are available and melanoma is one of those health issues that may very well prevent you from ever getting better than standard rates again.
Bottom line. It remains to be seen what these statistics in “younger women” foretell 20 years down the road. Time to rethink our rethinking of our relationship with the sun.
July 11th, 2008
