Query: hernia

Relevant passages:
The Etiological Significance of Related Diseases <=SEP=> If disease patterns emerge which show that certain diseases can be related, this is a valuable pointer to a common cause. This article traces the principle of interpreting disease relationships, illustrated by several common conditions of western civilization, for which the common cause is postulated as being removal of fiber from the diet.

Western diseases and their emergence related to diet. <=SEP=> Many of the commonest diseases in the economically more developed communities are characteristic of modern Western culture. Evidence is presented suggesting that they represent a failure of adaptation to the dramatic changes in diet that have been associated with the emergence of modern Western culture. Dietary changes aimed at the alleviation and prevention of these diseases are discussed and recommended.

Red meat consumption and cancer: reasons to suspect involvement of bovine infectious factors in colorectal cancer. <=SEP=> An increased risk for colorectal cancer has been consistently reported for long-time consumption of cooked and processed red meat. This has frequently been attributed to chemical carcinogens arising during the cooking process of meat. Long-time fish or poultry consumption apparently does not increase the risk, although similar or higher concentrations of chemical carcinogens were recorded in their preparation for consumption. The geographic epidemiology of colorectal cancer seems to correspond to regions with a high rate of beef consumption. Countries with a virtual absence of beef in the diet (India) or where preferably lamb or goat meat is consumed (several Arabic countries) reveal low rates of colorectal cancer. In China, pork consumption has a long tradition, with an intermediate colorectal cancer rate. In Japan and Korea, large scale beef and pork imports started after World War II or after the Korean War. A steep rise in colorectal cancer incidence was noted after 1970 in Japan and 1990 in Korea. The consumption of undercooked beef (e.g., shabu-shabu, Korean yukhoe and Japanese yukke) became very popular in both countries. The available data are compatible with the interpretation that a specific beef factor, suspected to be one or more thermoresistant potentially oncogenic bovine viruses (e.g., polyoma-, papilloma- or possibly single-stranded DNA viruses) may contaminate beef preparations and lead to latent infections in the colorectal tract. Preceding, concomitant or subsequent exposure to chemical carcinogens arising during cooking procedures should result in increased risk for colorectal cancer synergistic with these infections. Copyright © 2011 UICC.

Towards a new system of health: the challenge of Western disease. <=SEP=> Over the last three decades, the concept of Western disease has become well established. Medicine has approached this group of diseases by searching for new cures but has achieved relatively little success. We argue that medicine should now accept the failure of this strategy and place a major emphasis on prevention. The key objective is to change the climate of opinion so that prevention is taken seriously by the general population. The chief activity should be a wide ranging public education campaign so as to persuade people to live a healthier lifestyle. Medicine will require restructuring in order to carry out this work. Medical education needs to be reformed so that medical students receive the necessary training. This must be done as part of an integrated approach in which government, industry and medical research all play a major role. Governments should use taxation and subsidies in areas such as food and tobacco so as to shift consumption patterns towards healthier products. Governments must also tighten laws on tobacco sales and advertising, support health education, and improve food labelling. Industry must be made far more responsive to the health needs of the population. This should be done both by public education, so as to alter demand, and by government action. Medical research should change its emphasis from studying the detailed mechanisms of disease ("complex research") to studying the role of lifestyle factors ("simple research").