Skip wrote:Thanks, patty, for that interesting reference. Taking this information into account, could we say that for stomach cancer, genetics loads the gun and pulls the trigger (that is, diet is not a factor)? Or another way of asking would be, do migrant Japanese people have the same stomach cancer rates and non-migrant Japanese? I'm not sure if your reference really answers that question.
Perhaps the gastroenterologist I had the conversation is correct when it comes to stomach cancer. That is, that the main cause of stomach cancer is genetic and diet is not as big of a factor?
This was just prior to the above section quoted from "The Enzyme Factor":
As Japan in the 1960s and approached the period of rapid growth that country learned to catch up and surpass American many things. Beginning about 1961 when milk was introduced in school lunches in Japan, people begin eating dairy products such as cheese and yogurt on a daily basis at the same time vegetables and fish which used to be the center of Japanese meals began to be replaced by animal proteins gradually transforming the Japanese diet into a high-protein, high fat diet centered on hamburgers, steaks, and fried chicken. This trend has continued to this day.
In contrast after publication of the 1977 McGovern report many Americans began focusing on improving their diet. These differences are evident in the intestinal characteristics of the people and both the US and Japan.
Steadily declining now because of changes in the dietary habits, the once clean healthy intestines of the Japanese people now closely resemble the intestines of Americans who eat a diet centered on meat. On the other hand many Americans who seriously thought about their health and reformed their high-protein high fat diet markedly improved their intestinal characteristics. As a result since 1990 the rate of colonic polyps and cancers in America has been declining clear evidence that you can promote intestinal health by improving your dietary habits.
Looking at the Okinawan Lifestyle/diet I would say genetics loads the gun and diet pulls the trigger. YouTube's Increase Your Life Expectancy with the Okinawan Diet - The Morning Show Gosia Desmond shares the difference between Okinawan and Japanese health numbers.
I have known two local middle age Japanese who died from stomach cancer.
Aloha, patty