Tag Archives: health

8 things to know about colorectal cancer

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared as a Medical Minute feature on Penn State News.

March is colorectal cancer awareness month — a great time to test your knowledge about the disease and how it can be prevented and treated. Two doctors from Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center highlight eight things you may not have known about colorectal cancer.

1. Colorectal cancer is the only type of cancer that doctors can prevent by screening for it. “Unlike most of the time, when you are trying to find early stages of cancer, we can prevent this disease from even happening by removing polyps,” said Dr. Thomas McGarrity, chief of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology.  Continue reading 8 things to know about colorectal cancer

The green tea–iron disconnect

© Getty Images Vesna Sajn
Green tea ©Getty Images Vesna Sajn

Green tea is a well-known antioxidant, and we also know that iron is an important nutrient. However, researchers recently found that consuming green tea and an iron-rich meal at the same time may actually negate the green tea’s health benefits.

Penn State nutritionists Matam Vijay-Kumar and Beng San Yeoh and colleagues published a study yesterday (March 8) in the American Journal of Pathology revealing their findings about the effects of consuming green tea and dietary iron at the same time. You can read the full Penn State News article by Marjorie Miller here.

Epigallocatechin-3-gallate, or EGCG, is the main compound in green tea and is what researchers believe gives the tea its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

I asked Vijay-Kumar a few questions about this research. Read on to learn more.

Continue reading The green tea–iron disconnect