Advertisement

column_buckwolfcolumn_buckwolf

Labor Day Excuses

(Page 2 of 4)

2. … To Eat Pizza: Worried that pizza has no nutritional value? Fuhgettaboutit!

Italian scientists are now saying that eating pizza twice a week could reduce the risk of cancer.

A study of 8,000 Italians found that regular pizza-eaters had a 34 percent less risk of contracting tumors of the throat, 59 percent less risk of cancer of the esophagus and 26 percent less cancer of the colon. The research was conducted by the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmaceutical Research in Milan, and the results were published in the International Journal of Cancer.

As with all good Italian cooking, the secret might be in the sauce. "We knew that tomato sauce was protective against certain tumors," researcher Silvano Gallus told La Repubblica newspaper. "But we certainly didn't expect that pizza as a whole would provide such strong protection."

3. … To Wear High Heels This should get shoe-loving ladies pumped up: Researchers at the University of Warwick in England say women who wear 3-inch heels are actually less likely to suffer joint problems.

Conventional wisdom has long held that high heels can cause arthritis, especially in the knee, and that's why women are more than twice as likely as men to be hobbled by such ailments.

Nevertheless, the university's recent study of 111 women, ranging in age from 50 to 70, showed that 67 percent of the ladies experienced no pain after years in fancy footwear.

Women were actually much more likely to have knee arthritis if they were obese or engaged in years of demanding physical work, such as housework, researchers say.

Obviously, if you are wearing stilettos, you're not planning on working too hard nor are you likely to stay home stuffing your face.

Marketplace