hide captionSubway was quick to say it would phase out azodicarbonamide from its bread after a popular food blogger raised health concerns. Nature's Own soon noted that it had already removed the compound with the funny name from its bread products. But what's the evidence behind the claims?

Subway was quick to say it would phase out azodicarbonamide from its bread after a popular food blogger raised health concerns. Nature's Own soon noted that it had already removed the compound with the funny name from its bread products. But what's the evidence behind the claims?

That compound found in commercially baked bread yep, the one that's in yoga mats, too is in the news again.

A report from the Environmental Working Group finds that the compound, azodicarbonamide, is found in close to 500 food products, from Pillsbury Dinner Rolls to Little Debbie products to Wonder Bread.

As you may recall, the sandwich chain Subway got a lot of attention a few weeks back when announced its plans to remove this compound which is used to improve dough and maintain bread texture from its bread.

And as we reported, the kerfuffle came in response to an online petition posted posted by the creator of the Food Babe blog. The online petition pointed to a range of possible health concerns linked to the compound, everything from asthma to cancer.

But what is the evidence behind these claims?

Let's start with asthma and other respiratory issues. The concerns about breathing problems stem from factory workers who have been exposed to high levels of azodicarbonamide. But it turns out, outside of this occupational exposure, there's no evidence that there's any risk at all to consumers.

It's good to "remind yourself to be more skeptical," says Justin Pagano, who has written that he'd like to see more scientific inquiry and reasoning used in these what's-really-in-your-food campaigns.

He says there's a "generational zeitgeist" among his fellow millennials to "take back food" from the control of large companies and demand transparency.

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Almost 500 Foods Contain The 'Yoga Mat' Compound. Should We Care?

By Kathleen Doheny HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, March 4, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Women with breast cancer who practiced yoga had lower levels of stress hormones and reported less fatigue and better quality of life, new research shows.

"Yoga is having an impact on subjective well-being, as well as better regulation of cortisol, a stress hormone," said study co-author Lorenzo Cohen, director of the integrative medicine program at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, in Houston. "Better regulation of stress hormones has been linked with better survival and longer survival."

The study is published in the March 3 online edition of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Other research has found yoga helpful for cancer patients, Cohen said, but some of those studies have looked at small numbers of patients and others have not compared the yoga group to a "control" group to measure results.

For the new study, Cohen assigned more than 160 women with breast cancer who were undergoing radiation therapy to do either yoga or stretching up to three times a week for an hour each session. Those two groups were compared to a control group that received no instruction in either yoga or stretching.

The women reported on their quality of life, including how fatigued or depressed they felt, and described their daily functioning. They gave saliva samples at the study's start, the end of treatment, and at one, three and six months after treatment, so cortisol could be measured.

Women in the yoga group had the greatest reduction in cortisol levels across the day, which reflected the ability of yoga to help regulate stress hormones, the study authors noted.

After finishing radiation treatment, which is linked with fatigue, only the yoga and stretching groups reported feeling less tired, the findings showed. The yoga group had more benefits in physical functioning than the other two groups.

No differences were found between the groups for mental health and sleep quality. That may have been because all the women were doing fairly well on those measures at the study's start, Cohen said.

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Yoga May Help Breast Cancer Patients During Radiation Therapy

For women undergoing radiation therapy for breast cancer, yoga may improve quality of life beyond treatment, researchers at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center found.

In a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, researchers studied the effects of yoga on a group of 191 women with stages 0-3 of breast cancer. The women were divided into three groups: those who did yoga, those who did simple stretching or those who received no instruction in yoga or stretching. Compared to the other groups, women who did yoga reported a reduction in fatigue and an improvement in general health and functioning after radiation treatment.

Researchers also measured participants cortisol levels throughout the day. Cortisol is a stress hormone and high levels of it have been linked to worse outcomes in breast cancer. Women in the yoga group demonstrated the sharpest declines in cortisol during the day, indicating that yoga may have the ability to help regulate the hormone.

"Combining mind and body practices that are part of yoga clearly have tremendous potential to help patients manage the psychosocial and physical difficulties associated with treatment and life after cancer, beyond the benefits of simple stretching, study author Lorenzo Cohen, professor and director of the Integrative Medicine Program at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, said.

The cancer centers research was conducted in collaboration with Indias largest yoga research institution, Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana, as part of an ongoing effort to scientifically validate mind-body interventions in cancer patients. The researchers, through a grant from the National Cancer Institute, are now conducting a phase-3 clinical trial in breast cancer patients to further understand how yoga leads to improved physical functioning, quality of life and biological outcomes during and after radiation treatment.

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Yoga may help breast cancer patients improve quality of life

Yoga regulates stress and fights fatigue in women undergoing treatment for breast cancer.

For women with breast cancer undergoing radiation therapy, yoga offers unique benefits beyond fighting fatigue, researchers said.

Simple stretching exercises counter-acted fatigue. Patients, who participated in yoga exercises that incorporated controlled breathing, meditation and relaxation techniques into their treatment plan, experienced improved ability to engage in their daily activities, better general health and better regulation of cortisol (the stress hormone).

Women in the yoga group were also better equipped to find meaning in the illness experience.

The study assessed, for the first time, yoga benefits in cancer patients by comparing their experience with patients in an active control group who integrated simple, generic stretching exercises into their lives.

The study, conducted by Lorenzo Cohen at the University of Texas's M D Anderson Cancer Centre, is part of an effort to scientifically validate mind body interventions in cancer patients.

"Combining mind and body practices that are part of yoga clearly have tremendous potential to help patients manage the psycho-social and physical difficulties associated with treatment and life after cancer, beyond the benefits of simple stretching," Cohen said.

Participants in the yoga and stretching groups attended sessions specifically tailored to breast cancer patients for one hour, three days a week throughout their six weeks of radiation treatment.

They were asked to report on their quality of life, including levels of fatigue and depression, their daily functioning and a measure assessing ability to find meaning in the illness experience.

Women who practiced yoga had the steepest decline in their cortisol levels across the day, indicating that yoga had the ability to help regulate this stress hormone.

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How yoga benefits breast cancer patients