Does Eating Fruits and Veggies Stave Off Cancer?

at 12:40 PM

A group of researcher at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York have conducted a new study into the link between cancer and the consumption of fruit and vegetables and found it to be far weaker than anyone had thought.

In the past, a reduction of cancer-risk rates as high as 50% had been reported. Some of the early investigations had used what are called 'case-control' studies. These studies attempt to identify the factors contributing to cancer by comparing people who have the disease with those who do not but otherwise the two groups are similar. But these sorts of studies can easily be biased if the researchers do not adequately establish that the two groups are indeed otherwise similar.

In the Mount Sinai study, Dr. Boffetta and his colleagues have used what are known as 'prospective cohort' studies. They published their results in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. They followed a group of individuals over time and looked at how different factors contribute to development of cancer. Analysis of data from almost 500,000 people in Europe found only a weak link between high fruit and vegetable consumption and a reduction in cancer.

According to the study, if people increased their consumption of fruits and vegetables by 150g a day (about two servings), it would result in a decrease of just 2.6% in the rate of cancer in men and 2.3% in women. Even those who eat almost no fruits and veggies, the study suggests, are only 9% more likely to develop cancer.

This is quite a blow to the smug salad eaters... but wait before you go order your hamburger with bacon on it and french fries on the side.

In spite of this study, there is still plenty of evidence that shows fruits and vegetables reduce your chances of heart disease and strokes by reducing your blood pressure. Because after all, cancer is just one way to die!

It is also possible that particular kinds of vegetables such as tomatoes, broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables are protective against particular types of cancer.

In addition it does not take a Ph.D in food science to figure out that snacking on grapes is far better for you than nachos.