The past couple of years have seen a number of breakthrough discoveries about one of our era’s most dreaded diseases – cancer. Now, scientists have found new connections between what you eat and your risk of developing colorectal cancer – one of the most serious digestive system cancers…
Oh, so good… But oh, so dangerous. Especially if you have a family history
of colorectal cancer. If you must eat fatty foods, compensate
by adding more Onions and Garlic to your diet…
First, the Bad News…
While cancer rates have been dropping overall since the millennium, one member of that deadly family has been on the rise. Colorectal cancer is ‘quietly creeping up’, according to the American Cancer Society.
Naturally, the cause of this anomalous – therefore disturbing – development has scientists searching for the cause. And recent research has uncovered a link between high-fat diets and higher risk of this cancer.
A digest of the conclusions of the study, published recently in the journal Cell, explains the connection:
A new study led by Salk Institute scientists suggests that high-fat diets fuel colorectal cancer growth by upsetting the balance of bile acids in the intestine and triggering a hormonal signal that lets potentially cancerous cells thrive. The findings, could explain why colorectal cancer, which can take decades to develop, is being seen in younger people growing up at a time when higher-fat diets are common.
In this case, ‘younger people’ are defined as those aged 55 and under.
“This study provides a new way to lower inflammation, restore intestinal health and to dramatically reduced tumor progression,” says Professor Ronald Evans, holder of Salk’s March of Dimes Chair in Molecular and Developmental Biology.
“It could be that when you’re genetically prone to get colon cancer, something like a high-fat diet is the second hit,” says study Co-author Ruth Yu, a staff researcher in the Gene Expression Laboratory at Salk.
Now, the good news…
Onions and Garlic are core staples in every serious cook’s pantry. Now, new research suggests they might also be important weapons in the arsenal to fight colon cancer.
A Chinese study compared 833 cancer patients with 833 healthy subjects and looked at their respective diets and eating habits:
The odds of having colorectal cancer was 79 percent lower in adults who consumed high amounts of allium vegetable compared with those who consumed low amounts.
Allium Vegetables include Onions, Garlic and Leeks, and form a part of every major cultural cuisine tradition in the world.
“It is worth noting that, in our research, there seems to be a trend: the greater the amount of allium vegetables, the better the protection,” said Senior Author Dr. Zhi Li, of the First Hospital of China Medical University. “In general, the present findings shed light on the primary prevention of colorectal cancer through lifestyle intervention, which deserves further in-depth exploration.”
And what could be easier, especially if you have a family history of colon cancer, than adding more allium aromatics to your diet? This one falls in the ‘just do it’ category!
~ Maggie J.