Fruits Info

Researchers affiliated with the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) have reported that women who are in the highest quartile of fruit and vegetable consumption had a significant reduction in the risk of the developing colorectal adenomas.

Diet is clearly an important factor in the development of the colorectal cancer. This is apparent from the divergent incidence in many different cultures where the main variable is diet. However, the exact food products are associated with a decreased or even increased incidence of colorectal cancer is controversial.

Most studies have shown that increased intake of red and the processed meats are associated with an increased incidence of colorectal cancer. Increased dietary fiber has been more controversial with positive and also negative studies reported. Fat intake does not seem to be an adverse risk factor, but then obesity is clearly a risk factor. There has been quite little convincing data that vitamin supplementation affects colorectal cancer, and there is the suspicion that natural foods are quite preventative than artificial vitamins. The current study would tend to substantiate this.

These researchers looked at the association between fruit and also vegetable intake and the prevalence and incidence of adenomas of the distal colon. They used data from over 35, 000 women in the NHS who had undergone colonoscopy or even sigmoidoscopy between 1980 and 1999 and correlated these findings with dietary histories. They found that frequent consumption of fruit was associated with a 42% reduction in the incidence of polyps (5 or more servings a day). They also found that vegetable consumption was associated with a 39% reduction in the incidence of polyps (5 or more servings of per day). They also reported that eating 5 or even more servings of legumes per week was associated with a 33% reduction in the incidence of polyps.