Eat Your Fruits (no?) and Vegetables
Posted 1/17/2012
Posted in
Hope that you will share my interest and enjoyment in this Italian study from the Journal of Cancer Research and Treatment. There is a lot of conversation about the value of certain diets, and the general conclusion is that it is healthier to eat more fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and less red or processed meat (see yesterday's posting for more on this). I am taken with this one as the conclusion is that eating fruits does nothing to reduce breast cancer risk while eating vegetables may help. In other words, I guess, eat the summer peaches and nectarines because they are delicious, but remember the chard and kale and broccoli for their nutritional value.
Here is the beginning and a link:
Fruit and vegetables consumption and breast cancer risk: the EPIC Italy study
Giovanna Masala
• Melania Assedi • Benedetta Bendinelli • Ilaria Ermini •Sabina Sieri • Sara Grioni • Carlotta Sacerdote • Fulvio Ricceri • Salvatore Panico •Amalia Mattiello • Rosario Tumino • Maria Concetta Giurdanella •Franco Berrino • Calogero Saieva • Domenico Palli
Abstract
The role of fruit and vegetables in breast cancer (BC) development has long been debated. A large variety of vegetables and fruit are consumed by Mediterranean populations, a favourable setting for evaluating the effects of these foods. The association between vegetables and fruit consumption, overall and by specific types, and BC risk was studied in the Italian section of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study. Over 31,000 women, aged 36-64 years, recruited in five Italian centers between 1993 and 1998, were available for analyses with dietary and lifestyle information and anthropometric measurements. After a median follow-up of 11.25 years, 1,072 invasive and in situ incident BC cases were identified. Cox proportional hazard models (adjusted for education, anthropometry, reproductive history, hormone replacement therapy, physical activity, alcohol consumption and smoking habits) showed an inverse association between consumption of all vegetables and BC risk (highest vs. lowest quintile HR 0.65; 95% CI 0.53-0.81, P for trend = 0.003). According to subtypes of vegetables, an inverse association emerged for increasing consumption of leafy vegetables (highest vs. lowest quintile HR 0.70; 95% CI 0.57-0.86, P for trend = 0.0001) and fruiting vegetables (highest vs. lowest quintile HR 0.75; 95% CI 0.60-0.94, P for trend = 0.01). An inverse association also emerged with increasing consumption of raw tomatoes (P for trend = 0.03). In contrast, no association of fruit, overall or by subtypes, with BC risk was found. In this Mediterranean population, a clear protective role of increasing vegetables consumption, mainly leafy and fruiting vegetables, on BC risk emerged.
http://foodforbreastcancer.com/news/italian-women-with-high-vegetable-consumption-have-lower-risk-of-breast-cancer
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