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NEWS STORY
Study: Garlic May Prevent Cancer
WASHINGTON (AP) Men in China have the lowest rate of
prostate cancer in the world, and a diet rich in garlic, shallots and onions
may be one of the reasons.
Researchers at the National Cancer Institute report in a new
study that a diet with lots of vegetables from the allium food group _ which
includes garlic, shallots and onions _ reduces the risk of prostate cancer by
about half. And the common Chinese diet includes hearty servings of these
vegetables.
The study, appearing this week in the Journal of the
National Cancer Institute, is based on interviews with 238 men with prostate
cancer and 471 men who were free of the disease.
Men in the study, all residents of Shanghai, China, were
asked how frequently they ate 122 food items.
The results showed that those who ate more than a third of
an ounce a day from the allium food group were about 50 percent less likely to
have prostate cancer than those who ate less of the foods.
"We checked on many food items and the allium food
group stood out (as protective against prostate cancer)," said Ann W.
Hsing, an NCI epidemiologist and the first author of the study. "But the
conclusions need to be replicated in another study." She said the study
was conducted in Shanghai because China has the lowest rate of prostate cancer
in the world.
Scallions seemed to be the most protective. According to the
study, men who ate about a tenth of an ounce or more a day of scallions
reduced their prostate cancer risk by about 70 percent. For garlic consumption
of the same amount, the prostate cancer risk was reduced by about 53 percent.
Hsing said that the typical Chinese diet is much more
heavily seasoned with garlic, scallions and onions than is the traditional
American diet. But even so, the amount of allium vegetables consumed is
measured only in fractional ounces. For instance, the study suggests that an
effective level of prostate cancer protection can be achieved with about one
clove of garlic a day.
"The reduced risk of prostate cancer associated with
allium vegetables was independent of body size, intake of other foods and
total calorie intake," the study authors reported.
Hsing said the study reinforces earlier studies that have
linked high vegetable consumption to a reduced risk of prostate cancer. For
instance, earlier studies have found that that eating tomatoes and tomato
products can lower risk of prostate cancer. Italy, where tomato sauce and
garlic are favorites, has one of the lowest rates of prostate cancer in
Europe, said Hsing.
Janet Stanford, a cancer epidemiologist at the Fred
Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, said the study by Hsing and her
co-authors continues to support the general finding that "eating
vegetables is a good thing."
Stanford said her group, in an earlier study, linked
broccoli, cauliflower and related vegetables to a reduced prostate cancer
risk, while a high fat diet increased the risk.
"This shows that your mother was right," said
Stanford. "Eat more vegetables."
The Shanghai study was conducted by researchers at the
National Cancer Institute, one of the National Institutes of Health, and at
the Shanghai Cancer Institute in China. - Associated
Press Yahoo!
Asia 6 November 2002
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