Certain foods reduce colon cancer risk

Diets including cooked green vegetables, dried fruit, legumes and brown rice are associated with fewer colon polyps, U.S. researchers found. Lead author Dr. Yessenia Tantamango, a postdoctoral research fellow with the Adventist Health Study-2 at Loma Linda University in California, and colleagues analyzed data from 2,818 subjects who participated in Adventist Health Study-1, administered from 1976-1977, and the follow-up Adventist Health Study-2.The first survey asked respondents about specific foods and the follow-up survey asked respondents who had undergone colonoscopies to indicate physician-diagnosed colorectal polyps.During the 26-year follow-up period, 441 cases of rectal/colon polyps were identified. Eating brown rice at least once a week was associated with a 40 percent decreased risk of colon polyps -- a precursor to colon cancer, Tantamango says.In addition, the study published in Nutrition and Cancer, found eating legumes -- peas, beans, lentils, lupins, carob, soy and peanuts -- at least three times a week was associated with colon polyps by 33 percent, while consuming cooked green vegetables once a day or more was associated with a 24 percent reduction of colon polyps and dried fruit eaten three times a week or more was associated with a 26 percent reduced risk.\"Legumes, dried fruits, and brown rice all have a high content of fiber, known to dilute potential carcinogens,\" Tantamango says in a statement. \"Additionally, cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, contain detoxifying compounds, which would improve their protective function.\"