Diet's "modest" impact on cancer

Thursday April 8th, 2010

Fruit and vegetables are not a miracle cure for preventing cancer - but may help, researchers warned yesterday.

A major analysis of European countries found just "modest" benefits from a healthy diet in staving off cancer.

But campaigners said the findings should not deter people from eating well - and diet has more impact on some kinds of cancer than others.

Researchers analysed details of nearly half a million people in ten European countries, including the UK, for the study, reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

The analysis proved complicated as researchers found that people who eat healthily also tend to keep fit, avoiding smoking and drink less alcohol than others.

The analysis was performed by researchers at Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, USA.

Researcher Dr Paolo Boffetta said: "The bottom line here is that, yes, we did find a protective effect of fruit and vegetable intake against cancer, but it is a smaller connection than previously thought.

"Any cancer protective effect of these foods is likely to be modest, at best.

"However, eating fruits and vegetables is beneficial for health in general."

But the World Cancer Research Fund said about 2.5 per cent of cancers by people eating two additional portions of fruit and vegetables daily.

Dr Rachel Thompson, science programme manager, said: "For the UK, this works out as about 7,000 cases a year, which is a significant number.

"Even if fruits and vegetables did not directly reduce risk, it would still be a good idea to eat them because people who eat plenty of fruits and vegetables are less likely to become overweight. Scientists now say that, after not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight is the most important thing you can do for cancer prevention."

She added: "If you look at specific types of cancer, including mouth, pharynx and larynx, stomach and oesophagus, the evidence shows that eating plenty of fruits and vegetables probably reduces risk."

Yinka Ebo, of Cancer Research UK, said: "It's still a good idea to eat your five-a-day but remember that fruits and vegetables are pieces in a much larger lifestyle jigsaw.

"There are many things we can do to lower our chances of developing cancer such as not smoking, keeping a healthy weight, cutting down on alcohol, eating a healthy balanced diet, being physically active and staying safe in the sun."

Journal of the National Cancer Institute, doi:10.1093/jnci/djq072

Tags: Cancer | Diet & Food | Europe | North America | UK News

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