Reason to eat your onions
Allium vegetables in diet may lower colorectal cancer risk
NEW Chinese research has found that eating allium vegetables, such as garlic, leeks, and onions, appear to be linked to a lower risk of colorectal cancer. Carried out by researchers at the First Hospital of China Medical University, the new study looked at 833 men and women with colorectal cancer who were matched to 833 healthy controls by age, sex and whether they lived in a rural or urban area.
The researchers carried out interviews in person with the participants, recording demographic and dietary information, which was collected using a validated food frequency questionnaire.
The findings, published in the Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Oncology, showed that those who consumed high amounts of allium vegetables, including garlic, garlic stalks, leek, onion and spring onion, appeared to have a 79 per cent lower risk of colorectal cancer compared with those who consumed low amounts, regardless of the tumour location in the colon.
However, garlic intake was not associated with a lower risk of distal colon cancer.
“It is worth noting that in our research, there seems to be a trend: The greater the amount of allium vegetables, the better the protection,” said senior author Dr Zhi Li. “In general, the present findings shed light on the primary prevention of colorectal cancer through lifestyle intervention, which deserves further in-depth explorations.”