Fruits, potatoes protect stomachs

A CHINESE study has highlighted the anti-cancer benefits of a diet high in fruit and vegetables. For stomach cancer in particular, potatoes and vitamin C are at the top of the list of super-foods.

Researchers at Zhejiang University collected and compared data from 76 studies, including 37 carried out in Europe, 11 in the US, 21 in Japan, four in China and three in Korea.

The findings indicated that there is no link between total vegetable consumption and stomach cancer risk.

However, potatoes and white vegetables such as asparagus, chard, celery, cauliflower, endive and leek have preventive properties and are associated with a 33% reduction in the risk.

In contrast, eating tomatoes – which contain lycopene, a red pigment known for its antioxidant and anti-free radical properties – is associated with respective increases of 11% and 21% in risk.

For an additional 100g of fruit per day, the risk reduction is estimated to be 5%, and for an extra 100g of citrus fruit per day, the risk reduction was put at 3%. And vitamin C was found to lower the risk by 11%.

Acidifying food that increased the risk of stomach cancer included processed meat, salted fish (an increase of 4% per portion per week), high-salt food (an increase of 10% per portion per week), salt (an increase of 12% per 5g per day), alcohol, beer and liquor (a 5% increase per 10g per day), but not wine. – AFP-Relaxnews