Lilly Do Fruits and Vegetables Lower Cancer Risk?
Many studies have shown that higher consumption of fruits and vegetables is associated with a significantly lower risk of dying from all causes. For instance, a 2014 meta-analysis of six prospective cohort studies showed that each daily increment of one serving of fruits and vegetables lowered the risk of dying, up to a threshold of five servings.
[Note: A “meta-analysis” uses a statistical approach to combine the results from multiple studies to increase statistical “power” relative to individual studies, improve estimates of the size of the effect, and/or to resolve uncertainty when reports disagree. A “prospective study” watches a so-called “cohort” of subjects over a fixed period and waits for specific outcomes, such as the development of a disease – and tries to relate this to other factors, such as suspected risk or protection factors.]
So, what are the effects of fruits and vegetable consumption on cancer risk?
To answer this question, another prospective study looked at the relationship between consumption of total fruits, total vegetables, and total fruits and vegetables combined, relative to cancer risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort.
Both increased intake of total fruits and vegetables combined and total vegetables reduced cancer risk in the 142,605 men and 335,873 women included in the study. Overall, this study showed a small but clear and significant association between intake of total fruits and vegetables and lowered cancer risk.
On the other hand, other studies have not always shown this relationship. For instance, a Swedish study in a large group of women did not find any connection between “fruit and vegetable intake” and overall cancer incidence.
Yet another study looked at the relationship between fruits and vegetable consumption and the incidence of cancer and deaths in two different cohorts. Nearly 72,000 female participants in the Nurses’ Health Study and nearly 38,000 male participants in the Health Professionals’ Follow-up Study were asked to fill in food-frequency questionnaires.
fresh vegitables
It’s commonsense that regular consumption of organic produce is good for our health, so why do some studies not reflect this?
The study results showed that total fruits and vegetable intake (five servings daily) was associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, but not with lower overall risk of cancer incidence.
So what’s going on?
We know for a fact that regular consumption of fresh, organic produce is good for our overall health and wellbeing. So why do some studies show benefits for cancer risk, while others don’t? There could be many possible reasons for this. Let’s take a closer look…
