Apples and onions may slash pancreatic cancer risk

A diet rich in flavonols from foods such as onions, apples and berries may cut the risk of developing pancreatic cancer by about 25 per cent, a multi-ethnic study has reported.

The results, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, indicate that the benefits may be even more pronounced amongst smokers, with a risk reduction of over 59 per cent.

The new study, part of the Multiethnic Cohort Study of 183,518 residents of California and Hawaii, reports that subjects with the highest consumption of flavonols from the diet had significant risk reductions, compared to the lowest consumption, with smokers particularly benefiting from flavonol-rich diets.

The researchers also stated that theirs is the first study to examine prospectively specific classes of flavonols (quercetin, found in onions and apples; kaempferol, found in spinach and some cabbages; and myricetin, found mostly in red onions and berries) and pancreatic cancer risk.