Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Fruits, veggies reduce non-hodgkins lymphoma risk

Increased intakes of antioxidant-rich vegetables may reduce the risk of developing non-Hodgkin lymphoma by about 30 per cent. Increased dietary intakes of specific antioxidant nutrients, like vitamin C, alpha-carotene, and proanthocyanidins were also individually associated with significant reductions in risks for the cancer, according to results published from the Iowa Women's Health Study in the International Journal of Cancer.

A reduction in the risk was also recorded for dietary manganese, the first time such a link has been reported, “and thus this will require replication”, said the researchers. “These results support a role for vegetables, and perhaps fruits and associated antioxidants from food sources, as protective factors against the development of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and follicular lymphoma in particular,” said the researchers.

Led by James Cerhan, from the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, the researchers analyzed dietary intakes for 35,159 Iowa women aged between 55 and 69. During the course of the study 415 cases of non-Hodgkin lymphoma were documented. Dietary vitamin C intakes were associated with a 22 per cent reduction in lymphoma risk, while alpha-carotene, proanthocyanidins, and manganese were associated with 29, 30, and 38 per cent reductions in risk.

Increased intakes of fruits and vegetables were associated with a 31 per cent reduction in risk, while yellow/orange and cruciferous vegetables were linked to a 28 and 18 per cent reduction.

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