Fruits, Vegetables, and Cancer

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Numerous early studies revealed what appeared to be a strong link between eating fruits and vegetables and protection against cancer. But because many of these were case-control studies, where people who already have a certain health outcome (cases) are compared to people who do not have that outcome (controls), it is possible that the results may have been skewed by problems inherent in these types of studies ; people with illnesses, for example, often recall past behaviors differently from those without illness, which can lead to potential inaccuracy in the information that they provide to study investigators. Cohort studies, which follow large groups of initially healthy individuals for years, generally provide more reliable information than case-control studies because they don't rely on information from the past. And data from cohort studies haven't consistently shown that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables prevents cancer in general. For example, in the Nurses' Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, over a 14-year period, men and women with the highest intake of fruits and vegetables (8+ servings a day were just as likely to have developed cancer as those who ate the fewest daily servings (under 1.5). A more likely possibility is that some types of fruits and vegetables may protect against certain cancer. A massive report by the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research suggests that non-starchy vegetables, such as lettuce and other leafy greens and the like-and fruits "probably" protect against several types of cancers, including those of the mouth, throat, voice box, esophagus, and stomach; fruit probably also protect against lung cancer. Specific components of fruits and vegetables may also be protective against cancer. For example, a line of research stemming from a finding from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study suggests that tomatoes may help protect men against prostate cancer, especially aggressive forms of it. One of the pigments that give tomatoes their red-hue -lycopene- could be involved in this protective effect. And many more example that we can find in this world. So, let us consume fruits and vegetables periodicly.