Research suggests that a healthy diet is linked to the lowest rates of diet-linked disease and obesity. A healthy diet features a high intake of vegetables, legumes, fruit, yogurt, unrefined cereals, sea products, and olive oil. Dietary patterns which are considered less healthy include the "Western" pattern (potatoes, pizza, pie, sandwiches, legumes, sweets, whole fat cheese, refined cereal products, processed meat, eggs, and butter), the "drinker" pattern (sandwiches, snacks, coffee, processed meat, alcoholic beverages), and the "meat eater" pattern (meat, poultry, potatoes, legumes, coffee, vegetable oils with the exception of olive oil, and margarine).
Now a study reports that the healthy diet pattern is associated with a decreased the risk of colorectal tumors in women. However, the less healthy diets are associated with an increased the risk of colon cancer.
The study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, investigated the association between dietary patterns and risk of colorectal tumors. Researchers at Inserm in France analyzed the dietary data of 100,000 women, as part of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study, from 1993 to 2000. Dietary questionnaires were obtained from the participants at the beginning of the study. The participant's diets were analyzed according to the four dietary patterns.
The researchers found that the Western and drinker diets were associated with an increased risk of colorectal adenomas (a precursor to colorectal cancer). The meat-eater diet was linked with an increased risk of colorectal cancer. However, the healthy diet was associated with a decreased risk of colorectal adenomas.
"Dietary patterns that reflect a Western way of life are associated with a higher risk of colorectal tumors," the study authors conclude.
REFERENCES:
1. Kesse E et al. Dietary patterns and risk of colorectal tumors: a cohort of French women of the National Education System (E3N). Am J Epidemiol 2006 Dec 1;164(11):1085-93. Epub 2006 Sep 21.
Posted by Elaine Gavalas on December 27, 2006 03:05 PM
