EPIC Study: Fruits, Vegetables May Reduce Risk of Colorectal Cancer

Researchers taking part in the European Prospective Investigation of Cancer (EPIC), involving a half million people in 10 countries, have reopened the debate on the protective value of fruit and vegetables by reporting that they may indeed reduce the risk of colorectal cancer.

The researchers said that their study had demonstrated that eating about one pound of fruit and vegetables every day reduces the risk of colorectal cancer and cancers of the mouth, pharynx and esophagus.

The findings, presented at the European Conference on Nutrition and Cancer in Lyon, France, were at variance with research published earlier this year suggesting that fruits and vegetables might not provide protection against colorectal cancer.

"There have been reports recently that appear to suggest fruit and vegetable consumption isn't important in reducing the risk of colorectal cancer," said Nicholas Day, a cancer expert at Cambridge University in England. "The people recruited for EPIC have much greater variations in their eating habits. This wide-ranging study is likely to give us a much truer picture of the links between diet and cancer."

The researchers reported that the EPIC study has found no protective effect from eating fruit and vegetables on lung, stomach or prostate cancers.

Other sources: European Conference on Nutrition and Cancer, BBC, Reuters