A diet high in fruit and low in meat can help reduce the risk of developing cancer of the colon, US researchers have reported.
A study conducted by the University of North Carolina has shown that meat can raise the risk of getting cancer, especially of the colon, and offers advice what other dietary factors could play a role.
The research team interviewed 725 people who had just had colonoscopies about their diet, smoking and other habits.
Of those, some 203 had learned they had adenomas, polyps that often turn into tumours and are removed during a colonoscopy.
Gregory Austin and colleagues identified three groups - those people who ate a lot of fruit but little meat, people who ate a lot of vegetables and a moderate amount of meat, and people who simply ate a lot of meat.
People who recalled eating large or moderate amounts of meat were 70 per cent more likely to have had a polyp than those who said they ate a lot of fruit but little meat.
“Several studies have found a protective effect of fruit and vegetable consumption, but multiple other studies have found no association between fresh produce consumption and the risk of developing colorectal neoplasm,” wrote the researchers.
Just 18 per cent of the people who said they ate a lot of fruit but little meat had a polyp, compared to 30 per cent of the moderate meat-eaters and 32 per cent of people falling into the high meat-eating group.
