Eat Onions and Garlic to Prevent Colorectal Cancer

March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, so it’s a good time to talk about some of the easy things you can do to keep from getting this life-threatening, but preventable, disease.

According to a recent study published in the Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Oncology, eating leeks, onions, and garlic reduce the risk of developing colorectal cancer. For the study, the researchers matched 833 patients of colorectal cancer to 833 healthy controls by age, sex and residence area. Apart from this, their dietary and demographic information were also collected via a validated food frequency questionnaire.

The study found that the odds of having colorectal cancer was 79 percent lower in adults who consumed high amounts of allium vegetables compared with those who consumed low amounts. It seems that Allium vegetables, which include garlic, onions, leeks, chives, scallions, and shallots, are rich in flavonols and organosulfur compounds, do more than just keep vampires at bay.  They have been proven to contain tumor-inhibitory properties. “The greater the amount of allium vegetables, the better the protection,” said Zhi Li, from the First Hospital of China Medical University.

However, only when one consumes about 16 kg (35 pounds) of allium vegetables every year or 50 grams (1.76 ounces) every day, the health benefits of the same can be observed, as per the study.  A lot also depends on how the vegetable has been cooked, since that affects its nutritional value.

“In general, the present findings shed light on the primary prevention of colorectal cancer through lifestyle intervention, which deserves further in-depth explorations,” Li added.

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