Eating dried plums may reduce colon cancer risk, a new study
by Texas A&M suggests.
Colon cancer, also known as bowel cancer, colorectal cancer,
is the cancer arising from the inner wall of the large intestine (colon). The
abnormal growth of cells may spread to other parts of the body. Blood in the
stool, change in bowel movements, weight loss, and feeling exhausted all the
time are some of the symptoms of the disease. More than 75-95% of colon cancer
patients have little or no genetic risk. Other risk factors are older age, high
fat diet, red meat, alcohol, obesity, smoking, and lack of exercise. [Read more Drinking coffee daily may lead to a longer life, new study shows]
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), 134,784 people (70,204 men and 64,580 women) were diagnosed with colon
cancer in the United States in 2012. 51,516 deaths were reported in 2012 which
included 26,866 men and 24,650 women.
In UK, it is the 4th most common cancer which
affected 41,600 people (23,200 men and 18,400 women) in 2011. Colon cancer is
the second most common cause of cancer deaths in the UK, claiming the lives of
16,200 people in 2012.
With varying mortality rates across the globe, it is
estimated that around 694,000 people died of colon cancer in the world in 2012. [Read more The powerful anti-cancer properties of turmeric]
Lead researcher Dr. Nancy Turner, research professor in the
nutrition and food science department of Texas A&M University, College
Station, Texas and her team found that dried plums stimulate retention of
microbiota, also called gut bacteria – in the colon, which may lower the risk
of bowel cancer.
According to Dr. Turner, scientists have already identified
more than 400 individual species of gastro-intestinal bacteria among the
trillions which are present in the digestive tract.
Initial intestinal inflammation and recurrences of the
disease seem to be activated by disruptions to the microbiota.
Evidence also shows that changes in diet can alter the
metabolism and composition of colon microbiota.
Phenolic compounds, found in dried plums effect human health
in many ways such as, acting as antioxidants that neutralize the free radicals,
which can damage DNA.
The researchers hypothesized that dried plum consumption
would promote retention of beneficial microbiota and patterns of microbial
metabolism in the colon, which may decrease the risk of bowel cancer.
“Our research explored the potential cancer-protective
properties of dried plums using a well-established rat model of colon cancer,”
explained Dr. Turner.
They tested the effect of phenolic compounds on rats by feeding
the rats either a diet that included dried plums or a control diet. [Read more 7 Foods
That Will Help You Lose Weight]
The diets were matched for total calories and macronutrient
composition. Intestinal contents and tissues from different segments of the
colon of the rats were examined.
They found that the dried plum diet increased the amount of
Bacteroidetes and reduced the amount of Firmicutes – 2 major kinds of
intestinal bacteria found in the distal colon. However, the proportions were not
affected in the proximal colon. On the other hand, the rats that consumed
control diet had a lower proportion of Bacteroidetes and higher amount of
Firmicutes in the distal colon.
The researchers also discovered that the rats that had
consumed dried plums also had a significantly reduced numbers of aberrant
crypts, aberrant crypt foci and high-multiplicity aberrant crypt foci compared
with the rats with control diet. These aberrant crypt foci indicate the
development of cancer. [Read more Chocolate may boost cognitive skills within hours]
The findings suggest that dried plums may reduce colon
cancer risk by establishing microbiota compositions in the distal colon.
“From this study we were able to conclude that dried plums
did, in fact, appear to promote retention of beneficial microbiota and
microbial metabolism throughout the colon, which was associated with a reduced
incidence of precancerous lesions,” said Dr. Turner.
She believes that more research is needed, especially in
human, to find out if dried plums could play an important role in fighting
colon cancer.
This study was funded by the California Dried Plum Board and
presented at the 2015 Experimental Biology Conference in Boston, Massachusetts.
0 comments:
Post a Comment