|
|
|
NAGOYA, JAPAN. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in Japan even though the incidence
and mortality is still less than two-thirds of that found in the USA and the UK. Japanese researchers have
just completed a study aimed at determining the association between lung cancer and diet. Their study
involved 748 men and 297 women aged 40 to 79 years who had been diagnosed with lung cancer and 2964
male and 1189 female cancer-free controls.
The researchers found that both men and women who ate cooked or raw fish five times a week or more had
half the incidence of lung adenocarcinoma when compared to participants who ate cooked or raw fish less
than once a week. Women who consumed tofu (soybean curds) five times a week or more were found to
have half the risk of adenocarcinomas, as compared to women who consumed tofu less than once a week.
Frequent consumption of carrots was found to be beneficial for women, but detrimental for men especially
smokers. Green vegetables were found to be highly beneficial for men, but not statistically so for women.
There was also some evidence that increased coffee consumption is associated with an increased risk of
squamous cell and small cell lung carcinomas in men. Increased consumption of dried or salted fish was
not beneficial for men or women. The researchers speculate that this is because the processing destroys
the healthy omega-3 oils (eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid) present in raw and cooked fish.
|
|
|
|
