07/07/2019 / By Melissa Smith
Garlic and onions are commonly used to flavor food – but they offer far more benefits than that. A recent study suggests that garlic, onions, and other Allium vegetables – leeks, chives, shallots – may prevent colorectal cancer.
Bioactive compounds in Allium vegetables were previously reported to prevent breast cancer and prostate cancer. In this study, which was published in the Asia-Pacific Journal of Clinical Oncology, researchers from The First Hospital of China Medical University in Shenyang, China, looked at whether consuming allium vegetables could lower a person’s risk of colorectal cancer.
To do so, they compared 833 participants diagnosed with colorectal cancer with 833 cancer-free individuals. Both groups were similar in age and sex and lived in similar locations. The researchers interviewed all participants about their demographics and recorded their dietary habits using a validated food frequency questionnaire.
The researchers discovered that people who consumed the most Allium vegetables had 79 percent lower colorectal cancer risk than those who consumed the least. They found that eating at least 35 lbs. of Allium vegetables per year could slash colorectal cancer risk. This would be around 1 ½ oz. – or one onion – every day.
“It is worth noting that in our research, there seems to be a trend: the greater the amount of allium vegetables, the better the protection,” said senior author Dr. Zhi Li.
Li also noted that cooking methods may affect the anticancer effect of the vegetables. Li explained that boiling onions, for example, would reduce their useful compounds, while slicing and crushing fresh garlic were beneficial. (Related: Eat your veggies: 6 allium vegetables and their health benefits.)
“In general, the present findings shed light on the primary prevention of colorectal cancer through lifestyle intervention, which deserves further in-depth explorations,” said Li.
Colorectal cancer, or colon cancer, develops in the colon or rectum. In the U.S., colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of death by cancer and the third most common cancer in both men and women. Despite the high rates, this form of cancer is highly preventable. In addition to eating onions and garlic, here are six more ways to increase your protection against colorectal cancer:
Making these lifestyle changes can be hard, but they can greatly lower your risk for colorectal cancer and many other types of cancer, as well as other serious health problems like diabetes and heart disease.
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Tagged Under: allium, alternative medicine, anticancer, chives, colon cancer, Colorectal Cancer, disease treatments, food cures, food is medicine, functional food, garlic, Herbs, leeks, natural cures, natural medicine, onion, prevention, research, shallots, vegetables, veggie
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