Recent review highlights the cancer fighting properties of diets rich in fruits and vegetables

Lead researcher Li-Shu Wang, PhD along with researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) recently performed a comprehensive review and reported that the effects of a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and low in refined carbohydrates and red, processed meat had on the incidence of individuals being diagnosed with colorectal cancer. The current findings suggest that the increased consumption of fruits and vegetables all lowered the risk of developing colorectal cancer, whereas increased consumption of red and processed meats led to a higher incidence of colorectal cancer. Additionally, diets higher in fiber and lower in carbohydrate consumption led to a lower overall risk for colorectal cancer.

These findings show that Western diets, which are higher in the consumption of redder and more processed meat and are lower in consumption of fruits and vegetables, have a higher incidence of colorectal cancer, especially in Oceanic and Asian countries.

The review cites that adaptation of lifestyle changes such as exercise, maintaining a healthy diet, and avoiding obesity as ways to best hedge against colorectal cancer risks. Overall, their review highlighted the need for everyone to get more exercise and maintain a proper healthy diet.

In fact, other research conducted by Dr. Wang potentially showed that certain types of fruits have vast impacts on the incidence and severity of cancer diagnoses. This review showed the various beneficial impacts fruit plays in cancer development and progression.

Overall, further studies and lab tests are needed to explore this opportunity further, but their implications could have major implications in the future.