http://www.newstarget.com/z022543.html

NewsTarget.com printable article
Originally published January 24 2008
Western diet boosts colon cancer risk by 300 per cent
by David Gutierrez

(NewsTarget) The rates of recurrence or death from colon cancer were nearly
3.5 times higher among patients who ate a typical Western diet than among
those who followed it least closely, in a study published in the Journal of
the American Medical Association.

Researchers collected data on 1,009 people who had undergone surgery and
chemotherapy for colon cancer in the two years between April 1999 and May
2001. In all cases, the cancer had metastasized to the lymph nodes but had
not spread to other organs. The participants filled out standardized surveys
about their dietary preferences and habits during chemotherapy and the six
months following. They were then tracked for five years.

Of the 1,009 patients who began the study, 324 experienced cancer recurrence
during those five years, and 223 of those died. Only 28 of the people who
did not experienced recurrence died in the same period.

The dietary habits of the cancer patients fell into two basic patterns: The
"Western" diet was characterized by the consumption of large amounts of red
and processed meats, refined grains and sugars; the "prudent" diet was
characterized by consumption of large amounts of fruits, vegetables and
relatively higher amounts of poultry and fish relative to red meat.

The researchers found that cancer recurrence and death were almost 3.5 times
more common among people who adhered most closely to the Western diet than
among those who ate the lowest amounts of red and processed meats, refined
grains and sugars.

"Doctors who treat colon cancer patients need to have the conversation about
diet," said researcher Jeffrey Meyerhardt. "From my own experience I know
that patients ask about this a lot. They want to know what they should be
eating and whether they should be exercising."

The researchers warned that the study only demonstrates a correlation, and
not causality

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between diet and colon cancer. According to Michael Thun, a spokesperson for
the American Cancer Society, however, there are already many other health
reasons for eating higher amounts of fruits and vegetables and avoiding the
foods associated with the "Western" diet.

But consumer health advocate Mike Adams has no doubt about the causes of
colorectal cancer. "There's no question that eating dead, processed and
chemically-treated foods promotes the development of colon cancer," he said.
"Preventing colon cancer is as simple as adopting a diet primarily based on
raw plants and living foods. Colon cancer simply disappears, and cancer risk
throughout the body plummets on a raw foods diet."