Do you want one? New research is strengthening evidence that following mom's admonition to eat your vegetables may be some of the best health advice around. A large study of 500,000 American retirees has found that just one extra serving of fruit or vegetables a day may reduce the risk of developing head and neck cancer. Numerous studies have demonstrated that diet plays a role in cancer. Cancer experts now believe that up to two-thirds of all cancers come from lifestyle factors such as smoking, diet and lack of exercise. "It may not sound like news that vegetables protect from cancer, but there is actually some controversy in the literature. It is important that we do these large studies," said Dr. Alan Kristal, associate head of the cancer prevention program at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. Researchers at the National Cancer Institute queried men and women aged 50 and older about their diets, then followed participants for five years to record all diagnoses of head and neck cancer, which is the sixth-leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Tobacco and alcohol use increase the risk of head and neck cancers, which affect the mouth, nose, sinuses and throat. The study found eating six servings of fruit and vegetables per day per 1,000 calories cut the risk of head and neck cancer by 29 percent compared to eating one and a half servings. The typical adult consumes around 2,000 calories a day. "Increasing consumption by just one serving of fruit or vegetables per 1,000 calories per day was associated with a 6 percent reduction in head and neck cancer risk, said Neal Freedman, cancer prevention fellow at the NCI. A second study of food consumption in more than 183,000 residents of California and Hawaii found that a diet high in flavonols might help reduce pancreatic cancer risk, especially in smokers. Flavonols are common in plant-based foods but are found in highest concentrations in onions, apples, berries, kale and broccoli. The study found that people who ate the largest amounts of flavonols had a 23 percent reduced risk of developing pancreatic cancer compared to those who ate the least. (Reuters)

一項最新調查進一步證明，“聽媽媽的話，多吃蔬菜”可能是最有益健康的建議之一。 一項對美國50萬名退休人員進行的大規模調查顯示，每天多吃一份水果或蔬菜可能會降低頭頸癌的發病率。 大量研究證明，飲食與癌癥有著密切聯系。癌癥專家認為，多達三分之二的癌癥是由吸煙、節食和缺乏鍛煉等不良生活方式造成的。 西雅圖佛瑞德·哈金森癌癥研究中心癌癥預防小組副組長艾倫·克萊斯托博士說：“這并不能說明蔬菜可以預防癌癥，但是由于現有的研究結果說法不一，所以我們有必要做這些大規模的研究。” 美國國家癌癥研究所的研究員向50歲及50歲以上的男性和女性詢問了他們的飲食習慣，隨后又對他們進行了五年的跟蹤調查，記錄他們在這段時間內的頭頸癌發病情況。頭頸癌號稱世界第六大癌癥。 吸煙和飲酒會增加患頭頸部癌癥的幾率，這種癌癥主要會損害嘴、鼻子、鼻竇和喉嚨。 研究發現，與每天吃一份半蔬菜和水果相比，每天吃六份相當于1000卡熱量的蔬菜和水果，可使頭頸癌的發病率降低29%。 成年人每天約消耗2000卡的熱量。 NCI的癌癥預防專家尼爾o弗里德曼說，"每天多吃一份1000卡的水果或蔬菜就可以使頭頸癌的發病率降低6%。" 另一項對18萬3000多名加利福尼亞和夏威夷居民的飲食調查發現，吃黃酮醇含量高的食物可能會降低胰腺癌的發病率，尤其是對于吸煙的人。 黃酮醇是植物類食物中的常見物質，在洋蔥、蘋果、漿果、羽衣甘藍和西蘭花中含量最高。 研究發現，攝入黃酮醇最多的人比攝入黃酮醇最少的人患胰腺癌的幾率低23%。 （實行生江巍 英語點津姍姍編輯）