Don’t rely on a diet of meat and carbs to keep you healthy. Although most men know they should “eat their veggies,” a new study has found that a diet rich in certain vegetables may actually prevent colon cancer.
A diet rich in i3C
he research results, which were published in the journal Immunity, found that mice who were fed a diet rich in I3C (a compound known as indole-3-carbinol) had no signs of inflamed intestines or colon cancer.
The researchers gave one group of mice “purified control diets” that include a measured mix of protein, fat, fiber, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals but with very little plant matter. The other group of mice received a standard “chow,” which contained grains and other ingredients.
Although the mice on the purified control diets developed colon tumors within 10 weeks, the mice who ate the other mix didn’t develop any colon tumors.
“Even without genetic risk factors,” says researcher Dr. Chris Schiering of Imperial College London, “it would seem that a diet devoice of vegetable matter can lead to colon cancer.”
With mice that were already developing cancer of the colon, researchers found that “better late than never” applies. When they put the cancer-ridden mice on diets high in I3C, the mice developed “significantly fewer tumors.” In addition, the tumors that the mice DID develop were less likely to be malignant.
Human diets and colon cancer
I3C is produced in human digestive systems when we eat certain vegetables known as brassicas. Brassicas include vegetables such as collards, kale, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, swede, turnip, bok choi, mizuna, kohlrabi and cabbage.
Not counting skin cancer, colon and rectum cancer are the third most commonly diagnosed cancers in men and women in the United States. According to the American Cancer Society, 97,220 new cases of colon cancer will be diagnosed in the U.S. this year.
