Fruits, Vegetables And Teas May Protect Smokers From Lung Cancer, Researchers Report

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Fruits, Vegetables And Teas May Protect Smokers From Lung Cancer,

Researchers Report

ScienceDaily (May 31, 2008) — Tobacco

smokers who eat three servings of fruits and vegetables per day and drink green

or black tea may be protecting themselves from lung cancer, according to a

first-of-its-kind study by UCLA cancer researchers.

 

UCLA researchers found that smokers who ingested high levels of natural

chemicals called flavonoids in their diet had a lower risk of developing lung

cancer, an important finding since more than 90 percent of lung cancers are

caused by tobacco smoking.

 

The study was published recently in the journal Cancer.

 

" What we found was extremely interesting, that several types of

flavonoids are associated with a reduced risk of lung cancer among

smokers, " said Dr. Zuo-Feng Zhang, a researcher at UCLA's Jonsson Cancer

Center and a professor of public health and epidemiology. " The findings

were especially interesting because tobacco smoking is the major risk factor

for lung cancer. "

 

Flavonoids are water-soluble plant pigments that have antioxidant and

anti-inflammatory properties, both of which can counteract damage to tissues.

For the UCLA study, researchers looked at 558 people with lung cancer and 837

people who did not have lung cancer and analyzed their dietary history.

 

Researchers found that study participants who ate foods containing certain

flavonoids seemed to be protected from developing lung cancer. Zhang said the

flavonoids that appeared to be the most protective included catechin, found in

strawberries and green and black teas, kaempferol, found in Brussels sprouts

and apples, and quercetin, found in beans, onions and apples.

 

So should smokers run out and stock up on the teas, apples, beans and

strawberries? Quitting smoking is the best course of action, Zhang said, but

eating more fruits and vegetables and drinking more black and green teas won't

hurt.

 

" Since this study is the first of its type, I would usually be hesitant

to make any recommendations to people about their diet, " Zhang said.

" We really need to have several larger studies with similar results to

confirm our finding. However, it's not a bad idea for everyone to eat more

fruits and vegetables and drink more tea. "

 

Zhang said flavonoids protect against lung cancer by blocking the formation

of blood vessels that tumors develop so they can grow and spread, a process

called angiogenesis. They also stop cancer cells from growing, allowing for

naturally programmed cell death, or apoptosis, to occur.

 

The antioxidant properties found in the flavonoids also may work to

counteract the DNA damaging effects of tobacco smoking, Zhang said, explaining

why they affected the development of lung cancer in smokers but not in

non-smokers.

 

" The naturally occurring chemicals may be working to reduce the damage

caused by smoking, " Zhang said.

The next step, Zhang said, are laboratory-based studies of flavonoids on

cell lines and animal models to determine how they are protecting smokers from

developing lung cancer. And in addition to larger studies to confirm these

findings, other studies need to be done to see if the protective effects of

flavonoids extend to other smoking-related cancers, such as bladder, head and

neck and kidney cancers.

 

Zhang and his team also plan to study which types of fruits and vegetables

have the highest levels of the flavonoids found to be helpful in this study and

what the optimal number of servings per day might be to provide the greatest

protection.

 

 

 

Adapted from materials provided by University of California - Los

Angeles, via EurekAlert!,

a service of AAAS.

 

 

Diana

 

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