(Au) Consuming tea and vegetables may prevent some cancers.

[Guest guest]

Canning Times

Tuesday August 27th 2002

Western Australia

 

Curtin University researchers believe preventing ovarian cancer

can be as simple as drinking tea and eating more vegetables.

 

A research team headed by Professor Colin Binns, of Ferndale,

found daily consumption of several cups of tea, preferably but

not necessarily green tea, helped to prevent the disease.

 

The team of researchers from Curtin's School of Public Health

also confirmed previous research findings that eating fruit and vegetables,

particularly the " alium " vegetables such as broccoli and cabbages,

afforded a good degree of protection against ovarian cancer.

Soybean products were also good.

 

Prof Binns said more laboratory studies were needed to discover

why tea and vegetables had such protective effects.

 

However he said it was known that antioxidants and phytoestrogens

in food kept cells healthy and helped prevent the development of

cancers.

 

Prof Binns also advised women to reduce the amount of animal fats,

preserved and salted foods in their diet.

 

His recommendations are consistent with nutrition advice in the

Australian Dietary Guidelines, the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating,

and the recommendations of Cancer Councils.

 

The results of the Curtin study are in this month's issue of the prestigious

journal Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention.

 

The study was carried out in Hangzhou China by Dr Min Zhang,

Prof Binns and Dr Andy Lee from Curtin, in collabaration with researchers

from the Womens Hospital School of Medicine, Zhejiang University.

 

Ovarian cancer is the seventh most common cancer in women

and the leading cause of death among gynaecological cancer sufferers.

 

While ovarian cancer has the highest fatality-to-case ratio of all

gynaecological malignancies, its cause is unknown.

 

" It is hard to detect, " Prof Binns said.

 

" So prevention is best " .