Recently, a study conducted by Suny Buffalo (UB) and University of Puerto Rican scientists found that in Puerto Rico, women who ate onion and garlic more than once a day had a 67% lower risk of breast cancer.
This is Puerto Rico’s first population-based study to examine the relationship between onion and garlic consumption and breast cancer. The results were published in the Journal Nutrition and Cancer.
Onion and garlic are the main ingredients of Puerto Rican popular cuisine sofrito. Now they may also be a good way to reduce the risk of breast cancer. “We found that in Puerto Rican women, the combined intake of onions, garlic and sofrito was associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer.” Gauri Desai, PhD, epidemiology, UB School of Public Health, the lead author of the study, said.
Anti-cancer effect of onion and garlic
Until now, there has been some scientific evidence that eating onions and garlic may have preventive effects on cancer. To further determine the relationship between onion and garlic consumption and breast cancer, the researchers selected case-control data from Puerto Rico.
Desai points out that Puerto Rico is a perfect place to study because women there eat more onions and garlic than in Europe and the United States, largely due to the popularity of sofrito. “Puerto Rican women use a lot of onion and garlic because of sofrito, which is unique.”
In addition, Puerto Rico has a lower incidence of breast cancer than the mainland of the United States, which makes Puerto Rico an important research group.
“In Puerto Rico, there are few studies on breast cancer. This research was conducted in collaboration with my colleagues at UB and Puerto Rico university to help us understand why the incidence rate is lower than that in other parts of the United States. Dr. Jo Freudenheim, co-author of the study and director of the Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health at the University of Buffalo, said.
Researchers analyzed data from participants enrolled in the Atabey Study of Breast Cancer and found that those who consumed sofrito more than once a day had a 67% lower risk than those who never consumed it.
The Atabi Breast Cancer Study is a case-control study named after the Puerto Rican goddess of fertility. The study was conducted between 2008 and 2014, involving 314 breast cancer patients and 346 control subjects.
(Source: pixabay)
Why should we pay attention to onion and garlic?
Researchers say onions and garlic are rich in flavonols and organic sulfur oxides. In particular, garlic contains compounds such as S-allylcysteine, diallyl sulfide and diallyl disulfide, while onions contain cysteine sulphoxides.
“These compounds show anti-cancer characteristics in human and laboratory animal studies.” Lina Mu, senior author of the study and associate professor of epidemiology and environmental health at the University of Buffalo, said.
Scientific anti-cancer diet
In fact, when it comes to anti-cancer recipes, broccoli, the vegetable king, has to be mentioned. Broccoli has long been considered to be very good for human health, including reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and preventing cancer.
In May, the top journal Science also published a study by the Cancer Research Institute of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center of Harvard Medical College in the United States, which found that indole-3-methanol (I3C), a natural compound in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, inhibits carcinogenic genes in humans.
Moreover, in animal experiments, the researchers confirmed that this natural ingredient found in broccoli can target WWP1 gene and inhibit tumor growth. This discovery indicates that the natural compounds in broccoli have a strong ability to inhibit cancer and provide a potential new method for cancer treatment and prevention.
In fact, many fruits and vegetables have a variety of health benefits, but broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables have more health benefits, and there are scientific hammers.
In addition to the obvious broccoli, which is a rich source of vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber and antioxidants, many scientific studies in recent years have shown that eating more vegetables such as broccoli can reduce the risk of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and promote skin and hair health.
A large number of epidemiological studies have also found that consumption of cruciferous vegetables is related to reducing the risk of cancer, including lung cancer, colon cancer and breast cancer. In addition to epidemiological analysis, researchers also confirmed that cruciferous vegetables contain sulfur compounds such as sulfur radish sulfur and other natural ingredients to bring them anti-cancer ability. Sulforaphane can inhibit histone deacetylase (HDAC), which is known to be involved in the progress of cancer cells, which may make foods containing sulforaphane play a more important role in cancer prevention in the future.
In 2018, researchers at the Francis Click Institute in London also discovered that the indole substances in cruciferous vegetables produce substances that activate aromatics receptors under the action of gastric acid and intestinal flora. They can correct defects caused by inadequate stimulation of aromatics receptors, including the restoration of epithelial cell differentiation, resistance to intestinal infections and the prevention of colon cancer.
However, it should be pointed out that in order to obtain the potential anti-cancer benefits mentioned in the study, it is often necessary to do so.
