Eating allium vegetables like onion and garlic may help prevent a variety of cancers including colorectal cancer, prostate cancer and breast cancer, according to a study in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
C. Galeone at Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche "Mario Negri," in Milan, Italy and colleagues conducted the study and found those who ate high amounts of onion and garlic were at a lower risk for cancer of the oral cavity and pharynx, esophageal cancer, colorectal cancer, laryngeal cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer and renal cell cancer.
For the study, researchers used multivariate logistic regression models to analyze data from Italian and Swiss case-control studies. The analysis also considered energy intake and other major covariates that may be associated with cancer risk in addition to the intakes of onion and garlic.
Compared with those who had low intake of onion and garlic, men and women who had high intake of onion and garlic intake were 84% and 39% less likely to develop cancer of the oral cavity and pharynx, respectively.
For esophageal cancer, the risk reduction associated with high intake of onion and garlic was 88% and 57%, respectively. For colorectal cancer, high intake of onion and garlic was correlated with 56% and 26% respectively.
High intake of onion was associated with 83%, 73%, 71%, 31% and 38% reduced risk of laryngeal cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer and renal cell cancer, respectively.
High intake of garlic was correlated with 44%, 10%, 22%, 19%, and 31% reduced risk of laryngeal cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, and renal cell cancer, respectively.
The researchers concluded "This uniquely large data set from southern European populations shows an inverse association between the frequency of use of allium vegetables and the risk of several common cancers. Allium vegetables are a favorable correlate of cancer risk in Europe."
