Tomato-rich diet ‘reduces prostate cancer risk’ – Health News – NHS Choices

“Tomatoes ‘cut risk of prostate cancer by 20%’,” the Daily Mail reports, citing a study that found men who ate 10 or more portions a week had a reduced risk of the disease.

The study in question gathered a year’s dietary information from 1,806 men who were found to have prostate cancer and 12,005 who were clear after random prostate checks. The researchers compared the diets and adjusted the results to take into account factors such as age, family history of prostate cancer and ethnicity.

They found that men who ate more than 10 portions of tomatoes or tomato products per week have an 18% reduced risk of prostate cancer compared to men who ate less than 10.

As this was a case controlled study, and not a randomised controlled trial, it cannot prove that eating more tomatoes prevents prostate cancer. It can only show an association.The association is biologically plausible, because tomatoes are a rich source of lycopene, a nutrient thought to protect against cell damage. However, the jury is still out on whether it really does protect cells.

So a healthy, balanced diet, regular exercise and stopping smoking are still the way to go. It’s unlikely that focusing on one particular food will improve your health. Where did the story come from?

The study was carried out by researchers from the University of Bristol, the National Institute for Health Research NIHR Bristol Nutrition Biomedical Research Unit, Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge and the University of Oxford. It was funded by the NIHR and Cancer Research UK.

The study was published in the peer-reviewed medical journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention. The study is open-access so it is free to read online or download.

In general, the media reported the story accurately but also reported different numbers of study participants, ranging from 1,800 to 20,000. This is because out of the 23,720 men who were initially included in the study, a proportion were excluded from the analyses due to missing questionnaires.

Several news sources have also reported that eating the recommended five portions of fruit or veg per day reduced the risk of prostate cancer by 24% compared to 2.5 servings or less per day. This seems to have come directly from the lead researcher, but these figures are not clearly presented in the research paper.

via Tomato-rich diet ‘reduces prostate cancer risk’ – Health News – NHS Choices.

It’s soft fruit season – check your plums!

It’s that time of year again. Gooseberry fool, raspberry jam more preserves than a chap knows what to do with. And what else? It’s In The Bag (testicular cancer charity we’re supporting with this year’s Vuelta a Fox) would like you to ‘Pledge to Check’ your plums, old bean.

Although testicular cancer survival rates are pretty good – they’d be even better if chaps checked their charlies every month. That’s why they’re running their Pledge to Check campaign. It’s easy to check, but less easy to remember; so when you sign up they’ll send you a monthly reminder by your chosen method (not including unicorn-delivery) so you don’t even need to try to remember! Hurrah!

 

What are you checking for? And how?

Get the ‘Checknique’  here: http://itsinthebag.org.uk/ball-checking/why-check/

 

And don’t forget to get involved with our Vuelta a Fox which begins on 23rd August – you can bag your place by going to http://justgiving.com/VueltaAFox Got the balls?