Consumption of allium vegetables -- which include garlic, leeks, and onions - was linked with a reduced risk of in colorectal cancer in a study of men and women in China, first published on in February 2019, in the Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Oncology study.

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancers reported in men and women worldwide.

If screened early [with colonoscopy etc] treatment for this cancer with modern drugs is of course possible. But new study suggests that nutrition has played a big role in lowering the risk of contracting the disease in research subjects.

"833 patients of colorectal cancer were matched to 833 healthy controls by age, sex and residence area. Demographic and dietary information were collected via face-to-face interviews using a validated food frequency questionnaire.

The odds of having colorectal cancer was 79 percent lower in adults who consumed high amounts of allium vegetable compared with those who consumed low amounts.”

Quote from the lead scientist on asianscientist.com:

"It is worth noting that in our research, there seems to be a trend: the greater the amount of allium vegetables, the better the protection," said senior author Dr. Zhi Li, of the First Hospital of China Medical University. "In general, the present findings shed light on the primary prevention of colorectal cancer through lifestyle intervention, which deserves further in-depth explorations."

Dr Li and colleagues say consumption of 35lbs/year of allium vegetables “may” effectively reduce an individual’s risk of the disease.

Use of allium vegetables for medicial purposes is not however, not new.

According to the research paper by Richard S. Rivlin, in The Journal of Nutrition:

“The use of garlic as a food and as a medicinal agent has ancient origins in Asia. The best estimate is that by or before 2000 BC, garlic was in wide use in China and formed part of the daily diet, particularly when consumed together with raw meat. Records dating from that era suggest that garlic was also used as a food preservative.”

Garlic has been associated with the healing process in India from the time of the first available written records. Three ancient medical traditions, i.e., Tibbi, Unani and Auryvedic, made extensive use of garlic as a central part of the healing efficacy of plants. The leading surviving medical text, Charaka-Samhita, recommends garlic for the treatment of heart disease and arthritis 2000 years ago.”

The full study can be bought at:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ajco.13133 

Ancient times: 

https://academic.oup.com/jn/article/131/3/951S/4687053 

Top Cancers:

https://www.wcrf.org/dietandcancer/cancer-trends/worldwide-cancer-data

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