Vegetable lovers have a lower risk of developing esophageal cancer

Barrett’s esophagus is a condition in which the tissue lining the esophagus—the muscular tube that connects the mouth to the stomach—is replaced by tissue that is similar to the lining of the intestine; a process called intestinal metaplasia.  

Researchers from the University of Washington and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, both in Seattle note that Barrett’s esophagus (BE) is a risk factor for esophageal adenocarcinoma. The purpose of undertaking this study was to determine whether consumption of vegetable and fruit could affect the risk of BE.  

In their case-control study they compared the vegetable and fruit intakes of 170 patients with newly diagnosed BE with those of 182 controls from the general population. Those with higher vegetable intake (in the top two-thirds of intake level) or higher vegetable and fruit intake combined had a decreased risk of developing BE. The study is published in the March 2009 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.