Eating Fruits When Young Reduces Cancer Risk In Adults

British scientists have found that adults who were fed plenty of fruit when they were children are less likely to suffer from certain types of cancer.

Fruits are loaded with antioxidants, vitamins and other nutrients, which can help to prevent genetic damage that can lead to the development of cancer. 4,000 men and women were studied revealing that fruit consumption in childhood was inversely associated with cancer in adulthood. Adults who had eaten more fruits when they were young are less likely to suffer from lung, bowel and breast cancer. “This study shows that childhood fruit consumption may have a long term protective effect on cancer risk in adulthood,” Dr. Maria Maynard, of the Medical Research Council in London, said in a report in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. The adults in the study filled in a food inventory during the 1930s for a research study looking into the eating habits of families in rural and urban areas of England and Scotland. The scientists also studied the impact of vitamins C, E and beta carotene on cancer but they did not find any evidence that individual antioxidants were as protective as fruit. No Link was found between vegetable consumption and reduced cancer risk but the scientists said prolonged boiling of vegetables, which was common in the 1930s, can deplete the micronutrients in food. “This study is the first to examine associations between fruit, vegetables and antioxidants measured during childhood and subsequent cancer risk,” Maynard added.(Source: Reuters Health)