Eating healthy and nutritious food bestows many benefits to human heath. Medical research is replete with studies that establish a positive correlation between healthy eating and remaining in the pink of health.
In a large study, researchers have been able to establish that people who follow federal dietary guidelines and eat the recommended levels of diet tend to cut the chances of contracting pancreatic cancer by 15 percent.
Cause and Effect Relationship Not Established
Findings of this study that covered as many as 5, 00,000 people, thus corroborate earlier research findings.
For the purpose of the study, researchers analyzed participants aged between 50 and 71. These participants had taken part in the US National Institutes of Health/AARP Diet and Health Study.
“Our study specifically suggests that individuals who reported dietary intakes in adherence with the federal dietary guidelines had a lower risk of pancreatic cancer,” lead researcher Hannah Arem, from the division of cancer epidemiology and genetics at the US National Cancer Institute.
Researchers used observational approach in their study methodology. The findings thus have to be taken with a pinch of salt.
While there is a link between healthy eating and low pancreatic cancer rates, the association does not establish a cause and effect relationship.
“While we tested the influence of other characteristics and behaviors including education, smoking history, physical activity and vitamin use, in addition to other factors, the finding could be due to healthful behaviors other than diet that we did not query about on the questionnaire,” cautioned Arem.
About Pancreatic Cancer
Pancreatic cancer is more often than not, fatal.
Experts suggest that “identifying dietary risk factors for pancreatic cancer have been elusive” as yet. To add to the woes, the incidence of pancreatic cancer is on the rise.
People with other underlying medical conditions like type 2 diabetes are more susceptible to contracting the carcinoma.
The findings of the study have been published in the 15 August issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
