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Last Updated: Jun 30, 2008 - 11:14:37 AM |
Many find it to be the perfect companion to hot dogs and sausage, but new studies suggest that sauerkraut may have another beneficial side effect-it may protect women from breast cancer.
Results from the U.S. component of the Polish Women's Health Study are showing an association between cabbage and sauerkraut consumption, and a constituent called glucosinolate, and a lower risk of breast cancer. The influence seemed to be highest among women who consumed high amounts beginning in adolescence and throughout adulthood.
"The observed pattern of risk reduction indicates that the breakdown products of glucosinolates in cabbage may affect both the initiation phase of carcinogenesis--by decreasing the amount of DNA damage and cell mutation--and the promotion phase--by blocking the processes that inhibit programmed cell death and stimulate unregulated cell growth," said Dorothy Rybaczyk- Pathak, Ph.D., from the University of New Mexico.
Pathak, along with colleagues from Michigan State University and the National Food and Nutrition Institute of Warsaw, Poland, evaluated the diet of Polish immigrants to the United States, living in Chicago and surrounding Cook County, Ill., and the Detroit, Mich., metropolitan area. Women with higher rates of raw- or short-cooked cabbage and sauerkraut consumption, three or more servings per week, compared to those who consumed less than one serving a week, had a significantly reduced breast cancer risk.
Like broccoli, cabbage is a cruciferous vegetable--its flowers are in the shape of a cross--and a member of the Brassica family, which includes broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, collard greens and cauliflower. These plants contain glucosinolates and the enzyme myrosinase which, when broken down by chewing or cutting, release several biologically active products which previous studies have shown to possess anti-carcinogenic properties.
Pathak began the study by wondering why the breast cancer risk of Polish women rose three-fold after they immigrated to the United States. She hypothesized that dietary changes were among the environmental factors contributing to this rapid increase in risk. In Poland, where abundance of food is a recent phenomenon, women traditionally eat an average of 30 pounds of cabbage and sauerkraut per year, as opposed to just 10 pounds per year among American women. Moreover, Polish women traditionally eat more raw cabbage and sauerkraut, in salads, or short-cooked, as a side dish.
She observed the lowest rate of breast cancer among women who consumed high amounts of raw- or short-cooked cabbage during adolescence, but found that high consumption during adulthood provided a significant protective effect for women who had eaten smaller quantities of this vegetable during adolescence. Cabbage cooked a long time, such as in hunter's stew, cabbage rolls and pierogi, had no bearing on breast cancer risk.
Contact: Elizabeth Tait
tait@aacr.org
215-440-9300
American Association for Cancer Research
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Founded in 1907, the American Association for Cancer Research is a professional society of more than 24,000 laboratory, translational, and clinical scientists engaged in all areas of cancer research in the United States and in more than 60 other countries. AACR's mission is to accelerate the prevention and cure of cancer through research, education, communication, and advocacy. Its principal activities include the publication of five major peer-reviewed scientific journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. AACR's Annual Meetings attract nearly 16,000 participants who share new and significant discoveries in the cancer field. Specialty meetings, held throughout the year, focus on the latest developments in all areas of cancer research.
Joint Association of High Cabbage/Sauerkraut Intake at 12-13 Years of Age and Adulthood with Reduced Breast Cancer Risk in Polish Migrant Women: Results from the US Component of the Polish Women's Health Study (PWHS)
Abstract # 3697, Dorothy Rybaczyk-Pathak, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.
Poster Session C. 7:30 a.m., Wednesday, November 2, 2005.
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