- Giving infants oranges and bananas regularly may halve
their risk of developing childhood leukaemia, suggest the results of a
new study. And a diet containing the curry spice turmeric may also be
protective
- accounting for the differences in childhood leukaemia rates between east
and west - says a leading scientist.
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- Children who ate oranges, orange juice or bananas between
four to six times a week during their first two years of life had a
significantly
reduced risk of developing the cancer, revealed the observational study
by US researchers.
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- Previous studies on childhood leukaemias have not
examined
the effects of the overall diet in this way, focusing more on possible
risk foods like cured meats.
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- "Our study is unique, and we have elucidated a
significant
protective association with the consumption of oranges, bananas and orange
juice," says Marilyn Kwan, an epidemiologist at the University of
California, Berkeley.
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- However, she cautions that without carrying out a
randomised
controlled trial, it is difficult to predict exactly how protective eating
these fruits may be, or to make firm public health recommendations. But
she notes that in her study "there was a 50 per cent reduction in
risk".
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- The evidence for oranges and bananas, and turmeric in
preventing leukaemia was presented at Children with Leukaemia's
international
leukaemia conference in London, UK, on Thursday.
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- Luncheon meats
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- Kwan and colleagues studied 328 children under 15 who
had developed leukaemia and matched controls. Questionnaires were given
to each child's mother on the child's eating habits between birth and age
two. Nine food groups were discussed, including: hotdogs, hamburgers,
vegetables,
apples and grapes, oranges and bananas, and carbonated drinks.
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- Two previous studies have found that eating cured meats
like hotdogs or luncheon meats increased the risk of brain tumours and,
to a lesser extent, leukaemia in children. However, the new study did not
confirm this link.
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- Kwan believes that diet between birth and two could be
crucial. "We think it might be a critical window of exposure,"
she told New Scientist. "There are a lot of developmental processes
occurring during that time."
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- Oranges and bananas may protect against childhood
leukaemia
because they are a rich source of vitamin C, which is an antioxidant. They
could act by reducing oxidative DNA damage, and so stop the initiation
of cancerous processes.
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- Bananas are also rich in potassium. Animal studies have
indicated that potassium stabilises DNA and can reduce rates of
mutation.
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- Baby food
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- Turmeric may also protect against childhood leukaemia,
suggests Moolky Nagabhushan, a cancer research scientist at Loyola
University
Medical Centre in Chicago, US. He and colleagues in India have shown
protective
effects of the yellow spice's main active component - curcumin - in a
long-running
series of studies. And curcumin is now undergoing initial safety testing
in humans.
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- Childhood leukaemia rates are much lower in Asia than
in western countries - and this could be due to differences in diet. The
cancer is the most common childhood cancer in the west, afflicting at least
one child in every 100,000. But in India, if affects only 1 child in
1,000,000.
The consumption of turmeric is high in India - some estimates suggest each
adult eats an average of 3 to 5 grams a day.
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- Nagabhushan's work has shown that curcumin and other
turmeric extracts can block the mutagenic effects of cancer-causing agents
called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from smoke emissions. In animal
studies, it inhibited the formation of stomach and skin tumours. And
curcumin
can also mop up cellular molecules involved in tumour development.
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- Curcumin is a powerful antioxidant he says. "They
put so many antioxidants in food - but instead of artificial antioxidants,
they could use this," he told New Scientist. He suggests it could
even be used in baby foods after strict safety testing.
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- Kwan's work has been accepted for publication in the
November issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology.
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- http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996384
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