On November 29, 2022, a study published in BMC Medicine shows that a diet rich in healthy plant foods and low in healthy plant foods is associated with a lower risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) in men.

Corresponding author Jihye Kim said:

“Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer worldwide, with a lifetime risk of one in 23 men and one in 25 women. Although previous studies have suggested that plant-based diets may play a role in preventing colorectal cancer effect, but the effect of the nutritional quality of plant foods on this association is unknown.”

Our findings suggest that eating a healthy plant-based diet is associated with a lower risk of colorectal cancer.

A total of 79,952 men and 93,475 women participated in this multiethnic cohort study. The primary outcome was the incidence of invasive colorectal cancer. Cox models were used to estimate CRC risk for quintiles of three plant-based diet scores: overall plant-based diet index (PDI), healthy plant-based diet index (hPDI), and unhealthy plant-based diet index (uPDI).

Researchers at Kyung Hee University in South Korea found that among 79,952 U.S. men, those who ate an average of healthy plant-based foods per day had a 22 percent lower risk of colorectal cancer compared with those who ate an average of healthy plant-based foods per day .

Jihye Kim said:

“We speculate that antioxidants found in foods such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains may reduce colorectal cancer risk by inhibiting chronic inflammation that can lead to cancer. Since men tend to have a higher risk of colorectal cancer than women, we suggest that this may Help explain why eating more healthy plant foods is associated with a lower risk of colorectal cancer in men but not women.

However, the researchers caution that the observations they studied cannot draw conclusions about a causal relationship between plant-based food intake and colorectal cancer risk. In their analysis, they also did not consider the possible beneficial effects of foods such as fish and dairy products in reducing the risk of colorectal cancer. Also, because the participants’ diets were recorded at the start of the study, they may not be representative of their lifetime diets.