Vegetable, lutein, zeaxanthin, and zinc intake linked with lower risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma In a study published in the June, 2006 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers from the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, the National Cancer Institute, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and other institutions found a lower risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) associated with a greater intake of vegetables and the dietary nutrients lutein, zeaxanthin and zinc. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is an immune system cancer characterized by the proliferation of T or B cells, the incidence of which has increased over the past several decades for reasons unknown. The current analysis included 466 men and women between the ages of 20 and 74 with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and 391 age, gender, race, and location-matched control subjects. Questionnaires and personal interviews were used to collect information on the quantities of various foods and nutritional supplements consumed over the previous year, from which daily nutrient intake was calculated. Individuals whose vegetable intake was in the top one-fourth of participants were found to have a 42 percent lower risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma than those whose intake was in the lowest fourth. When leafy green and cruciferous vegetable intake were separately analyzed, similar associations with NHL risk were found. Participants among the top 25 percent of lutein and zeaxanthin intake experienced a 46 and 42 percent lower risk of the disease, and those whose zinc intake was highest experienced a 42 percent reduction compared to those in the lowest quarter. The authors observed that vegetables contain not only lutein and zeaxanthin which were associated with a reduced risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in this study, but that they also provide folate, involved in DNA synthesis and repair, and compounds that detoxify carcinogens. The association of zinc with a reduction in NHL risk could be due to its ability to displace DNA-bound iron, which reduces iron-catalyzed hydroxyl radical production that damages DNA. Zinc also has an action on various compounds involved in immune system development and reactivity. To the authors’ knowledge, the study is the first epidemiologic report of the association between non-Hodgkin lymphoma and zinc. The current findings, in combination with those of other studies, “suggest that higher intakes of vegetables, in general, and specific nutrients that function in antioxidant-related pathways, in particular, may reduce the risk of developing NHL,” they write. “If so, dietary change may be one of a small number of modifiable influences on lymphoma risk,” they conclude. Source: www.lef.org, June 2006 Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. You can help raise awareness of CAM.