Mediterranean Diet and cancer risk: an open issue.

Auteur(s) :
D'Alessandro A., De Pergola G., Silvestris F.
Date :
Juin, 2016
Source(s) :
International journal of food sciences and nutrition. # p
Adresse :
General Medicine ASL BA/4 , Bari , Italy ;

Sommaire de l'article

The traditional Mediterranean Diet of the early 1960s meets the characteristics of an anticancer diet defined by the World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research (WCRF/AIRC). A diet rich of whole grains, pulses, vegetables and fruits, limited in high-calorie foods (foods high in sugar or fat), red meat and foods high in salt, without sugary drinks and processed meat is recommended by the WCRF/AIRC experts to reduce the risk of cancer. The aim of this review was to examine whether Mediterranean Diet is protective or not against cancer risk. Three meta-analyses of cohort studies reported that a high adherence to the Mediterranean Diet significantly reduces the risk of cancer incidence and/or mortality. Nevertheless, the Mediterranean dietary pattern defined in the studies'part of the meta-analyses has qualitative and/or quantitative differences compared to the Mediterranean Diet of the early 1960s.

Therefore, the protective role of the Mediterranean Diet against cancer has not definitely been established. In epidemiological studies, a universal definition of the Mediterranean Diet, possibly the traditional Mediterranean Diet of the early 1960s, could be useful to understand the role of this dietary pattern in cancer prevention.

Source : Pubmed
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