Onions and garlic may protect against breast cancer
25 September, 2019
New research examines the consumption of onion and garlic among women in Puerto Rico and suggests that the vegetables can significantly reduce the risk of breast cancer.
Onions and garlic are part of the allium genus, along with leeks, chives, and hundreds of other species.
Rich in flavor, with a strong, pungent kick, these "feisty" vegetables may also be able to fight off diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer, according to emerging evidence.
In regards to cancer, several studies have specifically explored the links between onion and garlic consumption and the risk of colorectal, stomach, and prostate cancers.
Overall, these studies have found that the more of these vegetables that people consume, the lower their risk of developing these cancers.
However, less extensive research has gone into the link with breast cancer, say researchers led by Gauri Desai, a doctoral candidate in epidemiology at the University at Buffalo (UB), part of The State University of New York.
So, Desai and the team set out to investigate this topic further, looking at a population of women in Puerto Rico. The reasons for choosing this population were twofold. Firstly, "Puerto Rico has lower breast cancer rates, compared to the mainland [United States], which makes it an important population to study," explains Desai.
Secondly, a condiment called "sofrito," which consists largely of garlic and onion, is a traditional Puerto Rican sauce that is widely consumed across the island.
The researchers published the results of their findings in the journal Nutrition and Cancer.
Studying onions, garlic, and cancer risk
Desai and the team used hospital and clinic records to identify 314 women aged between 30 and 79 who had breast cancer between 2008 and 2014. The researchers also included 346 control participants who were matched based on age and residential area.
The control participants had no history of cancer, apart from nonmelanoma skin cancer. The researchers used a food frequency questionnaire to enquire about dietary patterns and total onion and garlic intake, which included sofrito consumption.
The team employed unconditional logistic regression to examine the association between onion and garlic intake and breast cancer occurrence, adjusting for factors such as age, education, family history, body mass index, smoking status, and others.
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