White vegetables cut stomach cancer risk: study

Including large amounts of white vegetables such as potatoes, onions and cauliflower in one's diet might reduce the risk of developing stomach cancer, according to new research, says a report.

However, beer, spirits, salt and preserved foods up the risk, according to researchers.

According to scientists at Zhejiang University in China, people who ate large amounts of white vegetables were a third less likely to develop cancer than those who largely avoided them. Also, fruits and green-yellow vegetables such as cabbage, kale and celery also seemed to give protection against the disease.

The key nutrient was thought to be Vitamin C, which acted as an antioxidant to cut down cellular stress in the stomach as also fighting a bacterium responsible for causing gastric cancer.

The scientists analysed 76 best studies on diet and stomach cancer, involving over 6.3 million people and almost 33,000 deaths from the disease, 'The Times' reported.

The researchers found that for every 100g of fruit a person ate each day - roughly equivalent to half an apple - the risk of stomach cancer fell 5 per cent.

The risk came down roughly 8 per cent, with the consumption of 50mg of vitamin C daily, approximately two potatoes' worth.

Stomach cancer killed around 13 people every day in the UK and had only a 15 per cent 10 year survival rate. Cabbage, kale and celery were also found to play a preventive role against the disease. All of the vegetables are thought to contain vitamin C, commonly found in potatoes, which acts as an antioxidant against cellular stress in the stomach.