Folate cuts family risk of colon cancer. (Food & Nutrition).Good nutrition, including regular intake of the vitamin folate folate /fo·late/ (fo´lat) 1. the anionic form of folic acid. 2. more generally, any of a group of substances containing a form of pteroic acid conjugated with l-glutamic acid and having a variety of substitutions. , reduces one's risk of colon cancer colon cancer, cancer of any part of the colon (often called the large intestine). Colon cancer is the second most common cancer diagnosed in the United States. . According to a 16-year study of nearly 90,000 women, the vitamin's protective effect is greatest among women whose families have been affected by the disease. Between 1980 and 1996, Charles S. Fuchs and his colleagues at Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is one of the graduate schools of Harvard University. It is a prestigious American medical school located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. in Boston questioned thousands of nurses about their dietary habits and whether family members had suffered colon or rectal cancer Rectal Cancer Definition The rectum is the portion of the large bowel that lies in the pelvis, terminating at the anus. Cancer of the rectum is the disease characterized by the development of malignant cells in the lining or epithelium of the rectum. . The team also identified which nurses developed colon cancer during the study. Among study volunteers with no family history of colorectal cancer colorectal cancer Malignant tumour of the large intestine (colon) or rectum. Risk factors include age (after age 50), family history of colorectal cancer, chronic inflammatory bowel diseases, benign polyps, physical inactivity, and a diet high in fat. , women who consumed 400 or more micrograms of folate per day in food didn't show significantly lower rates of colon cancer than those who consumed less than 200 mg/day. In women with a family history of the cancer, however, higher folate consumption cut risk in half. A similar effect was evident among nurses in the study who routinely took folate-containing multivitamins, the researchers report in the March Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention. --B.H. |
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