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Japan study fruit veggies lower mens cancer risk

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Picture: REUTERS/Darren Staples (BRITAIN)
A market stall owner presents his fruit in Leicester, central England August 12, 2008.

A study by a Japanese medical team says men who eat more fruit and vegetables have less risk of developing a type of cancer of the esophagus.

The study spearheaded by Japan’s health ministry monitored some 39,000 men aged 45 to 74 over about eight years, during which time 116 developed the type of cancer called esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).

Esophageal SCC is a common type of cancer among Japanese men, strongly linked to smoking and drinking alcohol.

The study divided men into three groups and found that those who ate the most fruit and vegetables had nearly half the risk of developing esophageal SCC compared with the group with the least vegetable-based diet.

The researchers say "An increase in consumption of total fruit and vegetables by 100 grams per day was associated with an 11 percent decrease in the incidence of esophageal SCC".

The study concluded that vegetables, especially the so-called cruciferous family of vegetables that includes radishes and cabbages, may help prevent esophageal SCC.

It says A diet rich in fruit and vegetables would lower the risk of developing this type of cancer to nearly one-third, even among men who smoke and drink.

A scientific study at Britain’s Institute of Food Research showed last month that men who ate more broccoli, one of the cruciferous vegetables, reduced their risk of prostate cancer and other chronic diseases.

MRN-AFP

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Watchdog somali pirates hijack thai cargo ship

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Picture (AFP/US NAVY/File/Daniel Sanford)
A suspected pirate looks over the edge of a skiff in international waters off the coast of Somalia in 2006.

A maritime watchdog says a Thai cargo ship has been hijacked off the Somali coast, as it called on the United Nations and coalition forces to halt pirate attacks in the Gulf of Aden.

Noel Choong, head of the Kuala Lumpur-based International Maritime Bureau’s (IMB) Piracy Reporting Centre, told AFP, "The Thai general cargo ship was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden on August 12 by Somali pirates".

Choong says the watchdog was unable to provide additional information on the attack because "the ship was still moving with the hijackers onboard."

He says "In view of the crew safety, they are unable to provide further details". Choong says that because Somalia has no central government, the military forces patroling the Gulf of Aden should take the lead to deter piracy which is rampant in the region.

"We hope the UN and the coalition forces will stop the attacks.

He warned Unless there is a deterrent, the attacks and hijacking will continue to escalate".

In recent weeks, the IMB has reported a series of attacks and hijackings off the Somali coast.

MRN-AFP

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