Study: Eating dried plums may give some protection from colon cancer
Illustration: The Division of Research | Download
New research suggests that a diet containing dried plums may lower risk of colon cancer by encouraging the digestive tract to retain beneficial bacteria. Colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States.
Working with laboratory rats, researchers from Texas A&M University and the University of North Carolina looked at how a diet containing dried plums might affect microbiota throughout the colon, and the impact that has on the risk of colon cancer. Their research was presented recently at the 2015 Experimental Biology meeting in Boston.
Nancy Turner, a professor of nutrition and food science at Texas A&M University, said, “While additional research is needed, the results from this study are exciting because they suggest that eating dried plums may be a viable nutrition strategy to help prevent colorectal cancer.”
