September 16, 2004 – The more raw or cooked vegetables you eat, the lower your risk of developing cancer. And this risk would be slightly lower if we eat more raw than cooked vegetables, according to the synthesis.1 about fifty studies on the subject.
The two American researchers who come to this conclusion have scrutinized two series of studies totaling 49 epidemiological researches, carried out between 1994 and 2003 in different countries. Their observations would be unequivocal: increasing the consumption of vegetables has the opposite effect on the risk of cancer.
According to them, both raw and cooked vegetables have a beneficial effect in this regard. However, depending on the type of vegetable and the type of cancer they treat, studies tend to show that the risk is significantly lower with raw vegetables.
The first set of studies, which looked at the link between cancer risk and the consumption of raw and cooked vegetables, included 28 studies: 88% showed a decrease in risk attributable to the consumption of raw vegetables, compared to 85% for cooked vegetables. The second set contained 21 studies that looked only at the impact of raw vegetables on cancer: 91% of them showed an inversely proportional relationship.
Overall, researchers have noticed that the cancers on which the consumption of vegetables acts the most are those related to the digestive system.
Is it always better to eat your vegetables raw?
The authors are careful not to be categorical: “The studies are too varied – in their methods and analysis – to make an obvious comparison,” they say.
Their conclusions are in the same direction as those of another synthesis, written in 1991 and highlighting the existence of the inverse link between the consumption of fruits and vegetables and the risk of cancer of the digestive and respiratory systems. This synthesis had also noted a slight advantage for raw vegetables.
Martin LaSalle – PasseportSanté.net
1. Link LB, Potter JD, Raw versus Cooked Vegetables and Cancer Risk, Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, September 2004, Vol. 13, No 9, 1422-35.
