Apples Ward Off Colon Cancer

Dieter Schrenk , from the University of Kaiserslautern (Germany), and colleagues, have found that apple pectin and apple juice are high in a compound known as butyrate, a short-chain fatty acid. Butyrate not only contributes to the maintenance of healthy colon tissue, but the team found the compound exerts an anti-cancer effect on the colon, by inhibiting the enzymes necessary for tumors to develop.\

Colorectal cancer is the fourth commonest form of cancer occurring worldwide. Most prevalent in industrialized countries, colorectal cancer represents 12.6% of all incident cancer in westernized nations in men and 14.1% in women. Many researchers believe that a majority of colorectal cancer cases are a result of dietary factors, such as a lack of adequate daily fruit and vegetable consumption. This study is promising in its identification of a simple, adoptable dietary habit that may offer protection against colon cancer