What's the link between stomach cancer and the Mediterranean diet?

The Mediterranean diet commonly followed by those living in Italy, Greece and the nearby regions is shown to have significant health benefits for the heart. However, it is suspected that it may also protect against certain forms of cancer. Until now, experts are not certain about how much the Mediterranean diet could protect against cancer.

A new study that took 8.9 years to follow-up involving 485,000 men and women aged 35 to 70 years old from 10 countries showed that the people on a Mediterranean diet had a 33% lower risk of getting cancer of the stomach. The researchers used a scale to account for various factors such as how closely each person followed the Mediterranean diet. The closer a person follows the diet, the better the protection against cancer of the stomach.

This is an important finding since the survival rate for those who develop cancer of the stomach is around 20% after five year.

The Mediterranean diet consists of heart healthy foods such as olive oil, fish, fruits and vegetables and less of dairy products and red meats.

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