According to a recent study conducted by researchers from the Universities of Newcastle and Leeds, shown that resistant starch can help prevent various hereditary cancers. For nearly 20 years, the double-blind longitudinal study followed nearly 1,000 patients with Lynch Syndrome, a hereditary condition that increases the risk of several cancer types.
Resistant starch, also known as fermentable fibre, is a type of carbohydrate that does not digest in the small intestine but ferments in large intestine & feeds beneficial gut bacteria. It can be found in foods like slightly underripe bananas, oats, peas & beans, rice, pasta, and etc. According to the researchers, resistant starch can be taken as a powder supplement.
“Reducing a range of cancers by over 60%”
An international trial recently revealed that a daily dose of resistant starch given for an average of 2 years did not decrease cancer in bowel, but it did reduce cancers in other parts of the body by more than half. This was particularly true of cancers of the upper gastrointestinal system, such as those of the esophagus, gastric, biliary tract, pancreas, and duodenum. The CAPP2 study included nearly 1,000 Lynch syndrome patients from around the world. The effects of the supplement lasted for ten years after the trial ended.
“We discovered that resistant starch reduces a variety of cancers by more than 60%.” “The effect was most noticeable in the upper part of the gut,” said Newcastle University’s Professor of Human Nutrition, John Mathers. “This is important because cancers of the upper GI tract are difficult to diagnose and often undetected early on.”
An unripe banana per day
The tested dosage is equivalent to eating one banana per day. Before they become too ripe & soft. Bananas’ starch, which resists decomposition until it reaches the colon, where it can change the type of bacteria that re-side there.
“When we began the studies more than 20 years ago, we thought that people with a genetic predisposition to colon cancer could help us test whether we could reduce the risk of cancer with either aspirin or resistant starch,” said Professor Sir John Burn of Newcastle University & Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, who co-led the trial with Professor Mathers.
As the trial results show, eating an unripe banana may be the key to preventing certain types of cancer.
