While those wanting to lose weight consider the relative merits of counting carbs versus counting calories, those hoping to lower their risk for some of the most prevalent forms of cancer may be better off doing as parents often say, "Take your vitamins and eat your vegetables."

Two case-control studies presented at the 95th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research compared specific eating habits of healthy individuals to those with prostate and bladder cancers to assess the relationship between dietary factors and incidence of disease.

Two forms of vitamin E appear to lower the risk of prostate cancer by as much as 53 per cent and 39 per cent, respectively, based on the findings of a team of scientists from the United States and Finland.

Nuts and seeds, whole grain products, vegetable oils, salad dressings, margarine, beans, peas and other vegetables are good dietary sources of vitamin E. See Canada's Food Guide for Healthy Eating for other healthy sources.

Consuming vitamin E also lowers the risk of bladder cancer, according to the findings of a case-control study from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

"High intake of vitamin E from dietary sources alone was associated with a 42 per cent reduced risk of bladder cancer, whereas high intake of vitamin E from dietary sources and supplements combined reduced the risk by 44 per cent," the Texas researchers reported.

More than 5,000 cases of bladder cancer are reported in Canada every year with Ontario having one of the lowest rates of bladder cancer in the country.

For more information about cancer prevention, visit HealthyOntario.

April 2004

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