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July 22, 2003

Waiter: Make That One Italian Pizza, Please


This is the best news I've heard all year:
Pizza may keep cancer at bay
Last Updated: 2003-07-21 16:54:52 -0400 (Reuters Health) By Karla Gale

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Eating Italian pizza on a regular basis may lower your odds of getting certain cancers, new research suggests.

Dr. Silvano Gallus at the Institute of Pharmacologic Research in Milan and his associates analyzed data from studies conducted in Italy between 1991 and 2000. Included were more than 3000 patients with a variety of cancers involving the digestive tract, such as in the esophagus or colon. For comparison, the authors included nearly 5000 similar patients without any evidence of cancer.

The subjects were interviewed regarding lifestyle habits. People who ate pizza at least once a week were considered regular pizza eaters, while those who ate pizza up to 3 times a month were considered occasional eaters. As reported in the International Journal of Cancer, people who ate pizza at least once a week were less likely to develop any of the digestive tract cancers than people who did not eat pizza. In addition, for most types of cancer, the risk dropped steadily the more often pizza was eaten. Despite these findings, "our suggestion is not simply 'eat pizza and you will be protected against cancers'," Gallus told Reuters Health said, since "pizza may simply represent an indicator of a healthy Italian diet." On the other hand, "Italian pizzas could be quite different from other kinds of pizza." He and his colleagues suggest that pizza's favorable influence may be related to the content of cooked tomatoes, which are rich in lycopene, and olive oil.

SOURCE: International Journal of Cancer, July 21, 2003

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