Fondness for foods packed with flavonoids may shield women from gastric (stomach) cancer.
This study examined whether consuming foods high in flavonoids and lignans can lower the risk of gastric (stomach) cancer. Using validated food frequency questionnaires, researchers collected and evaluated dietary information from 477,312 men and women over a period of 11 years. The gastric cancer (GC) diagnosis status of all the participants was ascertained at the end of the study.
Researchers discovered that habitual intake of flavonoid from food sources lessened the risk of gastric cancer in women, but not in men. The study concluded that "total dietary flavonoid intake is associated with a significant reduction in the risk of GC in women."