Generous intake of diets rich in onions may help to prevent the occurrence of stomach cancer.
This study investigated the relationship between onions, leeks, and garlic supplement intakes and the development of stomach cancer. Researchers examined the onions, leeks, and garlic supplement consumption levels of 3262 men and women within the age bracket of 55-69 years recruited from the Netherland Cohort Study on Diet and Cancer. The stomach cancer hazard risk of each subject was also determined.
Researchers found out that subjects who consumed more than 0.5 onions per day had slim chances of developing stomach cancer compared to rare- or non-consumers of onions. Conversely, increased intakes of leeks and garlic supplements had little or no effect on stomach cancer risk. Along with being limited to the fundus, body, and pyloric regions of the stomach, the tumor-inhibiting effect of onions was also found to be stronger in subjects with no previous record of stomach disorders. The results of this study support the hypothesis that eating large amounts of onions regularly is associated with lower stomach cancer risk.