Saturday June 15, 2013 (foodconsumer.org) -- A new study in Cancer Causes & Control suggests that eating dark green leafy vegetables often can help reduce the risk of Barrett's esophagus, which is associated with esophageal adenocarcinoma, a fetal cancer.

Li Jiao and colleagues conducted the study and found men and women in the highest tertile of dark green vegetable intake were 54% less likely to develop Barrett's esophagus, compared with those in the lowest tertile.

The study intended to examine the associations between intakes of fruits and vegetables and the risk of Barrett's esophagus was based on data from 1859 participants who underwent the endoscopy in a VA medical center in the U.S between 2008 and 2011.  For the study, 151 cases of Barrett's esophagus were compared with 777 controls for their intake of fruits and vegetables.

The study also found that those in the highest tertile of intake of legumes, total fiber, isoflavones, total folate and lutein were 48%, 50%, 45%, 28% and 55% reduced risk for Barrett's esophagus, respectively, compared with those in the lowest tertile.  All the associations had been adjusted for other possible confounders including use of aspirin or proton pump inhibitor, gastro-esophageal reflux symptoms, and physical activity.

After adjustment for lutein, total fiber and total folate, high intake of dark green vegetables was found to reduce the risk of Barrett's esophagus by 18%.

The researchers concluded "Higher intake of dark green vegetables was associated with a decreased risk of BE (Barrett's esophagus) in a veteran population. Such an inverse association may be partially mediated by lutein, fiber, and folate." (reporting by David Liu, PHD)