Cancer is a fatal disease with many sub-types. Experts tell us to take measures to prevent cancer through diet and lifestyle because not all cancers are treatable. Recent research has found that eating green bananas may reduce the risk of cancer. The resistant starch present in them is said to be the component that is associated with reducing the chances of cancer.
We generally consume ripe yellow bananas because they are sweet and fibrous. These are great for constipation and digestive health but eating green, unripe bananas can provide you with some unexpected benefits including cancer prevention. According to the study published in the journal ‘Cancer Prevention Research’ done by experts from Leeds University and the University of Newcastle, eating resistant starch found in unripe bananas can reduce the risk of cancers related to the stomach.
This is a 20-year-long study where researchers studied Lynch Syndrome patients who are at a greater risk of developing rectal and intestine cancer. They were asked to consume a dose of resistant starch which can also be obtained from unripe green bananas. Besides, this starch is also found in rice, peas, oats, beans and certain cereals. But bananas have the maximum amount and which is why they are the best source of this cancer-reducing starch.
After closely monitoring the risk and parameters, researchers found that the starch reduced the risk of cancers in the pancreas, gastrointestinal tract, esophageal and duodenal. Also, after the patients stopped taking the starch supplement, the effects were still evident.
Statement of John Mathers, a study author from Newcastle University reads, “We found that resistant starch reduces a range of cancers by over 60 percent. The effect was most obvious in the upper part of the gut. The dose used in the trial is equivalent to eating a daily banana: before they become too ripe and soft, the starch in bananas resists breakdown and reaches the bowel where it can change the type of bacteria that live there”.
What is resistant starch?
This is a type of carbohydrate that ferments in the large intestine allowing healthy gut bacteria to thrive. As speculated by researchers, this starch reduces bile acids in the stomach whose high levels are associated with cancer risk.
Apart from resistant starch, aspirin is also found to have a similar impact on a person’s health.
