Starch can protect against many types of cancer

Starch can protect against many types of cancer
London: Scientists have given a hopeful news that natural starch can play an important role in preventing certain types of hereditary cancer.

According to research, a type of starch called ‘resistant starch’ is found in ordinary raw cloves. If 30 grams of this supplement is consumed daily, the risk of several types of a rare genital cancer can be halved.

This starch is also present in green peas, beans and oatmeal. Resistant starch is a type of carbohydrate that passes through the small intestine undigested. This starch causes cancer in the stomach and intestines under a genetic condition called Lynch syndrome, which has several types. Interestingly, this is the first time that a nutritional component has been shown to have a definite role in the treatment of cancer.
Lynch syndrome is a rare genetic condition that can cause several types of cancer, including those of the brain, stomach, liver and colon. Now, if Lynch syndrome develops stomach and intestinal cancer, it is very life-threatening. But Dr. Matthew Urgelin of the Cancer Institute, Boston, who researches starches, says that regular consumption of starches repels cancer in such patients.

The protective role of starch in colon cancer has been known for 50 years. This was also considered by John Mathers of Newcastle University and stated that starch has a powerful ability to fight this cancer. In this regard, Dr. John Mathers selected patients with Lynch syndrome who could be affected by this cancer.

The study recruited a total of 463 people with a rare condition like Lynch syndrome and asked them to eat 30 grams of resistant starch, which is found in two raw cloves, every day for two years. On the other hand, 455 such people were given a dummy drug (placebo).

Cancer takes time to develop, but in the unlucky few with Lynch syndrome, it strikes quickly. All patients were then followed up for ten years. Then he was kept in touch for another 10 years. For the first two years, the rates of patients in both groups were similar and there was no difference. But later it was found that 78 people who ate starch got cancer while 96 people who did not eat starch got cancer. This is how this clear difference came out.

Significant differences were also observed in other types of cancer and statistically it can be said that regular consumption of starch can protect Lynch syndrome patients from many types of cancer. Thus overall starch can reduce the risks by 50% which is also a very significant rate.

After this research, experts have said that they must make resistant starch a part of their diet anyway.