Food Intake and Colorectal Cancer

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) accounts for considerable mortalities worldwide. Several modifiable risk factors, including a high intake of certain foods and beverages can cause CRC. This review summarized the latest findings on the intake of various foods, nutrients, ingredients, and beverages on CRC development, with the objective of classifying them as a risk or protective factor. High-risk food items include red meat, processed meat, eggs, high alcohol consumption, sugar-sweetened beverages, and chocolate candy. Food items that are protective include milk, cheese and other dairy products, fruits, vegetables (particularly cruciferous), whole grains, legumes (particularly soy beans), fish, tea (particularly green tea), coffee (particularly among Asians), chocolate, and moderate alcohol consumption (particularly wine). High-risk nutrients/ingredients include dietary fat from animal sources and industrial trans-fatty acids (semisolid/solid hydrogenated oils), synthetic food coloring, monosodium glutamate, titanium dioxide, and high-fructose corn sirup. Nutrients/ingredients that are protective include dietary fiber (particularly from cereals), fatty acids (medium-chain and odd-chain saturated fatty acids and highly unsaturated fatty acids, including omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids), calcium, polyphenols, curcumin, selenium, zinc, magnesium, and vitamins A, C, D, E, and B (particularly B₆, B₉, and B₂). A combination of micronutrients and multi-vitamins also appears to be beneficial in reducing recurrent adenoma incidence.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Ingrid Monteiro for providing medical writing and editorial support in accordance with Good Publication Practice (GPP3) guidelines and the seniors and staff from Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS), Kyoto University, Japan.

Disclosure statement

As far as the authors are concerned, there are no competing interests to declare.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.