Something Good About Fowl

Who would have thought the humble chicken could play a role in cancer prevention? Researchers at Dartmouth Medical School recently determined that people who eat lots of chicken (the precise amount was not recorded) have a significantly reduced risk of colorectal cancer compared to those who eat the least. The finding is part of a study into the risks posed by meat, dietary fat, and fiber for adenomas, the growths in the colon that can develop into cancer. The study established the eating patterns for an adenoma-free group of 1,500 people and then performed follow-up colonoscopies one and four years later. In addition to the news about chicken, the study stood a number of common assumptions on their heads. It found that eating fiber-rich foods had little or no effect on the risk of developing adenomas, and there was no association between fat or total red meat intake and the risk of adenomas or advanced adenoma recurrence. Only processed meat (hot dogs, lunch meats, bacon, and the like) posed a significant risk—possibly caused by the nitrates and nitrites used to preserve them.
—James Keough