Do probiotics for example in yoghurt prevent colon cancer?

Jack Chan, Malaysia

Work on probiotic foods has been underway for many years. The European SYNCAN project (Synbiotics and Cancer Prevention Project) aims to determine whether new concepts of nutrition (prebiotics, probiotics and synbiotics) can reduce the risk of colorectal cancer effectively in the Western population. In animal studies this has been consistently demonstrated. These days, many types of yoghurt and other fermented milk products include probiotic bacteria. Because of their growing interest, new products containing prebiotics (such as certain carbohydrates), probiotics or both are under development by food industry and research institutes. The latest results of this project are coming soon.

Terminology

• Probiotics are living micro-organisms which upon ingestion in sufficient quantities, exert health benefits on the host beyond basic nutrition. They are most commonly found in milk fermented products
• Prebiotics are non-digestible food components belonging to the fibre family that stimulate the growth or activity a number of micro-organisms of the intestinal flora (i.e. Bifidobacterium species and/or lactobacilli). They are found naturally in some foods (e.g: onions, artichokes, bananas, chicory, leeks) or can be added in other foods (e.g: breads, biscuits).
• Synbiotics is a combination of probiotics and prebiotics.

Diet and cancer : http://www.nutrition.org.uk/flairflow/booklets/FFdietcancer.pdf
SYNCAN Project : http://www.syncan.be/html/basisframeset.html