has been cited by various media, various popular science authors, anti-cancer websites, etc. for 10 years, and it has been widely spread. This is a list of 20 anti-cancer foods from Japan: cooked sweet potatoes 98.7%, raw sweet potatoes 94.4%, asparagus 93.9%...

　　Because most domestic science writers cite other people’s data, they never value or even indicate the source, which makes it difficult for us to assess the authenticity of this information. Some people say it comes from the "Japan Cancer Prevention Research Institute"; others say it comes from the "Japan National Cancer Research Center"; others say it comes from the "Japan National Cancer Prevention Research Institute"; there is also a general saying "scientists are developing Cancer vegetables continue to achieve new results"; More generally speaking, "Scientists at home and abroad have continuously made new breakthroughs in the research and development of anti-cancer vegetables". So where does this widely cited material come from? The correct statement should actually be "Japan National Cancer Research Center" (Japan National Cancer Center Japan, NCC), the research institute completed a statistical survey on the relationship between dietary life and cancer of 260,000 people in 1996, proved the anti-cancer effect of vegetables, and through the analysis of more than 40 vegetable anti-cancer ingredients and experimental cancer suppression According to the experimental results, the 20 kinds of vegetables that have a significant inhibitory effect on cancer are ranked from high to low.

　　Limited by the data, the original report of this anti-cancer food list cannot be retrieved on the Internet or in the Tongfang Journal database. I once entrusted a colleague in Japan to help find it, and the result is also Nothing. Because the original report could not be found, it is impossible to know what test method was used and what sort of anti-cancer indicators were used in order to understand the percentage behind each anti-cancer food. Although some quoters state that these figures are "percentages that inhibit cancer," this statement is even more puzzling. I consulted an oncologist in this way, and they also said it was difficult to understand and difficult to explain.

　　 So, can these vegetables be anti-cancer, especially their anti-cancer effects are really arranged according to the ranking list?

　　Overall, eat more The anti-cancer effect of vegetables and fruits is a relatively accepted conclusion, and this conclusion has been confirmed by a large number of epidemiological investigations. But the research on the anti-cancer effect of a single vegetable or fruit (or other food) is very limited, and the method of laboratory testing is usually used. There are dozens of test indicators in the laboratory that can be used to describe the "anti-cancer effect". As long as one of the indicators appears "positive", it can be concluded that the food can be "anti-cancer", that is, to use the test It is easier to show that a food can fight cancer, which is why anti-cancer foods are increasing.

　　 is also because there are many laboratory indicators to measure whether a certain food (the same as drugs) is anti-cancer, so the ranking of various foods in the rankings actually depends on the indicators used to measure the anti-cancer effect . It''s like queuing for a class. It is a team sorted by height. If it is sorted according to academic performance, it will definitely be different. If it is sorted by age, it will be another team. It is not known which index is used to rank the anti-cancer food rankings from the National Cancer Research Center in Japan, but I believe that if another index is changed, the ranking of various food anti-cancer effects on the rankings is likely to be another Looks like. For example, "China Health Nutrition" magazine published the top 18 anti-cancer foods, from strong to weak in order: pear, kiwi, apricot, hawthorn, orange, big red date, banana , Strawberry, fig, apple, mangosteen, water chestnut, lily, walnut, water chestnut, lotus seed , Ficus pumila, sunflower seeds. According to a report by the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), anti-cancer foods are cabbage, whole grains, cruciferous vegetables, garlic, and ginkgo, of which cabbage ranks first. None of these leaderboards indicate what sorted the indicators are.

　　 Strictly speaking, just as the anti-cancer effect of anti-cancer drugs cannot be listed, the anti-cancer effect of food does not have a ranking problem. As far as cancer prevention is concerned, it is now certain that eating more vegetables and fruits (overall) is effective. As to which vegetables or fruits to eat is more effective against cancer, there is still insufficient evidence-although various There are many sayings. Preventing cancer must start with the overall structure of the diet, rather than just relying on eating more food—even if it is really at the top of the anti-cancer list.

　　Like anti-cancer food rankings, antioxidant food rankings, beauty food rankings, nutrition best food rankings... are all one-sided. For another evaluation index, the rankings will be unrecognizable. Therefore, don''t take these food rankings too seriously.